Redland Bay

Redland Bay Redland City, Queensland
Redland Bay Passage featuring vehicular ferries servicing the Bay Islands
Population	13,624 (2011 census)
Postcode(s)	4165
Location	36 km (22 mi) from Brisbane GPO
LGA(s)	Redland City
State electorate(s)	Electoral district of Redlands
Federal Division(s)	Division of Bowman
Suburbs around Redland Bay: Victoria Point Victoria Point Southern Moreton Bay Islands Mount Cotton Redland Bay Southern Moreton Bay Islands Carbrook Woongoolba Southern Moreton Bay Islands

Redland Bay is a township at the southern end of Redland City. Redland Bay is some 35 km (22 miles) south-east of Brisbane, the capital of Queensland, Australia. The township is named for the bay it sits on, which forms part of larger Moreton Bay.

The Aboriginal name for the Redland Bay region was Talwalpin after the cottonwood tree which was widespread in the area.

Since the first European settlers arrived in the mid-19th century, Redland Bay has remained a farming and fishing-based area until the mid-20th century when some of the farms were subdivided and improved transport infrastructure made it possible for residents to commute the 35 kilometers into Brisbane.

The township has long been the port for vessels plying the bay islands. These islands include Russell Island, Macleay Island, Karragarra Island, Lamb Island and North Stradbroke Island, home to several thousand residents enjoying an idyllic, sub-tropical lifestyle.

Redland Bay township was established in the mid-19th century by settlers attracted to the fertile volcanic soil and pleasant climate. The redness of Redland Bay soil derives from iron oxides present in lava from a volcano that erupted (millions of years ago) in northern New South Wales, some 100 kilometres to the south.

In Barry Kidd's 1979 Redland illustrated History he writes 'Redland Bay is arguably the most unchanged and fertile land within the entire Redlands area. The suburban sprawl has managed only scant inroads to a few pockets of land, but the remaining farmers have stubbornly resisted even the juiciest of offers from land developers, preferring a continuation of their inherited lifestyle.'

In the two decades that followed, the decision was made by the Redland Shire Council to permit suburban development in and around Redland Bay. With land zoning changing from rural to residential, and the corresponding steep rise in rates (local government land tax), Redland Bay's farmers found they could no longer compete with other farming areas not as close to a major metropolitan area. One by one the farms were sold to land development companies, and Redland Bay, by the year 2002 farming had all but ceased.