Darra is a south-western

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. In the , Darra had a population of 4,098 people.

Geography

Darra is located by road south-west of the Brisbane GPO. The suburb features the cross over 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 t ...

(M7) and

Centenary Motorway The M5 (Centenary Motorway) is a motorway in the western suburbs of Brisbane, Australia. It starts at the terminus of the A5 Centenary Highway at Springfield, and ends at Kenmore where it changes its name to the M5 Western Freeway. It fe ...

(M5). Brisbane Technology Park Westlink Green is located at Westlink Court, next to Darra railway station.

History

The first subdivisions in the area occurred in 1864. Wolston Estate was the property of M. B. Goggs, whose father obtained the land forty years previously in the 1860s and after whom Goggs Road is named. The name ''Darra'' comes from the

Darra railway station Darra railway station is located on the Main line in Queensland, Australia. It serves the Brisbane suburb of Darra. History A stop at "nine miles forty four chain" from Central was established when the line between Ipswich and Brisbane was ...

, which in turn was named in mid-1876 by the

Queensland Railways Department Queensland Rail (QR) is a railway operator in Queensland, Australia. Queensland Rail is owned by the Queensland Government, and operates both suburban and interurban rail services in South East Queensland, as well as long-distance passenger t ...

. In 1914, the Railways did not know the origin of the name. In 1884 Darra was the scene of a serious collision between two trains; James Griffith, the driver of the passenger train, was fatally injured, and several passengers also suffered. In 1879, the local government area of Yeerongpilly Division was created. In 1891, parts of Yeerongpilly Division were excised to create Sherwood Division becoming a Shire in 1903 which contained the area of Wolston Estate. A portion of Darra comes from the Wolston Estate, consisting of 54 farms on an area of 3000 acres, offered for auction at Centennial Hall, Brisbane, on 16 October 1901. Only three of the farms sold at the original auction. Darra Methodist Church opened on Saturday 13 March 1915 by Reverend William Smith, President of the Queensland Methodist Conference. When the Methodist Church amalgamated into 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 ...

, it became the Darra Uniting Church. In 1914, Queensland Cement and Lime Company was formed established a cement manufacturing plant in Darra. The company (by then known as Queensland Cement Limited) closed the Darra plant in 1998 after losing its right to dredge

Moreton Bay Moreton Bay is a bay located on the eastern coast of Australia from central Brisbane, Queensland. It is one of Queensland's most important coastal resources. The waters of Moreton Bay are a popular destination for recreational anglers and are ...

for

coral Corals are colonial marine invertebrates within the subphylum Anthozoa of the phylum Cnidaria. They typically form compact Colony (biology), colonies of many identical individual polyp (zoology), polyps. Coral species include the important Coral ...

from which

lime Lime most commonly refers to: * Lime (fruit), a green citrus fruit * Lime (material), inorganic materials containing calcium, usually calcium oxide or calcium hydroxide * Lime (color), a color between yellow and green Lime may also refer to: Bo ...

was extracted to make cement. Darra State School opened on 1 June 1916. In 1925, the

Shire of Sherwood The Shire of Sherwood is a former local government areas of Queensland, local government area of Queensland, Australia, located in south-western Brisbane in and around the suburb of Sherwood, Queensland, Sherwood. History On 11 November 1879, ...

was amalgamated into the

. Our Lady of the Sacred Heart School was established on 5 April 1937 by the Sisters of Our Lady of the Sacred Heart. In 1987 the school opened a pre-school at Jindalee and the school's name became Darra-Jindalee Catholic School. The Jindalee site was closed in 2003. On 14 July 2008 the school was again renamed to be Our Lady of the Sacred Heart School Darra. In 1954, the Darra RSL Memorial Hall was opened. Sumner was known as Darra until 1969 when it became a separate suburb. Vietnamese refugees began to settle in the area in 1975. The origin of the word Darra came from the Aboriginal word for 'stones'. The Anglican Church of the Holy Spirit was dedicated in 1955 by Venerable Harold John Richards. Its closure about 28 October 2010 was approved 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 ...

Phillip Aspinall Phillip John Aspinall (born 17 December 1959) is an Australian Anglican bishop who served as Anglican Archbishop of Brisbane from February 2002 until December 2022, and was also the Primate of the Anglican Church of Australia from July 2005 u ...

. The houses are mainly of the Queenslander style built in the 1940s and 1950s. The majority of blocks in Darra are large enough to be subdivided, which is becoming popular in the suburb, hence making room for more modern homes. In the last few years, a property developer bought a vast tract of vacant,

government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a State (polity), state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive (government), execu ...

land. As a result, there are now many new homes and

townhouse A townhouse, townhome, town house, or town home, is a type of Terraced house, terraced housing. A modern townhouse is often one with a small footprint on multiple floors. In a different British usage, the term originally referred to any type o ...

s built in Darra, which has increased its population and its geographical boundaries.

