Chermside is a

suburb A suburb (more broadly suburban area) is an area within a metropolitan area. They are oftentimes where most of a metropolitan areas jobs are located with some being predominantly residential. They can either be denser or less densely populated ...

in the

City of Brisbane The City of Brisbane is a local government area (LGA) which comprises the inner portion of Greater Brisbane, the capital of Queensland, Australia. Its governing body is the Brisbane City Council. The LGAs in the other mainland state capitals ...

Queensland Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...

, Australia. The suburb is situated by road north of the

Brisbane CBD Brisbane City is the central Suburbs and localities (Australia), suburb and central business district of Brisbane, the state capital of Queensland, Australia. It is also colloquially referred to as the "Brisbane CBD", "the city", or simply "to ...

. It is home to a large Westfield shopping centre. In the , Chermside had a population of 11,426 people.

Geography

Chermside is a key destination along Queensland Transport's future Northern Busway, and home to Westfield Chermside, the second largest Westfield shopping centre in Australia, with a three-storey

Myer Myer (stylised MYER) is an Australian mid-range to upscale department store. It trades in all Australian states and one of Australia's two self-governing territories. Myer retails a broad range of products across women's, men's, and child ...

and a 16 screen cinema complex.

History

The Chermside area was first settled by Europeans in the late 19th century. The first plot of land was sold on 23 May 1866, and the population has progressively increased since with a significant increase with the post-war residential development. When the Gympie goldrush started in 1867, many travellers heading north would run into trouble at a creek in present-day Chermside. Because of this waterway, Chermside was first known as Downfall Creek. In November 1868, Cobb & Co. stagecoaches began to travel through the area on the way to the goldfields at

Gympie Gympie ( ) is a city and a Suburbs and localities (Australia), locality in the Gympie Region, Queensland, Australia. Located in the Greater Sunshine Coast, Gympie is about north of the state capital, Brisbane. The city lies on the Mary River ( ...

. A United Methodist Free church opened on Sunday 11 August 1878 on the corner of Gympie Road and Banfield Street, (then Church Street, approx ). In 1926, a more central site was purchased on the south-east corner of Gympie Road and Hamilton Road and the church building was relocated to the new site and renovated. It was replaced by a brick church which opened on 30 September 1950. It became part of the Uniting Church in 1977. This brick church was demolished in 2004, probably because the current Chermside-Kedron Community Church (a Uniting Church) in Chermside on the north-western corner of Gympie Road and Rode Road had opened on 23 September 2001. Downfall Creek State School opened on 9 July 1900. In 1903, it was renamed Chermside State School. It closed in December 1996. It was on the north-western corner of the intersection of Gympie Road and Rode Road (). In 1904, the district's name was changed to ''Chermside'' after the

Governor of Queensland The governor of Queensland is the representative of the monarch, currently King Charles III, in the state of Queensland. In an analogous way to the governor-general of Australia, governor-general at the national level, the governor Governors of ...

, Sir Herbert Chermside. Regular Anglican services commenced circa 1906 in the public hall (School of Arts) on the corner of Gympie Road and Hall Street. In January 1913, land was purchased in Hamilton Road to build an Anglican church. A

stump-capping ceremony Queenslander architecture is a modern term for a type of residential housing, widespread in Queensland, Australia. It is also found in the northern parts of the adjacent state of New South Wales, and shares many traits with architecture in oth ...

was held on St James' Day 25 July 1914. The first service was held on 11 October 1914. The official dedication of All Saints Anglican Church by

Archbishop In Christian denominations, an archbishop is a bishop of higher rank or office. In most cases, such as the Catholic Church, there are many archbishops who either have jurisdiction over an ecclesiastical province in addition to their own archdi ...

St Clair Donaldson was held on 15 November 1914. The foundation stone of the present church building was laid by Archbishop Reginald Halse on Sunday 11 December 1960. The church was extended in 1996. Chermside has had a

library A library is a collection of Book, books, and possibly other Document, materials and Media (communication), media, that is accessible for use by its members and members of allied institutions. Libraries provide physical (hard copies) or electron ...

since 1909. Since 1951, it has been a branch of the

Brisbane City Council Brisbane City Council (BCC, also known as Council) is the local government of the City of Brisbane, the capital city of the Australian state of Queensland. The largest local government in Australia by population, BCC's jurisdiction includes 2 ...

