Moggill

History of Brisbane's Moggill

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Moggill's history has been compiled by Lesley Jenkins as a part of the BRISbites community history project.

Aboriginal history

The Jagera and Turrbal groups occupied land in the Brisbane and Ipswich areas. The exact clan boundaries are not known, however, the Turrbal group 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.

The Brisbane River and Moggill Creek were rich in resources. Evidence of Indigenous occupation includes bora grounds near the Moggill Pony Club and O'Brien Road. The name of the creek is derived from 'Magil', an Aboriginal word meaning the water dragon.

Urban development

Darby McGrath established a sheep station at Enoggera, then purchased land at Moggill Creek in 1848. In 1849 the decision was made to build Moggill Road from Brisbane through Moggill to Ipswich.

John McGrath bought the first parcel of land at Moggill Creek, where he established a cattle station on the site of the McGraths Bridge. By the 1870s, the land had been selected and farming and agriculture was practiced. The area remained exclusively rural until Brisbane's acreage residential boom in the 1970s.

Notable residents

Jessie McGilchrist donated 12 hectares of land at Moggill to the National Parks and Wildlife Service in 1975. Her parents had originally developed the land as a pineapple farm. The land, house and outbuildings became the headquarters for the Southern Regional Office of the Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service.

In 1873 Henry Stanley began rowing people across the Brisbane River so that they could travel between Moggill and Ipswich. In 1877 he was either rowing or poling people across. From 1881- 1884 he held the lease under specific conditions for set fees. The ferry was motorised in the 1940s under the joint control of the Ipswich and Brisbane City Councils.

Landmarks

The Moggill Country Club was established in the 1960s by Charles Trigger. It is one of the oldest sporting and social clubs in the area. There is a nine-hole golf club and tennis courts.

An important geographical landmark is Pior's Pocket (Termination Plains). It forms a section of land created by the snaking route of the Brisbane River.

In John Oxley's survey of the river in 1823, he noted the rich flat lands of Prior's Pocket. This point of the river forms part of the Brisbane River Canoe Trail.

The historic Moggill Cemetery is now located in Bellbowrie.

Reference: L. Jenkins, BRISbites, 2002

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