Cleveland
Cleveland Settlement to 2000
The timeline to 1950 was compiled by Redland Shire Council’s Local Historian from primary and secondary sources. The post-1950 section was compiled mainly from local newspapers unless otherwise indicated.
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1828
Botanists Allan Cunningham and Charles Fraser travelled south-east of Brisbane to about five miles east of Cowpers Plains. These travels of Cunningham and Fraser are of note because it was possibly the first overland visit by Europeans to what is now the Redland Shire. During this time, they travelled extensively around Cooper’s Plains to the Logan River, and reportedly mapped a road to Emu Point, as Cleveland Point was then called.
1832
There is a local belief in Cleveland that a convict jetty was built on Cleveland Point around 1832. It is suggested that the inhabitants of the settlements at Amity Point and Dunwich travelled to and from Cleveland Point, using the convict jetty to access the shore. If this is the case, it would suggest convicts were quite possibly the first Europeans to leave a mark on Cleveland Point, most probably between 1824 and 1831.
1840
Government surveyors Robert Dixon and James Warner surveyed the coast from Brisbane River to Innes (Coochiemudlo) Island. Dixon recommended to Surveyor General Sir Thomas Mitchell that Cleveland Point was suitable for a landing place. This was one of the key events which led to Cleveland Point being a serious contender as the Moreton Bay port.
1841
One of the early issues facing the now free Moreton Bay settlement was where to put infrastructure such as a port. One group, led by influential squatters from Ipswich and the Darling Downs, favoured Cleveland Point as a port with Ipswich as the commercial centre. Another group, led by Brisbane business interests, favoured Brisbane. In July, government surveyors Dixon and James Warner were sent to Cleveland Point with a view to “pointing out the eligibility and of recommending the reservation of a portion of land . . . for the site of a maratime [sic] or seaport town.” As a result, Warner recommended that Cleveland Point be made a reserve for a maritime or seaport town including a line of road thence towards Cowpers Plains. The debate over Brisbane vs Cleveland as the northern port continued well into the next decade.
1842
Cleveland was known as Pumpkin Point.
1850
On 13 December, the township of Cleveland was proclaimed the first township in what is now the Redlands.
1851
On 13 August, Cleveland’s first land sale was held. Of the 81 lots offered, only five didn’t sell. Cleveland supporters said this success showed Cleveland should be the port, with Brisbane the seat of government and commerce. Many buyers were investors betting on the port being built at Cleveland instead of Brisbane. However, many buyers hedged their bets and bought land in Brisbane for the same reason.
1852
Some of the investors began erecting buildings, jetties and other structures for the Cleveland Point port.
1853
By the end of the year many of the port buildings on the tip of Cleveland Point were completed and were ready for business. However, both prospective ports – Brisbane and Cleveland – were experiencing difficulties, with ships finding it difficult to reach both sites.
The first load of wool arrived at Cleveland Point, ready to be pressed in the new wool store and loaded onto the Courier, which was moored offshore. Also moored offshore were the Himalaya and the Shamrock.
1854
In January, the fully loaded Courier caught fire and the cargo was destroyed.” By the end of the year, most port activity had stopped and Cleveland Point was labeled Bigge’s Vacuum or the Squatter’s Mistake.
1855
In February, Francis Bigge advertised Cleveland House (now the Grand View Hotel) as suitable for use as a boarding house or hotel.
1856
In September, John Cassim took over Cleveland House (Grand View Hotel) and opened it as a boarding house, specifically for invalids and families. The attractions were sports including kangaroo and turtle hunting, shooting, fishing and sea bathing. He ran the hotel until c.1862 when he moved to his own premises, the Cleveland Hotel (Cassim’s Hotel).
In December, the Cleveland Point investors again asked the government for help to establish a port at Cleveland. This was virtually the last attempt to develop Cleveland as the main port and was no more successful than before. The issue limped along for a few more years with wool shipments made from Cleveland Point until the early 1860s, but it appears the wool was shipped down the Brisbane River to Cleveland rather than arriving overland. Once the bar across the Brisbane River was dredged in 1862-63, the way was clear for Brisbane to remain the only Moreton Bay port.
