Rocklea 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 ...

in the

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

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 , Rocklea had a population of 1,595 people.

Geography

Rocklea is located 9 kilometres south of the city. The west of the suburb is bordered by the

Oxley Creek The Oxley Creek ( Yagara: ''Benarrawa'') is a creek that is a tributary of the Brisbane River, located in suburban Brisbane in the South East region of Queensland, Australia. Rising in the low hills in Scenic Rim Region, water from the large ...

. The suburb's name is derived from the Rocky Waterholes in the area. It is also at one end of the

Ipswich Motorway The Ipswich Motorway (M7) is a major road that connects Brisbane and Ipswich in South East Queensland, Australia. It commences at the junction of Ipswich Road and Granard Road and proceeds through to the M2 Logan Motorway interchange. It is the ...

; Ipswich Road continues north from the Ipswich Motorway, through Moorooka and into the

Brisbane central business district Brisbane City is the central suburb and central business district of Brisbane, the state capital of Queensland, Australia. It is colloquially referred to as the "Brisbane CBD" or "the city". It is located on a point on the northern bank of the ...

. The

Beenleigh railway line The Beenleigh railway line is a suburban railway line extending east-southeast from Brisbane Central railway station, the state capital of Queensland, Australia. It is part of the Queensland Rail City network. History Originally known a ...

passes through the suburb which is serviced by Rocklea railway station. Rocklea is a mostly

industrial suburb An industrial suburb is a community, near a large city, with an industrial economy. These communities may be established as tax havens or as places where zoning promotes industry, or they may be industrial towns that become suburbs by urban spr ...

, being the home to many large firms from a range industries.

History

The locality was originally called Rocky Waterholes Creek. It was renamed Rocklea after a town in

Dorset Dorset ( ; archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the unitary authority areas of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole and Dorset. Covering an area of , Do ...

, England, with the opening of the

in 1884 as it was felt the original name was too long. The suburb was once the centre of the

Shire of Yeerongpilly The Shire of Yeerongpilly was a local government area in the southern suburbs of Brisbane, Queensland. The shire, administered from Rocklea, covered an area of , and existed as a local government entity from 1879 until 1925, when it was split u ...

, which was established in 1879 and disbanded in 1925 after the

was created. In August 1884, E. Hooker and Son auctioned 29 allotments of the Rocklea Estate. The map shows area near Ipswich Road and the Rocklea railway station. In September 1884, Hooker, Sons and Elliott Auctioneers auctioned 214 allotments of the Rocklea Township estate. The allotments were on Hawtree, Brier, Piers, Holmes and Blackburn Streets. Also in September 1884, John W. Todd auctioned 28 large blocks of the Mount Pleasant Estate. The map shows the area in Rocklea bordered by Ipswich Road and what is now Boundary Road, opposite what is now Archerfield Airport. In September 1884, 238 subdivided allotments of Rocky Waterholes Township Proper were auctioned by John Cameron. The following year, in December 1885, 152 subdivided allotments of Rocky Waterholes Township Proper Estate were auctioned by John Cameron Auctioneer. A map advertising the estate shows it to be very close to Rocky Waterholes Creek. Rocklea State School opened on 29 September 1885. In January 1925, work commenced on the

Sydney–Brisbane rail corridor The Sydney–Brisbane railway corridor is a long standard-gauge railway corridor that connects the state capitals of Brisbane (Queensland) and Sydney (New South Wales) in Australia. Description The corridor consists of the first of the Main ...

. Rocklea Tramline Estate was advertised for auction on 11 September 1915 by Henry B Watson, auctioneer. 189 building sites were offered on Freney and Bale Streets, Rocklea. The map advertising the estate sale states that the estate was six minutes from Rocklea and Salisbury railway stations. Show Ground Estate Rocklea was offered for sale in the late 1920s by Queensland Development Company, consisting of 104 allotments. The estate map shows the Sydney-Brisbane rail corridor under construction (built 1925-1930). The Estate was adjacent to the Rocklea Showground and included Goburra, Corella, Boobook and Galah Streets. The southern border of the estate is labelled Fauna Parade, now Fauna Parade Park. In May 1928, W. J. Down and Co auctioned 55 allotments of the Abercrombie Estate. The map shows that the estate is in walking distance from the Rocklea railway station. A congregation of the Church of Christ was formed in 1934, following some years of operating a Sunday school in the local Masonic Hall. A church was built in 1941 at 22 Annie Street; it was the first church in Rocklea. Increasing housing built in the area required a larger church. On Saturday 7 November 1953, a new church building was opened on the corner of Short Street and Granard Road. The increasing industrialisation in the area reduced the size of the congregation, eventually resulting in the church's in the 1970s, The church was relocated to Boonah to be used as the Dayspring Renewal Centre, the hall was relocated to Silverdale, and the funds from the sale of the land were given to support the church in Springwood. In 1949,

Commonwealth Engineering Commonwealth Engineering (often shortened to Com-Eng, later Comeng was an Australian engineering company that designed and built railway locomotives, rolling stock and trams. History Smith and Waddington, the predecessor to Commonwealth Engi ...

established a railway factory in Rocklea. The Brisbane Markets on a were officially opened on 31 August 1964 by the

Premier of Queensland The premier of Queensland is the head of government in the Australian state of Queensland. By convention the premier is the leader of the party with a parliamentary majority in the unicameral Legislative Assembly of Queensland. The premier is a ...

