Kangaroo Point, Queensland
Encyclopedia
Kangaroo Point is a suburb of Brisbane
, Queensland
, Australia
located directly east across the Brisbane River
from the Brisbane central business district
.
formed of harder rhyolite
rock which the Brisbane River
flows around. On the northern tip of the peninsula the Story Bridge
connects it to the central business district
and the suburb of Fortitude Valley. The suburb of Woolloongabba
is located to the south. The six-lane Main Street runs from Story Bridge to Woolloongabba. The landscape of Kangaroo Point is predominantly high rise apartments towards the tip of the peninsula while the other end is predominantly low-medium density apartments and houses.
. The Kangaroo Point Cliffs
, situated on the east bank of the city bend of the Brisbane River north of the Maritime Museum, opposite the Brisbane River Stage
and the Queensland University of Technology
at Gardens Point
.
The cliffs are a popular picnic, rock climbing
and abseiling
site. The steepness of the cliffs was increased by quarrying operations which mined the volcanic rock
or rhyolite
lava
flows which form the cliffs. These lavas were deposited in the tertiary
period about 30 million years ago and filled up an ancient river valley. They currently form the banks of the Brisbane River.
The Story Bridge is a prominent landmark. It is able to climbed with authorised tourist groups and provides the main means of access to the north of Brisbane. Directly under the bridge is the Story Bridge Hotel.
By bus the suburb is serviced by the South East Busway transit line and buses along Main Street and Shafstons Avenue. By road Kangaroo Point residents rely on the Story Bridge and Captain Cook Bridge
for access to the north, and the South East Freeway for access to the south. Main Street connects the Story Bridge through the suburb to the South East Freeway. Bicycle paths run along the Brisbane River
from South Bank to and over the Story Bridge. The bicycle paths are heavily used by cyclists, roller skaters and pedestrians.
CityFerry service from the Eagle Street Pier in the CBD and the Sydney Street Pier in New Farm to Holman Street near the peak of Kangaroo Point, Thornton Street on the west side of the point, or Dockside Pier on the east side. CityCat services do not directly service Kangaroo Point.
The M7 Clem Jones Tunnel, a toll tunnel, which opened in March 2010, has a connection on Shafston Avenue. It diverts some traffic travelling through the suburb while providing an additional transport route for residents.
A green bridge is proposed to the west to connect Kangaroo Point to the City and to the east to connect Kangaroo Point to Merthyr Road New Farm
. The Cross River Rail
tunnel is planned to connect under Kangaroo Point Cliffs from Woolloongabba to an Albert Street
railway station.
Census
of Population and Housing, the population of the Kangaroo Point postcode area was 6,868 people, in an area of 1.3 square kilometres. The population was 48.9% females and 51.1% males. It has one of the city's highest proportion of residents living in flats, units or apartments (80.7%). Residents in stand alone houses make up only 14% of the population. Further to this, 51.1% are renters while only 14.9% fully own their dwelling. According to REIQ, the median house price in Kangaroo Point for the calendar year 2006 was $513,000.
, Brisbane State High School
and Villanova College. For tertiary studies, Kangaroo Point is host to campuses of Southbank Institute of TAFE (now demolished) and Shafston University. Directly across the river from the cliffs is the Queensland University of Technology
(Gardens Point campus).
people. It is one of the earliest suburbs settled in Brisbane and subsequently, is one of Brisbane's oldest suburbs, rich in history and character. It had a reputation for violent and rowdy street gangs around the 1900s, with a number of street riots.
In 1823, explorer John Oxley described Kangaroo Point as a “jungle, fringed with mangroves with the higher land open forest, covered with grass”. During the time of the subsequent convict settlement (1825–41), Kangaroo Point was cleared and used for cultivation of crops. Subsequently, the area was opened up for free settlement, the first land sales taking place on 13 December 1843. Among the early purchasers was Captain J.C.Wickham, the Police Magistrate. Surveyor James Warner built the first house at Kangaroo Point in 1844.
