Aspley, Queensland

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Aspley
Brisbane, Queensland

Population:

11,840 (2006)

Postcode:

4034

LGA:

Brisbane City Council

State District:

Electoral district of Aspley

Federal Division:

Lilley, Petrie

Suburbs around Aspley:
Bridgeman Downs	Carseldine	Zillmere
Bridgeman Downs	Aspley	Geebung
McDowall	Chermside West	Chermside

Aspley is a suburb of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia located about 13 kilometres north and about an half-hour drive north of the Central Business District of Brisbane. It is positioned on flat ground south of Cabbage Tree Creek and on the surrounding hills to the east and south.

1 History
2 Government
3 Education
4 Aspley in the News
5 Shopping
6 Trivia
7 Gallery
8 External links
9 Books about Aspley

[edit] History

Soon after Brisbane was declared a free settlement in 1842, people began exploring the lands north of Brisbane City. A northern route followed aboriginal tracks through what is now Enoggera, Everton Hills, Albany Creek onto North Pine. This route is still known as "'Old Northern Road'" and "'Old North Road'".

Another aboriginal track branching eastward from the Old Northern Road at the South Pine River crossed towards Little Cabbage Tree Creek and continued towards Downfall Creek and Kedron Brook. This track is now known as "Albany Creek Road" and "Gympie Road". Albany Creek Road was known as "Chinaman Creek Road" before 1888.

In 1857, the first land sales in the area east of the Old Northern Road and South Pine River begin under the control of New South Wales. Initially, the land was sold for farming and comprised the land around Cabbage Tree Creek, bordered by what is now Zillmere Road, Roghan Road, Bridgeman Road and the northerly continuation of Kirby Road, covering mostly what is now Aspley, Carseldine and Fitzgibbon. The land parcels east of what is now Hawbridge Street and Lacey Road were purchased by William John Ward.

The western land parcels were not sold. These land parcels were bordered by what is now Graham Road, Roghan Road, Hawbridge Street/Lacey Road and Bridgeman Road, and were subsequently subdivided into smaller land parcels and sold. This area is now known as Carseldine.

After the separation of Queensland and New South Wales in 1859, subsequent subdivisions were much smaller. In the following 5 years, land parcels south of Zillmere Road/Graham Road in what is now recognised as Aspley began. In 1865, subdivisions west of what is now Maundrell Terrace were sold at the Brisbane Land Sales. In 1866, subdivisions between what is now Gympie Road, Maundrell Terrace and Webster Road were auctioned. The subdivisions were named "Soldier's Flat". Initially, the area was known as "Little Cabbage Tree Creek District". The immigrants were primarily of English and German ancestry.

During the 1860s, James and John Castledean, who owned land and a general store in the Bald Hills District, pushed a direct track from Bald Hills through to what is now the intersection of Gympie Road and Albany Creek Road.

In late October 1867, gold was discovered in Gympie, Queensland. By this time, a road from Brisbane City to Kedron Brook had been completed with the Bowen Bridge, permitting the northern track along Gympie Road and Albany Creek Road to be used as an alternate route to the Old Northern Road. However, neither road was of good quality. On 8th May 1868 the Government announced that it had allocated 2700 pounds to construct a trafficable road to the Gympie goldfields. The new road came through Kedron Brook, Downfall Creek, Little Cabbage Tree Creek before heading to Bald Hills and North Pine. This road is now known as Gympie Road and travels a route much different to the original aboriginal track.

With increased traffic on Gympie Road, the Royal Exchange Hotel was established in 1875 opposite the intersection of Gympie Road and Albany Creek Road. It also operated as a general store with Cobb and Co coaches briefly stopping on their way to the Gympie goldfields. In 1934, a second building was built south of the original hotel. The new building was called the "Aspley Hotel".

In the early 1870s, a vineyard was established by the Morris family on their property bounded by Maundrell Terrace, Gympie Road and Terrence Street. It was named the "Aspley Vineyard", after "Aspley Hall" in Nottingham, England. The vineyard operated for over twenty years. In 1897, Little Cabbage Tree Creek District was renamed Aspley.

In the latter part of the 19th century, Aspley was essentially a farming district. Additional industries were established to support the farming industry. In the 1880s, John Smith Booth established a Bonemill and Sawmill on Little Cabbage Tree Creek and Albany Creek Road. It later relocated to the current location of the Aspley Acres Caravan Park and finally closed in 1932. In 1888, Huttons Pty Ltd established Australia’s first meat processing plant in nearby suburb Zillmere. It contributed greatly to the local economy of Aspley, providing a market for local produce and alternative employment for farmers during poor seasons. A blacksmith operated on the northern corner of Gympie Road and Albany Creek Road until the 1920s. Many slaughter houses operated along Little Cabbage Tree Creek.

After the Great War and into the 1920s, Aspley experienced significant growth in the number of businesses present in the district. Griffiths Sweet Factory operated on Gympie Road between 1920 and 1950. Hedges Dripping Factory operated near the reservoir on Lawrence Road. A brickworks was established by the Granville family on Brickworks Road during the 1930s.

In 1912, the Kedron Omnibus company ran local services.

In 1918, the loal community hall was built on Gympie Road. A year later, movies were presented inside the hall. In 1950 the hall was sold to becomes St Pauls Church.

[edit] Government

Initially all northern districts of Brisbane belonged to the Nundah Divisional Board, established in 1879. In 1883, Toombull Divisional Board separated. In 1886, the Nundah Divisional Board was subdivided into three smaller boards. In 1903, the board responsible to the district renamed to Kedron Divisional Board and subsequently Kedron Shire Council to better reflect its representation, since it was no longer based in Nundah. On October 1, 1925, the Kedron Shire Council was integrated into Greater Brisbane.

[edit] Education

Little Cabbage Tree Creek School was established in 1890 to serve the local community. Before it was built, students would infrequently attend classes at the schools in Bald Hill or Zillmere. Initial sites for the new school were not approved by the Government before finally accepting the location on the corner of Maundrell Terrace and Horn Road. In 1897 the school was renamed Aspley State School.

By 1960s, the growth of the local area necessitated building additional schools. Aspley East State School and Aspley State High School were opened in 1963. Sisters of St Joseph opened in 1963. Craigsleigh High School opened in 1972.

[edit] Aspley in the News

In May 2006, John Howard Amundsen was arrested for fraudulently obtaining more than 50 kg of explosives, causing an evacuation of a number of nearby residents.

[edit] Shopping

The Aspley Hypermarket, originally built by South African company Pick 'N Pay in 1984 (owned by Yu Feng and currently managed by Retail First), has a large presence in the suburb of Aspley. This shopping centre services the residents of Aspley, as well as surrounding suburbs of Carseldine, Zillmere, Chermside West, Taigum, Bridgeman Downs and Albany Creek.

[edit] Trivia

Horn Road was originally known as Fairfax Road.
Trouts Road was originally known as Lawson Road.
Land has been allocated by the government since the 1970s for the Northern Freeway to pass through Aspley.