Annerley, Queensland


Annerley is a suburb of the City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. Annerley is located south of the Brisbane CBD.

Geography

Much of the suburb is elevated, lying on a ridge that gives views of the city. For many years it was a somewhat rundown suburb, particularly close to main roads and with a lot of social housing, but with gentrification and the rise in the cost of housing, many of the original 'Queenslanders' have been restored to their former glory, giving the suburb an eclectic mix of residences for all socio-economic levels.
The suburb is of medium population density with many apartment blocks, guest houses and fast-food outlets. The major road in the suburb is Ipswich Road, one of Brisbane's main southerly traffic arteries. Until 13 April 1969, the suburb was served by electric trams, which ran along Ipswich Road.
The area where Ipswich Road intersects with Annerley Road is commonly known as Annerley Junction which in turn gave its name to the local state primary school Junction Park State School.

History

The area was originally used for dairy farms. One of the first residential subdivisions was the St Kilda Estate bounded by Cornwall Street to the north, Boggo Road to the west and Ipswich Road to the south. In 1866, the Junction Hotel was opened on the triangular corner of Ipswich Road and Boggo Road.

Land sales

On 7 June 1884 J.B. Ellis auctioned 201 suburban allotments in the River View Estate which was bounded by River View Street to the south and Old Ipswich Road to the east and includes Caroline and Florence Streets. The auction did not sell all the allotments as on 8 September 1885 Hooker, Son & Elliott auctioned 89 unsold allotments in the same estate.
On 26 July 1884 James Duncan auctioned 20 suburban allotments in the Hastings Estate which were located on Fanny Street near the intersection with Hastings Street. These appear to a later stage of an estate that was offered at least as early as 1869.
On 25 October 1884 Arthur Martin & Co auctioned 201 suburban allotments in the Broadmere Estate in Mary Street, Clara Street, Frederick Street and George Street around the intersection with Francis Street.
On 6 May 1889, Simon Fraser & Son Auctioneers advertised 8 allotments for sale on Ipswich Rd, being resubdivisions of 1 to 8 of Subdivision 43 to 46 Portion 173A, Parish of Yeerongpilly. The advertising map states the land is close to Junction Hotel and opposite Stephen's Divisional Board Office. The land is shown as located at the corner of Ipswich Rd and Boggo Rd.
In 1910 auctioneers Hooker, Son & Elliott offered 75 suburban allotments of 16 perches in the Collins Estate which was bounded by Ipswich Road to the west, Ekibin Road to the south and includes Rose Street, Jane Street, Alice Street, Annie Street and Mary Street.
In April 1914 estate agent Arthur R. Webb offered 160 suburban allotments in the Queenstown Estate which included allotments in Dairy Street, Taylor Street, Albert Street, Cosker Street, Queen Street, Hamlet Street and Woodville Place.
On 17 April 1920 auctioneers Cameron Brothers offered 97 allotments in the Cracknell Hill Estate which were in Queen Street, Hamlet Terrace and Woodville Place between Warwick Street and Percy Street. These appear to be unsold allotments of an estate first offered in October 1914.

Post office

Around 1880 a postal receiving office was opened at Boggo, which became Boggo Post Office on 1 May 1882. There was a proposal to rename it Richmond Post Office but this was rejected owing to the potential for confusion with Richmond, North Queensland and Richmond, New South Wales and new alternative names were sought. At this point it is believed that Digby Denham, then a member of the Stephens Divisional Board, proposed to call it Annerley after the township variously spelled Annerley, Annerly or Anerly in Surrey, England. The post office was renamed Annerley Post Office in November 1892.

Mary Immaculate Church

is a heritage-listed Roman Catholic church situated within the Archdiocese of Brisbane. The church is located on the corner of Ipswich Road and Ferndale Street, Annerley. The original timber church was built in 1914 as a temporary building until such time something larger and more permanent could be built. In 1929 Archbishop James Duhig instructed the parish priest, Fr James Kelly to build a new church, which was dedicated by Archbishop Duhig on 1 May 1932. The current church was built during the depression, and in a great testament to the Catholic community of Annerley, provided employment for 30 men. Mary Immaculate Church is built in the French Gothic style with some notable features including an octagonal bell tower with a copper spire and a large rose window on its western face. Over the facade of the church are the Latin words Hic est Domus Dei, which translates as This is the House of God. The interior of the church has seen several changes over the years, but recently much of the interior of the church has been restored to its original design with the refurbishment of the original sanctuary floor and installation of altar rails to match those that were there originally. Mary Immaculate Church is an imposing and historically significant building in the area and a testament of faith to the people of Annerley. It is listed on the Brisbane Heritage Register.

