The tableau depicts the departure of Andrew Petrie for an inland expedition from the Moreton Bay Settlement in 1842. Petrie's wife Mary is handing him a drinking bottle as their daughter Isabella watches.
Young Tom Petrie plays on the river bank with two of his Aboriginal friends. His experiences were later recorded and became a classic document of Aboriginal tribal life.
John Petrie, who went on to become Brisbane's first Mayor and a prominent engineer, holds his father's impatient horse.
The event is observed a convict recently freed from his shackles by Petrie.
Sculptor Stephen Walker