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Redbank Plains
The first white settlement in this area was a convict outstation at Redbank in 1832, with a corporal and a private in charge. The settlement operated as a sheep station, with convict shepherds caring for government flocks across the nearby plains.
A road ran from Limestone (Ipswich) through Redbank and Cowper's Plains to Brisbane and the river was also used for transport.
After free settlement was allowed in 1842, Redbank developed as an industrial centre using the river for transport. Redbank Plains continued as a farming and grazing area. An early settler was James Josey who had arrived as a convict but became a respected sawmiller and landowner. Other early families included, Rice, Verral, Griffiths, Gardiner, Yarrow and Jones.
Sawmilling was an important early industry. In the 1860s, cotton was the chief crop, taking advantage of the world-wide shortage caused by the American Civil War. Other crops included sugar cane and maize. As cotton declined, dairying and farm crops such as lucerne and maize became more important.
Coal was discovered in the 1850s and numerous mines developed between Redbank Plains and Blackstone. The first school opened in 1868, a non-vested school run by the Catholic Church was replaced by a state school in 1874.