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In April 1823, the first known Europeans set their eyes on the Brisbane River. They were four ticket of leave convics. Those who had been granted freedom to live and work outside of convict settlements.

They came across the rich and fertile Brisbane River by mistake. The four men had attempted to sail south from Sydney before being caught in a severe storm. And instead of sailing south, they drifted north to Brisbane.

They spent 21 days at sea delirious and confused, believing they were drifting south, when in fact they travelled 1000 kilometres north along the east coast of Australia into Morton Bay, ending up at the mouth of the Brisbane River.

When they arrived, one of the four men was dead. The river was spiritually significant and provided endless fish for the local indigenous people of the Tourable Nation living along its banks.

They were the original owners and custodians of the area that is presently known as Brisbane.

When Captain James Cook and three other navigators visited the area around Morton Bay in the later part of the 1700s, not one of them managed to locate the Brisbane River. It was hidden behind the islands inside Morton Bay, out of sight.

One of those navigators, Matthew Flanders, actually spent 15 days looking for the river mouth and still didn't find it. But the convicts did.

At almost 350 kilometres along, the river is extensively vegetated with hundreds of different species of native plants and trees.

Many parts of the river are so dense with scrub and trees that the banks are impenetrable on foot.

Other areas are more open with rainforest, Queensland bluegums and waddles. As the river snakes that's way through Brisbane all the way to Ipswich, there are many dense areas along its banks that days or even weeks can pass, and no one sets foot there.

There are plenty of places you can go unnoticed, people passing within a few feet of you, without knowing you are there.

Alison Baden Clay was born Alison Dickey in 1968. She grew up 40 kilometres east of Brisbane in the city of Ipswich.

Originally intended to be Queensland's capital city, Ipswich is sandwiched between the coastal capital and the rural and agricultural inland areas.

It was originally a hub for limestone and coal mining and spawned a strong working-class culture. Today, it still has huge historical buildings with over 6000 heritage listed sites.

Alison's parents, Jeff, a firefighter and Priscilla, her school librarian were born and bred in the area. The family were firmly cemented in the strong hard-working community.

Alison had an older sister and a younger brother. Alison was a keen and accomplished ballerina, and at just 10 years of age, she was dancing with the Australian youth ballet company.

She was a reserved and sensitive child who gathered all her strength and confidence and put it into her stage performances around the country.

At age 12, she travelled to the UK to dance. She was determined, but she had a shy and reserved side, and often felt extremely anxious about being good enough to succeed.

Alison got her determination from her mother and her softly spoken nature from her father.

The tight-knit family did well at rallying around and across since supporting each other. This was obvious when at age 15, Alison was dropped from the ballet school, and the life she thought she was set for wasn't to be.

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