Moorooka, Queensland
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Moorooka ( ) is a southern
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 , Moorooka had a population of 10,783 people.


Geography

Moorooka is by road south of Brisbane's
central business district A central business district (CBD) is the Commerce, commercial and business center of a city. It contains commercial space and offices, and in larger cities will often be described as a financial district. Geographically, it often coincides wit ...
. Ipswich Road enters the suburb from the north (
Annerley Annerley is a Suburbs and localities (Australia), suburb in the City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. Annerley is located by road south of the Brisbane CBD. In the , Annerley had a population of 11,891 people. Geography Much of the subur ...
) and exits to the south-west ( Rocklea). Beaudesert Road splits from Ipswich Road within the suburb and exits to the south (Rocklea). The
Gold Coast railway line The Gold Coast railway line is an interurban railway line operated by Queensland Rail in Queensland, Australia, connecting Brisbane with the Gold Coast. The line has 17 stations. In 2021, a journey from Central station to the terminus of ...
passes along part of the western boundary of the suburb, which is serviced by the Moorooka railway station (). The neighbourhood of Moorvale is located around the intersection of Beaudesert Road and Mayfield Road (. The suburb has mixed uses - large areas, particularly in the elevated eastern side of the suburb are residential. The lower, western side of the suburb is dominated by retail, particularly motor vehicle dealerships along Ipswich Road, known popularly throughout Brisbane as the "Magic Mile", light industry and warehouses. Many of the houses are pre-war Queenslanders (on posts, with simple one floor, wooden construction), with small apartment blocks scattered through the suburb. As with many older suburbs of Brisbane, Moorooka is becoming
gentrified Gentrification is the process whereby the character of a neighborhood changes through the influx of more affluent residents (the "gentry") and investment. There is no agreed-upon definition of gentrification. In public discourse, it has been us ...
, with many older homes now being either renovated and extended or replaced by more modern buildings. There are prime real estate areas on the top of hills, with views to the
Great Dividing Range The Great Dividing Range, also known as the East Australian Cordillera or the Eastern Highlands, is a cordillera system in eastern Australia consisting of an expansive collection of mountain ranges, plateaus and rolling hills. It runs roughl ...
over Archerfield in the south, Seventeen Mile Rocks to the west,
Mount Coot-tha Mount Coot-tha is a mountain and a suburb of the City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. Visible from much of the city, Mount Coot-tha is a popular bushland tourist destination including the Mount Coot-tha Lookout, Brisbane Botanic Garden ...
,
St. Lucia Saint Lucia is an island country of the West Indies in the eastern Caribbean. Part of the Windward Islands of the Lesser Antilles, it is located north/northeast of the island of Saint Vincent (Saint Vincent and the Grenadines), Saint Vincent ...
,
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-west and the city to the north.


