![Bay Islands](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5e/Bay_Islands.jpg)
Russell Island is an island, a town and a
locality
Locality may refer to:
* Locality (association), an association of community regeneration organizations in England
* Locality (linguistics)
* Locality (settlement)
* Suburbs and localities (Australia), in which a locality is a geographic subdivis ...
in the
City of Redland
Redland City, better known as the Redlands and formerly known as Redland Shire, is a local government area and a part of the Brisbane metropolitan area in South East Queensland. With a population of 156,863 in June 2018, the city is spread alon ...
,
Queensland
)
, nickname = Sunshine State
, image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg
, map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = Australia
, established_title = Before federation
, established_ ...
, Australia.
The island is also known by its traditional Aboriginal name of ''Canaipa''.
In the , Russell Island had a population of 2,836 people.
[
]
Geography
Russell Island in Redland City
Redland City, better known as the Redlands and formerly known as Redland Shire, is a Local government in Australia, local government area and a part of the Brisbane metropolitan area in South East Queensland. With a population of 156,863 in Jun ...
is the biggest of the Southern Moreton Bay Islands
The Southern Moreton Bay Islands, abbreviated as the ''SMBI'', also known as the ''Bay Islands'', or the ''RKLM'', are the four inhabited southern Moreton Bay islands located in South East Queensland, Australia. The group is part of the Redland ...
, situated between the mainland and North Stradbroke Island
North Stradbroke Island ( Jandai: ''Minjerribah''), colloquially ''Straddie'' or ''North Straddie'', is an island that lies within Moreton Bay in the Australian state of Queensland, southeast of the centre of Brisbane. Originally there was onl ...
. The island is eight kilometres long (north-to-south) and nearly three kilometres wide. The channel separating it from the mainland is known as Main Channel and the channel separating it from North Stradbroke Island is known as Canaipa Passage.
Russell Island has the following headlands (from north to south):
* Canaipa Point, on the north-east of the island ()
* Kibbinkibbinwa Point, on the north of the island ()
* Rocky Point, on the south-east of the island ()
Russell Island has the following passages (from north to south):
* Krummel Passage, to the north of the island ()
* Main Channel, to the west of the island ()
* Fishermans Channel, to the south of the island ()
History
A basic survey of the island was conducted by Robert Dixon in 1839. He named the island after Lord John Russell the Secretary of State for the Colonies
The secretary of state for the colonies or colonial secretary was the Cabinet of the United Kingdom, British Cabinet government minister, minister in charge of managing the United Kingdom's various British Empire, colonial dependencies.
Histor ...
in the 1840s.
The island was first settled by Europeans in 1866, when John Campbell was granted a lease on the northern end of the island closely followed by John Willes and his family.[Dorrington, Wendy: The Pioneers of Russell Island, self-published, 2003, Russell Island, QLD, ] Land auctions commenced in 1870. Farmers and oystermen were the first full-time inhabitants, but with the arrival of the Jackson family in 1906, a small village was created on the western side of the island called Jacksonville, that had a sawmill, pineapple canning factory, jetty and even a picture theatre.
Russell Island State School was officially opened on Thursday 20 January 1916 by James Stodart
James Stodart (1849–1922) was a politician in Queensland, Australia. He was a Member of the Queensland Legislative Assembly.
Politics
James Stodart was elected to the Queensland Legislative Assembly in Logan in a by-election on 15 August 1 ...
, member of the Queensland Legislative Assembly
The Legislative Assembly of Queensland is the sole chamber of the unicameral Parliament of Queensland established under the Constitution of Queensland. Elections are held every four years and are done by full preferential voting. The Assembly ...
for Logan
Logan may refer to:
Places
* Mount Logan (disambiguation)
Australia
* Logan (Queensland electoral district), an electoral district in the Queensland Legislative Assembly
* Logan, Victoria, small locality near St. Arnaud
* Logan City, local gover ...
