Annerley, Queensland

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 (formerly Boggo 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 (now Annerley 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 (now Annerley Road).

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 (and later a Premier of Queensland), proposed to call it Annerey after the township variously spelled Annerley, Annerly or Anerly in Surrey, England. The post office was renamed Annerley Post Office in November 1892.

Saint Philips Anglican church was dedicated 18th. October, 1886. Extensively damaged by a cyclone, 6 December 1905. It was rebuilt, extended and re-dedicated on 1 April 1906 by St. Clair Donaldson Archbishop of Brisbane, H.W. Atkinson Architect. The old church was destroyed by fire 28th Nov 1954 after work on the new church had begun. The current church was consecrated by the Archbishop of Brisbane, 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 8th 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 [Australian politician] who was a SENATOR FOR QUEENSLAND, 1932–65 (AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY) and his ashes are kept in the church's columbarium.

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 (the current site no longer being within Thompson Estate). 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 (a teaching order of Roman Catholic nuns) 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 (founded by Saint Mary MacKillop) 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 (adjacent to the former church), 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 (commonly known as Brisbane Catholic Education).

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.

Annerley was the seat of the Shire of Stephens. The shire offices were located on Ipswich Road between Victoria Terrace and Junction Terrace (27.506925°S 153.034682°E / -27.506925; 153.034682 (Stephens Shire Office)). 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.

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:

Education

Junction Park State School is a government co-educational primary (P-7) school located at 50 Waldheim Street (27.509771°S 153.035212°E / -27.509771; 153.035212 (Junction Park State School)). In 2012, the school had an enrolment of 373 students with 29 teachers (22.9 full-time equivalent).

Mary Immaculate Catholic Primary School is a Roman Catholic co-educational primary (P-7) school located at 616 Ipswich Road (27.516593°S 153.030209°E / -27.516593; 153.030209 (Mary Immaculate Catholic Primary School)). In 2013, the school had an enrolment of 140 students with 17 teachers (10.9 full-time equivalent). 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 (8-12) school located at 15 Chester Road (27.515563°S 153.031499°E / -27.515563; 153.031499 (Our Lady's College)). In 2013, the school had an enrolment of 347 students with 32 teachers (32.68 full-time equivalent).

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 2011 census, 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.

Notable residents