Early 19th century The
Norfolk Island pine trees at 127 Shore Street North, Cleveland, were planted most likely in the early 1860s by
Brisbane Valley squatter
Francis Edward Bigge, an enthusiastic promoter of Cleveland as a rival to
Brisbane as the state capital. The trees are located on part of allotment 8 of section 6, Town of Cleveland, alienated from the Crown in 1853. Then fire in January 1854 destroyed the brig
Courier and virtually its entire cargo of 400 bales of wool. This second disaster prompted Graham to abandon Cleveland, and move his headquarters to Brisbane. Despite these setbacks some further development continued. The Moreton Bay Courier of 26 August 1854 reported that ''"heading from Bigge's Folly towards the point, we passed two other substantial brick cottages ... but both uninhabited"
. Published in 1859, Rambles at the Antipodes described Cleveland as "one of the most interesting spots in the neighbourhood ... celebrated for some rather abortive attempts at the establishment of a more convenient shipping place than Brisbane itself"''. Clearly Cleveland's time as potential port or colonial capital had passed, despite the efforts and expenditure by Bigge and others. The writer claimed, possibly erroneously, that Cassim's Hotel was very isolated, the nearest resident being a fellmonger, upon a creek four miles off. It is possible that a number of residences had been abandoned or were used only as summer houses. An unsourced item probably dating from the early 1870s, held by the
Royal Historical Society of Queensland, describes standing on a comparatively high background where there were two hotels and a few small cottages, and from there
"a track sloped a short distance ... to the lighthouse ... Descending the slope, the first private dwelling on the right was a good-sized cottage, built and owned by Mr Bigge, who a few years previously had returned to England, whereupon his Cleveland retreat was much in favour with certain Brisbane families". Francis Bigge occupied the land on which the Norfolk Island Pine trees stand, sometime between 1859 and 1863, if not earlier. The land comprised four allotments originally alienated in 1853: two purchased by Sydney speculator Edmund Tobias (allots 7 & 8, sec 6, Town of Cleveland), and two by Moreton Bay squatter John Balfour (allots 9 & 10, sec 6, Town of Cleveland). Bigge purchased allotments 9 & 10 from Balfour on 31 December 1859. Conveyance of allotments 7 & 8 from Tobias to Francis Edward Bigge of Cleveland was made in October 1863. It is likely that neither Tobias nor Balfour built upon their allotments, but Bigge had erected a house at Cleveland overlooking Moreton Bay by March 1864, apparently on the land he had acquired from Balfour and Tobias. In March 1869 Bigge applied for a certificate of tile for allotments 9 and 10, by which time he had sold the property to politician and Darling Downs squatter
Joshua Peter Bell of
Jimbour Station. These two allotments comprised in total, and were valued at , suggesting that the property had been improved, and likely contained Bigge's residence. The property at this time was also subject to a lease from 1864 for 7 years, to a Mr Tubbs, but it is not known whether this applied to the whole of allotments 9 and 10. At the same time, Bigge also transferred allotments 7 & 8 to Bell. The total holding then comprised . JP Bell was one of the most influential men in Queensland, and in the 1870s was a co-founder of the
Queensland National Bank. The Cleveland property remained in his ownership, apparently mainly tenanted, until his death in 1881. In 1882 title was transferred to William Finucane, who retained ownership for two-and-a-half decades. Photographer
William Boag travelled Queensland between 1870 and 1878 with his horse-drawn darkroom, undertaking commissions, photographing places across Queensland, and selling prints of "spec" photos. In November 1871 Boag travelled the southern shores of Moreton Bay. Amongst the photographs he took there is one showing a pair of Norfolk Island Pines – juvenile, but well above house height – standing where Shore Street begins to rise as it heads northwards to the Point. These are thought to be the two landmark Norfolk Island Pines on Bell's property. The same photograph shows several other denser trees surrounding the Norfolk Island Pines, which possibly includes the extant fig tree.
20th century A 1906 photograph taken from near the front of Cassim's
Cleveland Hotel, looking northwards towards Cleveland Point, shows the Norfolk Island Pines, one already split, towering over the surrounding tall vegetation. Subsequent photographs of the 1910s and later, confirm the pines' local landmark status. These later photographs also clearly show the mature surrounding trees. It seems reasonable to assume, given the maturity of both the pines and adjacent trees in 1906, that it is these trees which were photographed in 1871. The whole of the Shore Street property subsequently passed to Catherine Byrne in 1906. In 1911 the house and garden on just over (allotments 9 & 10 and subdivision 2 of allotment 8 (now BUP103110)) were transferred to the Bernays family, who occupied it until Mrs Bernays' death in 1949. An anonymous chronicler of Cleveland history whose memoirs are kept at the
Redlands Library, wrote of how Mrs Bernays had every reason to be proud of her home and its beautiful garden, most of which had been planted by its previous owners. ''"She always used to tell me that she would never allow the Norfolk Island Pines to be cut down as they were such a guide to boatmen as they came to Black's Jetty at night. She had often been thanked by the men after a wet night as the trees stood out against the background of the Brisbane light glare."'' Black's Jetty extended into Moreton Bay from behind Cassim's Cleveland Hotel, to the south of Mrs Bernay's property. These landmark Norfolk Island Pines and their associated trees must be viewed in the context of the efforts by Francis Bigge, Balfour and others, during the 1840s and 1850s, to establish Cleveland as the leading port and export outlet for Darling Downs and Brisbane Valley produce. Already by 1906 the pines had grown to a landmark height, towering over the surrounding vegetation. It is not surprising that throughout the 20th century local mariners used the distinctive pair of trees as navigational guides. == Description ==