1857
A visitor recommended Cleveland as an ideal place for consumptives, given the mild climate, the fresh air, and the restorative powers of the oil of the dugong, which floated past the door of Cleveland House (Grand View Hotel).
1858
Cleveland’s first cemetery (Lisa St) was surveyed by Surveyor Rawnsley.
1859
Following the failure of the port bid, squatter and investor Francis Bigge converted his wool store complex on Cleveland Point into a sawmill from about 1859. It was operated by shipbuilder Taylor Winship, who set up a shipbuilding yard next door soon after.
1860
The Queensland government began updating shipping facilities in Moreton Bay. In November, GP Heath surveyed Cleveland Point for the purpose of extending the existing stone jetty into deep water or a small harbour.
The telegraph line was laid between Brisbane and the Lytton customs station and work began on laying it to Cleveland and thus to the quarantine station at Dunwich.
1861
In January, Cleveland’s first post office began operating on the tip of Cleveland Point with Taylor Winship as the first postmaster. This allotment later included the telegraph office and the Bank of Queensland. The telegraph was installed to link the new quarantine station at Dunwich, North Stradbroke Island, with Brisbane.
Frederick Smith won a tender to provide a weekly horseback mail service between Brisbane and Cleveland.
The district’s first school was set up. It was a private school operating in Cleveland. Its location is unknown.
1862
John Cassim, who had been running Cleveland House (Grand View Hotel), moved to his own hotel, called the Cleveland Hotel, up the road, which had just acquired a licence. The Hotel was built some time between 1858 and 1862. The building is still standing, and is known as Cassim’s Hotel.
The district’s first court house was set up, in cottages most likely built by Francis Bigge for workers at his sawmill. The building is now the Court House Restaurant in Paxton St.
1863
Bigge’s Cleveland Saw Mill Co sent its first load of sawn timber to Brisbane.
A newspaper report said about 270 people lived in the Cleveland district. This included what is now Ormiston and Thornlands.
1864
Bright Bros and Co began a weekly steamer service between Brisbane and Cleveland, using the Diamond.
Taylor Winship built the Walrus at the Cleveland Point shipbuilding yard. This schooner became one of the district’s first floating sugar mills, travelling between the Logan River, the southern Moreton Bay Islands and Cleveland.
Cleveland Point’s first “lighthouse” was erected. There is some debate whether it was a lighthouse or simply a light on a pole. The hexagonal wooden lighthouse which still exists was built by 1865, and possibly in 1864.
1866
The Queensland Government finished the 1,000-ft jetty off the eastern side of Cleveland Point.
1868
The Cleveland East school came under supervision of Board of Education. The school operated on land between what is now St Paul’s and the Grand View Hotel.
1869
By 1869, the Cleveland Point sawmill stopped operating. Francis Bigge returned to England and Winship left the Point.
1873
A second cemetery was established to replace the first because the swampy ground prevented the diggers from digging proper graves. Anecdotal – and probably apocryphal – stories state that on some occasions the coffins had to be held down with poles while the grave was filled in. The first cemetery is now covered by a children’s playground at the end of Lisa St, Cleveland. The second cemetery is the current Cleveland Cemetery.
1874
The first service was held in the newly built St Paul’s Church of England on 21 May. It was designed by architect James Furnival. Cleveland was one of the earliest Anglican parishes in the new colony of Queensland.
1877
The first Catholic church was built on the triangular block facing North St by Patrick Horisk, about 50 metres from the 2002 site of the cenotaph. The church moved to its present site on Passage St in 1929.
1879
Tenders were called for a court house and police station in Cleveland. The building was constructed soon after, on a site on the corner of Shore and Passage Sts. In 1934-35 this building was replaced with a new court house and police station. In 1999 a new police station and courthouse was built at the Black Swamp end of Middle St and the 1934-35 building was decommissioned.
