Historic Brisbane | Convict Settlement to River City by Jake and Susanna De VriesConvict Settlement to River City. Susanna de Vries, award winning author, and Jake de Vries, former City Architect of Brisbane, have pooled their talents to compile a joint book on the building of Brisbane, which transports us back to the first years of Brisbanes bleak existence. The book shows the Convict and Officers Barracks and convicts digging roads along what became Queen Street and North Quay. Professional artist Conrad Martens paints the