Why did they choose Moreton bay QLD for the penal settlement?

Answer 1

The Moreton Bay penal colony, under the leadership of Captain Patrick Logan, was a particularly brutal colony, where very harsh punishments were doled out. Captain Logan himself was murdered, and while the local Aborigines were blamed, there is every chance that he was murdered by convicts, who hated him for his cruel mistreatment.

Answer 2

In 1823, Surveyor-General John Oxley was sent north by Governor Thomas Brisbane in search of a potential new site for a convict settlement. The Sydney region was becoming overcrowded, and this is why a new site was reqiured.

Moreton Bay was selected as it provided a sheltered harbour, while the Brisbane River was a good source of fresh water.