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Runcorn

History of Brisbane's Runcorn

Runcorn's history has been compiled as a part of the BRISbites community history project.

Aboriginal history

The Jagara people occupied most of the land south of the Brisbane River and Runcorn would have been in the territory of the Chepara clan of Eight Mile Plains. Many years ago a collection of skulls was found in the region and it was presumed at the time that they came from an Aboriginal burial ground. There was a Bora ring at Camira and another on Tooheys Mountain. It was rumoured that the fig tree in the grounds of Magnolia Cottage, Sunnybank, was the site of a dancing or bora ring.

The wooded hills and plains provided an abundant food supply for the first inhabitants. The creeks provided fish and turtles, eels and crustaceans, and the marshy areas and lagoons were a source of birds and eggs as well as the mushrooms and yimbun (a reed) that grew there.

The Aborigines remained in the area for many years after the white occupation of Moreton Bay in 1824. There was a camp on Bulimba Creek where Beenleigh Road crosses it. The Sirett family came to the region in 1886 and remembered the Aborigines coming to their house at Agnes Street, asking for tea, sugar and acky.

Urban development

Runcorn was originally part of the wide area known as Coopers Plains. In 1861, Governor Bowen proclaimed the Brisbane (later the Eight Mile Plains) Agricultural reserve and this included the area of Runcorn. The Williams family settled in the area in 1868 and Reverend J. McLaren named his farm Runcorn a decade later. Other early settlers included Mrs. Hill and Mr. Story.

In 1885, the railway passed through the area and some further settlement ensued. Runcorn Bone Mill was started in 1886 by Messrs. Main, Clazy and Smith, and the fertilizer was used by farmers as far away as New Zealand. In 1888, a hundred pleasure seekers from Brisbane caught the train to Runcorn to explore and to visit the bonemill and Mr Williams' Greenhill Nursery.

Generally the land was used for farming. Cotton was grown in the 1870s but this soon gave way to small crops. The population remained very small, merely some fruit and vegetable farming interspersed with the occasional chicken farm or dairy, several nurseries and the bonemill. The school was started in 1901, but in 1922, there were still only six houses between Warrigal and Nathan Roads. The Progress Hall was built in 1926 and three years later, the Courier Mail reported that at Runcorn and Kuraby there are many thousands of acres still in a state of Nature which are eminently suited for fruit growing and market gardening. Electricity came in 1933, but horse drawn ploughs were still used in the area until the 1940s.

In the 1960s, several housing developments began in the area, and the population of Runcorn boomed over the following two decades. The Crest Haven Estate was begun on land once owned by Herb Williams.

In the early 1990s, town house developments started in the area. The population grew from 5,245 in 1986 to 9,229 ten years later.

Notable residents

Alfred Williams became the first settler in Runcorn in 1868. The family cleared the ironbarks and eucalypts and a dam was built on the east of what became known as Williams Park. The first house was built at the top of the rise, but this was subsequently sold and moved and a second house was built further down the slope. The Williams family established a nursery, Green Hill which specialised in rose and fruit trees. Alfred was a member of the Yeerongpilly Divisional Board for several years at the beginning of the twentieth century, and he donated many items to the museum. Mrs. Williams was the midwife for the village.

Lily Hair migrated from Belvedere, in England, to Brisbane in 1920. She married Bob Hair, a carpenter and timber cutter. She had met him when he was a soldier in England during the First World War. They settled in Beenleigh Road, Runcorn, and built a small house from timber they had milled themselves. They were founding members of the Progress Association and Lily walked the streets campaigning for electricity, while Bob raised funds for the RSL by running dance and euchre parties. Lily played the piano at the Progress Association hall. Lily began negotiating for a Post Office in the Runcorn area in 1927. In 1957, they finally got approval and they opened a small office in the front of their house. Lily continued to operate the post office until 1971. After their retirement they maintained their support of the Progress Association. Their daughter Beryl managed the Post Office after they left. Lily Hair died in 1988.

Charles Gordon Challoner Olive studied at Brisbane Grammar, the University of Queensland and the RAAF College at Point Cook. He was a fighter pilot in England from 1937 to 1949 and rose to the rank of Wing Commander. In 1942 he became the chief instructor at the RAF College in Grangemouth before transferring back to the RAAF and active service. He retired in 1946. At that time he bought a small crops farm in Daw Road. He became a sales and marketing executive with Rheem and married in 1948. He was actively involved in Outward Bound and the Duke of Edinburgh Scheme, as well as raising horses and painting scenes from the Battle of Britain.

Landmarks

Runcorn Progress Hall was built by Tom King in 1926. It was built of chamfer board with a galvanized iron roof and stumps provided by Mr Sirett. It has been a focus for the community for many years, with dances and euchre parties as well as many fund raising and social activities held there. The Methodist Church held services there till they got a church. The hall is now owned by Pinelands Lions Club but a variety of groups still use it.

Runcorn Bone Mill was started in 1886 by Messrs. Main, Clazy and Smith, and the fertilizer was used by farmers as far away as New Zealand. In 1888, a hundred pleasure seekers from Brisbane caught the train to Runcorn to explore and to visit the bonemill and Mr Williams' Greenhill Nursery. The roof of the mill was blown off by a violent storm in the 1890s. Australian Co-operative Fertilizers bought the mill for $500 in 1918. During the Second World War the area was used by the United States Army and then by the British Navy. After the war it was converted to a sawmill and it later became the big foundry for Bradford Kendall (Bradken).

Runcorn Sate School began when a building committee was formed and requested a school be built in the area. An Inspector from the Department of Public Instruction decided that the applicants have established their claim for a Provisional School on the site selected and that a school is needed. In 1901, Runcorn Provisional School opened with 26 pupils but no supplies or furniture. Miss Fraser was the first teacher. As the enrolments grew, classes were held on the verandahs until more classrooms could be provided under the original building. In 1909, the Department took over the running of the school and it became Runcorn State School. By 1929, there were nearly four hundred children enrolled. The numbers peaked in the mid 1970s to around 1100 students.

Reference: BRISbites, 2000

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