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BLOOMFIELD STREET, CLEVELAND
LANDSCAPE ART

1. Title Slide: Four sculptural fountains have been designed by John Mongard, each one a collaboration between designers, artists and poets. Over 25 artful collaborations have been built in Cleveland, each one building on the theme of connecting the Town, the Bay and the Countryside.
2. The Civic Heart of Redland Shire:
   In 1984 John Mongard and Shire Planner Gary White sketched a vision to develop the fairly nondescript town centre of Cleveland into a thriving harbour side capital, just as it had been intended one hundred years earlier by Governor Gibbs. The Shire Planning Scheme, the Cleveland Development Control Plan, the Cleveland Design Guidelines and the Collaborative Placemaking Catalogue were all documents which establish the urban design framework for reshaping the town.
3. Ten years later, Cleveland has built its harbour, has connected it to a civic main street and a town square, created a pedestrian friendly core, and has established itself as a strong regional centre for business and recreation.
4. Bloomfield Street was once a wide country road with humbling scaled shops, and an avenue of sprawling red poinciana trees. A Development Control Plan developed by Redland Shire Council created a ring road around the civic centre, and once this was achieved, the main street was refurbished.
5. In the construction plans created by John Mongard Landscape Architects, the wide footpaths have been turned into shade promenades, with plentiful seating of timber and sandstone; with the added features of a sculpture and poetry trail to entice visitors to stay and wander.
6. Community Collaboration:
   Public art projects have been a conscious mix of commissioned works and community art. Involvement of minority groups has been the focus, with interpretation of Clevelands’ identity by aboriginal people (such as the famous Oodgeroo Noonunccal), by the elderly, through poetry, and by young children, through banners, plaques, poetry and the playground.
7. The unique combination of civic sculpture, poetry, furniture and crafted landscape fosters andpromotes a renewed culture of private enterprise in the town.
8. Integrating Public Art and Design:
   Cleveland was one of the first regional towns in SE QLD to create and implement an integrated public art and poetry strategy. The sculptural trail that links the new harbour with the town centre is lined with many fine examples of sculpture and poetic text.
9. Creating Links:
   The main street and the towns main anchor store were badly connected, and the designs create a visible link with an active heart, comprising of a free-form performance lawn and sculptural playground.
10. The Library Square:
    The design for the Square incorporates a serpentine path through colourful hedge gardens, allowing disabled and elderly residents as easy walk into town. A braille trail built into the patterning of the ground, features bronze pit covers designed by artists, and a mosaic to the main square; with optic stars lighting small encrusted artworks. Six public art installations occupy the space. Primary School children from Cleveland and The Islands created bronze tiles set into seating walls along the path.
11. The Library Square is now a popular destination for teenagers, who love to ‘hang out’ in the generous paved amphitheatre. The space ebbs and flows, providing a lunchtime refuge for workers, creating an accent for the town’s nightlife precinct.

For Further Information Contact:
John Mongard
John Mongard Landscape Architects
Ph: (07) 3844 1932
Email: mail@mongard.com.au

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