Library service and had a major refurbishment in 2017. In December 1925, "Rainey's Hill Top Park" made up of 99 allotments were advertised to be auctioned by Thonton's & Pearce, Auctioneers. A map advertising the auction states that this estate is "close to tram, motor bus, water and electric light". ''The Dawn'' picture theatre first opened on 3 November 1928 (showing ''

The Man Who Laughs ''The Man Who Laughs'' (also published under the title ''By Order of the King'' from its subtitle in French) is a Gothic novel by Victor Hugo, originally published in April 1869 under the French title ''L'Homme qui rit''. It takes place in Engl ...

''). It closed on 9 August 2005 (with '' Mr. & Mrs. Smith''). It was at 708 Gympie Road (), now the site of the North Brisbane Eye Centre. It was the last single screen cinema in Brisbane. The Sanctuary in the Wheller Gardens retirement village, named for Harold M. Wheller, was dedicated on 5 March 1940 by Reverend Wilfred Leonard Slater, the President of the Methodist Conference. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, a diverse range of volunteers, soldiers, and camps were at Chermside, such as

U.S. Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of the United Stat ...

units, including a number of

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

soldiers. A Kitty Hawk

airplane An airplane (American English), or aeroplane (Commonwealth English), informally plane, is a fixed-wing aircraft that is propelled forward by thrust from a jet engine, Propeller (aircraft), propeller, or rocket engine. Airplanes come in a vari ...

on a training flight crashed there in 1943, killing the pilot and instructor. Brisbane's

tram A tram (also known as a streetcar or trolley in Canada and the United States) is an urban rail transit in which Rolling stock, vehicles, whether individual railcars or multiple-unit trains, run on tramway tracks on urban public streets; some ...

way network finally reached the suburb on 29 March 1947, and Chermside remained the northernmost point on the system until the line to Chermside was closed on 2 December 1968. The tram line along Gympie Road was separated from other traffic (this is commonly called "

reserved track Reserved track, in tram transport terminology, is track on ground exclusively for tram A tram (also known as a streetcar or trolley in Canada and the United States) is an urban rail transit in which Rolling stock, vehicles, whether individ ...

"), which resulted in fast travel times along this portion of the route. Another feature of the Chermside tram line were the rose gardens which bordered the reserved track portion of the line. Drive-in Shopping Centre Chermside

Westfield Chermside first opened on 30 May 1957 as ''The Chermside Drive-in Shopping Centre'' with an ''Allan & Stark's'' department store and a small arcade of a dozen shops, before becoming a

department store A department store is a retail establishment offering a wide range of consumer goods in different areas of the store under one roof, each area ("department") specializing in a product category. In modern major cities, the department store mad ...

. It was the first drive-in shopping centre in Australia. It was the first drive-in shopping centre in Australia. It is now the largest single level shopping centre in Australia, with a 3-storey Myer, as well as a 16-screen Birch, Carrol and Coyle megaplex. It is also home to Brisbane's first

Apple Store The Apple Store is a chain of Retail, retail stores owned and operated by Apple Inc. The stores sell, service and repair various Apple products, including Macintosh, Mac desktop and MacBook laptop personal computers, iPhone smartphones, iPad ta ...

. St Thomas' Anglican Church in Chermside East (now Wavell Heights) was dedicated on 13 October 1957 by

Reginald Halse. Its closure on 21 December 1990 was approved by Assistant Bishop George Browning. Its deconsecration was authorised by Archbishop Peter Hollingworth. The Prince Charles Hospital (a public hospital) was opened in 1959. The Brisbane Chest Hospital was opened in 1954 for the treatment of tuberculosis. As tuberculosis declined, it was renamed The Chermside Hospital in 1961 to reflect its more general healthcare role.

Prince Charles Charles III (Charles Philip Arthur George; born 14 November 1948) is King of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms. Charles was born at Buckingham Palace during the reign of his maternal grandfather, King George VI, and ...

visited Brisbane in 1974 and the hospital was renamed The Prince Charles Hospital in his honour. St Laurence's Anglican Church in Chermside West was dedicated on 26 February 1966 by Archbishop

Philip Strong :''Both the subject and his father sometimes used ''Warrington Strong'' as a surname.'' Sir Philip Nigel Warrington Strong (11 July 18996 July 1983) served as the fourth Bishop of New Guinea from 1936 to 1962 and the fifth Anglican Anglican Ar ...

. It has since closed. The early 1970s saw the opening of Queensland's first

Kmart Kmart ( ), formerly legally registered as Kmart Corporation, now operated by Transformco, is a department-store chain and online retailer in the United States and Territories of the United States, its territories. It operates four remaining Kma ...

store in Chermside, which was situated next to a Coles supermarket. Both of these stores closed in the mid-1990s and have been replaced with a Woolworths supermarket and specialty stores. Both

and Coles have been relocated in Westfield Chermside. Craigslea State School opened 24 January 1972 and the neighbouring Craigslea State High School opened on 28 January 1975. Both are now within

Chermside West Chermside West is a Suburbs and localities (Australia), suburb in the City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. In the , Chermside West had a population of 6,965 people. Parts of Chermside West were formerly known as Craigslea. Geography Cher ...

