• Jobs
• Accommodation
• Transport
• Maps
• News
• Weather
• Photos
• Blogs

Yeronga

History of Brisbane's Yeronga

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

Aboriginal history

The Jagara Tribe occupied the area south of the Brisbane River, before the arrival of white men in 1823. The Aborigines in this area were probably originally the Coorparoo or Yerongpan clan. The river flats were rich in game and the river provided seafood and fish. The summer rains developed a series of waterholes, which provided a reliable supply of water, ‘bungwall’ and fish.

In 1823, three lost cedar cutters, Pamphlett, Finnegan and Parsons, passed through Yeronga to Oxley Creek, where they found two canoes, which were placed there to enable people to cross the river.

The Aborigines remained in the area, camped along the river, for some time after white settlement. Later they were pushed out by land clearing and farming.

Urban development

Urban development in Yeronga began as part of the area known as Boggo, which spread from Chardon’s Corner to Rocklea. European settlement in Boggo was dependent on the requirement for transport between Brisbane and Ipswich, which was the gateway to the graziers of the west. During the convict era, land in Yeronga was used to pasture sheep.

The first land sale in the area was farming land in 1854, which was bought by Edward Cooke and TLM Prior. In 1861, 100 more acres were sold and Yeronga began to attract settlers. Cotton was grown to exploit the need for it during the US Civil War. This was followed by sugar farming until a series of bad winters in the 1870s. Arrowroot was also grown – it was used as a foodstuff and for stiffening clothes.

In 1871, Boggo School opened. The railway arrived in 1884 and the improved access led to increasing urbanisation in the area. Yeronga developed as a prestigious riverside suburb, with the large homes of wealthy settlers surrounded by the original farms. However, the 1893 flood led to a loss of confidence in the lower lying areas of Yeronga, and there was reduced housing development until the beginning of the twentieth century, when confidence in the area returned and the improved public transport led to further settlement. Development at this time was on a more modest scale and the area became predominantly working class.

Notable residents

Lloyd Rees was born in Yeronga in 1895. He grew up in ‘Jacaranda Cove’, a rambling Queenslander at the end of Ortive Street. He studied art at the Brisbane Technical College before joining the Queensland Government Printing Office.

In 1917, he moved to Sydney to work for an advertising agency. He exhibited his art and in 1923-24 he travelled and studied in Europe. In 1931 he married Marjorie Pollard and had his first major exhibition at Macquarie Galleries in Sydney. This exhibition, almost solely of landscapes, won wide renown.

The Art Gallery of New South Wales held a major retrospective of his work in 1942 and in 1969-70 a national exhibition toured Australia. In his later years he experimented with prints. He published his autobiography, An Artists Remembers in 1987 and continued painting until his death in Hobart in 1995.

George and Samuel Grimes arrived in Brisbane on the ‘Chasely’ in 1849. They came with their families from Warwickshire in England. They started a drapery business, Grimes and Petty, in George Street and lived in North Quay, in the city. Before long they had bought a ridge in Dutton Park to grow potatoes and maize. They were experienced farmers and by 1857 George Grimes had started an arrowroot farm called ‘Fairfield’. At one time the family owned most of Fairfield as farms and a dairy.

In 1862 they gave land for a Mission Hall, which was built in 1865, and later became the Fairfield Baptist Church. William Grimes was the first to hold services there. They owned three farms in the Yeerongpilly area.

In 1862 they were experimenting with arrowroot production there and by 1863 they had an arrowroot mill and drying kiln. They grew sugar and had a sugar mill, Coongoon, until it burnt down in 1876.

In 1878, George and Samuel bought nine acres at Yeronga, which were transferred to their brother William in 1885. Here they built ‘Kadumba’, which was designed by prominent architect Richard Gailey.

Samuel went on to become a member of the Legislative Assembly. In 1884 the machinery from Tennyson was moved to the Grimes arrowroot mill at Hope Island. William Grimes died in 1896 and George Grimes died in 1910.

Landmarks

Yeronga Park was first set aside for a park in 1888. After World War I, commemorative arches were built at the Ipswich and Park Road entrances and an avenue of weeping figs was planted between them, with shields commemorating each fallen soldier of the area. The park was used as an army base during the Second World War.

Yeronga State School began as a semi-private school in 1867. In 1871, it was replaced by Boggo National School. The new building was 5 metres by 6 metres, with weatherboard walls and a shingle roof. There were twelve desks and two forms for the 49 children who attended on the first day. By the end of the year the enrolment had risen to 94 and extensions were built as the enrolment continued to grow. In 1886, the name was changed to Yeronga State School.

Rhyndarra was constructed in 1888-89 for William Williams, manager of the Australasian Steam Navigation Company. He had bought around 140 acres of land in Yeronga in 1885. Andrea Stombuco, the prominent Brisbane architect, designed Rhyndarra, and it was built by R. Smith for £3,200. The house is plastered brick with tuff foundations and double height verandahs, constructed in Victorian filigree style.

In 1897, Williams moved to Western Australia and the Salvation Army leased Rhyndarra as a home for orphaned and endangered girls. In 1907, the house and 12 acres was bought by William Booth, the founder of the Salvation Army. It was considerably modified, including a two-storey extension at the back. In 1942, the Australian Army took over Rhyndarra and it has been used for recruit training, a hospital and temporary accommodation for homeless people. The hospital ceased functioning in 1997 and the land around Rhyndarra has now been subdivided for housing.

Reference: BRISbites, 2000

More Yeronga information

REIQ Profile

Take a look at REIQ's real estate profile. You can find suburb statistics, get a feel for its "character" and check out the median house prices and rents.

Pocket Neighbourhood Guide

Your neighbourhood at a glance. Discover the secrets of the local area... as well as what makes it special.