Bracken Ridge, Queensland

Bracken Ridge is a northern suburb of Brisbane, the capital city of Queensland, Australia. Its local government area is the City of Brisbane, in which it has its own ward.

Location

The suburb is located about 18 kilometres (11 mi) north of the Brisbane central business district. The southern border is formed by Telegraph Road, one of the oldest roads in the suburb, and a portion of the western border is formed by the Caboolture railway line. A number of housing estates are located within the suburb, including The Oaks, Enbrook Heights and the most recent development Sungate Estate.

The terrain in the suburb is, as the name suggests, generally hilly. The highest area of the suburb features a park and a reservoir; from this height it is quite easy to see Moreton Bay to the east and the CBD to the south.

Bracken Ridge is home to a variety of persons on the socio-economic scale. The Majority of residents are professional couples and families. The estates south of Barbour Road, the homes surrounding the "ridge" and St Joseph's church, the areas on top of the hills, Enbrook Heights Estate and the most recent development "Sungate" Estate are affluent. The average price for a home in the suburb was $460,000 in 2012 . 86% of these homes are owner-occupied or in the process of being purchased.

History

The area now known as Bracken Ridge was originally called "Rose Hill". In the late 19th century, it was predominantly a rural area. Louis Hope was the first European landowner in the area, and he grew sugar cane and other crops. The Brown family and the Ferguson family were also important early landowners in the area. Dairy became an important industry in the area, and continued to be the chief rural industry until the area became more residential. The first school in the area was opened in 1957.

In 1962, Lord Mayor of Brisbane Clem Jones arranged with the Barclay Development Corporation to develop a small community behind the suburb of Sandgate. 1,600 residential allotments were created, and the first homes were completed in 1966. A state high school, a Catholic school were also established, with second primary school (Norris Road State School) established in the late 1970s, followed by the opening of the TAFE college on Norris Rd in 1982.

Demographics

In the 2011 Census the population of Bracken Ridge is 16,799, 51.2% female and 48.8% male.

The median/average age of the Bracken Ridge population is 35 years of age, 2 years below the Australian average.

74.6% of people living in Bracken Ridge were born in Australia. The other top responses for country of birth were New Zealand 4.7%, England 3.8%, Philippines 2.2%, India 1.3%, Fiji 0.8%.

85.6% of people speak English as their first language 1% Tagalog, 0.9% Hindi, 0.8% Filipino, 0.5% Cantonese, 0.5% Samoan.

Politics

• In the Brisbane City Council, Bracken Ridge is represented by Cr Amanda Cooper (Liberal), who has served since 2007.
• In the Legislative Assembly of Queensland, the Electoral district of Sandgate is represented by Stirling Hinchliffe of the Labor Party.
• In the Australian House of Representatives, the Division of Petrie is represented by Luke Howarth (LNP),

Landmarks

There are a number of schools and educational institutions in the suburb:

• St John Fisher College
• Bracken Ridge State School
• Norris Road State School
• Bracken Ridge State High School (formally known as Nashville State High School)
• St Josephs Catholic Primary School
• Brisbane North Institute of TAFE, Bracken Ridge campus.

Shopping strips are located in Gawain Road and Barrett Street. A more substantial shopping centre is located on the corner of Telegraph Road and Norris Road. There is also a small shopping centre near the Bracken Ridge Tavern incorporating a Woolworths, chemist and a newsagent. There is a pub (The Bracken Ridge Tavern which incorporates 'Phoenix') on the corner of Barrett and Denham Streets, and a sports centre located on Bracken Ridge Road.

Bracken Ridge is also home to Bracken Ridge District Cricket Club based at McPherson Park.

There is a large number of parks in the suburb, including Enbrook Parkland and the Bill Brown Sports Reserve on Telegraph Road, Bracken Ridge Reservoir, and Stanley Day Park. There are also a number of churches present, including the Catholic, Baptist, and Uniting Church denominations. An Islamic community centre lies just across the border in Bald Hills.

Heritage listings

Bracken Ridge has a few heritage-listed sites, including:

• Bald Hills Cemetery: 225 Barrett St

References

External links

Media related to Bracken Ridge, Queensland at Wikimedia Commons

• University of Queensland: Queensland Places: Bracken Ridge
• "Bracken Ridge". BRISbites. Brisbane City Council. Archived from the original on 20 July 2008. 
• "Bracken Ridge". Our Brisbane. Brisbane City Council. Archived from the original on 12 January 2008. 

Further reading

Coordinates: 27°19′08″S 153°02′02″E / 27.319°S 153.034°E / -27.319; 153.034