Cleveland

Cleveland, a suburb of Redland City, is located on the western shores of Moreton Bay approximately east-south-east of Brisbane, the capital of the Australian state of Queensland. It comprises commercial, residential and industrial areas and is the location of Redland City's Council Chambers, offices and various cultural facilities.

As at the 2011 Census, Cleveland was estimated to be home to 14,414 people, with the majority of these of working age.

History

There are conflicting reports as to the naming of Cleveland; it was either named in 1770 by Captain James Cook in honour of John Clevland, the Secretary of the Admiralty around the time, or by surveyors in the 1840s, in honour of William Vane, 1st Duke of Cleveland.

European settlement of Brisbane and surrounding areas was banned from 1824 until 1842, due to the Moreton Bay Penal Settlement, but the area to become Cleveland was first surveyed in 1840, and in 1841, was recommended for a maritime or seaport township. In 1847 a navigation beacon was established at Cleveland Point.

In 1847, the Government planned for the new town, and on 13 December 1850, Cleveland was proclaimed a township. The first land sales of the new township took place a year later, with early purchases primarily around Cleveland Point, at the time an early candidate for a major port to replace Brisbane. Brisbane was troubled by sand bars across the mouth of the Brisbane River, and Cleveland Point was closer to the southern passage (the entrance to Moreton Bay between North Stradbroke Island and Moreton Island).