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Fig Tree Pocket is a riverside 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 , Fig Tree Pocket had a population of 4,345 people. Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary is the oldest and largest koala sanctuary in the world. It is a tourist and education centre.


Geography

The suburb is located on a river pocket along the northern bank of
Brisbane River The Brisbane River (Turrbal language, Turrbal: ) is the longest river in South East Queensland, Australia. It flows through the city of Brisbane, before emptying into Moreton Bay on the Coral Sea. John Oxley, the first European to explore the ...
. It is bounded to the east, south and west by the median of the river. The north-western boundary, the
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 ...
. It is by road south-west of the
Brisbane CBD Brisbane City is the central Suburbs and localities (Australia), suburb and central business district of Brisbane, the state capital of Queensland, Australia. It is also colloquially referred to as the "Brisbane CBD", "the city", or simply "to ...
. Sherwood Reach is the reach of the Brisbane River to the east of the suburb (), while Mermaid Reach is to the west ().


History

John Oxley John Joseph William Molesworth Oxley (1784 – 25 May 1828) was an English List of explorers, explorer and surveyor of Australia in the early period of British colonisation. He served as Surveyor General of New South Wales and is perhaps bes ...
explored the Brisbane River in November 1823. He named Mermaid Reach after HM Colonial Cutter Mermaid, which brought his exploration party to Moreton Bay. The suburb takes its name from the Moreton Bay fig trees (
Ficus macrophylla ''Ficus macrophylla'', commonly known as the Moreton Bay fig or Australian banyan, is a large evergreen banyan tree of the mulberry and fig family Moraceae. It is native to eastern Australia, from the Wide Bay–Burnett region of Queensland i ...
). In 1866, one particular fig tree in the area was photographed and described as able to shelter 400 people. In 1866, a reserve of was created around the fig tree. The tree no longer exists but the circumstances of its disappearance are not known. Fig Tree Pocket State School opened on 4 September 1871. A post office opened in 1878. Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary was established in 1927 by Claude Reid with two koalas called Jack and Jill. It takes its name from the large
hoop pine ''Araucaria cunninghamii'' is a species of ''Araucaria'' known as hoop pine. Other less commonly used names include colonial pine, Queensland pine, Dorrigo pine, Moreton Bay pine and Richmond River pine. The scientific name honours the botanist a ...
that is beside the ticket entrance. The Glenleighden School opened on 1 February 1979. Brisbane Montessori School opened in 1982. In early 2009, one luxury property sold for A$9.5 million and another sold for A$7.15 million. The suburb was one of those in Brisbane which were affected during the
2010–11 Queensland floods 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number, numeral, and glyph. It is the first and smallest positive integer of the infinite sequence of natural numbers. This fundamental property has led to its unique uses in other fields, ranging from science to sp ...
. Following the floods, a riverfront estate sold for $8.25 million at Ningana Street in May 2014 which set a record for the highest price achieved after the natural disaster.


Demographics

In the , Fig Tree Pocket had a population of 4,045 people, 49.9% female and 50.1% male. The median age of the Fig Tree Pocket population was 40 years of age, three years above the Australian median. 66.8% of people living in Fig Tree Pocket were born in Australia, which is very close to the national average of 66.7%. The other top responses for country of birth were England 6.2%, South Africa 4.0%, New Zealand 3.0%, United States of America 1.3%, and India 1.3%. 84.3% of people speak only English at home; the next most popular languages were Mandarin 1.7%, German 0.9%, Afrikaans 0.8%, Spanish 0.7%, and Hindi 0.7%. 47.5% of people aged 15 years and over in Fig Tree Pocket had completed a bachelor's degree or higher, which is significantly more than the national 22.0%. "No Religion" was the top response for religious affiliation, with 31.5% of the population. Catholic and Anglican were the next highest religious affiliations with 22.2% and 15.6% respectively. In the , Fig Tree Pocket had a population of 4,345 people.


Education

Fig Tree Pocket State School is a government primary (Preparatory to Year 6) school for boys and girls at Cubberla Street (). As at the August 2023 census the school had an enrolment of 506 students, with 39 teachers (31.5 full-time equivalent) and 24 non-teaching staff (13.2 full-time equivalent). Mancel College (formerly The Glenleighden School) is a private primary and secondary (Preparatory to Year 12) school for boys and girls at 33 Cubberla Street (). It is operated by Language Disorder Australia and provides multi-disciplinary support for students with
developmental language disorder Developmental language disorder (DLD) is identified when a child has problems with language development that continue into school age and beyond. The language problems have a significant impact on everyday social interactions or educational progr ...
s. In 2022, the school had an enrolment of 126 students with 23 teachers (18 full-time equivalent) and 40 non-teaching staff (30.4 full-time equivalent). Brisbane Montessori School is a private primary and secondary (Preparatory to Year 10) school for boys and girls at Mactier Street (). In 2022, the school had an enrolment of 199 students with 23 teachers (16.6 full-time equivalent) and 38 non-teaching staff (13.6 full-time equivalent). Fig Tree Pocket is also serviced by two privately run early childhood centres, the Gan Gani kindergarten as well as the Fig Tree Pocket Early Childhood Centre. There are no government secondary schools in Fig Tree Pocket. The nearest are
Kenmore State High School Kenmore State High School is a government secondary school in the suburb of Kenmore of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. It has been accredited by the Council of International Schools (Australia). History The school opened in 1972 as a Year ...
in neighbouring Kenmore to the north-west and
Indooroopilly State High School Indooroopilly State High School (ISHS), colloquially known as "Indro", is a state high school situated in the south-western suburb of Indooroopilly in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. The school was founded in 1954, and offers the Internation ...
in neighbouring
Indooroopilly Indooroopilly ( , colloquially Indro ) is a riverside suburb south-west of the Brisbane CBD, Queensland, Australia. In the , Indooroopilly had a population of 13,622 people. Geography Indooroopilly is bounded to the south and south-east by ...
to the north-east. There are primary and secondary private schools within the neighbouring suburb of
Indooroopilly Indooroopilly ( , colloquially Indro ) is a riverside suburb south-west of the Brisbane CBD, Queensland, Australia. In the , Indooroopilly had a population of 13,622 people. Geography Indooroopilly is bounded to the south and south-east by ...
– the
Ambrose Treacy College Ambrose Treacy College (ATC) is an independent Catholic primary, secondary, and high school for boys, located in Indooroopilly, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. Founded by the Congregation of Christian Brothers in 1938 as Nudgee Junior College, ...
, Brigidine College and St Peters Lutheran College.


Amenities

Fig Tree Pocket has a equestrian club at Fig Tree Pocket Road (). It has a sand arena, cross-country course and polo field. Fig Tree Pocket Riverside Reserve at 870 Fig Tree Pocket Road () has a public boat ramp into the Brisbane River ().


Attractions

Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary is at 708 Jesmond Road (). It is the largest and oldest koala sanctuary in the world and operates as a tourist and education centre.


References


External links

* * *
Kenmore and District Historical Society Inc. Website archive
State Library of Queensland State Library of Queensland (State Library) is the state public reference and research library of Queensland, Australia, operated by the Government of Queensland, state government. The Library is governed by the Library Board of Queensland, whi ...
. Historical society for Kenmore district including Fig Tree Pocket {{Suburbs of Brisbane City Council Suburbs of the City of Brisbane