Murarrie, Queensland

Murarrie (formerly Mooraree) is an eastern riverside suburb in the City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.[4] In the 2016 census, Murarrie had a population of 4,303 people.[1] Queensport is a neighbourhood within Murarrie (27.4500°S 153.1000°E).[5] Gibson Island is a neighbourhood within Murarrie (27.4364°S 153.1224°E) and, despite its name, is no longer an island.[6]

Murarrie Brisbane, Queensland
Canoe ramp at Murarrie Recreation Reserve
Murarrie
Coordinates	27.4525°S 153.1052°E
Population	4,303 (2016 census)[1]
• Density	457.8/km^2 (1,186/sq mi)
Postcode(s)	4172[2]
Area	9.4 km^2 (3.6 sq mi)
Time zone	AEST (UTC+10:00)
Location	11.9 km (7 mi) E of Brisbane GPO
LGA(s)	City of Brisbane (Doboy Ward)[3]
State electorate(s)	Bulimba
Federal Division(s)	Bonner Griffith
Suburbs around Murarrie: Hamilton Eagle Farm Pinkenba Hemmant Morningside Murarrie Hemmant Cannon Hill Cannon Hill Tingalpa

Geography

Murarrie is located in the eastern suburbs on the southern bank of the Brisbane River. It is bounded to the north by the median of the Brisbane River,[7] to the east and south by the river's tributary Bulimba Creek (historically known as Doughboy Creek or Doboy Creek) which has its mouth at 27.4291°S 153.1293°E.[8][9] It is then bounded to the south-west and west by Wynnum Road, Creek Road, the Cleveland railway line, Barrack Road, Lytton Road, Colmslie Road (formerly Chemical Works Road) and then north to the river.[10]

The Gateway Motorway passes through the suburb, entering from the south-east (Tingalpa) and exiting via the Sir Leo Hielscher Bridges (previously known as the Gateway Bridge) over the river to Eagle Farm.[10]

Murarrie railway station (27.4647°S 153.1053°E) is located on the Cleveland railway line of the Queensland Rail City network.[11][10] The disused Doboy railway station (also known as Buruda railway stationand Birt's siding) is on the line at (27.4533°S 153.1150°E); no buildings remain at the site.[12]

Murarrie has both residential and industrial sections. Brisbane's two newspapers, The Courier-Mail and The Sunday Mail, are published at News Corporation's printing facility in Murarrie (27.4560°S 153.0967°E).

History

The district was originally known as Mooraree after Mooraree House, a home built by Christopher Porter in 1861.[13] The name is thought to be mudherri, a word from the Yuggera language (Yugarabul dialect) meaning sticky or muddy.[4] The name of the locality and the railway station were changed to Murarrie in 1907.[14]

It is uncertain when the Queensport Hotel (now Queensport Tavern) was established; the hotel claims it was 1864, making it one of Brisbane's oldest continuously-operated hotels.[15] The present hotel building at 49 Gosport Road (now in the suburb of Hemmant) (27.4404°S 153.1302°E) was constructed in 1890-1891 for publican Martin Kavanagh by Brisbane architect Charles McLay and was one of his first private commissions. It is listed on the Brisbane Heritage Register.[16] The Lytton Hotel was operating in 1878 and Kavanagh bought the Lytton Hotel in 1879.[17][18] Kavanagh had been living in the district growing sugarcane since at least 1874.[19] Kavanagh's daughter Bridget continued to operate the Lytton Hotel when her father opened the Queensport Hotel.[20]

The Queensland Freezing and Food Export Company established a meatworks at Queensport in 1881.[21]

In 1889 Queensport Aquarium opened in Hemmant (the present-day location is Aquarium Avenue in Murarrie, 27.447°S 153.102°E).[22] It had a zoo, an aquarium and dance halls and other entertainments. Visitors arrived by riverboats until the 1893 flood during which the animals were rescued but the attractions were damaged closed down. It had closed by the late 1890s,[22] but a dance hall continued to operate until 1901.[23]

In 1900, Gibson Island was used as a burial site for some of the victims of the bubonic plague epidemic due to concerns that the bodies of the dead could infect the living, so there was an initial reluctance to bury the dead in normal cemeteries (cremation not being available in Queensland at that time). The Colmslie Plague Hospital had been rapidly constructed in Morningside to handle plague victims. The dead were transferred by boat to Gibson Island for burial. The bodies were wrapped in sheets soaked in carbolic acid and their coffins were filled with a mix of quicklime and water which has the effect of killing micro-organisms. The authorities carried out the burials quickly and family members could not be present nor visit the graves. The number and location of those graves are now unknown. The policy of burying the dead on Gilson Island was subsequently changed as it was felt to be inhumane.[24][25]