Kangaroo Point's first school was opened in 1861 by the Church of England. It came under the control of the Board of Education in 1867 and consisted of a boys department and a girls department. A separate Girls and Infants school opened on 2 March 1874. This was replaced by the Kangaroo Point Girls School and the Kangaroo Point Infants School which both opened on 20 January 1890. The Kangaroo Point Boys School, Girls School and Infants School closed on 28 April 1950 and amalgamated to become the Kangaroo Point State School. The Kangaroo Point State School closed on 30 June 1965. It was located on the site of the old Southbank Institute of TAFE, on the corner of Riverside Tce and Main St. In January 2010 this site was then redeveloped into parkland.
For many years the suburb was dominated by the factories of heavy engineering businesses, particularly those involved in the maritime industry, such as Evans Deakin
, Buzzacott & Co and Evans Anderson & Phelan. Evans Deakin built the largest ship ever constructed on the Brisbane River, the 66,000 tonne oil tanker Robert Miller, which became adrift in the river during the 1974 Brisbane flood
. The last vessel to be built by Evans Deakin was an oil rig called Southern Cross. The company vacated the site in 1976, with it later being redeveloped for high-rise accommodation.
Stone was quarried from the cliffs and used as building material.
Until the 1930s, Evans Anderson & Phelan built steam locomotives at their Kangaroo Point works for Queensland Railways, however their works were not located near a railway, so the completed locomotives were delivered along Main Street on temporary track.
Until the federation of the Australian colonies in 1901, the Queensland Navy's main storage facility was located in the suburb. The first ship-based radio transmission in Australia was made between HMAS Gayundah
and the buildings in 1903. The naval stores buildings were occupied by the Royal Australian Navy until 1959, and then by the Australian Army until 1984. The heritage-listed buildings are now used by an adventure company focussing on river activities and rock climbing.
The opening of the Story Bridge in July, 1940 was the most significant development of the suburb. Trolleybuses operated by the Brisbane City Council linked the suburb with Fortitude Valley via the Story Bridge from 1953 to 1969, running along Main Street from Woolloongabba and other eastern suburbs.
Brisbane
Brisbane is the capital and most populous city in the Australian state of Queensland and the third most populous city in Australia. Brisbane's metropolitan area has a population of over 2 million, and the South East Queensland urban conurbation, centred around Brisbane, encompasses a population of...
, Queensland
Queensland
Queensland is a state of Australia, occupying the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, south-west and south respectively. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
located directly east across the Brisbane River
Brisbane River
The Brisbane River is the longest river in south east Queensland, Australia, and flows through the city of Brisbane, before emptying into Moreton Bay. John Oxley was the first European to explore the river who named it after the Governor of New South Wales, Thomas Brisbane in 1823...
from the Brisbane central business district
Brisbane central business district
The Brisbane central business district , sometimes referred to as the city, is a suburb of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia and is located on a point on the northern bank of the Brisbane River. The triangular shaped area is bounded by the Brisbane River to the east, south and west...
.
Geography
Kangaroo Point is located on a peninsulaPeninsula
A peninsula is a piece of land that is bordered by water on three sides but connected to mainland. In many Germanic and Celtic languages and also in Baltic, Slavic and Hungarian, peninsulas are called "half-islands"....
formed of harder rhyolite
Rhyolite
This page is about a volcanic rock. For the ghost town see Rhyolite, Nevada, and for the satellite system, see Rhyolite/Aquacade.Rhyolite is an igneous, volcanic rock, of felsic composition . It may have any texture from glassy to aphanitic to porphyritic...
rock which the Brisbane River
Brisbane River
The Brisbane River is the longest river in south east Queensland, Australia, and flows through the city of Brisbane, before emptying into Moreton Bay. John Oxley was the first European to explore the river who named it after the Governor of New South Wales, Thomas Brisbane in 1823...
flows around. On the northern tip of the peninsula the Story Bridge
Story Bridge, Brisbane
The Story Bridge is a cantilever bridge spanning the Brisbane River. Part of Bradfield Highway , it connects Fortitude Valley to Kangaroo Point. Before the opening of the Sydney Harbour Bridge in 1932 the Government of Queensland asked John Bradfield to design a new bridge in Brisbane...
connects it to the central business district
Brisbane central business district
The Brisbane central business district , sometimes referred to as the city, is a suburb of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia and is located on a point on the northern bank of the Brisbane River. The triangular shaped area is bounded by the Brisbane River to the east, south and west...
and the suburb of Fortitude Valley. The suburb of Woolloongabba
Woolloongabba, Queensland
Woolloongabba is an inner suburb of Brisbane, Australia located 4 km south of the Brisbane CBD.Experts are divided regarding the Aboriginal meaning of the name, preferring either 'whirling waters' or 'fight talk place'...
is located to the south. The six-lane Main Street runs from Story Bridge to Woolloongabba. The landscape of Kangaroo Point is predominantly high rise apartments towards the tip of the peninsula while the other end is predominantly low-medium density apartments and houses.
