Old Cleveland Court House

The Old Cleveland Court House is a heritage-listed detached house at 1 Paxton Street, Cleveland, City of Redland, Queensland, Australia. It was built from 1853 to 1977. It is also known as Cleveland Court House & Lockup, Ostend and Ye Olde Court House Restaurant. It was added to the Queensland Heritage Register on 21 October 1992.HistoryThe brick core of this building is thought to have been erected for Hon. Francis Edward Bigge, Member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly and his brother Frederick William Bigge, following their purchase of the site in January 1852.At the time, the Bigges were developing a number of trading, timber, warehousing and maritime activities at Cleveland Point, which had served as the port for Dunwich during the penal settlement of Moreton Bay. It is thought this building was erected as quarters for their workers at the Point.Later the building was rented to the Commissioner of Police as the residence, court house and lockup for the district constabulary, until about 1880.William Ross, a retired Brisbane furniture dealer and later chairman of the Cleveland Divisional Board, acquired the property in 1882, occupying it as his residence. He borrowed heavily against this property from the Queensland National Bank in 1889. By the mid-1890s Ross had returned to South Brisbane, where he died in 1895. The Queensland National Bank subsequently exercised its power of sale over the Cleveland property, and in April 1907 title was transferred to Charles Frederick Allen of Cleveland.