redland-bay
Redland Bay, a suburb facing Moreton Bay, is 31 km south-east of Brisbane. It is named after the rich volcanic soil found on much of the Redland Shire’s area, including several off-shore islands. Known as krasnozem soil, it has high mineral and organic components, and produced a substantial amount of Brisbane’s market garden produce.
The land was settled by farm selectors in the 1860s-70s, who cleared tangled shoreline scrub and forest land further from the coast. Excellent timber was used for the first slab huts and later steep-pitched ‘Queenslander’ dwellings. Sugar cane plantations were tried quite early and a mill was operated during the 1870s. Cotton and rice were also tried. Cane was replaced by banana growing, and that was overtaken by pineapples and citrus in the 1890s. A Methodist church was opened in 1885, a primary school the following year and a school of arts in 1889. In common with Wellington Point, Redland Bay drew the attention of land subdividers in 1890, but with less success because of the lack of a railway.
Redland Bay extends south from Victoria Point to the Logan River, a distance of 13 km. Its western boundary adjoins Mount Cotton and Carbrook, areas originally settled for timber harvesting and farming. In 1890 a district cemetery was established in Serpentine Creek Road, Redland Bay, continuing as a place of burial until 1945. It is listed on the Queensland heritage register.
In 1904 the Cleveland (later Redland) Agriculture, Horticulture and Industries Society was formed. The Australian handbook (1903) described the village:
Representing the whole of Redland City
Karen Williams was first elected as Councillor for Division 9 Capalaba of the then Redland Shire Council in 2004. She was elected as Mayor of Redland City Council in April 2012 and was proud to be re-elected as civic leader in 2016 and 2020. Karen believes the Redlands is the best place to live, work, learn, play and invest and is dedicated to making sure that Redland City is recognised as the jewel in the crown of South East Queensland with assets including the many island communities such as North Stradbroke Island, Russell Island, Macleay Island, Lamb Island, Karragarra Island and Coochiemudlo Island.
Karen prides herself for her strong, caring and inclusive community focus, for being hard working and getting the job done. Her top priorities are:
- Continuing to put the people of Redland City first
- Continuing to tackle cost of living issues in Redland City
- Putting our city on a sound long-term financial footing
- Supporting local business and attracting new business investment and new jobs to the Redlands
- Building a new economy based on innovation
- Turning challenges into opportunities for the city and its residents
- Building partnerships to address the backlog of infrastructure – particularly Redlands rural and island communities
- Continuing to identify efficiencies within Council to ensure it is even more responsive to the people.
Redland Bay remained determinedly agricultural for more than three-quarters of the twentieth century. The township had fewer than 1000 people in 1976, and was best known for its fruit, vegetables and the Moreton Bay boat services from its jetties to Russell, Macleay, Stradbroke and Karragarra Islands.
Redland City Council to build solar farm
ANOTHER Queensland council has seen the light and will look to build a solar farm to offset skyrocketing power costs.
Redland City Council stands to save more than $10 million over 20 years, according to a feasibility study adopted by the council today.
The council will investigate building a 1 or 1.5MW solar farm at the Cleveland wastewater treatment plant and installing solar panels at council-owned sites.
“We will also look at installing similar ‘embedded’ solar panels at other council sites that use large amounts of electricity, as well as installing solar panels on several of our community halls,” Cr Williams said.
She said the solar facilities could offset electricity use at those sites by up to 32 per cent.
“Electricity prices have increased by more than 60 per cent between 1990 and 2012 and all the signs are they will continue to rise, so it makes sense to look for ways to reduce our dependency on electricity consumption,” Cr Williams said.
The council is one of many that have adopted or are investigating the use of solar power to save ratepayers money.
The Sunshine Coast Regional Council has started work on a 15MW solar farm that is expected to be finished by mid-2017 and save the council $22 million over 30 years.
Division 9 Councillor Paul Gleeson, who led the call for an investigation into a solar farm, said the council could also look at the possibility of local solar sites to, not only offsetting costs, but generating saleable power into the future.
A business case will go to the council and identify final sites, costs and timeframes.
Council pilots smart solar compacting bins in popular reserve
Redland City Council has installed 10 smart solar compacting bins at Wellington Point Recreation Reserve as part of a three-year pilot project.
Mayor Karen Williams said the project aimed to reduce the number of litter bin collections, costs and environmental impacts.
“Wellington Point Recreation Reserve has been chosen for this pilot project as it has significantly more bins and litter collections than other Redlands Coast parks,” she said.
“The reserve has about five times the number of litter collections of comparable destination parks, which represents about 13 per cent of the total public litter bin collections across Redlands Coast.
“As part of the pilot project, all bins in the reserve have been removed and replaced with ten 240-litre smart solar compacting bins, which can compact up to eight times the standard bin volume.
“Council will be able to collect valuable data on bin usage and fullness, allowing us to reduce collections from more than 160 to 20 each week and leading to an approximate annual saving of about $28,000.
“Ongoing monitoring and analysis during the pilot will allow us to consider further savings and possible implementation in comparable civic and open spaces.
“Reduced collection requirements may particularly benefit key island locations such as Point Lookout on North Stradbroke (Minjerribah) and on Coochiemudlo Island.”
New smart solar compacting bins have been installed in Wellington Point Recreation Reserve.
Cr Williams said the bins would also include poster panels so Council could provide education around better waste and recycling habits.
“Redlands Coast residents care about our wildlife and our natural environment and we want to help them reduce waste and keep our parks and oceans free from rubbish.
“The majority of the waste going in Council bins is excess packaging from takeaway food and Council would like to work with businesses to reduce this.”
Division 1 Councillor Wendy Boglary said the solar compacting bins provided an exciting opportunity to reduce visual impacts and improve general amenity at the reserve.
“Due to their increased capacity and ability to issue fullness alerts, these bins should significantly reduce any issues of overflowing bins within the reserve,” Cr Boglary said.
“The project also means the litter bin footprint is reduced by 67 per cent, improving the visual amenity of the reserve.
“This means there will be more open space for residents and visitors to enjoy in this popular naturally wonderful park.”
Cr Williams said the pilot project followed the trial of a smart compacting bin in Bloomfield Street Park, Cleveland in 2019.
“The Cleveland trial saw a reduction in the number of weekly collections from five to two,” she said.
“Council decided not to roll this bin model out further, mainly due to its smaller capacity. This initial compacting bin is planned to be relocated to Cleveland Point Recreation Reserve.”
The $95,000 pilot project has been funded through Council’s Transformation Portfolio Fund, and is expected to be recouped in about three years.