Frank Nicklin Sir George Francis Reuben Nicklin, (6 August 1895 – 29 January 1978) was an Australian politician. He was the Premier of Queensland from 1957 to 1968, the first non- Labor Party premier since 1932. The first markets in Brisbane were at Market Street and produce was delivered by boats on the Brisbane River. In 1864 the markets relocated to Roma Street Markets where they were very well-located to Roma Street railway station which opened in 1873 enabling produce to be sent by rail. The markets expanded over time into Turbot Street until the traffic congestion created by the markets forced the markets to move to the suburbs in the 1960s. On 31 July 2009, the last race was held at the Rocklea horse

harness racing Harness racing is a form of horse racing in which the horses race at a specific gait (a trot or a pace). They usually pull a two-wheeled cart called a sulky, or spider, or chariot occupied by a driver. In Europe, and less frequently in Austral ...

track. Rocklea was Brisbane's worst affected suburb in the

2010–2011 Queensland floods A series of floods hit Queensland, Australia, beginning in November 2010. The floods forced the evacuation of thousands of people from towns and cities. At least 90 towns and over 200,000 people were affected. Damage initially was estimated at a ...

. The

Bunnings warehouse Bunnings Group Limited, trading as Bunnings Warehouse or Bunnings, is an Australian household hardware chain. The chain has been owned by Wesfarmers since 1994, and has stores in Australia and New Zealand. Bunnings was founded in Perth, Wester ...

on Granard Road was flooded and was closed for 2 months. In the , the population of Rocklea was 1,255, 45.3% female and 54.7% male. The median age of the Rocklea population was 36 years, one year below the Australian median. 60.5% of people living in Rocklea were born in Australia, which is somewhat less than the national average of 69.8%. The other top responses for country of birth were New Zealand 5.2%, England 2.5%, India 2.2%, China 1.8%, Russia 1.4%. 69.4% of people spoke only English at home; the next most popular languages were 2.9% Russian, 2.8% Vietnamese, 2.1% Mandarin, 1.8% Tamil, 1.7% Arabic. The most common religious affiliation was "no religion" (25%), followed by Catholic (22%) and Anglican (10%). In the , Rocklea had a population of 1,595 people.

Education

Rocklea State School is a government primary (Prep-6) school for boys and girls at 19 Elmes Road (). In 2017, the school had an enrolment of 38 students with 7 teachers (4 full-time equivalent) and 8 non-teaching staff (4 full-time equivalent). There is no secondary school in Rocklea. The nearest secondary schools are

Corinda State High School , motto_translation = Not only for today but for tomorrow also , established = 1960 , principal = Helen Jamieson , type = Public, co-educational, secondary, day school , city = Brisbane , state ...

in Corinda to the north-west, Yeronga State High School in Yeronga to the north-east, and

Glenala State High School Glenala State High School is a high school located on Glenala Road in Durack, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian cont ...

in Inala to the south-west.

Industry

The suburb is predominately zoned for industrial land uses. Many of the companies situated in Rocklea are part of the transport sector, with the proximity to

Archerfield Airport Archerfield can refer to: * Archerfield, Queensland, a suburb in Brisbane, Australia ** Archerfield Airport ** RAAF Station Archerfield, a former RAAF base at Archerfield Airport *Archerfield Estate and Links Archerfield and Archerfield Links are ...

being a drawcard. The Rocklea Works of

English Electric N.º UIC: 9094 110 1449-3 (Takargo Rail) The English Electric Company Limited (EE) was a British industrial manufacturer formed after the Armistice of 11 November 1918, armistice of World War I by amalgamating five businesses which, during t ...

built diesel-electric locomotives for several operators including the Queensland Railways 1600 class and successor classes. DuluxGroup's main paint manufacturing facility is located in the suburb. The Brisbane Markets occupy a site on Sherwood Road () where fresh fruit, vegetables, and flowers are sold to the wholesalers and retailers.

Flooding

Rocklea is one of Brisbane's most flood affected suburbs. Severe damage was experienced in both the

1974 Brisbane flood In January 1974 a flood occurred in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia after three weeks of continual rain. The Brisbane River, which runs through the heart of the city, broke its banks and flooded the surrounding areas. The cyclone that prod ...

and

. Flooding in Rocklea is particularly harmful to the coastal ecosystem because of the oil and other toxic chemicals which are washed downstream. The effect of flooding on the Brisbane Markets was minor in 1974 but since then the site has grown five times and in 2011 35 buildings were inundated. After the 2011 flood, home and land values in the suburb decreased dramatically. The median house price decreased by 23.9%.

References

External links

* {{Suburbs of Brisbane City Council Suburbs of the City of Brisbane