St Philip's Anglican Church

St Philip's Anglican church was dedicated on 18 October 1886 by Archbishop of Brisbane William Webber. It was designed by architect John Henry Burley and was built by J.W. Stranson. The church bell was a gift of Abraham Fleetwood Luya and the baptismal font was the gift of stonemason Andrew Lang Petrie. On 7 December the church was "reduced to ruin" by a severe storm which caused extensive flooding and the death of two children. It was extended and re-dedicated on 1 April 1906 by St. Clair Donaldson, Archbishop of Brisbane, with Henry Wallace Atkinson as architect. The old church was destroyed by fire 28 November 1954 after work on the new church had begun. The current church was consecrated by the Archbishop of Brisbane on 1 December 1955.
There were at least two parishioners that lost their lives at Gallipoli. "At St Philips we know of only two of our parishioners who were part of this landing at Gallipoli who later died on 5 April 1918 in France. The two were good mates and brother and brother in law. They died on the same day in the same battle recorded by the historian Charles Bean.....Reginald Verry and his brother in law James Victor Atkinson."
A state funeral was held at the church for Gordon Brown who was a Senator for Queensland from 1932 to 1965 ; his ashes are kept in the church's columbarium.

Schools

Thompson Estate Provisional School opened on 30 April 1888 in a four-roomed cottage in Oxford Street with 52 pupils. In 1889 the school occupied a hall in Regent Street to cater for the growing number of students. It became a state school on 31 Jan 1891 under head teacher James Joseph Dempsey with an average attendance of 461 pupils. It relocated to its present site in Waldheim Street on 31 March 1891. It was renamed Junction Park State School in 1893 with 737 pupils. Growing student numbers resulted in the creation of a separate but adjacent Junction State Infants School which opened on 1 July 1948 for Grade 1 and 2 pupils. From 1 January 1875, the infants school was reabsorbed into the main school, but the separate grounds and buildings continued to be used for the younger pupils within Junction Park State School. Later declining enrolment numbers lead to the infants school buildings being surplus to the school's needs and the land was sold for residential housing.
The Ipswich Road Convent School was opened on 30 April 1917 by the Society of the Sacred Heart using the church building as the classroom. In 1919, the Sisters of the Sacred Heart relocated to Stuartholme and the Sisters of St Joseph of the Sacred Heart took over the school, renaming it St Joseph's Convent School. When the present church was built in 1932 on the corner of Ipswich Road and Ferndale Street, separate class rooms were included on a lower level. In the 1950s the school was renamed Mary Immaculate Catholic Primary School to reflect the name of the church with which it was associated. Since 1954, further buildings have been added to the site specifically for use by the school, including the Marymac Community Centre in the 1970s. The school was operated by the Sisters of St Joseph until 1991, after which the school was operated by the Archdiocese of Brisbane Catholic Education Council.
In 1964 the Sisters of St Joseph also opened a secondary school for girls called Our Lady's College. Since 1976, the school has been operated by Brisbane Catholic Education.

Local government

Annerley was the seat of the Shire of Stephens. The shire offices were located on Ipswich Road between Victoria Terrace and Junction Terrace. After the shire became part of the City of Brisbane in 1925, the land was sold and the offices relocated on the block to become a residence at 15 Ealing Street.

Population

In the, Annerley had a population of 10,664 people.

Heritage listings

There are a number of heritage-listed sites in Annerley, including:
In addition there are many period homes, which, although not heritage-listed, contribute to the aesthetics of the suburb, including:
Junction Park State School is a government co-educational primary school located at 50 Waldheim Street. In 2012, the school had an enrolment of 373 students with 29 teachers.
Mary Immaculate Catholic Primary School is a Roman Catholic co-educational primary school located at 616 Ipswich Road. In 2013, the school had an enrolment of 140 students with 17 teachers. The school's long-standing nickname is Mary Mac or Marymac, so much so that Marymac was chosen as the official name of the community hall on the school's site.
Our Lady's College is a Roman Catholic girls secondary school located at 15 Chester Road. In 2013, the school had an enrolment of 347 students with 32 teachers.

Events

Annerley Junction now hosts a number of yearly events which are organised by the Annerley Junction Traders' Association. The first Christmas event "Junction Fair" was first hosted on 8 December 2012. The first "Junction Jumble Sale" was held on 22 June 2012. Both events were more successful than expected and Junction Fair was rebranded as the "Annerley Junction Christmas Fair" and was held on 7 December 2013.

Demographics

In the, Annerley recorded a population of 10,664 people, 50.2% female and 49.8% male. The median age of the Annerley population was 32 years, 5 years below the national median of 37. 62.1% of people living in Annerley were born in Australia, compared to the national average of 69.8%; the next most common countries of birth were India 3.6%, New Zealand 3.5%, England 3%, China 1.6%, Vietnam 1.5%. 70.1% of people spoke only English at home; the next most popular languages were 2.2% Mandarin, 2% Greek, 1.8% Vietnamese, 1.2% Malayalam, 1.2% Cantonese.

Amenities

The Brisbane City Council operates a public library in Annerley at 450 Ipswich Road. The library opened in 1957.

Notable residents