Cleveland No.1 Cemetery

General

Also known as

Pioneer Cemetery; Cleveland Cemetery (No. 1); Redlands Heritage Pioneer Cemetery; 700008; Scott Street Park

Classification

State Heritage

Register status

Entered

Date entered

18 September 2009

Types

Archaeological: Archaeological potential

Burial ground: Cemetery—public

Theme

1.4 Peopling places: Family and marking the phases of life

Construction period

1858–1873, Cleveland No.1 Cemetery (1858-73)

Historical period

1840s–1860s Mid-19th century

Location

Addresses

• 11 Lisa Street, Cleveland
• 29 Scott Street, Cleveland

LGA

Redland City Council

Coordinates

-27.52827483, 153.25675573

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Significance

Criterion CThe place has potential to yield information that will contribute to an understanding of Queensland’s history.

The Cleveland No.1 Cemetery is an important aspect of Queensland's history being the site of the first cemetery established on the mainland in Redlands, one of the first areas opened up to free settlement in southeast Queensland. The cemetery is important historically as the burial site of Arthur Sidney Lyon (1861) who was known as 'The Father of the Queensland Press'. Lyon established the Moreton Bay Courier, amongst other early newspapers.

The importance of the cemetery to the community was memorialised in 1975 through the installation of a memorial stone identifying those known to have been buried at the No.1 cemetery. The presence of interpretive signage demonstrates a continuing community association with the place.

The Cleveland No.1 Cemetery has the potential to provide new and important information that will contribute to our understanding of the early history and demography of settlement in the Redlands region. Archaeological investigations at the site have potential to reveal subsurface evidence of the actual location and number of burials in the cemetery. Such investigation may answer important research questions about the organisation and layout of the cemetery and how this differed from the original plans. Archaeological investigations also have the potential to reveal information about whether graves were later moved to the nearby (and later) Cleveland No.2 Cemetery.

Additional archaeological investigations have potential to contribute to the comparative analysis of burial practices across Queensland and through time. Important research questions can be formulated about the actual burial practices in early satellite settlements and regional communities.

Archaeological investigations at the site have potential provide important information about social structures within an important and early European settlement in Queensland's history. Social structure will be expressed through the pattern of burials and layout of the cemetery.

History

Cleveland No.1 Cemetery, comprising an area now known as Scott Street Park in Cleveland, is the site of the first cemetery established on the mainland in Redlands. Throughout the operation of the cemetery between 1858 and 1873, at least 11 burials are known to have occurred (it is unknown if these have been removed or reinterred to the Cleveland No.2 Cemetery). The place has the potential to contribute knowledge that will lead to a greater understanding of the early history and demography of European settlement in the Redlands region, and of burial practices from this time. The place is currently parkland and includes a memorial to people interred at the cemetery.

Prior to European settlement, the Cleveland area was part of the traditional land of the Quandamooka People.[1]

Centred on Cleveland, the area which was to later become Redland Shire was one of the earliest areas in Queensland to be opened to free settlement following the closure of the Moreton Bay Penal Settlement in 1842. Its location on the shores of Moreton Bay saw substantial efforts to establish Cleveland as the official port for the Moreton Bay District.

Cleveland was declared as a township in December 1850. The first land sales took place in 1851. The earliest European settlers in the area had interests in pastoralism, business and shipping.[2]

A site for the first cemetery in Cleveland was surveyed by H. Rawnsley in December 1858 on a site bounded by Wellington, Queen, Russell and Smith Streets, within section 83, Parish of Cleveland. Seven separate sections were surveyed for various denominations including Church of England, Presbyterians, Wesleyans, Roman Catholics, Jews, and 'Various Denominations'.[3] By 1864 the population of the Cleveland Township was 145, with the main occupations being labourer, farmer and timber-getter.[4]

The cemetery was used until 1873 when it was deemed to be unsuitable due to the 'swampy nature of the soil'. Section 112 immediately across Wellington Street to the west was gazetted as the new cemetery.[5]

There are 11 identified burials in Cemetery No.1 in the 15 years between its establishment in 1858 and its replacement in 1873, including:

• Bridget CLARY, d.2 May 1860, Child;
• Emily (Amelia) HOBBS, d. 28 July 1860;
• Arthur Sidney LYON, d. 22 October 1861, Journalist, Editor;
• William Henry SHERRIN, d. 11 November 1864, Child;
• George SHERRIN, d. 9 February 1865;
• Robert HAMILTON, d. 11 April 1869;
• Henry BOTTOMLEY, Unknown dates, Carpenter;
• John DAWSON, Unknown dates;
• J. NEALE, Unknown dates, Fisherman;
• William RAE, Unknown dates, Publican, Brighton Hotel, Cleveland; and
• Andrew WHELAN, Unknown dates, Blacksmith.[6]

Systematic historical research into individual burials has not been undertaken. The exact number of burials at the cemetery remains unknown. It is also unknown whether any burials were removed and reinterred at the Cleveland No.2 Cemetery.

The most prominent of the known individuals buried in the cemetery is Arthur Sidney Lyon, who died in Cleveland on 22 October 1861.[7] Note that he is incorrectly recorded on memorial stone and interpretation signage at the cemetery as Sydney Arthur Lyons. Lyon established the Moreton Bay Courier with partner James Swan with its first edition released on 20 June 1846. The Moreton Bay Courier later became The Courier-Mail. Lyon apparently resigned as editor in December of the following year following arguments with his partner [8], however he is still listed as the publisher for the newspaper until its purchase by Theophilus Pugh in May 1861.[9] Lyon went on to establish and run the Moreton Bay Free Press from 1849 to 1855, the Northern Australian in Ipswich from 1855 to 1858, followed by the Darling Downs Gazette from 1858, presumably until his death in 1861.[10]

By 1903, the original section 83 had been divided into four lots of around five acres each. The 1903 survey plan of the cemetery identifies a surveyed rectangular area within the cemetery reserve area containing 23 lines, possibly indicating graves. It is uncertain whether these markings represent the actual number of graves visible at the time of survey or whether they indicate a general acknowledgement of the presence of graves.