In order to provide a straighter deeper channel in the lower reaches Brisbane River, it was decided in 1889 to relocate the mouths of creeks and eliminate all of islands by a combination of removal by dredging and incorporation as part of the river bank.[26] In the case of Doughboy Creek (now Bulimba Creek) and Gibson Island, it was decided to relocate the creek mouth then at approximately 27.4440°S 153.1096°E (to the west of Gibson Island) to the eastern end of Gibson Island (its current mouth) by closing the original mouth with a training wall diverting the flow of the creek into the Aquarium Passage (27.4394°S 153.125562°E) which separated Gibson Island from the southern bank of the Brisbane River.[27] The Doughboy training wall was built from 1900 to June 1902 and was 7,040 feet (2,150 m) long.[28] As a result of the training wall, an isthmus (approximately 104 metres (341 ft) wide as at 2020) formed at the original mouth of the creek permanently connecting Gibson Island to Murarrie.[29] Paringa Road now crosses the isthmus to provide access to the industrial facilities that were developed circa 1980s on the former island. A spur railway line (now abandoned) was also developed to the north of Paringa Road to provide these facilities with a link to the Cleveland railway line. The line terminated at 27.4324°S 153.1231°E beside the Brisbane River.[30] Sections of track are still visible along the route as at 2020.[31]

Murarrie State School opened on 2 July 1928.[32]

On 11 August 1975 Queensport and Gibson Island were officially designated as neighbourhoods within Murarrie by the Queensland Place Names Board.[5][6]

St Clare's Anglican Church was dedicated on 11 August 1985 by Bishop Ralph Wicks. The church building was relocated from Primrose Parade, Wynnum, to 16 Penelope Street in Murrarie (27.4569°S 153.1029°E), where it was originally St Margaret's Anglican Church Hall which operated from 1964 to 1985. The closure of St Clare's was approved on 5 September 2009 by Archbishop Phillip Aspinall.[33][34] It was subsequently redeveloped as housing.[35]

In the 2016 census, Murarrie had a population of 4,303 people.[1]

Education

Murarrie State School is a government primary (Prep-6) school for boys and girls at Garrett Street (27.4619°S 153.1009°E).[36][37] In 2017, the school had an enrolment of 76 students with 8 teachers (5 full-time equivalent) and 9 non-teaching staff (5 full-time equivalent).[38]

There are no secondary schools in Murarrie. The nearest secondary school is Balmoral State High School in Balmoral.[10]

Demographics

In the 2011 census the population of Murarrie was 3,958, 50.2% female and 49.8% male.

The median age of the Murarrie population was 34 years of age, 3 years below the Australian median.

70.5% of people living in Murarrie were born in Australia, compared to the national average of 69.8%; the next most common countries of birth were New Zealand 4.9%, England 3.5%, South Africa 1.2%, Fiji 1.1%, Scotland 1%.

81.9% of people spoke only English at home; the next most common languages were 1% Hindi, 1% Mandarin, 0.9% Cantonese, 0.9% Vietnamese, 0.8% Korean.

