Chapel Hill, Queensland


Chapel Hill is a suburb in the City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia, which is located west of the Brisbane CBD.

Geography

Chapel Hill is primarily a residential suburb, consisting of mostly detached housing and is a leafy affluent area backing on to the Mt Coot-tha reserve and walking tracks. There has been a trend towards small lot developments during the last decade. Chapel Hill is currently undergoing a 'major suburban renovation', with many of the original houses being renovated and updated with a few being demolished to make way for newer houses, or lot divisions. Many of the original houses are architecturally distinctive designs from the late 1960s/early 1970s and typical of the Chapel Hill and Kenmore area. Currently, there are no apartment buildings in Chapel Hill. Despite it being a short commute to the Brisbane CBD, Chapel Hill is green suburb full of old eucalypts and native plants and is set on hilly bushland terrain that leads to Mount Coot-tha which is a protected reserve.

History

The suburb takes its name from the Primitive Methodist chapel built on the top of the hill.

Demographics

In the, Chapel Hill recorded a population of 10,168 people, 51.3% female and 48.7% male.
The median age of the Chapel Hill population was 40 years of age, 3 years above the Australian median.
65.5% of people living in Chapel Hill were born in Australia, compared to the national average of 69.8%; the next most common countries of birth were England 6.5%, South Africa 3.4%, New Zealand 2.7%, Malaysia 1.3%, China 1.2%. 82.8% of people spoke only English at home; the next most popular languages were 2.5% Mandarin, 1.5% Cantonese, 1% Spanish, 0.7% French, 0.6% Afrikaans.
Chapel Hill is one of the affluent western suburbs of Brisbane with a median house price of close to $700,000 and a median income over double the Brisbane equivalent. Many of its residents are professionals and academics who commute to work outside of the suburb.

Transport

is the major road through Chapel Hill connecting it to the suburbs of Indooroopilly to the east, and Kenmore to the west. The Western Freeway allows quick access to the suburb from around Brisbane and with the opening of the Legacy Way tunnel, the traffic flow is significantly better at peak times and the commute to the airport takes approx 25 mins, when travelling via both Legacy Way and Airport Link tunnels. There are also the four bus routes, the 425, the 426, the 427 and the 428 that service a large portion of Chapel Hill. The 425 travels to Indooroopilly shopping centre and Toowong Village, continuing into the Brisbane CBD. The 426 is an express bus that services only Chapel Hill, and then travels direct to the CBD via the Western Freeway, Legacy Way Tunnel, and onto the Inner Northern Busway. The morning P426 commute is less than 25 minutes from Chapel Hill to the Brisbane CBD, even in peak hour, due to this routing.
For cyclists, Chapel Hill is extremely well serviced with dedicated bikeway access to the CBD via the Centenary Bikeway, Sylvan Road bike path, and Coronation Drive Bikeway.

Attractions

There are no major shopping centres in Chapel Hill, but there are two small ones on Moggill Road and Fleming Road; and a major shopping centre, Indooroopilly Shopping Centre, is a 5 min drive from the suburb.
The only church in Chapel Hill is Chapel Hill Uniting Church located on the hill on the corner of Moggill Road and Chapel Hill Road. The church hall was originally a Primitive Methodist chapel built in 1875, and the suburb takes its name from this chapel on the hill. There is a small cemetery beside the church. The Chapel Hill State School hall is sometimes used for numerous events such as local, state and federal elections and weekly church services.
Many locals take advantage of the hiking and walking trails in Chapel Hill which climb to the summit of Mount Coot-tha and overlooks Brisbane. Native fauna and flora are often seen on these paths. Some of these trails also attract mountain bikers on the weekends. A popular spot for locals is the Green Hill Reservoir off Chapel Hill Road which includes an offleash area for dogs and of the city so it is usually crowded during events hosting fireworks, such as Brisbane Riverfire. Running and exercise groups often also use this area in the early hours. There are good recently created bike paths in the suburb which link up to roads and bikeways that ultimately stretch through the western suburbs to the CBD.

Education

Within the suburb of Chapel Hill itself, there is one state primary school, Chapel Hill State School, which first opened in in Ironbark Road, Chapel Hill. The current Chapel Hill State School opened in January 1978 with an enrolment of 152 pupils after the Queensland Government acquired 6.8 hectares of land in 1976. In 1979 the top teaching block and covered area were built, and by 1982 there were 324 pupils justifying building a separate library, so it could move out of the Administration block. A number of demountable buildings were acquired as the population increased, and in 1997 a new hall was rented. In June 2012 the Ross Perry Resource Centre was opened; named after retiring principal Ross Perry. The school uniform was designed in 1977 and was changed slightly in 1994. It was also changed in 2013.
Chapel Hill contains catchments for both Chapel Hill State School and Indooroopilly State School. Both these schools are within the Top 10 highest performing primary schools in Brisbane, making the area extremely appealing for families seeking quality education for their Children.
The nearest state high schools are located in Indooroopilly and Kenmore. Both these schools are within the Top 5 highest performing State High Schools in Brisbane. There are no private schools in Chapel Hill, however a large number of children living in the area travel to private high schools in Brisbane. The morning P426 bus includes direct stops at Brisbane Grammar School, Brisbane Girls Grammar School, St Joseph's College, Gregory Terrace, and other inner city Private Schools. The 425 bus has direct access to Brisbane Boys' College. The 427 bus route provides direct access to Indooroopilly State High School and St Peters Lutheran College.
Chapel Hill is close to the University of Queensland, with direct bus routes to and from the University. As a result, many academics and university students live in the suburb.