Wavell Heights is a suburb 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 , establishe ...

, Australia. In the , Wavell Heights had a population of 9,684 people.

Geography

Wavell Heights is located north of 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 land use is almost entirely residential, apart from Mercer Park and Shaw Park in the southernmost part of the suburb.

History

In December 1935 the Methodist Church bought four parcels of land in Rode Road. A timber-framed weatherboard-clad building opened on 28 May 1938 and was used for all church purposes: services, Sunday school and social activities. It was known as the West Nundah Methodist Church. The building was extended in 1947 to cater for a larger congregation. In 1957 a new brick church was opened beside the original building, which was then only used as a church hall. In 1977 the Methodist Church was amalgamated into the Uniting Church of Australia and the church and hall are now known as the Wavell Heights Uniting Church and Hall. The Catholic Church of St Paschal Baylon was opened and blessed by Archbishop

James Duhig Sir James Duhig KCMG (2 September 187110 April 1965) was an Irish-born Australian Roman Catholic religious leader. He was the Archbishop of Brisbane for 48 years from 1917 until his death in 1965. At the time of his death he was the longest-s ...

on 8 August 1937. Due to the growth in the congregation, a new building was constructed with the church on the lower floor and space for a school on the upper floor. In 1941 the

Brisbane City Council Brisbane City Council (BCC) is the democratic executive local government authority for the City of Brisbane, the capital city of the state of Queensland, Australia. The largest City Council in Australia by population and area, BCC's jurisd ...

requested that the area commonly known as West Nundah be recognised as Wavell Heights. It is named after Field Marshal Lord Wavell who was the Commander-In-Chief of the Allied Forces in the Middle East during the

Second World War 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 opposi ...

. Wavell Heights State School opened on 27 January 1948, following a post-war expansion in Brisbane's northern suburbs. Through the 1950s and 1960s, the school grew to be a large primary school with over 900 enrolments, but during the 1970s, this number began to decline dramatically. By the 1990s, enrolments were as low as 210, but this number has since increased to over 300. In April 2011, one of the school's main classroom buildings was destroyed in an arson attack. Our Lady of the Angels' Catholic School opened on 22 January 1950 under the management of the

Presentation Sisters The Presentation Sisters, officially the Sisters of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, are a religious institute of Roman Catholic women founded in Cork, Ireland, by the Venerable Honora "Nano" Nagle in 1775. The Sisters of the congre ...

until the mid-1990s when the school came under lay leadership. Wavell Heights Presbyterian Church opened in 1953. St Thomas' Anglican Church was dedicated on 13 October 1957 by Archbishhop

Reginald Halse Sir Reginald Charles Halse KBE CMG (16 June 1881 – 9 August 1962) was the Bishop of Riverina from 1925 to 1943 and then Archbishop of Brisbane until his death in 1962. Halse was educated at St Paul's School, London and Brasenose College, O ...

. Its closure on 21 December 1990 was approved by Assistant Bishop George Browning. It was deconsecrated was authorised by Archbishop

Peter Hollingworth Peter John Hollingworth (born 10 April 1935) is an Australian retired Anglican bishop. Engaged in social work for several decades, he served as the archbishop of the Anglican Diocese of Brisbane in Queensland for 11 years from 1989 and was the ...

. It was at 4 Watcombe Street in Chermside East which is now within Wavell Heights (). As at 2020, the church building is being used as a residence but the cross on the roof and the words "St Thomas" on the front have been retained. Wavell State High School opened on 27 January 1959. In the , Wavell Heights recorded a population of 9,435 people; 51.7% female and 48.3% male. The median age of the Wavell Heights population was 36 years, 1 year below the Australian median. Children aged under 15 years made up 20.9% of the population and people aged 65 years and over made up 13.1% of the population. 78.5% of people living in Wavell Heights were born in Australia, compared to the national average of 69.8%; the next most common countries of birth were New Zealand 3.7%, England 3.2%, Philippines 0.8%, India 0.8%, Italy 0.6%. 87.8% of people spoke only English at home; the next most popular languages were 1.3% Italian, 0.5% Tagalog, 0.5% Cantonese, 0.5% Mandarin, 0.4% French. In the , Wavell Heights had a population of 9,684 people.

Heritage listings

Wavell Heights has a number of heritage-listed sites: * 36 Highcrest Avenue: Tooroonga * 57 Highcrest Avenue: Pfingst Farmhouse * 35 Odonnell Street: Hamlin's Nursery Residence * 2 Rode Road: former Dr Hedley Brown Residence * 142 Rode Road: Anzac Cottage * 149 Rode Road: former West Nundah Methodist Church (also known as The Uniting Church Hall) * 214 Rode Road: Westwood Farmhouse * 184 Shaw Road: former Brook Hill Hospital (also known as Brook Hill Convalescent Home) * 121 Spence Road: Gohdes Farmhouse * Telopia Avenue (): Wavell State High School buildings

Education

Wavell Heights State School is a government primary (Prep-6) school for boys and girls at Minore Street (). In 2018, the school had an enrolment of 491 students with 33 teachers (29 full-time equivalent) and 23 non-teaching staff (13 full-time equivalent). Our Lady of the Angels' School is a Catholic primary (Prep-6) school for boys and girls at 30 Warraba Avenue (). In 2018, the school had an enrolment of 602 students with 40 teachers (34 full-time equivalent) and 23 non-teaching staff (13 full-time equivalent).

Wavell State High School Wavell State High School is a coeducational independent public secondary school based in Wavell Heights, City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. The school has a total enrolment of more than 1500 students from years 7–12, with an official co ...

is a government secondary (7-12) school for boys and girls at Telopia Avenue (). In 2018, the school had an enrolment of 1,597 students with 120 teachers (116 full-time equivalent) and 40 non-teaching staff (33 full-time equivalent). It includes a special education program. It is among the largest of public secondary schools in Brisbane's northern suburbs.

Amenities

St Paschal's Catholic Church is at 30 Warraba Street (). Weekly services are held on Saturday and Sunday. Wavell Heights Presbyterian Church is at 64 Spence Road (). Weekly services are held on Sunday. Wavell Heights Wesleyan Methodist church is at 59 Simla Avenue in Geebung. It is part of the Wesleyan Methodist Church. Wavell Heights is serviced by the Wavell Heights Neighbourhood Society Inc. which manages the Murray Duus park on Edinburgh Castle Road, Wavell Heights, including the subleasing of areas to a kindergarten, Karate club, girl guides, scouts and a lapidary club. The Society also manages a public tennis court and a community centre, consisting of a hall with two floors, stages and kitchen facilities. Major roads include Hamilton Road and Bilsen Road. The Wavell Heights Neighbourhood Society Inc. is unique in that it is the only organisation within Brisbane to manage a park precinct on behalf of the Brisbane City Council.

Notable residents

Darryl Brohman Darryl Gregory Brohman (born 22 June 1956), also known by the nickname of "The Big Marn", is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1970s and 1980s, and coached in the 1980s, now best known as a commentat ...

, rugby league player and coach *

Jacob Elordi Jacob Elordi (born 26 June 1997) is an Australian actor. He is known for his roles as Noah Flynn in Netflix's ''The Kissing Booth'' teen film franchise and Nate Jacobs in the HBO series ''Euphoria''. Early life Elordi was born on 26 June 199 ...

- actor

References

External links

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