Before European settlement, the Redcliffe Peninsula was occupied by the
Ningy Ningy people. The
Aboriginal name is
Kau-in-Kau-in, which means Blood-Blood (red-like blood). A famous Ningy Ningy
Bora ring structure, consisting of two separate rings, large and small, joined by a ritual pathway, once existed between Kippa-Ring and Anzac Avenue. Aboriginals as far away as
Noosa would travel there to perform initiation ceremonies. It was razed by the Council around 1950. The town's name originates from "Red Cliff Point" named by the explorer
Matthew Flinders, referring to the red cliffs at Woody Point. Redcliffe became Queensland's first colony in 1824; however, it was soon abandoned for
Brisbane. Redcliffe holds the distinction of being the first European settlement in Queensland, first visited by
Matthew Flinders on 17 July 1799. Explorer
John Oxley recommended "Red Cliff Point" – named after the red-coloured cliffs visible from
Moreton Bay – to the Governor
Thomas Brisbane for the new
Moreton Bay penal colony, reporting that ships could land at any tide and easily get close to the shore. The penal colony was established at Redcliffe on 13 September 1824, under the command of Lieutenant
Henry Miller with 14 soldiers, some with wives and children, and 29 convicts. However, this settlement was abandoned after one year and the colony was moved south to a site on the
Brisbane River at
North Quay, south, that offered a more reliable water supply. This settlement lead to the establishment of
Brisbane, now Queensland's capital city. Redcliffe became a pastoral district in the 1860s and in the 1880s boomed as a seaside resort town. In 1878, a suburban subdivision called Portwood Estate (around the present day Portwood Street, Sheehan Street, and Sylvin Street) was offered for sale, with the lots described as "large, elevated, picturesque, salubrious, with rare perspective" in Humpy Bong which was to be "the fashionable watering place of the future!". The estate map shows the Redcliffe railway line terminating at a railway station just to the north-east of the estate (in the area of present-day Macnaughton Street). However, the
Redcliffe Peninsula railway line was not opened until October 2016 (138 years later) and the
terminus was located in neighbouring
Kippa-Ring. Redcliffe State School opened circa 1888. It closed in 1909 when a new Humpybong State School was opened on a central site to amalgamate Redcliffe State School and the old Humpybong State School. From 1911, the twin screw excursion steamer
Koopa made regular trips to Redcliffe jetty. The principal route for passengers was a steamer from Sandgate pier to Woody Point Pier. The
Hornibrook Bridge connecting
Clontarf in the
Town of Redcliffe to
Brighton in
City of Brisbane was completed in 1935 and allowed easy access to and from Brisbane by motor car leading the way to rapid suburban development. That led to the cessation of the Sandgate to Woody Point steamers. Our Lady Help of Christians School opened in January 1922. It closed on 24 May 1995. It was officially opened on Saturday 18 December 1937 by the Reverend James Gibson, Moderator of the Presbyterian Church of Queensland; the ceremony was attended by
William Forgan Smith, the
Queensland Premier, and Alfred H. Langdon, Mayor of Redcliffe. The two lots of land for the church had been purchased on 29 April 1920, adjacent to the Queensland Presbyterian Women's Missionary Union house, "The Haven". In 1958, the Gibb family from
Manchester, England emigrated to this area and called it home for a period.
Barry,
Robin and
Maurice Gibb went on to form the highly successful music group, The
Bee Gees. In 1959, Brisbane based
Speedcar driver Bill Goode, the promoter of the Redcliffe Speedway (located at the Redcliffe Showgrounds) hired the brothers to entertain the crowds at the speedway from the back of a truck during the interval. This was the first ever public performance by the trio. In a letter to the Redcliffe Museum in 1999, Barry Gibb wrote ''"The smell of the oil, the noise and the atmosphere was incredible. This was the first public appearance Robin, Maurice and I ever made in Australia. We sang through the PA system and people threw money onto the track, and we met Brisbane's leading DJ and racing car driver Bill Gates, who suggested we call ourselves the BG's and even played our songs on his radio show, "Swinging' Gates' Platter Chatter". Hence Redcliffe became the birthplace of the Bee Gees."'' Redcliffe Opportunity School opened on 2 March 1964. In 1989, it was renamed Redcliffe State Special School. For decades the interest for similar development was limited – until 2000 there were only four apartment buildings higher than 6 stories across the entire Peninsula. Renewed interest in Redcliffe as a seaside lifestyle precinct occurred in the 2000s and 2010s and as a result high rise and mix use development is found in all areas of Redcliffe along the coastline. In 1975, the toll on the Hornibrook Highway was removed. == Demographics ==