1880
Cleveland’s third hotel, the Pier Hotel, was established on Cleveland Point. The Hotel burnt down in 1936. Its site is now occupied by the Lighthouse Restaurant.
1881
The Cleveland School of Arts Hall was built on what is now known as the old showground reserve between the Grand View Hotel and Raby Bay.
1884
A post and telegraph office was built near the corner of Shore and Passage Sts by 1884. It was next to the court house and police station. By this stage, this little area provided most of the civic services of the district.
1885
The Qld Government built a new jetty on Cleveland Point, this time on the western (Raby Bay) side.
The area from Tingalpa Creek, Capalaba, to Eprapah Creek, Victoria Point, and north of Boundary Rd, came under the control of the new Cleveland Divisional Board. It had been administered by the Tingalpa Divisional Board since 1880.
1886
The first offices of the Cleveland Divisional Board were built in Cleveland. The Cleveland Divisional Board became the Cleveland Shire Council in 1902 and amalgamated with parts of Tingalpa Shire to become the Redland Shire Council in 1949.
1888
In January, the Cleveland Divisional Board accepted William Finucane's offer of shade trees to be planted along the main street to Cleveland Point.
1889
The railway line to Cleveland opened on 1 November. Trains travelled to Woolloongabba.
1893
During the 1893 flood, the breakwaters on Cleveland Point overflowed to six feet above normal height. The Courthouse Restaurant building was almost flooded when water came within about four inches of the floor.
1894
The Cleveland Divisional Board introduced by-laws regarding tree plantings, which had been popular for some years. The authorities and residents believed avenues and clumps of trees added significantly to the attractiveness of an area, especially for visitors.
1895
The Redlands’ first Masonic lodge, Lodge St Clair, was established in August. It met in the Oddfellows Hall in Passage St, Cleveland, until 1916 when the meeting place changed to the Church of England Hall. In 1921 a dedicated temple was built in Shore St East.
1897
The railway line was extended to Cleveland Point, terminating near Paxton Street. The new station was named Cleveland and the original station renamed West Cleveland. The extension of the railway line was promoted for providing visitors with a promenade to the Reserve and its attractions, the jetty, kiosk, bathing and lighthouse.
1909
In November, the Cleveland Methodist Church was opened. A school hall was built in January 1921 and a parsonage in July 1927.
1911
A local newspaper, The Red Land Mercury, was started in 1911 by FC Woosley.
1913
The Railway Department introduced rail motors or McKeen cars on the line between Manly and Cleveland, considerably improving the service.
1914
A new train station was provided at Raby Bay near Bloomfield Street for passenger traffic only.
1915
The Cleveland State School moved from North St to its present site in Queen Street.
Cleveland’s first street lights were erected. The first was on the corner of Passage and Shore Sts. The lights were acetylene.
The Cleveland Shire Council resolved to introduce a sanitary pan collection service. There were 75 pans to be emptied.
1919
The Cleveland Masonic Hall was built on its current site (Shore St facing Toondah Harbour). Before then, the Masons met in the Oddfellow’s Hall in Passage St.
The influenza epidemic led the Cleveland Shire Council to set up a hospital. The Council rented a boarding house in Wharf St but it ceased operating as a hospital when the epidemic ended later that year.
1920
The Cleveland Pier Kiosk was built next to the 1887 jetty off the western side of Cleveland Point. Visitors were charged tuppence to go out onto the jetty to fish or swim. The kiosk operated until its owners, the Galloways, pulled it down around 1936-1937. They built another kiosk, the Cleveland Kiosk, on the site of the old Pier Hotel. Over the years, the Cleveland Kiosk was refurbished and operated as Markwell’s Restaurant and the Lighthouse Restaurant.
1921
Another small private hospital was established, this time north of Cassims Hotel. The first chemist shop in Cleveland was also established at this time.
1922
Black’s jetty was built around 1922 by William Black, the licensee of the Cleveland Hotel (now known as Cassim’s). The jetty ran east from below the hotel. The jetty quickly became the main landing place for boats travelling to and from North Stradbroke Island and especially the Dunwich Benevolent Asylum. It remained the main landing place until the Paxton St jetty was built c.1950.