. It opened for lessons on Monday 24 January 1916 under 17-year-old head teacher Miss Eileen Willes. The school building had been relocated from Pine Ridge (near Southport). It was and was on the eastern side of Centre Road (approx ) in almost the centre of the island. In the first year, there were 17 children from 8 families. In 1927 following a vote by residents, the school was relocated to its present site in the north of the island. The school continues to use the original building, albeit extended and repaired.
Russell Island Methodist Church opened on Saturday 18 December 1920 in Jackson Road. It is no longer extant.
Russell Island is known for the infamous land scams of the early 1970s, when many of the islands farms were divided into over 20,000 blocks. At the time, the area, with a population of less than 500, did not have a local authority enforcing planning regulations. Heavily advertised and sold off by unscrupulous vendors, these blocks were often not where the unwary customers thought they were buying. It all rode on the vague promise of a bridge from the National Party government at the time. Media reports exposing the scam pointed to blocks that were underwater at high tide and the lack of public land.
The Russell Island Public Library opened in 2001.
Russell had 1,779 permanent residents in 2006 up 35.9% since 2001. However, this changes dramatically on weekends and holidays when many of the 30% of dwellings on the island which are classified as unoccupied are visited by their owners. Fast ferries and scheduled barges straddle the distance to Redland Bay
Redland Bay is a coastal semi-rural locality in the City of Redland, Queensland, Australia. In the , Redland Bay had a population of 14,958 people.
Since the first European settlers arrived in the mid-19th century, Redland Bay has remained a f ...
quickly for most of the day.
On 12 April 2008, a public 25 metre swimming pool jointly funded by the Redland City Council, the Queensland State Government, a rates levy and nearly 20 years of donations from residents was completed. Management has been contracted to the YMCA. The first bathers hit the water during that weekend but, lacking any heating, it was closed for the winter. Sufficient solar heating for spring and autumn use was installed in 2009.
Another big event for the island on Wednesday, 7 May 2008 when the $1.2 million Police Station was opened by the Queensland Police Minister, bringing Senior Constable Michael Verry to the island as its first community policeman. Backing up the policeman, Queensland Police
The Queensland Police Service (QPS) is the principal law enforcement agency responsible for policing the Australian state of Queensland. In 1990, the Queensland Police Force was officially renamed the Queensland Police Service and the old motto ...
make frequent visits to the island with a high-speed barge which can carry two police vehicles.
In the , Russell Island recorded a population of 2,473 people, 50.3% female and 49.7% male The median age of the Russell Island population was 51 years, 14 years above the national median of 37. 68.8% of people living in Russell Island were born in Australia. The other top responses for country of birth were New Zealand 6.1%, England 5.7%, Scotland 1%, Philippines 1%, Germany 0.9%. 85.8% of people spoke only English at home; the next most common languages were 0.5% Hungarian, 0.4% German, 0.4% Filipino, 0.4% French, 0.3% Croatian.
In 2015, the Russell Island residents groups, together with the Redland City Council
Redland City, better known as the Redlands and formerly known as Redland Shire, is a local government area and a part of the Brisbane metropolitan area in South East Queensland. With a population of 156,863 in June 2018, the city is spread alon ...
, proposed to transition the island's name to its traditional Aboriginal equivalent – ''Canaipa''. The proposal is that the two names of Canaipa and Russell Island will be used with the island's name reverting to its traditional name once it becomes more widely accepted. The name ''Canaipa'' was provided from Yugambeh people
The Yugambeh ( ''(see alternative spellings)'', also known as the Minyangbal ( , are an Aboriginal Australian people of south-east Queensland and the Northern Rivers of New South Wales, their territory lies between the Logan and Tweed river ...
and identified as a Yugambeh-Bundjalung language word from the Ngaraangbal dialect spoken by the Pimpama clan meaning place of ironbark
Ironbark is a common name of a number of species in three taxonomic groups within the genus ''Eucalyptus'' that have dark, deeply furrowed bark.
Instead of being shed annually as in many of the other species of ''Eucalyptus'', the dead bark accu ...
spear/digging stick
A digging stick, sometimes called a yam stick, is a wooden implement used primarily by subsistence-based cultures to dig out underground food such as roots and tubers, tilling the soil, or burrowing animals and anthills. It is a term used in ar ...