Attractions
Kangaroo Point is a popular recreation spot, conveniently close to the city and the South Bank ParklandsSouth Bank Parklands, Brisbane
The South Bank Parklands are located at South Bank in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. The parkland, on the transformed site of Brisbane's World Expo 88, was officially opened to the public on 20 June 1992.-Overview:...
. The Kangaroo Point Cliffs
Kangaroo Point Cliffs
The Kangaroo Point Cliffs are located at Kangaroo Point just across the Brisbane River from the Brisbane CBD in Queensland, Australia. A popular recreation spot, they are conveniently close to the city and the South Bank Parklands...
, situated on the east bank of the city bend of the Brisbane River north of the Maritime Museum, opposite the Brisbane River Stage
Brisbane River Stage
The Brisbane River Stage is an outdoor entertainment venue located on the Brisbane River, Brisbane, Australia. It has been used by many national and international acts through the years and is also used for annual community carols performances to ‘Sing for Water’ – a fundraising outlet staged as...
and the Queensland University of Technology
Queensland University of Technology
Queensland University of Technology is an Australian university with an applied emphasis in courses and research. Based in Brisbane, it has 40,000 students, including 6,000 international students, over 4,000 staff members, and an annual budget of more than A$750 million.QUT is marketed as "A...
at Gardens Point
Gardens Point, Brisbane
Gardens Point is a point on the northern bank of the Brisbane River. The Brisbane CBD extends northwards of the point.Located here are Queensland's Parliament House, the Gardens Point campus of the Queensland University of Technology, the Brisbane City Botanic Gardens and Queensland's Old...
.
The cliffs are a popular picnic, rock climbing
Rock climbing
Rock climbing also lightly called 'The Gravity Game', is a sport in which participants climb up, down or across natural rock formations or artificial rock walls. The goal is to reach the summit of a formation or the endpoint of a pre-defined route without falling...
and abseiling
Abseiling
Abseiling , rappelling in American English, is the controlled descent down a rock face using a rope; climbers use this technique when a cliff or slope is too steep and/or dangerous to descend without protection.- Slang terms :...
site. The steepness of the cliffs was increased by quarrying operations which mined the volcanic rock
Volcanic rock
Volcanic rock is a rock formed from magma erupted from a volcano. In other words, it is an igneous rock of volcanic origin...
or rhyolite
Rhyolite
This page is about a volcanic rock. For the ghost town see Rhyolite, Nevada, and for the satellite system, see Rhyolite/Aquacade.Rhyolite is an igneous, volcanic rock, of felsic composition . It may have any texture from glassy to aphanitic to porphyritic...
lava
Lava
Lava refers both to molten rock expelled by a volcano during an eruption and the resulting rock after solidification and cooling. This molten rock is formed in the interior of some planets, including Earth, and some of their satellites. When first erupted from a volcanic vent, lava is a liquid at...
flows which form the cliffs. These lavas were deposited in the tertiary
Tertiary
The Tertiary is a deprecated term for a geologic period 65 million to 2.6 million years ago. The Tertiary covered the time span between the superseded Secondary period and the Quaternary...
period about 30 million years ago and filled up an ancient river valley. They currently form the banks of the Brisbane River.
The Story Bridge is a prominent landmark. It is able to climbed with authorised tourist groups and provides the main means of access to the north of Brisbane. Directly under the bridge is the Story Bridge Hotel.