1924
Many trees were planted in the district as part of the Brisbane centenary celebrations. Plantings included poincianas opposite the Cleveland police station, Moreton Bay figs at the Cleveland Point oval and palm trees along Passage St.
1925
By this stage, Cleveland had two private hospitals: Bayview operated in one of the district’s most significant houses, formerly Constantia, opposite the War Memorial on Shore St, and St Ann’s Hospital was in Queen Street opposite the Catholic Church. In 1937, Bayview moved to Whepstead Manor in Wellington Point and the old house was converted into flats. The building was later bulldozed for the Raby Bay canal estate. St Ann’s continued operating until it burnt down in 1981.
1927
The lych gate built by the Randall family at the Cleveland cemetery was completed and handed over to the Cleveland Shire Council in February.
1928
The Cleveland RSL Memorial Hall was built on the corner of Passage and Shore Sts. The building was moved to Smith St in the mid-1990s.
1929
The Star of the Sea Catholic Church moved from North St to Passage St. Verandahs were later added to the building. In 1974, a new church was built next to the old. In the mid-1990s, the original building was demolished.
After a storm blew the roof off Cassim’s hotel, it ceased trading, ending more than 60 years as one of the district’s favourite hotels. The licence was transferred to the new Raby Bay Hotel, now known as the Sands Hotel, on the corner of Bloomfield and Middle Sts.
1931
Electricity came to the district. The northern parts were wired up first.
1934
Almost the entire district turned out for the visit of Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester. A civic reception was held at the Redlands Memorial Hall (the RSL). The Duke also visited Mr AF Smith’s farm Beaconsfield on Moreton Rd, Thornlands, to inspect some of the produce then grown in the Redlands. Crops on Beaconsfield included custard apples and passionfruit.
1935
Relief workers were employed around the district, especially on the foreshores and reserves. Retaining walls, reclamation work and tree plantings were carried out. The relief workers also repaired roads and jetties.
1936
The Pier Hotel on the tip of Cleveland Point burnt down, taking with it the remains of one of the district’s first permanent European buildings, erected c.1852 when the Point was being developed as the potential Moreton Bay port. The hotel was replaced by the Cleveland Kiosk, then Markwell’s Restaurant and now, many renovations later, the Lighthouse Restaurant.
1937
One of Cleveland’s two private hospitals, Bayview, moved to Whepstead Manor in Wellington Point. The hospital continued operating there as Bayview until about 1965, when it was converted into a nursing home.
A railway station was built at Barinia between Ormiston and Raby Bay.
1942
Two wirraways engaged in exercises from the Archerfield aerodrome collided in mid-air above Moreton Bay. One came down near the Cleveland cemetery and the other on Ziegenfusz Park. Four airmen were killed.
1944
For six months from the beginning of 1944, the Ship and Gun Crew Command No. 1 occupied the Cleveland Point Reserve as a firing range, installing a concrete gun platform for a 20 mm Oerlikon Gun.
1945
The foundation stone was laid for the district’s first ambulance service, on land donated by a local farmer/businessman on the corner of Middle and Queen Sts. The building was officially opened on 13 April 1946. Mr Gordon Stuart was the first ambulance officer. This site became a retail centre after the ambulance service moved to its new premises in Wellington St c.1999.
1948
The first games were played on the new greens at the Cleveland Bowling Club on 1 January.
1949
Redland Shire came into being when the northern part of Tingalpa Shire and the whole of Cleveland Shire merged.
1950
The new Shire’s population was about 5,600.
In 1950, 239 pupils were enrolled at the Cleveland State School.
Cleveland fishermen produced nearly 4% of Queensland’s total fish production. Most of the catch was handled by the Cleveland Fish Market in Paxton Street.
The Paxton St jetty was being built. It took over from Black’s jetty as the main landing place for boats going to the Islands.