. In 1975, the area known as

was established as a separate suburb. Prince Charles Hospital Special School closed on 30 December 1983. The Burnie Brae Centre (also known as Chermside Senior Citizens Centre) opened in 1984, from funds raised by the Rotary Club of Chermside. It was named for the Burnie Brae Homestead that had originally occupied the site. Holy Spirit Northside Private Hospital opened 30 July 2001; it was operated by the

Sisters of Charity Many religious communities have the term Sisters of Charity in their name. Some ''Sisters of Charity'' communities refer to the Vincentian tradition alone, or in America to the tradition of Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton (whose sisters are also of ...

and the Holy Spirit Missionary Sisters. In September 2019 it was renamed St Vincent's Private Hospital Northside.

Demographics

In the , Chermside recorded a population of 8,170 people, with 53.2% female and 46.8% male. The median age of the Chermside population was 35 years of age, 2 years below the Australian median. 59.5% of people living in Chermside were born in Australia, compared to the national average of 69.8%; the next most common countries of birth were India 4%, New Zealand 3.8%, Philippines 2.7%, England 2.6%, China 1.5%. 67.9% of people spoke only English at home; the next most popular languages were 1.7% Malayalam,1.5% Tagalog, 1.3% Italian, 1.3% Mandarin, 0.9% Korean. In the , Chermside had a population of 9,315 people. It was described in that year as one of Brisbane's fastest developing suburbs. In the , Chermside had a population of 11,426 people.

Heritage listings

There are a number of heritage-listed sites in Chermside: * 590 Gympie Road (): Chermside School Building (former) & Arbor Day trees * 930 Gympie Road (): H.M. Wheller Garden Settlement * 992 Gympie Road (): Vellnagel's Blacksmith Shops *61 Kittyhawk Drive (): Chermside Historical Precinct * 9 Mermaid Street (): Chermside Telephone Exchange * 627 Rode Road (): Chermside Chest Clinic (former) boiler house chimney

Education

There are no schools in Chermside. The nearest government primary schools are Wavell Heights State School in neighbouring Wavell Heights to the east, Craigslea State School in neighbouring Chermside West to the west, Geebung State School in neighbouring Geebung to the north-east, and Somerset Hills State School in neighbouring Stafford Heights to the south-west. The nearest government secondary schools are Wavell Heights State High School in neighbouring Wavell Heights to the south-east and

Craigslea State High School Craigslea State High School is a State school, public, Mixed-sex education, co-educational, Secondary school, high school, located in the Brisbane suburb of Chermside West, in Queensland, Australia. It is administered by the Department of Educat ...

in neighbouring Chermside West to the west.

Facilities

Chermside Police Beat Shopfront is within the Westfield Shoppingtown (). Chermside Fire Station is at 526 Hamilton Road (). Chermside Ambulance Station is at 520 Hamilton Road, adjacent to the fire station (). There are a number of hospitals in Chermside: * The Prince Charles Hospital, 627 Rode Road (), a public hospital * St Vincent's Private Hospital Northside (), a private hospital * Icon Cancer Care Chermside (), a provate clinic for day patients * Chermside Dialysis Clinic (), a private clinic for day patients. * Chermside Day Hospital (), a private hospital for day patients * Hummingbird House (), a private hospice for children * Brisbane North Eye Centre at 708 Gympie Rd, Chermside QLD 4032. There are two medical centres in Chermside: * SmartClinics Chermside Family Medical centre Shop/212 Gympie Road. * Chermside Medical Centre Unit 2, 956 Gympie Road Chermside 4032. Wheller Gardens is a retirement village (). There are a number of radiology centres in Chermside: * Red Radiology 243 Hamilton Rd, Chermside 4032 * I-MED Radiology Chermside. Chermside Medical Complex, Suite 6, 956 Gympie Rd, Chermside, 4032 * Queensland Radiology Specialists. 621 Gympie Rd, Chermside QLD 4032

Amenities

There are a number of shopping centres in the Chermside: * Westfield Chermside, situated at the north-east corner of Gympie Road and Hamilton Road, is one of the largest shopping centres in Australia, featuring over 480 stores, a cinema complex, dining precincts, and extensive parking facilities. () * Chermside Markets shopping centre at 725 Webster Road () * Chermside Place shopping centre at 725 Gympie Road () The

operates a public library at 375 Hamilton Road (corner of Kittyhawk Drive, ). The Burnie Brae Centre (also known as Chermside Senior Citizens Centre) is at 60 Kuran Street (). All Saints Anglican Church is at 501 Hamilton Road (). Chermside Kedron Community Church is at 590 Gympie Road (corner of Rode Road, ) on the site of the former Chermside State School. It is part of the

Uniting Church in Australia The Uniting Church in Australia (UCA) is a united church in Australia. The church was founded on 22 June 1977 when most Wiktionary:congregation, congregations of the Methodist Church of Australasia, about two-thirds of the Presbyterian Church o ...

