In which year did the Moreton Bay Penal Settlement in Queensland, Australia, become a free settlement?

Brisbane, the capital city of the state of Queensland in Australia began as a penal colony in 1824, and after some fifteen years of operation as such, it was finally declared a free settlement on 10th of February 1842.

On that momentous occasion, the Queensland State Governor, George Gipps, declared the 'Moreton Bay Penal Settlement' closed and the district open for free settlement.

The Moreton Bay Penal Settlement during its 15 years of operation consisted of a range of buildings including barracks for convicts and troops, officers' quarters, dwellings for the Commandant, chaplain, Commissariat officer, surgeon, Commandant's clerk and engineer, a military and convict hospital, the Commissariat Store, and various stores, barns and sheds. The settlement also included a wharf, wells, a flagstaff, gardens and a lumber yard.

In 1839, in preparation for the opening of Moreton Bay to free settlement, surveyors were sent from Sydney to draw maps of the district and prepare town plans so the land could be put up for sale. The town plan undertaken by Robert Dixon is based on an earlier 1839 plan but superimposes the proposed street plan for the free town of Brisbane with square blocks of 10 chains (660 ft x 600 ft; 201 m x 183 m).