1951
The Minister for Public Instruction, Mr H Devries, told a Redlands delegation that the Shire did not have enough students to justify a secondary school. Secondary school enrolments at that time were estimated at nine students.
Local identity Mrs Leona Kyling began collecting signatures for a petition for a Redlands district hospital. Within three months, Mrs Kyling had collected 1,211 signatures: more than 20% of the Shire’s population.
1952
The Poinciana Café, Cleveland (formerly the Bayview Café) burnt down
The Raby Bay shopping area – now the main Cleveland shopping precinct – was formally approved, and Council received a £2000 loan for widening Bloomfield Street.
In July 1952, the Redlands Show was held at the new Cleveland Showgrounds in Smith St for the very first time. Previously it was held on the flat ground on the Raby Bay side of the Grand View Hotel.
1953
Cleveland Sailing Club began operating.
1954
At the Redlands’ first naturalisation ceremony on 1 October, Chairman JHN Price granted citizenship to Miss Antje Boeterhoek and Sr Slvatore d’Amico at the Redlands Memorial Hall in Passage Street, Cleveland. They were entertained by Ossie Mazzie and his Piano Accordeon Band “and some Dutch records.” Previously the Federal Government had held naturalisation ceremonies but it handed them over to local councils as it was very keen to see less formal, friendlier ceremonies to welcome the new citizens.
The Redlands Swimming Pool Building Committee was set up to raise funds.
1955
An application for a dog racing track at the Redlands Showground was opposed because the land had been earmarked for a new high school.
The Minister for Education Mr Devries approved the new secondary school at Cleveland State School, which was to comprise a two-classroom extension with one room for domestic science and the other for woodwork and sheet metalwork.
1956
The Shire’s first high school opened at the start of the school year with 32 students. Called the Cleveland Secondary Department, the new school was set up in the grounds of the Cleveland State School.
1958
The Shire’s tennis players called for a combined sports arena at the Redlands Showground.
The Redlands Chamber of Commerce was formed to look after the interests of the Raby Bay traders. The Chamber was particularly concerned with the new bus services and their ability to serve locals and visitors alike.
1959
The Education Department bought 10 acres near the Redlands Showground from Mr Groenendijk. The land was to become the site of the Shire’s new high school. However, 100 pupils were needed if the school was to become a reality.
The Kindergarten Association was formed with the goal of setting up the Shire’s first kindy.
1960
The rail service between Lota and Cleveland closed in November 1960 due to lack of patronage. Some people favoured the closure because it was believed it would allow the buses to flourish. Others thought it was a disaster.
The Redlands Kindergarten opened in February.
1961
The Redlands branch of the Rotary Club was formed in November
The Redlands Voluntary Bush Fire Brigade was formed on 11 December. Shire clerk Ernie Ellis was chosen as warden, L Dowling became the first officer and L Bertram second officer.
The Cleveland Post Office moved from next to the Passage St police station to Middle St, Raby Bay, on 17 April. The first post master in this building was Mr Bray. An unofficial Cleveland East post office opened on Middle St near the Revue Theatre. The old post office near the war memorial officially ceased operating on 17 April.
The Norm Price Park at the Cleveland Showgrounds was opened on 15 July. Norm Price was a long-term resident and the first chairman of the Redland Shire Council.
The Commonwealth Bank opened its doors in Bloomfield St, Raby Bay (Cleveland), on 11 September.
Despot’s new shop opened on the corner of Bloomfield and Middle Sts on 9 October
1962
The 121 students of Cleveland Secondary School moved to the new site on the corner of Smith and Russell Streets. It was the first year the school offered senior classes. Until then, classes had been offered up to the equivalent of year 10.
1963
Redlands Apex Club was officially inaugurated on 11 May.
Cleveland High School was officially opened on 27 April.
1964
A total of 442 students enrolled in Cleveland High School.
The bay end of Russell St, Cleveland, was put forward as a site for future boat facilities to support the sand mining trucks on North Stradbroke Island. Following protests from local residents, Council turned its attention to Toondah Harbour at the end of Middle St.