Demographics

In the , Darra had a population of 4,343 people. In the , Darra had a population of 4,098 people.

Education

Darra State School is a government primary (Preparatory to Year 6) school for boys and girls at Winslow Street (). In 2017, the school had an enrolment of 201 students with 22 teachers (16 full-time equivalent) and 17 non-teaching staff (12 full-time equivalent). Our Lady of the Sacred Heart Catholic Primary School is a Catholic primary (Preparatory to Year 6) school for boys and girls at 115 Darra Station Road (). In 2017, the school had an enrolment of 531 students with 38 teachers (33 full-time equivalent) and 15 non-teaching staff (11 full-time equivalent). There are no secondary schools in Darra. The nearest government secondary schools are

Centenary State High School Centenary State High School is a government secondary (7–12) school at 1 Moolanda Street, Jindalee, City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. It is a co-curricular, co-educational school that opened in 1999. At that time, it catered for stud ...

in Jindalee to the north,

Corinda State High School Corinda State High School (CSHS) is a non-selective, co-educational, state secondary school, located in Corinda, Queensland, Australia. The school was established in 1960. Campus The school is located on one campus in the western suburbs of Br ...

in Corinda to the north-east, and

Glenala State High School Glenala State High School is a public, co-educational, high school, located on Glenala Road in Durack, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia, on the border with Inala. It is administered by the Department of Education, with an enrolment of 1,053 stud ...

in Durack to the south-west.

Amenities

Linh Son Temple, a Vietnamese Buddhist temple is located in the suburb. Darra Vietnamese Uniting Church is at 6 Lee Road ().

Transport

provides access to regular

Queensland Rail City network Railways in South East Queensland consist of a large passenger and freight rail network centred on Brisbane, the capital city of the Australian state of Queensland. Suburban and interurban passenger rail services are operated by Queensland Rai ...

services to Brisbane CBD,

Ipswich Ipswich () is a port town and Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough in Suffolk, England. It is the county town, and largest in Suffolk, followed by Lowestoft and Bury St Edmunds, and the third-largest population centre in East Anglia, ...

Rosewood Rosewood is any of a number of richly hued hardwoods, often brownish with darker veining, but found in other colours. It is hard, tough, strong, and dense. True rosewoods come from trees of the genus '' Dalbergia'', but other woods are often ca ...

and Springfield. When the railway was completed in 1876 "with a stop at nine mile eighty four chain gate", halfway between the planned Oxley railway station and Wacol railway station, the site was set for the future Darra. The station was once the terminus for the first of Brisbane's electric rail lines, linked to Ferny Grove railway station in 1979. The Centenary Freeway and the

provide access to the Brisbane CBD. Bus routes travel to surrounding suburbs of Inala, Mount Ommaney, Middle Park, Jamboree Heights, Riverhills and Sinnamon Park

Boy Swallows Universe

"Boy Swallows Universe," a novel by Trent Dalton, published in 2018, is a compelling coming-of-age story set in 1980s Brisbane, Australia. The narrative centres around Eli Bell, a young boy navigating a life filled with complex characters and challenging circumstances. This critically acclaimed novel skilfully blends elements of magical realism with harsh realities, creating a unique and captivating reading experience. The story is deeply rooted in the suburb of Darra, Brisbane, which plays a significant role in shaping the plot and characters. Darra, with its distinct socioeconomic landscape, serves as a backdrop that is both gritty and vibrant, mirroring the tumultuous journey of Eli and the people around him. The connection of "Boy Swallows Universe" with Darra, Brisbane, is not just geographical but also deeply personal and symbolic. Darra represents the quintessential working-class suburb, characterized by its multicultural community and the struggles of its residents. For Eli, Darra is a place of contrasts - it is where he encounters violence and crime, as well as love and hope. The suburb's essence is woven into the narrative, influencing Eli's worldview and his journey towards understanding the complexities of life and human nature. The book's portrayal of Darra is authentic and evocative, bringing to life the atmosphere of 1980s Brisbane and offering a profound commentary on the social and cultural dynamics of the time. The Netflix series "Boy Swallows Universe" is an adaptation of Trent Dalton's novel, set in 1980s Brisbane, Australia. It is an 8-episode limited series commissioned by Netflix and produced by Brouhaha Entertainment, Anonymous Content, and Chapter One. The story revolves around Eli Bell, a young boy from a working-class family who faces the harsh realities of life in the suburbs, including the criminal underworld that threatens his family. The series stars Felix Cameron as Eli Bell, with a supporting cast including Travis Fimmel, Simon Baker, and Phoebe Tonkin. The show has been praised for its balance of despair and optimism, humour, and warmth, despite the traumatic backdrop of the characters' lives.

References

External links

* {{Suburbs of Brisbane City Council Darra Populated places established in 1864 1864 establishments in Australia