Inala

History of Brisbane's Inala

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Inala's history has been compiled by local historian, Mary Howell, as a part of the BRISbites community history project.

Aboriginal history

While the Inala region seems to have been on the edge of many different tribal areas, the name Inala has similar meanings in these overlapping dialects. Some say it means resting place, night time or resting time, peaceful place, good camping place or place of the winds.

By the early 1960s many Aboriginal people moved to the new housing areas in Inala and today Aboriginal people comprise 7.4% of the population.

Urban development

Inala was originally known as Boylands Pocket and was used mainly for grazing sheep and later for tobacco growing, however, this was not successful due to the abundance of spear grass in the area. During the 1950s, wild brumbies roamed the area, and were notorious for stealing children's lunches from their school bags while they were in class.

The establishment of the Inala suburb came about following a meeting held in a Brisbane RSL Hall in May 1946. A group of ex-servicemen, led by Harold (Hock) Davis, were seeking affordable accommodation for their families during the post-war housing shortage. The Serviceton Co-operative Society was formed and they purchased 480 hectares of land, which was then divided amongst the shareholders, giving them 800 square metres each. The Queensland Housing Commission later took over the development and a massive construction project began with the calling of tenders for 1000 homes in 1949. Boscrete from South Australia was one of the successful tenderers. They designed and built concrete homes, which were poured on site, the first in Buddelia Street in January 1950. On 25 February 1953 the area was renamed Inala, as there was already a town named Serviceton in South Australia.

Italian, French and Swedish builders constructed the early timber houses in the area and a company, which employed only Germans, built the roads. By 1966 ten different countries were represented at the Richland School including Spain, Romania, Yugoslavia, Germany, Italy, Greece, Russia, Netherlands and Hungary.

The influx of people from Vietnam during the 1970s and other Asian countries in more recent times has led to the instigation of many Buddhist Temples in the region.

Notable residents

Dr Simpson, who was the Land Commissioner for New South Wales prior to separation, first settled the region. He established Woolston House and used the area initially to raise horses.

Harold (Hock) Davis was the leader of the establishment of the initial landholders' group, the Serviceton Co-operative Society, which was significant in the foundation of Inala.

Len Waters, Australia's only Aboriginal fighter pilot, moved to Inala after the war and worked as a sheep shearer and with the Brisbane City Council at Inala.

Wayne Goss, former Premier of Queensland, grew up here and was taught at school by George Negus, who is now a well-known journalist.

Landmarks

Many of the parks in Inala were named after significant citizens of the area, including Hock Davis, early landowner Percy Dyne, community workers Doug Sherrington and Kev Hooper, Girl Guides patron Bill Forbes, early families such as the Delbridges, and Noel McEwan who established the Rugby League Club.

The Inala Civic Centre was initially established as a small shopping centre in 1962 with just eight shops.

The area is well serviced by schools including Inala West Primary, St Marks, Richlands East primary, Richlands High and Serviceton South primary on the border with Doolandella.

The Phat Da Buddhist Temple in Deodor Street provides a venue for meditation and has a small library. It provides a place for Vietnamese Buddhists to maintain their religion and culture and there are plans to build a retirement centre nearby.

Reference: Mary Howell, BRISbites, 2000

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