Chermside 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 separ ...

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 , Chermside had a population of 9,315 people. The suburb is situated by road north of the Brisbane CBD. It is home to a large Westfield shopping centre.

Geography

Chermside is a key destination along

Queensland Transport The Department of Transport and Main Roads, known often as TMR, is a department of the Queensland Government, formed in April 2009 with the merger of the Queensland Transport and the Department of Main Roads. The department manages Queensland ...

's future Northern Busway, and home to

Westfield Chermside Westfield Chermside, colloquially known as 'Chermside or Chermy', is a regional shopping centre located in the Brisbane northern suburb of Chermside. It is the second largest regional shopping centre in Australia by number of stores, behind Cha ...

, the largest Westfield shopping centre in Australia, with a three-storey

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

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 Goldfield or Goldfields may refer to: Places * Goldfield, Arizona, the former name of Youngberg, Arizona, a populated place in the United States * Goldfield, Colorado, a community in the United States * Goldfield, Iowa, a city in the United Sta ...

Gympie Gympie ( ) is a city and a locality in the Gympie Region, Queensland, Australia. In the Wide Bay-Burnett District, Gympie is about north of the state capital, Brisbane. The city lies on the Mary River, which floods Gympie occasionally. The ...

Chermside Methodist Church in Brisbane, 1950 (4969961746)

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 in the state of Queensland of the monarch of Australia. In an analogous way to the governor-general of Australia at the national level, the governor performs constitutional and ceremonial func ...

, 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 archdio ...

St Clair Donaldson St Clair George Alfred Donaldson (11 February 1863 – 7 December 1935) was an English Anglican bishop. He was the first Anglican Archbishop of Brisbane, Australia. Early life Donaldson was the third son of Sir Stuart Alexander Donaldson and hi ...

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 materials, books or media that are accessible for use and not just for display purposes. A library provides physical (hard copies) or digital access (soft copies) materials, and may be a physical location or a vi ...

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

Library service and had a major refurbishment in 2017. ''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 novel by Victor Hugo, originally published in April 1869 under the French title ''L'Homme qui rit''. It takes place in England beg ...

''). 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 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, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

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

U.S. Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cl ...

units, including a number of

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

soldiers. A Kitty Hawk

airplane An airplane or aeroplane (informally plane) is a fixed-wing aircraft that is propelled forward by thrust from a jet engine, propeller, or rocket engine. Airplanes come in a variety of sizes, shapes, and wing configurations. The broad ...

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

tram A tram (called a streetcar or trolley in North America) is a rail vehicle that travels on tramway tracks on public urban streets; some include segments on segregated right-of-way. The tramlines or networks operated as public transport ...

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 trams (in the US, typically called a "private right-of-way"). Description Unlike street running track embedded in streets and roads, reserved track does not need t ...

"), 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

first opened in 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, each area ("department") specializing in a product category. In modern major cities, the department store made a dramatic appe ...

. 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 stores owned and operated by Apple Inc. The stores sell various Apple products, including Mac personal computers, iPhone smartphones, iPad tablet computers, Apple Watch smartwatches, Apple TV digital me ...

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

. 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. He was the longest-serving heir apparent and Prince of Wales and, at age 73, became the oldest person to a ...

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

Kmart Kmart Corporation ( , doing business as Kmart and stylized as kmart) is an American retail company that owns a chain of big box department stores. The company is headquartered in Hoffman Estates, Illinois, United States. The company was inc ...

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 Woolworth, Woolworth's, or Woolworths may refer to: Businesses * F. W. Woolworth Company, the original US-based chain of "five and dime" (5¢ and 10¢) stores * Woolworths Group (United Kingdom), former operator of the Woolworths chain of shop ...

supermarket and specialty stores. Both

and Coles have been relocated in

. Craigslea State School opened 24 January 1972 and the neighbouring Craiglea State High School opened on 28 January 1975. Both are now within Chermside West. In 1975 the area known as Chermside West 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, or in America to the tradition of Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton, but others are unrelated. The ...

and the Holy Spirit Missionary Sisters. In September 2019 it was renamed St Vincent's Private Hospital Northside. In the , Chermside recorded a population of 8,170 people, 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.

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 public secondary school located in Chermside West in the northern suburbs of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. The school first opened in 1975 and was officially opened in 2000 by the honourable Dean Wells. The ...

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 There is a medical centre in Chermside: * SmartClinics Chermside Family Medical centre Shop/212 Gympie Road. Wheller Gardens is a retirement village ().

Amenities

There are a number of shopping centres in the Chermside: * Westfield Shoppingtown Chermside at the north-east corner of Gympie Road and Hamilton Road () * 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) was founded on 22 June 1977, when most congregations of the Methodist Church of Australasia, about two-thirds of the Presbyterian Church of Australia and almost all the churches of the Congregational Uni ...

. 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 Pentecostal churches in Australia affiliated with the World Assemblies of God Fellowship, which is the largest Pentecostal denomination in the w ...

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 7th Brigade is a combined arms formation or brigade of the Australian Army. The brigade was first raised in 1912 as a Militia formation, although it was re-formed as part of the First Australian Imperial Force in early 1915 for service during ...

) 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 to th ...

Memorial Library and Research Centre * Training Ship

Voyager Voyager may refer to: Computing and communications * LG Voyager, a mobile phone model manufactured by LG Electronics * NCR Voyager, a computer platform produced by NCR Corporation * Voyager (computer worm), a computer worm affecting Oracle ...

Centre Sea Scouts' hall (built circa 1964), now used as a community craft centre

Transport

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.

References

External links

Chermside and Districts Historical SocietyUniversity 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