Redland Shire Council

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Redland Shire Council Queensland
Redland Shire Council building
Population:	113,811 (2001 census)
Area:	537 km²
Mayor:	Don Seccombe
Council Seat:	Cleveland
Region:	Brisbane
Website: http://www.redland.qld.gov.au/
LGAs around Redland Shire Council Brisbane Moreton Bay Pacific Ocean Brisbane Redland Shire Council Pacific Ocean Logan Gold Coast Pacific Ocean

Redland Shire is a Local Government Area of South East Queensland, spread along the southern coast of Moreton Bay covering 537 square kilometres. Sandwiched between the burgeoning cities of Brisbane to the north, Logan to the west and the Gold Coast to the south, it is part of the fastest growing area in Queensland and one of the fastest growing in Australia.^[1]

An attractive area with reasonably safe boating and a pleasant rural hinterland, the Shire had an estimated population of 124,824 in 2003,^[2] four times the number of residents it had as a rural community 25 years ago. An increasing proportion of these new residents are retirees from the southern states of Australia.

Contents 1 Geography 2 Suburbs 3 Economy 4 Local government 5 History 5.1 State capital? 5.2 Settlement spreads 5.3 Farming evolves 5.4 Redland gets water 5.5 Conservation 5.6 Russell Island real estate scam 5.7 Native title 5.8 Army Cadets 6 References 7 External links

[edit] Geography

Although 95% of the population resides on the mainland grouped around the major centres at Capalaba, Cleveland and Victoria Point, over six thousand have chosen to live on six islands in Moreton Bay that are part of the Shire. These are North Stradbroke, one of the world's largest sand islands, which fronts the Coral Sea, Coochiemudlo and the southern Moreton Bay island group of Karragarra, Lamb, Russell and Macleay.

[edit] Suburbs

Redland Shire has a total of 21 communities.

• Alexandra Hills
• Amity Point
• Birkdale
• Capalaba
• Cleveland
• Coochiemudlo Island
• Dunwich
• Karragarra island
• Lamb Island
• Macleay Island
• Mount Cotton
• Ormiston
• Point Lookout
• Raby Bay
• Redland Bay
• Russell Island
• Sheldon
• Thorneside
• Thornlands
• Victoria Point
• Wellington Point

[edit] Economy

Redland Shire has a range of industries^[3] on the mainland including food and beverage processing, white goods (Fisher & Paykel Manufacturing) and specialist manufacturing. In primary production, Redland hosts 30% of Queensland's poultry industry production and produces 18.9% of its sweet potatoes. It has a number of big plant nurseries geared to the export market and a significant cultivation of cut flowers.

With the increasing proportion of retirees, retirement and aged care facilities, professional and general services have become major employment businesses. Tourism is rapidly becoming a key industry. North Stradbroke Island, one of the world's largest sand islands is a major drawcard for visitors despite most of the south of the island being tied up in sand mining leases and water catchments.

Small businesses represent two thirds of the economy; nearly 16% of the Shire's workforce is self-employed. With the increase in population a significant part of the workforce are in the building trades constructing new homes.

Other industries include local government, government department regional offices, and government services such as those associated with health and education.

[edit] Local government

Redland Shire Council has a Mayor, and a councillor for each of its 10 divisions. Elections are held every four years and voting is compulsory. The current Redland Shire councillors were elected 2004-03-27:

• Don Seccombe (Mayor) [4]
• Alan Barker (Division 1) [5]
• Craig Oglivie (Division 2) [6]
• Debra Henry (Division 3) [7]
• Peter Dowling (Division 4)
• John Burns (Division 5)
• Toni Bowler (Division 6)
• Murray Elliott (Division 7)
• Alan Beard (Division 8) [8]
• Karen Williams (Division 9) [9]
• Helen Murray (Division 10)

Election issues ranged over: environment and lifestyle, population growth, development area ("footprint") and rates reform.

[edit] History

The Indigenous Australians of the Quandamooka have lived on and around what is now the Redland Shire for tens of thousands of years.

Europeans came to Moreton Bay with the desire to expand the British trading empire as Australia was a good source of timber and other resources. Moreton Bay was also used as a penal settlement to take pressure off southern parts of the continent. As a result the Moreton Bay Penal Settlement was established in 1824 at Redcliffe Point, moving some months later to what is now Brisbane.

By 1842 the Moreton Bay district was opened to free settlers, with immigration actively encouraged. Land was offered for sale, particularly in potential farming and grazing areas. The Redlands area became very attractive, partly because it was on or near major waterways and partly because of the rich soil.

