Redland City

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 along the southern coast of Moreton Bay, covering . Its mainland borders the City of Brisbane to the west and north-west, and Logan City to the south-west and south, while its islands are situated north of the City of Gold Coast.

Redland attained city status on 15 March 2008, having been a shire since 1949, when it was created by the merger of the former Tingalpa and Cleveland Shires.Queensland State Archives, Search for Agency Details of Redland City Council
, Retrieved 7 April 2014 Despite this status, the City consists of largely suburban and coastal communities, featuring a somewhat disjointed urbanisation around major suburbs interspersed with bushland; there is no clear city centre.

Large mainland suburbs include Capalaba, Cleveland, Victoria Point, and Redland Bay. The latter is the city's namesake, due to the colour of its fertile soil. North Stradbroke Island and smaller nearby islands, most notably those of Southern Moreton Bay, comprise the eastern portion of the Redlands. The city's boundaries correspond to those of the federal division of Bowman.

History

The area now known as the Redlands was initially inhabited by the Jagera, Turrbal, and Quandamooka people. Some locations derive their names from Aboriginal languages, and known historic sites within the area include a bora ring at Mount Cotton. The Quandamooka are recognised as the traditional custodians of North Stradbroke Island, and more recently applied for native title over much of the Redlands' surrounding islands and mainland. Jandai (also known as Janday, Jandewal, Djendewal, Jundai, Goenpul and Jandawal), one of the Aboriginal languages of the Moreton Bay Region, has a language region centred on Stradbroke Island, which falls within the local government boundaries of Redland City Council.

Europeans first entered the Redlands in the late 18th century while mapping Moreton Bay: James Cook made observations of the then-undivided Stradbroke Island; Matthew Flinders landed on Coochiemudlo Island in 1799; and Robert Dixon later surveyed and named much of the area.

By the 1840s, the coastal township of Cleveland was in contention to become a major port replacing Brisbane, but was ultimately not chosen due to the region's existing sandbars and shipwrecks, and an unfavourable review from Governor George Gipps during his 1842 visit. Louis Hope and other land purchasers began to develop significant infrastructure at this time. On 11 November 1879, under the ''Divisional Boards Act 1879'', the Tingalpa Division was created to govern the area to the east of metropolitan Brisbane. The area around Cleveland split away to form the Cleveland Division on 30 May 1885. Under the ''Local Authorities Act 1902'', both became Shires on 31 March 1903. The Tingalpa council met at Mount Cotton.

On 1 October 1925, a sizeable portion of the Shire of Tingalpa (suburbs west of Tingalpa Creek, including Upper Mount Gravatt and Rochedale) became part of the new City of Brisbane along with 20 other local governments. On 9 December 1948, as part of a major reorganisation of local government in South East Queensland, an Order in Council renamed the Shire of Cleveland to be Shire of Redland and amalgamated part of Shire of Tingalpa into it (the other part of Tingalpa amalgamated to form the Shire of Albert).

The twentieth century saw significant population growth in the Redlands, preceded by the construction of the Cleveland railway line. Peel Island became a leper colony, while North Stradbroke Island became a hub for sand mining, and is also associated with the Indigenous rights movement as the home of poet Oodgeroo Noonuccal and academic Aileen Moreton-Robinson. On 15 March 2008, Redlands was granted city status.

In June 2018, the Redland City Council approved a marketing campaign to brand the city as "Redlands Coast" with the tagline "naturally wonderful". The campaign seeks to attract tourists to the city's of coastline (due to a number of islands which form part of the city).

Geography

Although most of the population resides on the main urban conglomeration based around the centres of Capalaba, Cleveland and Victoria Point, over 6,000 people live on islands in Moreton Bay that are part of the city. These are North Stradbroke, Coochiemudlo and the Southern Moreton Bay Islands of Karragarra, Lamb, Russell and Macleay. Tingalpa Creek rises on Mount Cotton, forming Leslie Harrison Dam, and marking the majority of the area's western boundary.

Environment

Redland City has many immediately recognisable animals and plants such as koalas, migratory shorebirds, flying foxes and scribbly gum forests. It is also home to over 1,700 other recorded native species, many of which are under threat from population growth and its associated effects such as habitat clearing and fragmentation, road construction, pollution and expanding development. The council area is also home to Venman Bushland National Park, and the Eprapah Scout environment training centre.

In April 2013, the Redland City Council illegally cleared vegetation from public land on the foreshores of Moreton Bay. The council has been required by the State Government to restore the cleared vegetation and install signage about the restoration. Trees felled included many sheoaks.

The city's koala population has declined significantly in recent years. In 2010, it was estimated that only 2,000 koalas remained, a 65% decline since 1999. Figures from a count in 2012 have not yet been released by the Queensland Government. The Redland City-based Koala Action Group has warned that: "Rampant expansion of urban areas will lead to the loss of the koala populations that are vital to the long-term survival of the species."

The city boundaries include internationally significant coastal wetlands within the Moreton Bay Ramsar site

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