1965
The proposed courthouse prompted a debate, with half of Redland Shire Council wanting it built in Raby Bay (now known as Cleveland) and the other half favouring Passage St near the police station. The courthouse was indeed built on Passage St, but in 1998 it moved to Raby Bay.
1966
Shire Chairman Cr Dick Wood was elected the State Member for Logan, representing the Country Party. Many residents were delighted to have a local – and the Shire chairman to boot – representing them in State Parliament.
Cleveland High School had 498 students and 21 staff.
State Government agreed to the development of Toondah Harbour and allotted $20,000 towards the costs of dredging the channel.
1968
Shire residents were warned of bogus pest control operators who targeted women living alone and the elderly. The bogus operators were accused of smuggling white ants into people’s houses so that it appeared their house was riddled with them. Among the stories was one in which the smuggled ants really did eat the house out.
In 1968, the State Government called tenders for the reclamation of 500 acres of Raby Bay foreshore for residential, business, tourist and other commercial purposes. Three tenders were submitted and after a ballot Civic Projects Pty Ltd was declared successful in 1969. Civic Projects’ principal Mr Stephens had been one of the main supporters of the project since the early 1960s.
1969
Work began on the Redland Museum on Smith Street. The project was initiated by Cleveland Rotary.
The new Council administration building was officially opened by Qld Premier Joh Bjelke-Petersen. The new chambers were to include a public library, replacing the service which operated at the Redlands Memorial Hall in Passage Street. The old Shire Hall in Cleveland found two new homes: one wing became the Victoria Point Guide and Brownie Hut and was officially opened on 28 June, and another wing went to the Wellington Point Girl Guides and was officially opened in October.
The Redlands Lawn Tennis Association played on its new courts in Smith St for the first time in June.
The Main Roads Department advised Council that 14 of the fig trees on Shore St North would have to be removed because of grub and fungus infestations. The trees were planted by Mr WE Finucane before the turn of the century. The proposal met with public uproar and petitions to the Main Roads Department.
Cleveland courthouse on Passage St was officially opened on 19 February 1969.
Work began on shops in Doig St, Cleveland.
1970
Senator Dame Annabelle Rankin officially opened the Redland Museum in April.
The Redlands Soccer Club played its first matches at its new grounds next to the Showgrounds on 4 July.
1971
St James Lutheran Kindergarten opened in May.
The Bank of NSW opened in the Iluka Shopping Village in Cleveland in August.
Mr Gough Whitlam officially opened the Cleveland State School War Memorial Swimming Pool on 16 October.
1972
A 64-perch cleared block in Cleveland with water and power cost $4,750, a chamferboard house on one acre in Cleveland cost $12,300 and a three-bedroom highset house on 36 perches with bay views in Cleveland cost $17,000.
870 students enrolled at Cleveland State High School.
The Redlands Lawn Tennis Association’s new clubhouse at the Cleveland Showgrounds was completed.
Mander’s Garage in Bloomfield St ceased trading after 33 ½ years. It was one of the first businesses to open in what was then the new shopping area of Raby Bay. The garage was replaced by an arcade.
1973
Local police thought they had a generation of law-breakers on their hands when watches began mysteriously appearing on the wrists of many school children. After investigating the matter, they found that the watches were part of a defective batch that had supposedly been buried at the local dump by an importer. However, according to the local children, they hadn't buried them nearly deep enough.
The Star of the Sea Catholic Church in Passage St was built.
The Redlands United Soccer Club opened its new clubhouse.
1974
Camping was banned on the mainland from February, ending a century-old tradition. Campers were encouraged to use the camping areas on North Stradbroke Island instead.
On 1 July, work began on the Redlands’ first sewerage scheme. Until this time, residents used mainly septics.
A new fire station opened on the corner of Wellington and Russell Sts, Cleveland. Previously the brigade operated out of the old Redland Shire Council depot.
1975
The Cleveland Baptist Church opened on Bloomfield St.
1976
The Rollercade opened on Shore St, Cleveland.
Cleveland High School had 1,250 students.
