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Wacol

History of Brisbane's Wacol

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

Aboriginal history

This region was the home of the Yerongpan clan of Oxley Creek who spoke the Yaggera dialect of the Turrbal language. Lost cedar cutters, Pamphlet, Finnegan and Parsons were the first white men to make observations these people in 1823. They found two aboriginal canoes tied at the mouth of Oxley Creek (which they named Canoe Creek) for use by those wishing to cross the creek when travelling along the south bank of the Brisbane River.

In 1828 Cunningham and Fraser noted huts in the vicinity of Oxley or Inala. The only evidence of a bora ring is at the end of Kertes Road Camira on the banks of Sandy Creek, which is just outside this study area.

By 1839 it was noted that an aboriginal living near Oxley Creek dying of chronic pulmonary consumption. Tuberculosis and other diseases were rapidly reducing the Aboriginal population of the region. Smallpox had also taken its toll from as early as 1831.

The establishment of the penal colony’s cattle station at Cowper’s (Coopers) Plains from 1824 probably led to the local aboriginals either moving away or tolerating the intrusion. It was reported in 1840, that there had been no animals lost to aboriginal destruction since the time of the establishment of grazing for the penal settlement in the areas from Limestone (Ipswich) Redbank and Coopers Plains.

Dr Stephen Simpson, who was Commissioner for Crown Lands from 1842 –1855, was responsible for ensuring that the Aboriginals were treated on an equal basis as the white population. He established a base at Woogaroo where he later built Wolston House. After about 1842 more evidence of Aboriginal resistance to the white invaders was evident.

By 1843, Dr Simpson reported that there were only about 40 Aboriginals living in the vicinity of Woogaroo, although the population in the Moreton Bay region was estimated to be about 5000.

Interestingly, an escaped convict Bracefield, who had lived with the aboriginals in the Wide Bay area, was assigned to Dr Simpson after his return to Moreton Bay in 1842. Other convicts assisted in the construction of a police post, house, stables and outbuildings. Bracefield later died on the Woogaroo property.

Aboriginal population declined over the next century due to diseases, relocation and other factors. Many were moved to mission stations well away from the city and children continued to be removed from their families until the 1960s. However many aboriginal people moved back into the city after WWII, and lived in the old Negro servicemen’s area of South Brisbane.

By the early 1960s many had moved to the new housing areas of Acacia Ridge and Inala. 160 families were interviewed in 1961 in this region, and many were found to be living in poor conditions. From 1963 the OPAL hostel was established which assisted with short-term accommodation, meals and welfare issues generally. By 1971 the census revealed that there were 3,200 Aboriginals in the Brisbane region; much less than in the 1840s.

Urban development

Land sales in the area in 1851 saw Stephen Simpson acquire the first property, which was then known as Woogaroo. However, Simpson had run cattle and horses in the area long before this time. His legacy is Wolston House, which is now a National Trust property.

The township was surveyed and sold in 1864. An early inn on the roadside was called Wolston Inn. The name was changed to Wacol in 1927 because of the confusion with the Brisbane suburb of Wilston. The origins of the name Wacol have links with the weighbridge, which weighed all the coal from the West Moreton field from 1914. The chief railway business at this station was to weigh coal – hence the name Wacol.

Notable residents

Dr Stephen Simpson originally established a police outpost on the site in 1842, when he was commissioner for Crown Lands and protector of Aboriginals. By March 1842 his staff included four convict Border Police, whose job it was to check that squatters were not grazing stock beyond the new county boundaries. This was resulting in greater conflict with the Aboriginals.

In the late 1840s, Simpson was Acting Colonial Secretary and Acting Police Magistrate and was involved in the establishment of the Brisbane General Hospital. After he retired from public life in 1855, he returned to Wolston. He invited his niece's son, who was his heir to visit on 13 August 1856. His name was John Ommaney and he was killed the following evening in a riding accident. The neighbouring suburb of Mt Ommaney bears his name. Dr Simpson remained at Wolston for about seven years and during that time he was Magistrate for Ipswich.

One of the early industrialists was Mr W Brittain who discovered clay deposits in the area, which were suitable for brick and pipe manufacture. He established his brickworks in Harcourt Road in 1889.

Landmarks

The Wacol Army barracks straddle the boundary with Darra. Its origins lie in the American Camp Columbia, which was built in 1942. In 1949 the site was acquired by the Department of Immigration and the buildings were used to house migrants from Europe. The camp was then known as the Wacol East Dependant Holding Camp for Displaced Persons. A Serbian chapel built by post war migrants remains on the site.

The other major landmarks are the various correctional services centres in the area, including the John Oxley Youth Centre, Sir David Longland Centre and the remand and reception centre.

A Buddhist meeting place was established in Wacol in 1977 at the home of Klaus de Jong. It was named Dhammadinna House in 1978 in memory of a Buddhist nun who came to Australia in 1951.

Wacol is an important industrial area for the Brisbane–Ipswich corridor and was set up in the late 1960s by the Department of Industrial Development. The initial estate comprised 380 acres (153.9 hectares) and was extended to 436 acres (176.6 hectares) in the late 1970s. A further 1,100 acres (445.5 hectares) have been earmarked for further heavy industrial development.

Reference: Mary Howell, BRISbites, 2000

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