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Wynnum

History of Brisbane's Wynnum

Wynnum and Wynnum North's history has been compiled by local historian, Kay Harbison, as a part of the BRISbites community history project.

Aboriginal history

The Wynnum area was occupied by the Winnam (meaning ‘pandanus') people. They lived a semi-nomadic lifestyle with several campsites within their area and adjacent islands. Elanora Park was an aboriginal campsite and was known as ‘Blacks Camp' until 1976.

The coast and river provided abundant seafood. Pandanus, bangwall (fern root) and other plants were eaten and small mammals and birds were hunted, particularly the flying foxes on St Helena Island, where inter-tribal feasts and corroborees appear to have taken place.

As settlement grew the aborigines were confined to the coastal fringes. While agriculture was not possible, the good fishing and hunting meant they could survive. By the 1870s closer settlement around Brisbane was making this outskirts living impossible.

The main destroyers of the Moreton Bay Aborigines were new diseases brought about though contact with the white population. Diseases such as smallpox and tuberculous decimated the indigenous population.

Urban development

Three cedar cutters were blown off course from Sydney in 1823. They were wrecked on Moreton Island and, with the help of local aborigines, explored the coast and inland until they met up with John Oxley’s party. It appears likely that they crossed to the mainland at Emu Point and travelled north along a native path, much of which is now Tingal Road, to the top of Lytton Hill where they became the first white people to see the Brisbane River.

From 1824 to 1839, Moreton Bay was a penal colony and no free settlement was allowed, but in 1842 this restriction was lifted. The area was surveyed by James Warner in 1859 and the first land auction took place in 1860. Among the earliest purchasers were Shepherd Smith, general Manager of the Bank of New South Wales, and John Balfour, who selected four blocks, comprising 87 acres in all, which stretched from Wynnum creek to Wynnum North State School and down to the bay. Most of the initial settlement was concentrated in the Wynnum North region. Grazing, viticulture, farming and fishing were the primary occupations for these early settlers.

In 1882, the first subdivision in the area took place, at Manly Beach Estate, but the first subdivision in Wynnum was the East Wynnum estate in 1884. In 1888, the estimated population of the Lytton to Lota district was 200 with 50 households. The arrival of the railway in 1889 ensured that the area continued to boom. It was a popular holiday spot, with many guesthouses and camping sites, and at one stage around half the houses in the area were solely used as holiday homes. Farming and fishing were the primary occupation, with it being for a time the second largest fishing catch in Queensland.

In 1902, the Wynnum Shire Council was created and in 1913 it became the Town of Wynnum, before being amalgamated into Greater Brisbane in 1925.

Notable residents

The Green family had a timber yard where G and B Motors now stands. John Greene was a builder and sawmiller. His sons were building contractors in Wynnum and built most of the early buildings, including the Misses Greene School for Girls in Bay Terrace (later Moreton Bay Girls College), established by their five sisters. They also built and operated the Star Theatre, which burned down in 1959, and Sam Greene published the Waterloo Bay Leader. Sam Greene was elected Alderman in 1913 and his son John was the last mayor of Wynnum and the second Lord Mayor of Brisbane.

Englishman Edward Kelk and his brothers bought land near Hemmant and named their property Lindum-mere after the Roman name for Lincoln (after their home Lincolnshire). In 1869, Edward built a house not far from Pleasantville. The Kelks built Kianawah sugar mill in the 1860s and pioneered the growing of sugar in the area.

Joe Sands came to Wynnum as the Shire Clerk in 1907. He and his family lived in the Shire Clerk’s Cottage, where they kept milking cows, poultry and a vegetable garden. In 1913, when Wynnum Shire became a township, Joe Sands became the Town Clerk. His duties were varied, including overseeing town works, processing rates and fines, and, temporarily, administering the town. In 1917, the Court of Queensland dismissed the current Town Council (following great disagreements and even violence amongst the councillors) and Mr Sands was the town’s highest official until an election four months later.

Landmarks

The Shire Clerk’s Cottage on Tingal Road was built in 1890 as a residence for the clerk of the Kianawah Divisional Board. The State Government donated two and a half acres of land along the creek and tenders were called for the construction of a hall, offices and residence. Mr J.G. Gross tendered 820 pounds, of which 255 were for the cottage. This was accepted and he started building immediately. Sixteen weeks later a ball was held to celebrate the completion of the building work. It later became the Shire Clerk’s cottage and, was for many years the home of Joe Sands, the Shire Clerk. In 1984 the building was extensively renovated and restored.

St Helena Island was used as Queensland’s state prison from 1867-1932. For many years it operated as a prison farm, with its own cane fields and mill, dairy cattle, farmyards, workshops, and tram. After the prison closed, various families leased it, but it is now a National Park and a popular tourist spot.

Wynnum Central State School was opened in 1894 with an enrolment of eighty. By 1901, another room was required and a third was built six years later. Further annexes were built in 1917 and 1919, which for three years catered for a secondary school.

Wynnum Wading pool was a depression era project and opened in 1933. The parkland was reclaimed from the sea, a revetment wall was built and backfilled, with an area left empty to create the tidal pool. The pool is around 200 m by 65 m with automatic valves to maintain the water depth from the tide.

The Waterloo Bay Hotel was built by George Gibb and opened in 1889. He was born in Cornwall and migrated with his wife and child, but they returned to Cornwall after the baby’s death. In 1875, he returned to Australia with his second wife and four children. They settled in Kelvin Grove, but after the Cleveland rail line was opened, he was granted a hotel licence and built the Waterloo Bay Hotel. Due to ill health he sold the hotel and moved to Gibbs Street, where he died in 1906. He was a well-known stone mason in the district.

Reference: K. Harbison, BRISbites, 2000

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