The Cleveland lighthouse was moved to its new position on Cleveland Point in March.
1977
CSIRO’s marine research laboratory at the Toondah Harbour end of Middle St was officially opened in September by Federal Science Minister Senator JJ Webster.
The Catholic Church in Passage St, Cleveland, turned 100.
The new Qld Fruitgrowers Co-operative Society premises opened in Bloomfield St, Cleveland, in July.
The Cleveland Plaza shopping complex opened in Bloomfield St in December.
1978
The jetty built by the Qld government in 1887 on the western side of Cleveland Point was demolished in August.
Local Government Minister Russ Hinze officially opened the Cleveland Aquatic Centre in March. It was the Shire’s first publicly owned swimming pool.
Cleveland Meals on Wheels opened on 4 February.
Cleveland’s first motel and restaurant, the Bay Air, opened in November in Middle St, east of the Passage St corner.
1979
In June, the State Government approved in principle the Raby Bay development. The approval was announced amid much fanfare by the Queensland Lands Minister, Mr Hewitt, at Yeppoon, and took many in the Shire by surprise.
1980
Work began on the Lota-Thorneside rail link, the first stage in the planned railway to Cleveland.
The Primary Industries Department decided to move its poultry research station from Rocklea to the Redlands Horticultural Research Station at Ormiston.
Dean Lodge, a pensioner unit block, opened on Passage St, Cleveland, in November. It was named after the Dean family who had lived on the site.
1981
Cleveland’s first school house was moved from North St to make way for a townhouse complex.
The Bank of Queenland’s Cleveland branch opened and the Commonwealth Bank opened a branch at Alexandra Hills.
The Revue Theatre in Middle St, Cleveland, was demolished in May after the owners became concerned about its safety. The Revue, a picture theatre, was built about 1927 and was one of the area’s most popular entertainment venues.
The Cleveland Fish Board depot on Paxton St, Cleveland Point, closed in July.
St Ann’s Hospital in Passage St, Cleveland, burnt down in July. It was built about 1925.
1982
On 25 September, the first section of the new Lota-Cleveland rail service, between Lota and Thorneside, was officially opened. A return ticket to Central cost $1.10 and a weekly ticket cost $7.10. The line was electrified by October the following year.
The Redlands Cultural Centre in Norfolk Park, Cleveland, was opened on 5 June.
Despot’s Store on the corner of Middle and Bloomfield Sts closed its doors on 31 December after more than 50 years in business. The shop was sold to the developers of the proposed shopping centre featuring Woolworth’s as the major tenant. Westpac Bank moved into the renovated site the following year.
1983
The Shire’s population was about 52,000. Cleveland’s share was 5,185.
A new sports field in Fitzroy St, Cleveland, was named Henry Ziegenfusz Park in honour of the long-term local resident and former Cleveland Shire councillor and chairman.
Construction work began on the Raby Bay canal development.
1984
The Cleveland Shopping Centre opened in August. The major tenant was Woolworths.
The Raby Bay Canal Development Stage 1 was officially opened on 23 November 1984 and the first land went on sale in December. The 158 blocks in Stage 1 were expected to fetch between $53,000 and $96,000 each, and buyers were offered $1,000 worth of landscaping as an incentive to build sooner rather than leave the land undeveloped.
The Agricultural, Horticultural and Industrial Society (AH & I) was renamed the Redlands Show Society Inc in March. The Society ran the annual Redland Show until 2001, when the 94th and final Redland Show was held. In 2002, the Redland Show Society voted unanimously to disband due to lack of support for the show, falling attendances, rising costs and prohibitive insurance.
1985
1 April 1985 a blue nursing service was set up in the Redlands. The centre originally operated from the Uniting Church Hall on Passage St, Cleveland. In 1987, the Blue Nursing Service Redland moved to its own premises on Joe Wood Court, Alexandra Hills. The centre is called the John Goleby Blue Nursing Complex in memory of former State MP John Goleby. On 4 June 1990 the complex’s Nandeebie hostel received its first residents and its independent units opened on 1 October 1990.