. The Sanctuary is at 930 Gympie Road (). It is with the grounds of the Wheller Gardens retirement village and is part of the

. The Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter Day Saints is at 391 Rode Road (). Centrepoint Church (formerly Chermside Assembly of God) is at 240 Hamilton Road (). It is part of the

Australian Christian Churches The Australian Christian Churches (ACC), formerly Assemblies of God in Australia, is a network of Finished Work Pentecostal churches in Australia affiliated with the World Assemblies of God Fellowship, which is the largest Pentecostal denomina ...

network.

Kedron Wavell RSL entrance Kittyhawk Drive Chermside L1020545

Kedron Wavell Services Club is at 21 Kittyhawk Drive. It offers dining, bars, and entertainment. It is operated by the Kedron Wavell RSL sub-branch and has over 60,000 members. As a not-for-profit organisation, surplus funds are used to fund community projects. Chermside SmartClinics Medical centre is in Chermside Shopping centre. Shop/212 Gympie Rd, Chermside QLD 4032 There are a number of sporting facilities: * Chermside Bowls Club at 468 Rode Road () * Shawsportz sports centre in Burringar Park () * Chermside Aquatic Centre & Water Park at 375 Hamilton Road () There are a number of parks including: * 7th Brigade Park (named in honour of the Australian 7th Brigade) at 375 Hamilton Road, which contains numerous facilities, such as the library and the aquatic centre at the Hamilton Road end and then extends northward with sporting fields and green space around Downfall Creek () *Burnie Brae Park (also known as Annand Park) at 106 Meemar Street (), including the Burnie Brae Centre (also known as Chermside Senior Citizens Centre) *Dead Man's Gully Park at 5 Abarth Street () *John Patterson Park (also known as Kidston Park) at 57 Norman Drive () *Packer Place (including Terry Hampson Reserve) at 25 The Boulevard ()

Attractions

The Chermside Historical Precinct is at 61 Kittyhawk Drive. It consists of three buildings: * the original Chermside State School building, built in 1900 and relocated to the site circa 1997 and now home to the Chermside & Districts Historical Society * the Sandgate Drill Hall, built in 1915 and relocated to the site in 2000 and now home to the

Milne Bay Milne Bay is a large bay in Milne Bay Province, south-eastern Papua New Guinea. More than long and over wide, Milne Bay is a sheltered deep-water harbor accessible via Ward Hunt Strait. It is surrounded by the heavily wooded Stirling Range (Papu ...

Memorial Library and Research Centre * Training Ship Voyager Centre Sea Scouts' hall (built circa 1964), now used as a community craft centre

Transport

Chermside is home to the Chermside bus station, a major public transport hub located adjacent to Westfield Chermside. It is serviced by numerous Translink bus routes that provide frequent connections to the Brisbane CBD, surrounding suburbs, and key destinations such as hospitals, universities, and train stations. The bus station features dedicated platforms, real-time service information, and accessibility facilities, making it a vital component of Brisbane’s northern transport network. The Northern Busway between the Royal Children's Hospital and Windsor was completed in August 2009, and an extra 3 km of busway between Windsor and Kedron opened in June 2012 with Airport Link and 2 new busway stations at Lutwyche and Kedron. Planning for the ultimate Northern Busway between Kedron and Bracken Ridge (including Chermside) is being revised with stages subject to funding and government priority. A dedicated bus lane, operating both inbound and outbound, was added in 2024 along Gympie Road between Kedron and Chermside, benefiting over 5,000 commuters during peak periods each weekday.

References

External links

Chermside & Districts Historical Society Inc.: Preserving Our Past is Our Future Web Archive

State Library of Queensland State Library of Queensland (State Library) is the state public reference and research library of Queensland, Australia, operated by the Government of Queensland, state government. The Library is governed by the Library Board of Queensland, whi ...

University of Queensland: Queensland Places: Chermside and Chermside WestChermside Suburb Information
* *

* {{Suburbs of Brisbane City Council Suburbs of the City of Brisbane Queensland in World War II