Come and explore Queensland's first penal settlement and be enthralled by tales of prison life, the hardships suffered by prisoners and many other stories.
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**Update re cruises and coronavirus:- Great News! With restrictions easing, Brisbane Cruises is delighted to re-commence cruising. Check out our Cruise Timetable for updates on our regular cruises. For Functions and special celebration cruises, complete the Function Enquiry Form OR give our Fabulous Booking Crew a call on 07 3630 2666, to start planning your event.
Please note: current social distancing measures apply. Lady Brisbane is looking Fabulous after recent slipping and all our crew look forward to welcoming you onboard. Thank you for supporting a local small business during these unprecedented times.
Some St Helena Island Day tours are available to BOOK ONLINE now, OR phone our Fabulous Booking Crew on 07 3630 2666 for further information and to book.
***See our Cruise Timetable page for available cruise/tour dates.
St Helena Tours including lunch:- includes morning tea, BBQ lunch, entry fee & guided tour. Cost: Adults $70 Children $35 (4-14yrs)
St Helena Tours BYO lunch:- includes morning tea, entry fee & guided tour. BYO lunch. Cost: Adults $55 Children $25 (4-14yrs)
for Brett's Plaza, Hamilton departure (including lunch) MORE INFO
for Brett's Plaza, Hamilton departure (BYO lunch) MORE INFO
for Fort Lytton departure (BYO lunch) MORE INFO
See our Cruise Timetable page for all scheduled cruises.
St Helena Island is only 6 km south east of the Brisbane River mouth and was home to many of society's outcasts from 1867 to 1932.
Let our group of trained and entertaining tour guides take you back in time with a gentle 2 km walk as we visit the ruins of the Gaol, blacksmiths shop, punishment yard and sugar mill. Visit the lime kiln, olive grove and the fantastic renovated museum. Our tour guides take yearly refresher courses. We pride ourselves on factual history accounts, not made up stories for entertainment value.
TOURS: St Helena Island is a Heritage National Park. You are not permitted to walk around the Island without an accredited tour guide.
The TOUR IS NOT COMPULSORY, other activities are available if you would like to wait for the group to return.
SCHOOL EXCURSIONS depart Fort Lytton*, Brett's Plaza Hamilton and Redcliffe.
For school group prices please phone 07 3630 2666
*We recommmend Fort Lytton as a departure point for St Helena Island Tours. Click here for more information on Fort Lytton.
We conduct a number of educationally focused tours to St Helena that are also suitable for the S.O.S.E. Syllabus for Years 4 - 8.
Our new and exciting Education Program has been developed by our experienced guides (National Parks and Wildlife Accredited), making this the ideal school excursion by taking the drudgery out of history. The excursion aims to ensure that students and teachers step back in time and appreciate Queensland's penal past.
Students participate by using character identification cards and role-play to observe, question, investigate and problem solve. Props and heritage costumes can be used if requested.
Teachers Please Note: No extra cost is involved by participating in this NEW educational program.
Bookings for St Helena Night can be made online or by calling our Fabulous Booking Crew on 07 3630 2666
Book Online Now
Adults $95 (All Inclusive Package) MORE INFO
Live Drama Entertainment - Experience St Helena By Night
Be entertained by prison ditties, verse, jokes, ripping yarns and the issue of prison vests.
On arrival, we move ashore with lanterns and torches. Cheeky comments from the guards and convicts are quite common. We take the convicts to the Punishment yard where special effect lighting and quick change costume guides will entertain you with prison life routines like the warder dispenser, who would consult the prisoners on the sick list and issue "white or black medicine" depending on the temperature of the "inserted thermometer"!
More serious ailments are treated with confinement to a cell or a visit to Surgeon Dodds. The ghostly cemetery is the scene of "reincarnation" of prisoners with particularly sad and disturbing tales.