History

The area is the traditional lands of the
Australian Aboriginal Aboriginal Australians are the various indigenous peoples of the Mainland Australia, Australian mainland and many of its islands, excluding the ethnically distinct people of the Torres Strait Islands. Humans first migrated to Australia (co ...
Jagera people who lived there long before British settlement. The area was probably a hunting ground with plentiful food and water. There was also reportedly a
Bora ring Bora is an initiation ceremony of the Aboriginal people of Eastern Australia. The word "bora" also refers to the site on which the initiation is performed. At such a site, boys, having reached puberty, achieve the status of men. The initiation ...
, which older residents of the area recall being shown. The word Moorooka is an indigenous word, either meaning 'iron bark', referring to the numerous iron bark trees in the area, or 'long nose', referring to Mt Toohey at the suburb's periphery. The suburb was founded as a stop-over for journeys from
Brisbane Brisbane ( ; ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the States and territories of Australia, state of Queensland and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia, with a ...
south (Logan and Albert river valleys) and south-west (
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, ...
and beyond). A section of the suburb's eastern boundary lies adjacent to Toohey Forest Park. In April 1884, "Fairmount Estate" made up of 128 allotments was advertised to be auctioned by E. Hooker & Son. The Estate covered an area of Moorooka. The classified advertisement for the auction states for sale were '128 choice allotments, being re-subdivisions of subdivisions 1, 2 and 7 of Portion 158, Parish of Yeerongpilly'. Fairmount Estate was described as having, 'close proximity to the city', timber and permanent water 'close at hand', 'splendid quality' soil for gardening, 'no gullies to till up', a 'railway line passing the Estate, which will in a short time be open for traffic', a 'state school close', and a 'Grocer, Draper, Butcher, Baker, Blacksmith, and others already established in business in the locality of the Estate'. In March 1889, auctioneer W.J. Hooker sold a suburban subdivision called "Moorooka Park Estate", consisting of 329 allotments bounded by Ipswich Road, Spencer Street (now Gainsborough Street), Logan Road (now Beaudesert Road), Johnson Street (now Dinmore Street) and Keats Street. The subdivision was close to the Moorooka railway station (on the western side of Ipswich Road) and was described as having good soil and elevated sites with "no swamps, no gullies, no broken land". In May 1889, "Moorooka Railway Station Estate", consisting of 82 allotments was advertised to be auctioned by Arthur Martin & Co. A map advertising the auction states the Estate was bounded by Ipswich Road and Yeronga Road (now Fairfield Road). The classified advertisement for the auction states for sale were '80 choice allotments, being part of Portion 125, Parish Yerongpilly'. "Moorooka Railway Station Estate" was described as 'the position is admirable, being only five miles by rail from the city, where train stops every few minutes in the day', and 'takes in a wide scope of most interesting and charming rural and suburban views'. In June 1920, "Grand View Estate", consisting of 42 allotments was advertised to be auctioned by Cameron Bros and R.G. Watson. A map advertising the auction states the Estate was 'right at the top of the hill within 7 minutes of the Railway Station. The classified advertisement for the auction states for sale were '40 magnificent allotments' which were described as 'adjoining the residence of Thomas Tonks, Esq.' In July 1927, auctioneers W. Small & Co sold a suburban subdivision called "Dora Vale Estate", consisting of 83 allotments of 24 to 48 perches on Vale Street, Dora Street, Clyde Street and Sinclair and bounded by Main Street (now Gainsborough Street) to the south and Beaudesert Road to the west. The allotments were described as "high and dry and commanding excellent views" and were convenient to the train, tram and bus services with promises that Ipswich Road and Beaudesert Road would soon be sealed with
bitumen Bitumen ( , ) is an immensely viscosity, viscous constituent of petroleum. Depending on its exact composition, it can be a sticky, black liquid or an apparently solid mass that behaves as a liquid over very large time scales. In American Engl ...
. Also in July 1927, Clacher Brothers in conjunction with M.J. Trotter sold the "Hollywood Estate", consisting of 24 allotments on the south side of Forrest Street bounded by Fairy Street to the west and an unnamed proposed street (now Vale Street) to the east. In August 1927, the Queensland Development Company sold the "Mayfield Gardens Estate, consisting of 490 allotments (474 residential and 16 commercial) centred around Vendale Avenue and bounded to the west by Beaudesert Road, to the south by Mayfield Road and to the east by Tarragindi Road. Moorooka State School opened on 28 January 1929. St Brendan's Catholic Primary School was established on 28 January 1929 by the Sisters of St Joseph. Between the 1930s and 1969,
trams A tram (also known as a streetcar or trolley in Canada and the United States) is an urban rail transit in which Rolling stock, vehicles, whether individual railcars or multiple-unit trains, run on tramway tracks on urban public streets; some ...
ran along Beaudesert Road, thence along Ipswich Road to 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 ...
. In 1931, the Annerley Church of Christ commenced outreach in Moorooka, following from the establishment of a Bible school in Clifton Hill in the home of Mr P. Ryan in February 1929. Land was purchased at 108 Beaudesert Road () and a church was erected by volunteers held on two successive Saturdays in May 1931, with the church holding its first service on 26 July 1931 with an official opening on Friday 31 July 1931. Initially financially supported by the Annerley church, the Moorooka church became independent in 1933. Since at least 2016, the church has been renamed as the Rising Sun International Church. In August 1937, auctioneers F.G. Pearce sold a suburban subdivision called Coniston Park Estate, consisting of 96 allotments, bounded by Beaudesert Road, Bracken Street, Margaret Street (now Medina Street) and Sherley Street. The estate was adjacent to Moorooka State School and the Moorooka tram terminus and provided "extensive views with every convenience" including electric light, mains water and gas. Moorooka has traditionally hosted a working class population stemming from its history as a manufacturing hub during
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
. The southern part of Moorooka bordering
Salisbury Salisbury ( , ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and civil parish in Wiltshire, England with a population of 41,820, at the confluence of the rivers River Avon, Hampshire, Avon, River Nadder, Nadder and River Bourne, Wi ...
was the location of government built returned servicemen housing. Moorooka State Infants School opened on 27 January 1959; it closed on 11 July 1983. St Mary the Virgin Anglican Church was dedicated on 6 December 1959 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 ...
Reginald Halse. Its closure on 5 April 1998 was approved by Assistant Bishop
Ron Williams Ronald Allen Williams (born 1949) is an American businessman and board director on corporate, public sector and non-profit boards. He is the former chairman, president and chief executive officer (CEO) of Aetna Inc. and is the founder, chairm ...
. In 1968, the Brisbane City Council built and opened The Moorooka Bowls Club, which then hosted Queen Elizabeth II on her visit to the 1982 Commonwealth Games. The original bowls club went into receivership in 2019. In 2022 the building's tender was awarded to the not-for-profit organisation The Third Place Group, in order to establish a community space that all Moorookans could enjoy. The Brisbane City Archives (a collection of local historical records dating back to 1859) was established at Moorooka. Between the early and mid-2000's, Moorooka saw newer arrivals of African settlers from
South Sudan South Sudan (), officially the Republic of South Sudan, is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is bordered on the north by Sudan; on the east by Ethiopia; on the south by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Uganda and Kenya; and on the ...
,
Somalia Somalia, officially the Federal Republic of Somalia, is the easternmost country in continental Africa. The country is located in the Horn of Africa and is bordered by Ethiopia to the west, Djibouti to the northwest, Kenya to the southwest, th ...
and
Ethiopia Ethiopia, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country located in the Horn of Africa region of East Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the north, Djibouti to the northeast, Somalia to the east, Ken ...
. The suburb has been the familiar home of the African diaspora and is known as the "Little Africa" of Brisbane.