References

1. Australian Bureau of Statistics (27 June 2017). "Murarrie (SSC)". 2016 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 20 October 2018.
2. "Find a postcode". Australia Post. Archived from the original on 24 August 2011. Retrieved 23 October 2013.
3. "Doboy Ward". Brisbane City Council. Archived from the original on 3 January 2014. Retrieved 4 March 2017.
4. "Murarrie – suburb in City of Brisbane (entry 43253 )". Queensland Place Names. Queensland Government. Retrieved 26 January 2020.
5. "Murarrie – unbounded locality in City of Brisbane (entry 27804 )". Queensland Place Names. Queensland Government. Retrieved 8 April 2020.
6. "Gibson Island – neighbourhood in City of Murarrie (entry 13683 )". Queensland Place Names. Queensland Government. Retrieved 8 April 2020.
7. "Queensland Globe; Layer:Boundaries".
8. "History of Brisbane's Murarrie". Archived from the original on 31 December 2008. Retrieved 24 May 2008.
9. Duke, Norman C; Lawn, P.; Roelfsema, C. M.; Phinn, S.; Zahmel, K.N.; Pedersen, D.; Harris, C.; Steggles, N.; Tack, C. (2003), Assessing historical change in coastal environments: Port Curtis, Fitzroy River Estuary and Moreton Bay regions, CRC for Coastal Zone, Estuary and Waterway Management (Australia), p. 160, archived from the original on 24 July 2019, retrieved 9 April 2020
10. "Queensland Globe". State of Queensland. Retrieved 10 April 2020.
11. "Murarrie – raiway station in City of Brisbane (entry 23533 )". Queensland Place Names. Queensland Government. Retrieved 10 April 2020.
12. "Doboy (Buruda) – railway station in the City of Brisbane (entry 10241 )". Queensland Place Names. Queensland Government. Retrieved 10 April 2020.
13. "Murarrie". Queensland Places. Centre for the Government of Queensland, University of Queensland. Archived from the original on 22 March 2020. Retrieved 8 April 2020.
14. "Change of Name". The Telegraph. Queensland, Australia. 9 September 1907. p. 4. Archived from the original on 15 September 2020. Retrieved 9 April 2020 – via Trove.
15. "QueenSport Tavern & Motel". Archived from the original on 29 February 2020. Retrieved 8 April 2020.
16. "Queensport Hotel". Brisbane Heritage Register. Brisbane City Council. Retrieved 9 April 2020.
17. "TINGALPA AND LYTTON". The Telegraph. Queensland, Australia. 30 December 1879. p. 2. Archived from the original on 15 September 2020. Retrieved 9 April 2020 – via Trove.
18. "Advertising". The Telegraph. Queensland, Australia. 24 December 1879. p. 4. Archived from the original on 15 September 2020. Retrieved 9 April 2020 – via Trove.
19. "Classified Advertising". The Queenslander. Queensland, Australia. 5 September 1874. p. 1. Archived from the original on 15 September 2020. Retrieved 9 April 2020 – via Trove.
20. "LICENSING COURTS". The Brisbane Courier. Queensland, Australia. 4 June 1891. p. 3. Retrieved 9 April 2020 – via Trove.
21. "SUMMARY FOR EUROPE". The Brisbane Courier. Queensland, Australia. 21 May 1881. p. 6. Retrieved 10 April 2020 – via Trove.
22. "'Tiger, Roller-Coasters and Special Effects: Brisbane's 19th-Century Dreamworld'". Archived from the original on 14 June 2015. Retrieved 6 November 2019.
23. "Queensland places". Archived from the original on 2 March 2011. Retrieved 22 September 2010.
24. Cronin, Danielle (23 May 2019). "Brisbane's lost plague cemetery: Who is buried on Gibson Island?". Brisbane Times. Archived from the original on 8 April 2020. Retrieved 8 April 2020.
25. "Colmslie Hospital During Brisbane's Plague Epidemic". Morningside News. Archived from the original on 10 March 2020. Retrieved 8 April 2020.
26. "Brisbane River Improvements" (Map). Queensland Government. 1889. Archived from the original on 10 April 2020. Retrieved 10 April 2020.
27. "Aquarium Passage – passage in the City of Brisbane (entry 713 )". Queensland Place Names. Queensland Government. Retrieved 10 April 2020.
28. Duke, Norman C; Lawn, P.; Roelfsema, C. M.; Phinn, S.; Zahmel, K.N.; Pedersen, D.; Harris, C.; Steggles, N.; Tack, C. (2003), Assessing historical change in coastal environments: Port Curtis, Fitzroy River Estuary and Moreton Bay regions, CRC for Coastal Zone, Estuary and Waterway Management (Australia), pp. 27, 29, 153, 157, 160, 164, archived from the original on 24 July 2019, retrieved 9 April 2020
29. Google (10 April 2020). "Isthmus connecting Gibson Island to Murarrie" (Map). Google Maps. Google. Retrieved 10 April 2020.
30. Google (10 April 2020). "Terminus of the railway line on Gibson Island" (Map). Google Maps. Google. Retrieved 10 April 2020.
31. Google (10 April 2020). "Visible track segments on the railway line on Gibson Island" (Map). Google Maps. Google. Retrieved 10 April 2020.
32. Queensland Family History Society (2010), Queensland schools past and present (Version 1.01 ed.), Queensland Family History Society, ISBN 978-1-921171-26-0
33. Anglican Church of Southern Queensland. "Closed Churches". Archived from the original on 3 April 2019. Retrieved 3 July 2020.
34. Beitz, Myrtle; Greenhill, Jill (May 2010). "St Margaret's Anglican Church Hall" (PDF). Newsletter. Wynnum Manly Historical Society. pp. 6–7. Archived (PDF) from the original on 14 September 2020. Retrieved 14 September 2020.
35. "16 Penelope Street, Murrarie". Google Maps (Street View). Archived from the original on 15 September 2020. Retrieved 14 September 2020.
36. "State and non-state school details". Queensland Government. 9 July 2018. Archived from the original on 21 November 2018. Retrieved 21 November 2018.
37. "Murarrie State School". Archived from the original on 14 March 2020. Retrieved 21 November 2018.
38. "ACARA School Profile 2017". Archived from the original on 22 November 2018. Retrieved 22 November 2018.

Further reading

• Queensland Cooperative Bacon Association (1926), Murrarie Bacon Factory, The Association

External links

• "Murarrie". Queensland Places. Centre for the Government of Queensland, University of Queensland.
• "Murarrie Information". Archived from the original on 13 December 2016.