Transport
Captain Cook Bridge, Brisbane
The Captain Cook Bridge is a motorway bridge over the Brisbane River in Brisbane, Australia. It was built exclusively for vehicular traffic and was opened in 1972. The bridge crosses at the South Brisbane Reach of the river, linking Gardens Point to Woolloongabba.Captain Cook Bridge actually...
for access to the north, and the South East Freeway for access to the south. Main Street connects the Story Bridge through the suburb to the South East Freeway. Bicycle paths run along the Brisbane River
Brisbane River
The Brisbane River is the longest river in south east Queensland, Australia, and flows through the city of Brisbane, before emptying into Moreton Bay. John Oxley was the first European to explore the river who named it after the Governor of New South Wales, Thomas Brisbane in 1823...
from South Bank to and over the Story Bridge. The bicycle paths are heavily used by cyclists, roller skaters and pedestrians.
CityFerry service from the Eagle Street Pier in the CBD and the Sydney Street Pier in New Farm to Holman Street near the peak of Kangaroo Point, Thornton Street on the west side of the point, or Dockside Pier on the east side. CityCat services do not directly service Kangaroo Point.
The M7 Clem Jones Tunnel, a toll tunnel, which opened in March 2010, has a connection on Shafston Avenue. It diverts some traffic travelling through the suburb while providing an additional transport route for residents.
A green bridge is proposed to the west to connect Kangaroo Point to the City and to the east to connect Kangaroo Point to Merthyr Road New Farm
New Farm, Queensland
New Farm is an inner suburb of Brisbane, Australia, located 2 km east of the Brisbane CBD on a large bend of the Brisbane River. New Farm is partly surrounded by the Brisbane River, with land access from the north west through Fortitude Valley and from the north through...
. The Cross River Rail
Cross River Rail
Cross River Rail is a proposed new underground rail line in Brisbane, Australia. The project involves building a new 18 km railway under the Brisbane River and the Brisbane central business district, creating four new underground inner city stations, and increasing the core capacity of the...
tunnel is planned to connect under Kangaroo Point Cliffs from Woolloongabba to an Albert Street
Albert Street, Brisbane
Albert Street is a road in Brisbane, Australia. It was named after Prince Albert, the Prince Consort of Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom, and it runs between George Street and Edward Street, and from Alice Street to Wickham Terrace....
railway station.
Demographics
In the 2006 Australian Bureau of StatisticsAustralian Bureau of Statistics
The Australian Bureau of Statistics is Australia's national statistical agency. It was created as the Commonwealth Bureau of Census and Statistics on 8 December 1905, when the Census and Statistics Act 1905 was given Royal assent. It had its beginnings in section 51 of the Constitution of Australia...
Census
Census
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...
of Population and Housing, the population of the Kangaroo Point postcode area was 6,868 people, in an area of 1.3 square kilometres. The population was 48.9% females and 51.1% males. It has one of the city's highest proportion of residents living in flats, units or apartments (80.7%). Residents in stand alone houses make up only 14% of the population. Further to this, 51.1% are renters while only 14.9% fully own their dwelling. According to REIQ, the median house price in Kangaroo Point for the calendar year 2006 was $513,000.
Education
Situated in Kangaroo Point is St Josephs Primary School which offers private schooling from grades 1 to 7. Although the suburb has no public schools to call its own, it is close to East Brisbane State School. For secondary/late primary school year entrancing, Kangaroo Point is close to St Laurence’s College, Anglican Church Grammar, All Hallows' School, Somerville HouseSomerville House
Somerville House is an independent, boarding and day school for girls, located in South Brisbane, an inner-city suburb of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia....
, Brisbane State High School
Brisbane State High School
Brisbane State High School is a partially selective, co-educational, state secondary school, located in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. It is a member of the Great Public Schools' Association of Queensland, and the Queensland Girls' Secondary Schools Sports Association...
and Villanova College. For tertiary studies, Kangaroo Point is host to campuses of Southbank Institute of TAFE (now demolished) and Shafston University. Directly across the river from the cliffs is the Queensland University of Technology
Queensland University of Technology
Queensland University of Technology is an Australian university with an applied emphasis in courses and research. Based in Brisbane, it has 40,000 students, including 6,000 international students, over 4,000 staff members, and an annual budget of more than A$750 million.QUT is marketed as "A...
(Gardens Point campus).
History
Before British settlement, Kangaroo Point was occupied by the TurrbalTurrbal
The Turrbal are a tribe of Australian Aboriginal people who inhabited the region around the city of Brisbane before European settlement of Australia. Tom Petrie, an early pioneer of Brisbane, shows the kind and trustworthy nature of the Turrbal people. He demonstrates how they were forgiving, even...
people. It is one of the earliest suburbs settled in Brisbane and subsequently, is one of Brisbane's oldest suburbs, rich in history and character. It had a reputation for violent and rowdy street gangs around the 1900s, with a number of street riots.
