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Indooroopilly

History of Brisbane's Indooroopilly

Indooroopilly's history has been compiled by local historian, Lesley Jenkins, as part of the BRISbites community history project.

Aboriginal history

The Jagera and Turrbal groups occupied land in the Brisbane and Ipswich areas. The exact boundaries are not known, however, the Turrbal generally occupied the area north of the Brisbane River. Both groups had closely related languages that are classified as belonging to the larger Yaggera language group.

In 1875 the land now occupied by the Indooroopilly State School and Moore Park was a sheep quarantine station. The Indooroopilly Post Office dated from this time and Witton had a post office from 1887 until 1919.

Urban development

The Parish of Indooroopilly was named in the late 1850s. In 1860 Mr H C Rawnsley purchased land south of Witton Creek. In 1861 he built the first house in the area, Witton Manor, on the present site of the Nudgee Junior College.

Development at Indooroopilly increased with the advent of the rail to the suburb in 1875, however, major flooding caused a setback to expansion in 1893.

In 1875 the land now occupied by the Indooroopilly State School and Moore Park was a sheep quarantine station.

Notable residents

Some of the first purchasers of land in the area were Mr J Henderson, Mr FT Smith and Mr Anderson in 1859. In the same year Thomas Lodge Murray Prior purchased a parcel of land.

In 1876 Graham Lloyd Hart, a founder of the prominent law firm of the times, Flower and Hart, purchased a subdivided portion of 43 acres. On this site Hart constructed 'Greylands', which is now a heritage listed house. Hart lived at Greylands until his death in 1897.

David Lahey, a timber merchant, lived in the house between 1910-1912 .It was here that his daughter, prominent artist Vida Lahey, painted the Monday Morning laundry scene which now hangs in the Queensland Art Gallery.

Landmarks

In 1922, PJ Madden of Gympie moved into the suburb and found silver and lead deposits. Finney's Hill Mine began operations soon after. The University of Queensland now uses the mine for research and teaching purposes.

The Walter Taylor Bridge spans the river from Indooroopilly to Chelmer. It replaced the first Albert Bridge, which was constructed in 1876 and functioned until 1893.

Named after the local contractor who built it, the Walter Taylor Bridge opened in 1936. It was originally a toll bridge. In 1966 Brisbane City Council took control of the bridge and abolished the toll.

Indooroopilly Island plays host to a large camp of flying foxes nesting in an area of mangroves and scrub on the Brisbane River. At its summer peak several hundred thousand animals are present. The camp stretches for 400 metres to the river bank and the edge of the Long Pocket Golf Course.

Reference: Lesley Jenkins, BRISbites, 2000

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