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Pinjarra Hills

History of Brisbane's Pinjarra Hills

Pinjarra Hills' 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 people 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.

Aboriginal people inhabited parts of Pinjarra Hills. The rich plant and aquatic life in the nearby creeks and rivers provided them with plentiful resources.

A bora ground at the end of Riversleigh Road in neighbouring Bellbowrie is still visible. The main bora ring has a 22 metre diameter. Unfortunately the smaller ring and track joining the two rings has been covered by housing development.

Urban development

The Twine family settled in Pinjarra Hills and the area became known as Twinebank. Job Twine arrived in 1849 on board the Lima. He was one of many emigrants attracted to the opportunities that he had heard about through Reverend Dr John Dunmore Lang. Their farm fronted Pullen Pullen Creek and extended to Lather Road in Bellbowrie.

Job died in 1877 and his wife Mary died in 1879. The farm is subdivided, but a portion is still with the family.

The area has remained rural, partly due to the large portion of land owned by the University of Queensland's Veterinary School.

Notable residents

Elizabeth Twine, daughter of Job, married the Hon. John Pettigrew MLA, a local sawmill operator and owner. Many of the logs from the local area were felled and floated from the nearby rafting grounds to Pettigrew's Sawmill. Located in South Brisbane, it was the first sawmill in the Moreton District. Job Twine, his son William and John Pettigrew played important roles in the official notification of Ipswich as a city on 3 March 1860.

Landmarks

The University Of Queensland Veterinary Farm is located in Pinjarra Hills. Dr James O'Neil Mayne and his sister Mary gave the land to the university in 1923. The 282 hectare property has four kilometres of Brisbane River frontage. The property was used by the School of Veterinary Science, which was founded in Brisbane in 1936.

Pony Riding for the Disabled is a non-profit organisation founded by June and Peter McIntyre in 1964. Property at Pinjarra Hills was acquired in 1971 and the McIntyre Centre officially opened in 1973. The centre provides a riding program with 30 specially trained horses for children with a disability.

The Pullen Pullen Creek, Moggill Creek, the Brisbane River and Moggill Road form the suburb's boundaries.

Reference: L. Jenkins, BRISbites, 2002

More Pinjarra Hills information

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