1986
An industrial complex in Shore St opened in October.
Markwells sold their restaurant at Cleveland Point and the new owners renamed it the Lighthouse.
1987
The Donald Simpson Over 50s Leisure Centre opened.
On 24 October the last stage of the rail link – from Wellington Point to Cleveland – was opened.
1989
Cleveland’s Sunday markets began.
Sneyds Pharmacy turned 50.
1990
Redland diver April Adams, 16, won a silver medal at the Commonwealth Games.
Redland Shire Council approved a development comprising Sizzlers, Kentucky Fried Chicken and a service station in Shore Street, Cleveland, and a Shell service station at the corner of Princess and Bloomfield Streets, Cleveland.
Brother and sister Stuart and Amanda Popplewell of Cleveland were selected to represent Australia in the World Roller Skating Championships in Germany.
The newly restored School Master’s House in William Ross Park, Cleveland was officially opened as a gallery for local artists and craftspeople. Built in 1872, the school house was originally on North Street.
1991
The Paxton St jetty at Cleveland was demolished. This was the last of Cleveland’s major public jetties.
A sub-branch of the Rats of Tobruk Association was formed at Redland RSL by veteran Vic Miller of Cleveland.
Root rot and old age were blamed for the demise of the century-old Moreton Bay fig trees opposite the Grand View Hotel, Cleveland.
Cleveland business woman Kath McNeilly was the first woman elected to the presidency of the Redland Chamber of Commerce.
1992
The Sands Hotel in Cleveland was the first hotel to have poker machines installed in the Redlands.
1993
One of the Shire’s oldest bakehouses, that of GJ Walter on Passage Street, Cleveland, was demolished and the bricks dumped at Wellington Pt.
Work started on the $2.4 million upgrade of the Bloomfield St streetscape in Cleveland. The streetscape was officially opened in October 1993.
Cleveland State School turned 125.
1994
The Raby Bay harbour was built.
Redland Shire Council’s Killara Place day respite centre in Cleveland opened.
Cleveland came equal second with Emerald in the Tidy Towns competition. Biloela came first.
1995
Australia’s first koala speed zones were trialled in parts of Cleveland, Ormiston, Birkdale, Capalaba and Mt Cotton.
Work started on the first stages of the marina berths in Raby Bay Harbour. The berths were offered on a 28-year lease at $34,000 for a 12 metre mooring and up to $68,000 for 21 metre berths.
Due to lack of playground facilities in the area it was decided to put play equipment in the reserve on Cleveland’s first cemetery in Lisa St, Cleveland.
1996
Redland Museum re-opened after a $510,000 refurbishment.
State Government approved $4 million for a new courthouse in Cleveland.
1997
The final stage (Stage 15) of Raby Bay canal development was completed, with the last canal flooded in December
Cleveland Harbourside Shopping Centre opened in July. The main tenant was Coles.
The Cleveland Library re-opened in its new building on the corner of Middle and Bloomfield Sts. The site had been occupied by a service station.
Allgas announced plans to bring natural gas to the Cleveland area.
1998
Work began on the $3.7 million Cleveland police station near the Black Swamp.
A $970,000 ambulance station at Cleveland was officially opened by State Emergency Services Minister Merri Rose.
Cleveland township won the Gold Medal in the Queensland-wide Tidy Towns for 1998.
The Old School House Gallery and the former Raby Bay railway station building were moved to Rotary Park near Paxton St. It was originally a schoolmaster’s cottage.
Redland Shire Council’s Cleveland sewage treatment plant became the site of a major worm farm. The farm was set up to help dispose of 10,000 tonnes of sewage sludge which usually ends up in landfill sites.
1999
It was announced that the controversial koala speed zones introduced in 1995 had failed to reduce the number of koalas killed on Redland Shire roads.
The $47 million Redland Hospital expansion opened in January.
2000
Redland Shire Council and the RSL announced plans to buy Cleveland’s former police station and courthouse and turn them into a war memorial precinct and museum.
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