BINjuntoSeptV3.040PP

The Bay Islands
By Travis Place
Part one - Russell Island
Russell Island in Redland
City is the biggest of the
Southern Moreton Bay
Islands, sandwiched 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.
A basic survey of the island
was conducted by Robert
Dixon in 1 839. He named the
island after Lord John
Russell the Secretary of
State for the Colonies in the
1 840s.
The island was first settled
by Europeans in 1 866, 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
1 870.[1 ] Farmers and
oystermen were the first fulltime
inhabitants, but with the
arrival of the Jackson family
in 1 906, 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 1 91 6.
Russell Island has a police
station, IGA supermarket,
butcher, post office, service
station, bottle shop,
veteranarian, a medical
practice, pathologist,
chemist, computer repair
services, web-designers,
hairdresser, bakery,
newsagency, landscape/hire
centre, scooter & car hire,
storage sheds, video hire,
lawyer, library, two licensed
clubs, public pool, and four
real estate offices.
The two licensed clubs, an
RSL and the Russell Island
Bowling Club, provide
entertainment and bistro
facilities most nights of
the week.
A Council-built hall near
the main wharf is
available and, centrally
located on Jackson Street,
the Bay Islands Community
Centre has rooms. Some
church denominations meet
at the hall but others use the
historic St Peters Church Hall
just up High Street. In 2009
the Kennedy Farm
Community Centre was
revamped with
Commonwealth money and
is now available for small
scale community activity.
Resident driven plans for the
4.5 ha block include sporting
facilities and a community
farm.
Electricians, builders and
plumbers are resident on the
Island, making the island
somewhat self-supportive.
Services include power,
phone, broadband, water and
garbage collection but
sewerage and tarring of the
vast majority of streets is still
some time away. Garbage is
trucked to the mainland for
disposal. The Rural Fire
Brigade, State Emergency
Service and the Ambulance
service receive strong
volunteer support. Several
volunteer Justices of the
peace live on the island. A
small primary school for
around 1 80 students has an
active Parents and Citizens
club. In early 201 0 the Bay
Islands Community Centre
with grants from Community
Service and the Council,
opened a youth drop in
centre on Jackson Road.
On 1 2 April 2008, a public 50
metre swimming pool jointly
funded by the Redland City
Council, the Queensland
State Government, a rates
levy and nearly 20 years of
donations from residents was
completed. Management has
been contracted to the
YMCA. The first bathers hit
the water during that
weekend but, lacking any
heating, it was closed for the
winter. Sufficient solar
heating for spring and
autumn use was installed in
2009.
Another big event for the
island on Wednesday, 7 May
2008 when the $1 .2 million
Police Station was opened
by the Queensland Police
Minister, bringing Senior
Constable Michael Verry to
the island as its first
community policeman.
Backing up the policeman,
Queensland Police make
frequent visits to the island
with a high-speed barge
which can carry two police
vehicles.
Russell Island Jetty
The first settlers on the island
relied on their own resources
to take themselves and their
produce to market. The area
to the east of the current jetty
was the site of the rafting
ground, where the timbergetters
would form log rafts
to float their timber to
sawmills on the mainland.
The island’s early farmers
also used this area to ship
their produce before jetties
were built.
The jetty accesses Krummel
Passage. This passage was
formerly known as the
Mersen or Marsden Channel,
named after Christian
Mersen, who selected a
couple of parcels of land on
Russell Island in the 1 870s.
He set up a lime burning kiln
where he burnt local coral
and oysters. This kiln was
close to the lime burners’
jetty near the present water
transport office and current
jetty.
St Peter’s Parish
In 1 922 Fred Willes, son of
John Willes, donated half an
acre of his farmland to the
Anglican Church for a
proposed hall. Church
services had been held in the
house of Mr and Miss
Hender until then. The hall
was built by Joseph Lovell
and his son, Bill, of Macleay
Island, from Russell Island
timber milled at a sawmill on
Canaipa Road. The hall was
officially opened on 30 March
1 924 and was extended in
1 959. Electricity was
connected in 1 966 and town
water in 1 994.
Jock Kennedy ParkJock
Kennedy ParkThis park is
named after returned
serviceman Jock Kennedy,
who moved with his wife and
family to an 11 acre farm on
Russell Island after World
War II. Their avocado and
banana farms bordered the
northern end of the island
during the 1 950s. Like many
islanders, Kennedy was
involved in community
activities, such as the Russell
Island Youth Club, where
teenage boys used to learn
boxing and other sports. He
is also remembered for the
dances he organised. Jock
and Joan Kennedy devoted
much of their own time and
resources into developing
what is now known as the
Jock Kennedy Park. The
Kennedys eventually moved
to Wynnum.
Russell Island State School
Centre RoadRussell-Islandstate-school-1
91 9The first
school on the island was
carried across the bay on a
boat, and opened near Black
Cat Swamp (now known as
the Minjerribah Conservation
Area) in 1 91 6 on land
donated by James Jackson,
Mark Jackson’s father (see
Jacksonville). In 1 926 the
school was moved to its
present site. The first teacher
was Eileen Willes, a
granddaughter of John Willes
(see Canaipa Point). In those
days, schools were more
than places of learning, with
the school building doubling
as a community hall and
meeting place. Long-time
residents still remember the
dances that were held at the
school.
Jacksonville Jackson Road
This is the site of a
settlement established by
Mark Jackson in the 1 920s.
The Jackson family came to
the island about 1 905 and
took up pineapple farming,
one of the first farming
families to do so. In 1 91 5
Mark Jackson opened a
pineapple cannery that
employed up to 20 people in
its heyday. It is famous for
being one of the suppliers of
canned pineapple to Allied
troops fighting in France
during World War I. Not long
after World War I, the
cannery closed and was
replaced by a sawmill on the
same site. Before the mill
closed, it supplied timber for
a number of island buildings,
including a Methodist
www.bayislandnews.com.au
Bay Island News September 201 6 edition page 1 8