Lamb Island, Queensland

Lamb Island
Queensland
Lamb Island Pioneer Hall, 1994
Lamb Island
Coordinates 27°37′30″S 153°22′45″E / 27.62500°S 153.37917°E / -27.62500; 153.37917Coordinates: 27°37′30″S 153°22′45″E / 27.62500°S 153.37917°E / -27.62500; 153.37917
Population 427 (2011 census)[1]
Postcode(s) 4184
Location 33 km (21 mi) from Brisbane GPO
LGA(s) Redland City
State electorate(s) Redlands
Federal Division(s) Bowman
Suburbs around Lamb Island:
Thornlands Cleveland Moreton Island
Mount Cotton Lamb Island Stradbroke Island
Redland Bay Victoria Point Macleay Island

Lamb Island is a small island in the southern part of Moreton Bay, near Brisbane, in Queensland, Australia.[2] It constitutes a town and locality within the Redland City.[3][4] In the 2011 census, Lamb Island had a population of 427 people.[1]

Heritage listings

Lamb Island has a number of heritage-listed sites, including:

  • Lucas Drive: Lamb Island Pioneer Hall[5]
  • Mango Trees on Tina Avenue which were planted over 100 years ago by the acclimatization society[6]
  • Jetty Shed which has been restored by the local island community group and was used for loading local produce onto the merchant boats[6][7]
  • Home located on Tina Avenue which was one of the original farm houses, then served as the local post office and telephone exchange.

History

Lamb Island has a rich history of food production dating back to the early 1900s. The island consisted of numerous small farms which supplied produce to the mainland Brisbane market. Due to the unique micro climate created by the islands geographic locationn its extremely fertile volcanic soil and the pure sand aquifers that run beneath it, the farmers were able to supply superior produce to the mainland market earlier than their mainland competitors. There were several boats (including the well known historic vessels "Roo" and "Amazon") which travelled from the upper reaches of the Brisbane river out to the island to transport the produce. The Roo would also transport supplies from Brisbane for the island's residents and weekend trippers who would visit the island. One of the well known attractions was Peggy Saunders' garden parties. Peggy Saunders was the wife of one of the original farmers and was well known for her beautiful garden which was located on the Western waterfront of the island.

Today

In the late 1970s Lamb Island, like much of South East Queensland, had the misfortune of being developed into small residential allotments. The majority of the original farm land was subdivided with only a handful of small farming lots remaining. Fortunately, the island has remained largely undeveloped with the majority of the small residential lots being left as vacant land. Residential development has been limited largely due to transport costs of materials and additionally many waterfront lots suffer from erosion, especially those on the high South Eastern end of the island. In recent years, with the popularity and resurgence of organic food, the island is gaining a reputation for its unique micro climate and organically grown produce. Of note was the 2016 Gold Medal recipient in the National Delicious Produce Awards by an island business, "Pretty Produce" which specializes in and supplies edible flowers to leading chefs in many of Australia's best restaurants.[8] In addition to commercial organic growing ventures on the island, there are a number of small community garden groups engaged in organic food and ornamental plant production. Due to the strong resurgence in the local environmentally friendly initiatives, including alternative energy and construction materials and methods, the island has affectionately been labelled "the Green Island".

Demographics

In the 2011 census, Lamb Island recorded a population of 427 people, 50.4% female and 49.6% male.[1] The median age of the Lamb Island population was 51 years, 14 years above the national median of 37. 69.4% of people living in Lamb Island were born in Australia. The other top responses for country of birth were England 6.8%, New Zealand 6.5%, Philippines 2.3%, Netherlands 1.6%, Germany 1.2%. 90.4% of people spoke only English at home; the next most common languages were 2.8% Tagalog, 0.9% German, 0.9% French, 0.9% Samoan, 0.9% Spanish.[1]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Australian Bureau of Statistics (31 October 2012). "Lamb Island (SSC)". 2011 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 13 November 2016. Edit this at Wikidata
  2. ↑ "Lamb Island - island (entry 18846)". Queensland Place Names. Queensland Government. Retrieved 14 November 2016.
  3. ↑ "Lamb Island - town (entry 39098)". Queensland Place Names. Queensland Government. Retrieved 14 November 2016.
  4. ↑ "Lamb Island - locality (entry 43643)". Queensland Place Names. Queensland Government. Retrieved 14 November 2016.
  5. ↑ "Lamb Island Pioneer Hall (entry 601493)". Queensland Heritage Register. Queensland Heritage Council. Retrieved 12 July 2013.
  6. 1 2 "Schedule 4 - Heritage Places Register". Redland City Council. Retrieved 3 February 2015.
  7. ↑ "Lamb Island". Retrieved 3 February 2015.
  8. ↑ Williams, Brian (20 September 2016). "An island farmer couple has won a national food award for delicious produce". Redland City Bulletin. Archived from the original on 11 September 2017. Retrieved 11 September 2017.

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