In October 1905 land in Section 83 was offered for sale except the cemetery which was withheld from auction because of its previous use. Cleveland Shire Council objected to the sale of the land 'on the grounds that several people have been buried therein and that it was once used for a cemetery. Unless absolutely necessary, a reserve of this description should never be alienated'.[11]

The council objected again to the lease of the land in 1924, and raised the issue again in 1937. A cemetery reserve was finally gazetted as R1436 on 11 September 1937 with access provided from Queen Street.[12]

A memorial with the names of ten persons interred in the cemetery was erected at the site by teacher Merv Beitz from Cleveland State School as a practical history exercise for his class. The plaque on the memorial was supplied by Redland Shire Council. By the memorial was erected there were no headstones or other grave markers at the site.[13]

In 2024, the cemetery site is situated in Scott Street Park and is surrounded by residential development. It comprises a grassed and landscaped space with a recent playground.

Description

The Cleveland No.1 Cemetery constitutes Scott Street Park and a vehicular access track running north-south to the park from Queen Street. Surrounded by residential allotments and located between Lisa Street (west) and Scott Street (east), the entire area is grassed with numerous large shade trees, consisting mainly of eucalypt species. No headstones or obvious signs of grave plots remain visible. A mound, approximately three metres wide runs south along the vehicular track from Queen Street and angles from the northwest to southeast across the identified cemetery reserve towards the playground located in the southeast quadrant of the park. The mound is approximately 40-50cm high at its apex and is likely related to the installation of services such as water into or through the park.

A playground area is also located within the park and measures approximately 10m x 15m. It is delineated by concrete edging and filled with sandy loam to approximately 10cm depth below the current ground surface. The installation and use of the playground equipment is unlikely to have caused major subsurface disturbance. There is a bench and a water tap situated adjacent to the north of the playground area, and timber bollards used to delineate the park area. None of the modern elements installed in the park are of archaeological importance.

Adjacent to Lisa Street is a memorial plaque commemorating the early burials in the cemetery. The plaque is installed on a white concrete base and is surrounded by a white timber picket fence approximately 1m high. The inscription on the plaque consists of lead letters and reads:

'IN MEMORY OF SOME 25 PIONEERS RESTING HERE.

SYDNEY A. LYONS. 1816-61. FATHER OF QLD PRESS.

J. NEALE. FISHERMAN. WILLIAM RAE. PUBLICAN.

JOHN DAWSON. ANDREW WHELAN. BLACKSMITH.

ROBERT HAMILTON. BRIDGET CLAREY. CHILD.

HENRY BOTTOMLEY. CARPENTER.

WILLIAM SHERRIN. 1862-64.

GEORGE SHERRIN. 1844-66.

ERECTED BY SENIOR PUPILS, CLEVELAND PRIMARY SCHOOL

& COURTESY OF REDLAND SHIRE COUNCIL.

CENTENARY YEAR OF EDUCATION 1975.'

An interpretation sign is installed adjacent to the memorial stone at the Lisa Street access to the park.

References

[1] Queensland Government, Map 1, South East Queensland’s Traditional Owner Groups, 2017.

[2] McMahon, McLellan and Holland, 2000, ‘Redland Heritage Study: Volume 1 - Contextual History’, report to the Redland Shire Council, pp. 26 and 31.

[3] Survey Plan C.8.3 (Surveyor General’s Office: 119488), 1858, ‘General Cemetery, Cleveland’.

[4] McMahon, McLellan and Holland, 2000, ‘Redland Heritage Study: Volume 1 - Contextual History’, p. 38.

[5] Survey Plan C.8.3, 1858, ‘General Cemetery, Cleveland’; and McMahon, McLellan and Holland, 2000, ‘Redland Heritage Study: Volume 1 - Contextual History’, p. 48.

[6] ‘Redland Heritage Pioneer Cemetery (Lisa Street Cemetery), Redland Shire, Queensland, Australia’, 2001, Interment.net Cemetery Records Online, online, available at <www.interment.net/data/aus/qld/redland/heritage/pioneer.htm>; Qld Death Indexes; Qld Hotels and Publicans Index; and Memorial Plaque.

[7] ‘Registers of Death, Queensland’, 1861, Queensland Registrar-General.

[8] ‘History in the Making. Headstart’, 2003, The Courier-Mail, online: <www.news.com.au/couriermail/extras/headstart/newspaper/newspaper16_2003.htm>

[9] ‘Newspaper Title: The Moreton Bay Courier’, 2009, online, available at <http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-title14>.

[10] ‘History in the Making. Headstart’, 2003, The Courier-Mail, online; ‘About Us’, 2008, Ipswich Queensland Times, online, available at: <www.qt.com.au/aboutus/>; and ‘About Us’, 2008, Toowoomba Chronicle, online, available at <www.thechronicle.com.au/aboutus/>; ‘Theophilus Parsons Pugh (1831 - 1896)’, 1974, Australian Dictionary of Biography, Volume 5, available online <https://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/pugh-theophilus-parsons-4417>.

[11] Tracey Ryan, 2004, ‘Conservation Management Plan for Redlands Cemeteries’, unpublished report for Redland Shire Council, p. 19.

[12]Tracey Ryan, 2004, ‘Conservation Management Plan for Redlands Cemeteries’, p. 19; and Survey Plan, C.6.44, 1903.

[13] Tracey Ryan, 2004, ‘Conservation Management Plan for Redlands Cemeteries’, p. 19.

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