In 1842, with the creation of a by-law John Williams an early Brisbane trader was awarded the contract at 45 pounds a year to operate a ferry service between Russell Street, South Brisbane, and Queen's Wharf, Brisbane, located in the vicinity of the nowadays Queens Wharf Road, Brisbane. It was locally known as the "Time Killer" due to its slowness. After commencing operation in 1843 it went in and out of service as successive Victoria Bridges were built and lost to the waters of the river. In the two references in this section different locations are given for the operation of John Williams' ferry service called the "Time Killer".