In 1823, explorer John Oxley described Kangaroo Point as a “jungle, fringed with mangroves with the higher land open forest, covered with grass”. During the time of the subsequent convict settlement (1825–41), Kangaroo Point was cleared and used for cultivation of crops. Subsequently, the area was opened up for free settlement, the first land sales taking place on 13 December 1843. Among the early purchasers was Captain J.C.Wickham, the Police Magistrate. Surveyor James Warner built the first house at Kangaroo Point in 1844.
Kangaroo Point's first school was opened in 1861 by the Church of England. It came under the control of the Board of Education in 1867 and consisted of a boys department and a girls department. A separate Girls and Infants school opened on 2 March 1874. This was replaced by the Kangaroo Point Girls School and the Kangaroo Point Infants School which both opened on 20 January 1890. The Kangaroo Point Boys School, Girls School and Infants School closed on 28 April 1950 and amalgamated to become the Kangaroo Point State School. The Kangaroo Point State School closed on 30 June 1965. It was located on the site of the old Southbank Institute of TAFE, on the corner of Riverside Tce and Main St. In January 2010 this site was then redeveloped into parkland.
For many years the suburb was dominated by the factories of heavy engineering businesses, particularly those involved in the maritime industry, such as Evans Deakin
Evans Deakin and Company
Evans Deakin and Company was an Australian engineering company and shipbuilder. Originally based in Brisbane, the company was started in 1910 by Daniel Evans and Arthur Deakin. The company started out as a supplier of engineering equipment. The first workshop was acquired in 1913.The company later...
, Buzzacott & Co and Evans Anderson & Phelan. Evans Deakin built the largest ship ever constructed on the Brisbane River, the 66,000 tonne oil tanker Robert Miller, which became adrift in the river during the 1974 Brisbane flood
1974 Brisbane flood
The 1974 Brisbane flood occurred in January 1974 in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia, when waterways in the city experienced significant flooding...
. The last vessel to be built by Evans Deakin was an oil rig called Southern Cross. The company vacated the site in 1976, with it later being redeveloped for high-rise accommodation.
Stone was quarried from the cliffs and used as building material.
Until the 1930s, Evans Anderson & Phelan built steam locomotives at their Kangaroo Point works for Queensland Railways, however their works were not located near a railway, so the completed locomotives were delivered along Main Street on temporary track.
Until the federation of the Australian colonies in 1901, the Queensland Navy's main storage facility was located in the suburb. The first ship-based radio transmission in Australia was made between HMAS Gayundah
HMQS Gayundah
HMQS Gayundah was a flat-iron gunboat operated by the Queensland Maritime Defence Force and later the Royal Australian Navy . She entered service in 1884 and was decommissioned and sold in 1921. She then served as sand and gravel barge for Brisbane Gravel Pty Ltd until 1950, when she was scrapped...
and the buildings in 1903. The naval stores buildings were occupied by the Royal Australian Navy until 1959, and then by the Australian Army until 1984. The heritage-listed buildings are now used by an adventure company focussing on river activities and rock climbing.
The opening of the Story Bridge in July, 1940 was the most significant development of the suburb. Trolleybuses operated by the Brisbane City Council linked the suburb with Fortitude Valley via the Story Bridge from 1953 to 1969, running along Main Street from Woolloongabba and other eastern suburbs.
Notable people
- Wesley DeningWesley DeningWesley Dening is an Australian television host and comedian, who became famous in Australia as a contestant on Big Brother Australia 2004....
, contestant on Big Brother Australia 2004 - Graham K. Furness, Australian actor
- Thelma Hazel (nee Lindore) Parks (1913-2011), Extraordinary feminist, resident of still extant house at Mackenzie, Annie, and MacDonald Streets, near the old Holhman Ferry. Efforts are being undertaken to make her home a historic landmark. After having married one of the first American Army-Air Corps bombardiers deployed from the US to protect Australian's northern shores, she emigrated on the first ship leaving Australia for the US - the SS Lurline.