Russell Island (Moreton Bay)

Russell Island Redland City, Queensland
Location of Russell Island
Population	2,473 (2011)
Established	1870
Postcode(s)	4184
Location	40 km (25 mi) from Brisbane GPO
LGA(s)	Redland City
State electorate(s)	Electoral district of Redlands
Federal Division(s)	Division of Bowman
Suburbs around Russell Island: Redland Bay Karragarra Island North Stradbroke Island South Redland Bay Russell Island North Stradbroke Island Rocky Point Cobby Cobby South Stradbroke Island

Russell Island in Redland City is the biggest of the Southern Moreton Bay Islands, situated between the mainland and North Stradbroke Island in the state of Queensland, Australia. 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.

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 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. 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. A small school was opened in 1916.

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.

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 quickly for most of the day.

In the 2011 Census the population of Russell Island is 2,473, 50.3% female and 49.7% male.

The median/average age of the Russell Island population is 51 years of age, 14 years above the Australian average.