Redcliffe City

Redcliffe City is a municipal location north-northeast of Brisbane, the state capital of Queensland, Australia. Also known as "the Redcliffe peninsula", the area covers the suburbs of Clontarf, Kippa-Ring, Margate, Newport, Redcliffe, Rothwell, Scarborough and Woody Point. Redcliffe is home to over 51,000 residents over its total area of 38.1 km2 (14.7 sq mi). The peninsula is relatively flat with few areas rising more than 20 m (66 ft) above sea level. Redcliffe holds the distinction of being the first European settlement in Queensland.

The area was first visited by Matthew Flinders on 17 July 1799. Flinders explored the Moreton Bay area and landed at 10:30 a.m. at a location he called "Red Cliff Point", after the red-coloured cliffs visible from the bay, today called Woody Point. In 1823, the Governor of New South Wales, Thomas Brisbane, instructed that a new northern penal settlement be developed, and an exploration party led by John Oxley further explored the Moreton Bay area. Oxley recommended Red Cliff Point for the new colony, reporting that ships could land at any tide and easily get close to the shore.

The settlement, along the banks of what is now called Humpybong Creek in the Redcliffe central business district, consisted of small, temporary dwellings with gardens and vegetables planted. However the lack of a reliable water supply, attacks by Aboriginal people, large mosquito numbers, and insufficient facilities for safe anchorage meant that the settlement needed to be moved after eight months. The settlement relocated to the banks of the Brisbane River at North Quay, 28 kilometres (17.4 mi) south. Redcliffe was then abandoned, with just a small number of dwellings remaining. Local Aboriginal people called these empty buildings "oompie bongs", anglicised to mean, in reverse, 'dead house', and the name was given to the entire Redcliffe peninsula.

The area was designated as an agricultural reserve in the 1860s, and residential development began in the 1880s. The population grew significantly after 1935 when the Hornibrook Bridge was opened; the two lane, 2.8 kilometres (1.7 mi) bridge crossed Bramble Bay and linked the peninsula with a more direct route to Brisbane. A replacement three lane bridge, the Houghton Highway, opened in 1979. On 11 July 2010 the new three lane Ted Smout Memorial Bridge opened, and at 2.7 kilometres (1.7 mi) is claimed to be Australia's longest. The bridge was named to honour Queensland's longest surviving World War 1 Digger. It provides south-bound traffic flow as well as pedestrian and bicycle access, while the Houghton Highway has become a dedicated north-bound traffic bridge.

Redcliffe was proclaimed a city in 1959 when Princess Alexandra visited with a Royal Charter from Queen Elizabeth II. In 2007 the Queensland Government's Local Government Reform Commission announced that Redcliffe would be amalgamated into the adjoining Pine Rivers and Caboolture shires to form the Moreton Bay Region.

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