Ye Olde Court House Restaurant

The Old Courthouse at Paxton Street Cleveland has been a popular restaurant since 1977. Overlooking Moreton Bay, the brick core of this building is thought to have been erected in 1853 as a storehouse. It was built for brothers Francis and Frederick Bigge, who were developing a number of trading, timber, warehousing and maritime activities at Cleveland Point, while lobbying for it to become the port for Moreton Bay. Later, the building was rented to the Commissioner of Police as the residence, courthouse and lockup until about 1880. William Ross, a retired Brisbane furniture dealer and later chairman of the Cleveland Divisional Board, acquired the property as his residence in 1882. He died in 1895 and the property was sold. Extensions to the building were made in the late 19th century or early 20th century. A new jetty into Moreton Bay was built at the end of Paxton Street in the early 1950s. The Dunwich ferry berthed here. Enterprising owners converted the courthouse into a café in the 1960s, capturing business to and from the ferry. Major extensions were undertaken in the late 1970s, converting it to a restaurant. The Paxton Street Jetty was demolished in the 1990s.