Bidwill played an important role in the early development of the Wide Bay region, acting as Police Magistrate, Harbour Master, and registrar for Births, Deaths and Marriages.

[1] During exploration of the Brisbane Valley and areas to the north in 1841 he found examples of a giant Australian water lily (Nymphaea gigantea).

It is thought that his interest in botany was stimulated by two famous nearby nurseries owned by Veitch and Luscombe, Pince & Co.

In 1838 Bidwill and his sister Elizabeth sailed for Sydney to establish a branch of the family merchandising business in New South Wales.

However increasing costs per acre of land, a result of the pastoral boom in New South Wales in the period of the late 1830s, saw Bidwill withdraw his application.

Bidwill at this time sent back to England his first collection of Australian seeds, which were raised into plants at Joseph Knights Chelsea Nursery.

Bidwill returned to New South Wales, and sent the best of his New Zealand collection to John Lindley at the London Horticultural Society.

[1] John Bidwill returned to New Zealand in 1840 with his brother to build up the family business, and to continue his explorations and expand his botanical collection.

Colonial Secretary Alexander Mcleay also requested during this period that Bidwill undertake the collection of native fruits for study.

[1] In furtherance of family business John Bidwill travelled to Moreton Bay in 1841, and began exploring to the north.

[1] Bidwill was appointed in mid 1847 to the position of Government Botanist and Director of the Sydney Botanical Gardens, by Colonial Secretary Earl Grey.

[1] The name Tinana, given by Bidwill to his residence and gardens as well as the creek nearby, is thought to have been inspired by the Maori leader Tinanah.

[1] According to Dart the trap did catch an Aboriginal raiding the house garden, and the extent of injuries led to the "mercy" killing of the individual by one of Bidwill's workers.

On another occasion Bidwill chose not to intervene in the murder of a local Aboriginal that was committed by a settler George Fueber in the Maryborough settlement.

He chose not to act intervene in the matter despite the fact that he was Chief Magistrate for the Wide Bay, and was therefore responsible for policing.

The party came across evidence of the remains of the large scale killing of a stolen flock of sheep taken from Marodian station near Miva.

The group camped near this location for several days, when the cook of the party informed Bidwill that rations were running short.

Bidwill believing that the party were near Durundur station decided to cut through the scrub with an assistant, Slade, to get rations.

[1] The grave has a gabled sandstone headstone, with two large diagonal breaks, which has been reconstructed with a compressed fibrous cement sheet fixed to the back and a concrete base.

The Commissioner for Crown Lands John Carne Bidwill's grave, located near the junction of Tinana Creek and the Mary River adjacent to Cran Road, is important in demonstrating the growth of the Wide Bay district and the role of the first Commissioner for Crown Lands in the pre-separation period of Queensland history.

The grave and adjacent Lychee tree are the last surviving evidence of the residence and gardens that Bidwill created during the period of 1849-52 during his appointment as Crown Lands Commissioner in the Wide Bay district.

Bidwill chose to establish his living quarters six kilometres downstream from the original village of Wide Bay and named the creek junctioning with the Mary River at this location, Tinana.

[1] The place has a special association with the life or work of a particular person, group or organisation of importance in Queensland's history.

The grave marks the burial location of the first Commissioner for Crown Lands appointed to the Wide Bay region in 1849, John Carne Bidwill.

After his death in 1853 Bidwill was buried in the botanical garden he created, of which reportedly only one fruit tree, a Lychee, remains.