Hermit Park is a

suburb A suburb (more broadly suburban area) is an area within a metropolitan area, which may include commercial and mixed-use, that is primarily a residential area. A suburb can exist either as part of a larger city/urban area or as a separate ...

Townsville Townsville is a city on the north-eastern coast of Queensland, Australia. With a population of 180,820 as of June 2018, it is the largest settlement in North Queensland; it is unofficially considered its capital. Estimated resident population, 3 ...

in the

City of Townsville The City of Townsville is a local government area (LGA) located in North Queensland, Australia. It encompasses the city of Townsville, together with the surrounding rural areas, to the south are the communities of Alligator Creek, Woodstock ...

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...

, Australia. In the Hermit Park had a population of 3,414 people.

Geography

Hermit Park is a mixture of predominantly residential premises, commercial and light-industrial businesses, as well as serving as a

public services A public service is any Service (economics), service intended to address specific needs pertaining to the aggregate members of a community. Public services are available to people within a government jurisdiction as provided directly through pub ...

hub. North Townsville Road (Woolcock Street) runs along the northern boundary, and

Townsville Connection Road Townsville road network is a group of roads that provide access to the urban areas of Townsville in Queensland, Australia, and enable travel between the communities. Most of the roads retain their original road or street names, and are not well know ...

(Charters Towers Road) runs along the western boundary.

History

Hermit Park is situated in the traditional

Wulgurukaba The Manbarra, otherwise known as the Wulgurukaba, are Aboriginal Australian people, and the traditional custodians of the Palm Islands, Magnetic Island, and an area of mainland Queensland to the west of Townsville. The Manbarra people were forci ...

Aboriginal country. The origin of the suburb name Hermit Park is from the residence of a business owner Leopold Ferdinand Sachs.

Hermit Park State School Hyde Park is a suburb in the City of Townsville, Queensland, Australia. In the Hyde Park had a population of 1,387 people. Geography Hyde Park is north of Mysterton, west of Hermit Park, east of Pimlico, and south of West End, and its po ...

opened on 16 June 1924. Hermit Park Infants State School was separated from it on 1 February 1955, but closed on 17 December 1993 and became part of the State School again. This school is still in operation but it is now within the boundaries of the neighbouring suburb of

Hyde Park Hyde Park may refer to: Places England * Hyde Park, London, a Royal Park in Central London * Hyde Park, Leeds, an inner-city area of north-west Leeds * Hyde Park, Sheffield, district of Sheffield * Hyde Park, in Hyde, Greater Manchester Austra ...

. St Margaret Mary's Catholic Primary School was established in 1936 by the

Sisters of the Good Samaritan The Congregation of the Sisters of the Good Samaritan, colloquially known as the "Good Sams", is a Roman Catholic congregation of religious women commenced by Bede Polding, OSB, Australia’s first Catholic bishop, in Sydney in 1857. The congreg ...

Bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

Terrence McGuire Publius Terentius Afer (; – ), better known in English as Terence (), was a Roman African playwright during the Roman Republic. His comedies were performed for the first time around 166–160 BC. Terentius Lucanus, a Roman senator, brought T ...

had purchased the Woodlands estate from the Cummins family to use as a convent for the sisters, which was called Saint Philomena's. The need for secondary education for girls in the area led to the sisters establishing St Margaret Mary's College, which was officially opened by Bishop Hugh Ryan on 22 February 1963 with an initial enrolment of 50 girls. St Margaret Mary's Catholic Primary School closed on 11 December 1987, after which it was amalgamated with St John Fisher's Christian Brothers College ( Currajong) and the Holy Family Catholic Primary School (

Gulliver Gulliver may refer to: __NOTOC__ Arts and entertainment * Lemuel Gulliver, the protagonist of Jonathan Swift's novel ''Gulliver's Travels'' *the title character of ''Brian Gulliver's Travels'', a satirical BBC radio series *Gary Gulliver, the t ...

) to create

The Marian School Marian Catholic School is an independent Roman Catholic co-educational primary school located in Currajong, a suburb of City of Townsville, Queensland, Australia. It currently has approximately 350 students and is administered by Catholic Educa ...

which opened on 21 January 1988 in Currajong. In 1995, St Mary's School ( West End) was also amalgamated into The Marian School. St Margaret Mary's College continues to operate but is now within the boundaries of the neighbouring suburb of

. A

red light district A red-light district or pleasure district is a part of an urban area where a concentration of prostitution and sex-oriented businesses, such as sex shops, strip clubs, and adult theaters, are found. In most cases, red-light districts are partic ...

developed along Herauld Street and the Causeway Hotel before

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. The Causeway Hotel took its name from the causeway over the nearby embankment and bridge that crossed Ross Creek to provide access to the Townsvillle city centre. However, the massive influx of Australian and American troops into Townsville during World War II caused a dramatic increase in the number of brothels and prostitutes in the area and there were many disturbances in the area, attracting the attention of the local police and military police. The area was also believed to be the cause of considerable

venereal disease Sexually transmitted infections (STIs), also referred to as sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) and the older term venereal diseases, are infections that are spread by sexual activity, especially vaginal intercourse, anal sex, and oral se ...

among the troops which affected military operations, leading to a directive in November 1942 that the Causeway Red Light District was out of bounds for troops. In 1945 some houses burned down in the area and another was washed away in the flood. In 1969 the Townsville City Council resumed all of the properties in the area and demolished them, renaming Herauld Street to be Ford Street and Brodie Street, in order to remove the bad reputation of the area. Hermit Park Special School opened in January 1979 and closed in 1979. In the Hermit Park had a population of 3,414 people.

Facilities

The Family History Association of North Queensland operates a library at 5 Baker Street (); the society supports the research and study of

family Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...

and

local Local may refer to: Geography and transportation * Local (train), a train serving local traffic demand * Local, Missouri, a community in the United States * Local government, a form of public administration, usually the lowest tier of administrat ...

history and related subjects.

References

External links

* {{Suburbs of Townsville Suburbs of Townsville