QLDFarming
Redland Bay
Red soil that fed Brisbane, on a bay the railway never reached.
1870Redland Bay sugar crop crushed
WHAT STARTED IT
Rich red volcanic soil, cleared from coastal scrub and forest by selectors in the 1860s and 1870s, made the district one of Brisbane’s main sources of market produce. Its sheltered shore and jetties also linked farmers by boat with the Moreton Bay islands.
WHAT SUSTAINED IT
Sugar came first: the Redland Bay plantation’s cane was crushed in 1870, and by 1876 its own mill was worked largely by Pacific Islander labourers. Bananas, then pineapples and citrus took over, and although a land company offered 151 seaside lots in 1884, the railway stopped at Cleveland and the area stayed agricultural for most of the twentieth century.
TURNING POINTS
1870Cane from the Redland Bay plantation is crushed and praised as some of the best in southern Queensland.
1876The plantation prepares to crush 107 acres, with 29 Islander labourers working its fields and sugar-house.
1884The Redland Bay Land and Investment Company auctions 151 marine sites, bringing buyers by steamer.
1889The Cleveland railway opens but ends at Cleveland; the hoped-for Redland Bay extension is never built.
WHAT IT DOES NOW
A fast-growing Redland suburb with a ferry terminal for the southern Moreton Bay islands. The heritage-listed district cemetery on Serpentine Creek Road dates from its farming years.