'','' the name is used by both the Quandamooka
The Quandamooka people are Aboriginal Australians who live around Moreton Bay in Southeastern Queensland. They are composed of three distinct tribes, the Nunukul, the Goenpul and the Ngugi, and they live primarily on Moreton and North Stradbro ...
and Yugambeh people, who assert traditional ownership. The move is motivated by the desire to improve public perceptions (and hence real estate values) which were damaged by the earlier land scams. The Queensland Government
The Queensland Government is the democratic administrative authority of the Australian state of Queensland. The Government of Queensland, a parliamentary constitutional monarchy was formed in 1859 as prescribed in its Constitution, as amended fr ...
officially adopted ''Canaipa'' as an alternative name for the island, but it is not an alternative name for the town or the locality.
In the , Russell Island had a population of 2,836 people.
Heritage listings
Russell Island has a number of heritage-listed sites, including:
* Mrs Fischer’s Grave, Canaipa Ridge Road ()
* St Peter’s Anglican Parish Hall, 25-27 High Street ()
* Jacksonville (Jacksons Oval), corner Jackson Road and Esplanade ()
* Corduroy road, Weedmore Road
Education
Russell Island State School is a government primary (Prep-6) school for boys and girls at 38-64 High Street (). In 2017, the school had an enrolment of 176 students with 18 teachers (14 full-time equivalent) and 18 non-teaching staff (8 full-time equivalent). In 2018, the school had an enrolment of 174 students with 17 teachers (14 full-time equivalent) and 18 non-teaching staff (8 full-time equivalent). It includes a special education
Special education (known as special-needs education, aided education, exceptional education, alternative provision, exceptional student education, special ed., SDC, or SPED) is the practice of educating students in a way that accommodates th ...
program. The school has an active Parents and Citizens club.
There are no secondary schools on Russell Island. The nearest government secondary school is Victoria Point State High School at Victoria Point on the mainland to the north-west.
Facilities
Russell Island has a small shopping village offering a variety of services including; Super IGA supermarket, post office, Medical Practice, petrol station, chemist, bakery, hairdressers, Chinese restaurant, newsagent, kebab shop and takeaway food shop. It also has several real estate agencies showing houses for sale and rent.
Russell Island has most of the same services as the mainland that span across the island including a police station, fire station, ambulance service, medical practice, pathologist, service station, post office, hairdresser, veterinarian, computer repair services, web designers, video hire, bottle shop, lawyer, public pool, various real estate agents, landscape/hire centre, storage sheds, car hire, cafes, motor inn and a sports/recreational complex.
The two licensed clubs, an RSL and the Russell Island Bowling Club, provide entertainment and bistro facilities most nights of the week.
The Redland Library service operates the Russell Island Public Library which is located at 22 High Street.
A Council-built hall near the main wharf is available and, centrally located on Jackson Street, the Bay Islands Community Centre has rooms. Some church denominations meet at the hall but others use the historic St Peter's Church Hall just up High Street. In 2009 the Kennedy Farm Community Centre was revamped with Commonwealth money and is now available for small scale community activity. Resident driven plans for the 4.5 ha block include sporting facilities and a community farm.
Electricians, builders and plumbers are resident on the Island, making the island somewhat self-supporting. Services include power, phone, broadband, water and garbage collection. Garbage is trucked to the mainland for disposal. The Rural Fire Brigade, State Emergency Service and the Ambulance service receive strong volunteer support. Several volunteer Justices of the Peace live on the island. In early 2010 the Bay Islands Community Centre with grants from Community Service and the Council, opened a youth drop-in centre on Jackson Road.
See also
* List of islands of Australia
This is a list of selected Australian islands grouped by State or Territory. Australia has 8,222 islands within its maritime borders.
Largest islands
The islands larger than are:
* Tasmania (Tas) ;
* Melville Island, Northern Territory (NT ...
References
External links
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{{authority control
Islands of Moreton Bay
Suburbs of Redland City
Towns in Queensland
Localities in Queensland