Demographics

In the , the population of Moorooka was 10,368, 50.1% female and 49.9% male. The median age of the Moorooka population was 35 years of age, three years below the Australian median of 38. 67.7% of people living in Moorooka were born in Australia, compared to the national average of 66.7%. The other top responses for country of birth were
New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...
(3.0%),
England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...
(2.6%),
India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...
(2.5%),
Vietnam Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), is a country at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of about and a population of over 100 million, making it the world's List of countries and depende ...
(1.0%),
Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...
(0.8%). 74.2% of people spoke only English at home; the next most popular languages were 1.4% Vietnamese, 1.1% Spanish, 1.1% Punjabi, 1.0% Mandarin, 0.9% Greek. In the , Moorooka had a population of 10,783 people.


Heritage listings

Moorooka has a number of heritage-listed sites, including: * Moorooka State School, Sherley Street


Education

Moorooka State School is a government primary (Prep-6) school for boys and girls at Sherley Street (). In 2017, the school had an enrolment of 341 students with 34 teachers (25 full-time equivalent) and 24 non-teaching staff (17 full-time equivalent). It includes a
special education Special education (also known as special-needs education, aided education, alternative provision, exceptional student education, special ed., SDC, and SPED) is the practice of educating students in a way that accommodates their individual di ...
program. It has a strong multi-cultural community and hosts an annual Festival in July. St Brendan's Primary School is a Catholic primary (Prep-6) school for boys and girls at Hawtree Street (). In 2017, the school had an enrolment of 80 students with 15 teachers (10 full-time equivalent) and 13 non-teaching staff (5 full-time equivalent). There are no secondary schools in Moorooka. The nearest government secondary school is
Yeronga State High School Yeronga State High School (YSHS) is a co-educational state secondary school located in Yeronga, Queensland, Australia, away from the Brisbane central business district. , Yeronga State High School had an enrolment of 776 students. Yeronga has ...
in
Yeronga Yeronga is a southern riverside suburb in the City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. In the , Yeronga had a population of 7,062 people. Geography The suburb is bounded to the west and north by the Brisbane River and to the south-east by Ip ...
to the north. Moorooka is serviced by two kindergartens.


Amenities

The principal Moorooka shopping district on Beaudesert Road, known as Moorvale, features over 100 businesses from takeaways to restaurants and coffee shops, discount stores, newsagents, dry cleaners, locksmiths, jewellery shop, second hand and pawn shops, and a new range of businesses that serve the African community including food and groceries, hair salons, furniture shops, and halal butcheries. On the south end of Moorooka near the AFL club and is Moorooka State School Moorooka has two principal churches, the St Brendan's Roman Catholic Church at Hawtree Street and the Church of Christ at Pampas Street and Beaudesert Road. Both feature Sunday services.


Transport

Commuter trains on the Beenleigh line stop at Moorooka railway station. The suburb is served by
Transport for Brisbane Transport for Brisbane, previously called Brisbane Transport'','' is an organisational division of the Brisbane City Council, responsible through its related Council Committee for providing policy and advice to Brisbane City Council, and for de ...
bus A bus (contracted from omnibus, with variants multibus, motorbus, autobus, etc.) is a motor vehicle that carries significantly more passengers than an average car or van, but fewer than the average rail transport. It is most commonly used ...
es, namely the 110 Inala-City route, 116 Rocklea-Moorvale route, the 117 Acacia Ridge-City Valley route, the 124 Sunnybank-City route, and the 125 Garden City-City Valley route. There is a zone border crossing at the Beaudesert Road shops, popularly known as Moorvale, for transport zones 1 and 2.


Politics

The Moorvale Shopping district hosts office for the
Brisbane City Council Brisbane City Council (BCC, also known as Council) is the local government of the City of Brisbane, the capital city of the Australian state of Queensland. The largest local government in Australia by population, BCC's jurisdiction includes 2 ...
Councillor for
Moorooka Ward The Moorooka Ward is a Brisbane City Council ward covering Moorooka, Acacia Ridge, Archerfield, Coopers Plains, Nathan, Pallara, Rocklea, Salisbury, Willawong Willawong is an outer southern suburb in the City of Brisbane, Queensland, Aus ...
Steve Griffiths. The office for the Federal Seat of Moreton is in the nearby suburb of Sunnybank.


References


External links

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