It was the year a train, plane and bus crashed in Redlands. There was a crushing Australia Day storm, which swept away boats off Point Halloran and a visit from superstar celebrity Angelina Jolie.
An Australia Transport Safety Bureau report found gum leaves on the track were to blame for the January 31 train crash at Cleveland.
But it was also a year of growth and development with the first houses in the controversial Kinross Road estate finally starting in February and planning approval granted for South East Thornlands in December.
There were appointments and retirements. Redland City Council announced Jeff Underhill, of Capalaba, as Citizen of the Year at its Australia Day Awards.
Birkdale teenager Angela Black was Young Citizen of the Year and Wellington Point’s John Smallwood Senior Citizen of the Year.
Les Elcome, of Victoria Point, was honoured with a Medal of the Order of Australia and Redlands College principal Allan Todd retired.
The community mourned the death of respected Bayside physiotherapist Tim Ling, killed in a crash in Thorneside on Monday, February 4 and, in March, paid tribute to under-20 NRL star from West Tigers Mosese Fotuaika at a service in Cleveland.
Macleay Island mail deliverer Steven Mark John Fennell, 53, was charged with the murder of Liselotte Watson on March 14.
It was a busy year for the police, who, in April, cracked an organised drug network with interstate links trafficking high-quality drugs to houses in Redland Bay and Victoria Point.
Also in April, an Emergency Services Centre opened on North Stradbroke Island and Redland Bay mum Emma Gosbell was nominated for mother of the year.
Thornlands cyclist Reid Anderton broke a world record on April 16 after enduring physical and mental pain cycling 14,100km around Australia to help poverty stricken children in southern Africa.
In May, Deputy Premier Jeff Seeney declared Toondah Harbour and Weinam Creek ferry terminals development priorities.
But Redland City mayor Karen Williams failed in her bid to get pop star Pink to join the city’s crusade to get its own service for victims of family and domestic violence.
In June, a court ordered Birkdale Progress Association to pay $2000 to biomass developer Cleveland Power, two Logan councillors put their case forward to secede from Logan and merge with Redland and anglers got extra fishing spots after more than 224 concrete reef balls were tipped into waters off Peel and Coochiemudlo islands.
Redland City Council refused Barro Quarry's application to extend its operations at Mount Cotton on June 6.
In July, fans of US Seahawk rookie and gridiron star Jesse Williams were given a treat when he flew in to Redland City for a training session at The Bayside Ravens, the Birkdale club, where his monster career took off two years ago.
The start of the financial year was also the beginning of a new way of paying for public transport for hundreds of bay island commuters when Translink introduced go cards to the islands.
In August, Redlands MP Peter Dowling stood down from his role as chair of state parliament's ethics committee after being exposed for sending pornographic text messages. He read out an apology to his family in state parliament.
On August 20, a light plane pilot and his passenger walked away uninjured from a crash landing in a Victoria Point horse paddock.
Also in August, 40-year-old paraplegic Wellington Point graphic designer Scott Wintle was crowned the world’s best disabled water-skier in the Jump event after winning gold in the Men’s Seated Jump at the World Disabled Water Ski Championships in Milan, Italy.
In September, Capalaba woman Nicky Brummell and the police got together in a bid to halt the alarming suicide rate in the suburb for World Suicide Prevention Day on September 10.
Council decided it would no longer allow anyone other than the owner of a tree to initiate tree protection orders.
Redland Bay's Abigail Martin is nominated for an Australian Screen Industry Network Award for Best Actress in her first feature-length movie, the sci-fi thriller Beyond Redemption: Space Captain. She won the title in November.
September 7, Bowman MP Andrew Laming retained his seat and his 10 per cent margin after what he called a “change election” in which voters made up their minds to change the government in advance.
September 9, Council won a Queensland Heritage Council award for restoring and conserving the 100-year-old Dunwich Community Hall on North Stradbroke Island.
Redland Bay State School started growing a food revolution from the ground up, thanks to a $3000 council grant and perseverance from local mum Stephanie Eaton.
Also in September, more than 1000 people signed a petition calling on council to approve a recreational boat ramp and car park extension at Macleay Island.
On September 26, Deputy Premier Jeff Seeney "called in" Barro Group’s 50-year Mount Cotton quarry extension project, which was before the Planning and Environment Court.
September 27, Dredging of the channel near the Coochiemudlo Island jetty started after two barges took up positions about 100m offshore.
In October, Lamb Island residents decided to hold a poll on October 19 to vote on seceding from Australia to become the Independent Republic of Nguduroodistan, or Iron for short. The poll was unsuccessful.
On October 9, council amended its Redlands Planning Scheme so a parcel of land at southern Redland Bay would remain an “investigation zone”. The move allowed council to continue “investigating” developing the foreshore, where Cleveland-based developers Fox and Bell have launched plans for a community of 10,000, despite not having planning approval.
Council also decided to continue cat registration for 12 months.
October was when the movie star Angelina Jolie took to waters off Peel Island to film parts of her next blockbuster Unbroken and celebrity chef Matt Golinski cooked up a storm at Bunnings.
Redland City's three state MPs get a $11,000 base pay rise from $137,149 to $148,848 in October.
More than 100 students from Russell Island State School cheered as Redland City mayor Karen Williams opened stage one of Russell Island’s $2million multi-sports complex on October 17.
Mary Ross, 84, and Jacob Nelson, 14, bowled everyone over when they teamed up for bowling pairs to win the State Mixed Pairs Lawns Bowls Championship at the Broadbeach Bowls Club.
On October 28, two people from Redland Bay were taken to Princess Alexandra Hospital with serious head and chest injuries after a car and a Transdev bus collided in Peel Street, Redland Bay.
Also in October, Police were testing fingerprints found in a pool of blood near where a nine-year-old golden Labrador was bludgeoned to death in a Wellington Point back yard.
October 31, a group protesting a $25million extension to a quarry at Mount Cotton, held a last-ditch attempt to garner political support at a protest outside Parliament House.
Students from Redland Bay State School and Saint Rita’s Catholic Primary School at Victoria Point sang along with other schools for a national music event, Music: Count Us In.
On November 6, Redland City Council knocked back plans for a 259-house small-lot Ausbuild residential development at Thornlands.
Council decided to spend $5.6million on a second car park on the Macleay Island foreshore, concreting in the beach to the mid-tide mark in a bid to entomb dumped asbestos.
November 11, a crowd of about 300 marked Remembrance Day with two minutes of silence at 11am at the Cleveland cenotaph.
Redland residents helped out with donations for people who suffered in a typhoon in the Philippines.
November 20, Redland City Council’s annual report detailed the earnings of its 10 councillors and mayor.
November 21, The state government amended its North Stradbroke Island Protection and Sustainability Act to allow the miner to apply for lease extensions in 2019. Extensions will allow an extra 16 years of sandmining on the island until 2035.
November 22, Capalaba MP Steve Davies was made head of the Parliamentary Crime and Misconduct Committee, after the government sacked the previous committee.
The former committee, headed by Gladstone Independent MP Liz Cunningham, questioned the independence of acting CMC boss Ken Levy after he wrote about his support for the government's anti-bikie laws.
Also in November, Alexandra Hills game fisher Cynthia Stevens, 40, who has lost almost all her sight, became the first blind person on record to achieve the prestigious Trout Royal Slam.
December 4, Redland council granted Ausbuild a permit to sub-divide five blocks of land at Thornlands, into 244 lots of mixed sizes, some as small as 121 sq m.
December 8, Redland City mourned the death of one of its longest-serving residents, Norm Dean, who died, aged 95. Mr Dean was known in Redlands as the founder of the Redland Museum.