Old Windmill Observatory

This historic Brisbane landmark sits atop the city, heroically beaming down on the rest of the city from Spring Hill and is one of the few last vestiges of Brisbane’s history to remain standing.
Of course, that description’s a lie. It’s just a building. An old mill. And a bad one at that. It doesn’t even work.
Alright, I shouldn’t be so rough on the poor windmill. It’s partly because all Brisbane primary school students are forced to come here at some point for a school excursion. I remember taking the long bus trip to the city as a child, my head filled with visions of some old demonic castle, maybe like something from Bram Stoker’s Dracula. Or like The Tower Queen Elizabeth sent people to so their heads could come off.
Don’t let anyone hype the windmill up for you, because the structure is neither impressive nor particularly tall. It’s the oldest surviving building in Queensland, and it looks old, but it also doesn’t look like it’s The Oldest Building In Queensland. (Have they seen my neighbour’s house? That dilapidated Red Hill mess is definitely a forerunner.)
So, if you’re doing a professional tour of the Old Windmill, all you can do is look at the building from the outside and, well… just look. There’s no going inside, and no windows to peek in. The fact that the mill has been encased in a cement render, hiding and protecting the inside brick and masonry from damage, also takes the sparkle off staring at this monument.
There is one shock fact associated with this mill: In 1841, two Aboriginal men were hung from a beam in the upper window for «crimes». As a child, this made me envisage the skeletons of dead men inside. As an adult, it’s a reminder of Brisbane’s not-​so-​fabulous early history.
People — myself included — walk past this monument every day and barely give it a second glance. If I was checking out Brisbane’s history, I’d plunge further into the CBD towards George Street. There’s a few parks around showcasing Brisbane’s history with statues, and tours explaining what these statues mean (e.g. why the statue of a Queen has her back turned to a neighbouring figure, and what the positioning of a man on horseback means in terms of their death in battle).