[edit] State capital?

The administrative centre of Redlands, Cleveland was established in 1851. Argument for and against the continuing transportation of convicts to Moreton Bay was raging at the time, and many thought that this town should become the port for the free settlers. Henry Stuart Russell, Member of Parliament for the area at the time, said that Governor Sir George Gipps decided to visit Cleveland before proceeding to Brisbane to make a decision about the port but had to wade through extensive mud flats to get ashore:

Floundering and flopping through such a hundred years of deep nastiness was quite enough to settle the question between Brisbane and its rival.^[10]

[edit] Settlement spreads

Farmers and graziers began moving to other parts of the Redlands, with the first land sales in Capalaba in 1853 attracting farming and especially dairying families. Large tracts of land in the southern part of the Shire were leased for cotton and sugar, especially around Redland Bay and on the southern Moreton Bay islands. By the 1870s much of the best arable land on the mainland and the islands was occupied, first by cotton growers and then by sugar plantations. Timbergetters were also active, particularly in the southern and western areas. Supplementing farming and timbergetting was a thriving oyster operation around the southern bay.

[edit] Farming evolves

By the late 1880s sugar was being replaced by fruit crops, especially pineapples, bananas, custard apples and citrus. The soil dictated the produce: the red soil areas were best for crops; the poorer grey soiled areas, especially in the west of the district, suited dairy farmers.

On the islands, Europeans and Indigenous Australians operated very successful dugong, oyster and other fishing enterprises.

In 1889 the railway came through the north of the district, terminating at Cleveland. The train also made commuting to the city possible, and many early subdivisions took place along the railway line. In addition, various businesses were established to cater for the holiday trade.

By the turn of the century the district had a solid reputation as a producer of fine fruits and vegetables, with dairy farms and animal husbandry located in the north of the Shire.

Small crop farming was the major economic activity in Redland Shire until well after World War II. Just before the war, poultry became an important industry and, to a lesser extent, pig farming.

Sand mining began on North Stradbroke Island in the early 1960s and continues to this day.

[edit] Redland gets water

A major spur for the change from a rural to urban development was the building of the Leslie Harrison Dam in 1968 on Tingalpa Creek beside the suburb of Capalaba^[11] and later supplemented by piping water from Stradbroke Island in 1991. Abundant town water was now available so, over time, the Shire's farms have disappeared, replaced by subdivisions.

Along with the growth have come the many services and industries required by major urban populations and accompanying businesses.

[edit] Conservation

At the same time, the Shire has become more aware of its heritage. The preservation of a range of natural areas or culturally significant sites has been undertaken including national and marine parks, reserves, wetlands, conservation areas and environmental parks.

The Shire is now recognised as the "koala capital of Australia" due to the number of koalas within the urbanised environment and the council keeps a close eye on the numbers. There is no where else in the world where so many people consistently interact with a natural population of koalas.

[edit] Russell Island real estate scam

In the late 1970s a major real estate scandal broke on the southern Moreton Bay islands, which at the time was not under any direct local government authority. Interest in the islands surged when the Queensland government promised that a bridge would be built to Russell Island and across to North Stradbroke. Land developers bought, subdivided and sold thousands of residential blocks, but later hundreds of the blocks were found to be substantially underwater at high tide.

The southern Moreton Bay islands were subsumed into Redlands Shire in 1973 where the disputes arising from the subdivisions continue.

The Russell Island fraud conspiracy trial over the worst of the subdivisions ended in March 1983 without a verdict. Eight people had been accused of conspiring to defraud the public by deceitfully inducing people to buy land on Russell Island between 1968 and 1979. It was the longest fraud trial in the history of British justice.^[12]

The Redland Shire council has since resumed hundreds of the affected blocks. It remains under pressure from some block owners to build a bridge to Russell Island.

[edit] Native title

In 1997 the Council signed an agreement to recognize Quandamooka people's claim over areas of land and waters in Moreton Bay including the economically important North Stradbroke Island (Minjerribah). It was the first such commitment between an Australian local council and a native title claimant to work through the many issues.^[13]

[edit] Army Cadets

In 2003 The Shire of Redland awarded the 136 Army Cadet Unit - Freedom of Entry this was recently exercised as part of Army Cadet Centenary celebrations

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Russell Island Business Directory
• Russell Island On The Bay
• Redland Shire Council
• What is Russell Island really like?