Eight Mile Plains, Queensland
Encyclopedia
Eight Mile Plains is a southern suburb of Brisbane
, Queensland
, Australia. It is located some 13 kilometres from the Brisbane central business district
.
It is accessible by the Pacific
and Gateway
Motorways and the Eight Mile Plains Busway Station
on the South-East Busway. The Brisbane Technology Park is found in Eight Mile Plains and is the home to the Queensland Clunies Ross Centre for Science and Industry. The suburb has two primary schools and no high schools.
Eight Mile Plains was one of Brisbane's southern suburbs first to be settled.
Originally the suburb extended beyond the Brisbane City boundary along the Pacific Highway
(Logan Road) into the northern part of Albert Shire (Now Logan City
). In the 1970s, this southern part of Eight Mile Plains, along with the southern part of Rochedale and Springwood became the new suburb of Underwood
. Part of Eight Mile Plains within the Brisbane boundary was renamed Rochedale.
The Yerongpan of Oxley Creek who are said to have claimed the area from Brisbane to Ipswich
. Another source claims they were the Yagarabal, who ranged from Brisbane to the Logan River
and west to Moggill Creek
.
The Aborigines used a trail which later became Logan Road. This trail bisected many creeks including the Mimosa Creek and Bulimba Creek watercourse.
Eight Mile Plains has two primary schools: Eight Mile Plains State School and Warrigal Road State School, which sits off Warrigal Road which is one of Eight Mile Plains's and Runcorn's main road. The term "Warrigal" actually means "Dingo" in the local Aboriginal language.
In 1861, over 7800 acres (32 km²) in the nearby Coopers Plains
area had been proclaimed the Brisbane Agricultural Reserve. In 1864 this was extended by a further 5500 acres (22 km²) and the Eight Mile Plains Agricultural Reserve was formed. It comprised the current suburbs of Sunnybank
, Sunnybank Hills
, Runcorn
, Kuraby
, Eight Mile Plains and parts of Coopers Plains, Algester
and Stretton
.
Electricity was extended to the district in 1936 and in 1958 a new school was constructed to service the area.
. services started a regular run through Eight Mile Plains to the Logan and Nerang River
settlements.
Brigadier Sam Langford owned a large parcel of land which was known as the 'wire paddock'. In 1932 it was the first farm to be fenced in this way. He later divided his property into 60 and 80 acres (323,748.8 m²) lots and sold them. The sites became housing estates.
Hughesville survives as illustration of a past way of life, and of a particular residential type - the quintessential Queensland house of the late colonial period. It is significant for its intactness, cohesive character, aesthetic appeal and landmark position. The house has a strong community association, being for many years a principal landmark along the old Pacific Highway to the Gold Coast, demarking the outskirts of Brisbane. In the late 1990s, it was used in one of the beer advertisements in QLD. The land has now been subdivided and a few townhouses has been built behind the house. The house itself has been converted into a business establishment.
In 2007 the recently renovated hughesville was bought and became the southside home of Bennett Carroll solicitors. The firm which has been in the area for over 35 years, has long sought to have the landmark as its headquarters.
The Queensland Clunies Ross Centre for Science and Industry opened at the Technology Park in 1997.
Dominant natural features of the area include Bulimba Creek, which sits in a hilly area near Eight Mile Plains. Before white settlement the area was home to a diverse range of plants and animals. There are also areas of remnant bushland in the suburb and a small number of market gardens.
Brisbane
Brisbane is the capital and most populous city in the Australian state of Queensland and the third most populous city in Australia. Brisbane's metropolitan area has a population of over 2 million, and the South East Queensland urban conurbation, centred around Brisbane, encompasses a population of...
, Queensland
Queensland
Queensland is a state of Australia, occupying the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, south-west and south respectively. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean...
, Australia. It is located some 13 kilometres from the Brisbane central business district
Brisbane central business district
The Brisbane central business district , sometimes referred to as the city, is a suburb of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia and is located on a point on the northern bank of the Brisbane River. The triangular shaped area is bounded by the Brisbane River to the east, south and west...
.
It is accessible by the Pacific
Pacific Motorway
The Pacific Motorway is a 100 km long motorway in Australia between Brisbane, Queensland, and the New South Wales-Queensland border at Tweed Heads. The motorway starts at Coronation Drive at Milton in Brisbane, and from 2008 links the Tweed Heads bypass in New South Wales...
and Gateway
Gateway Motorway
The Gateway Motorway is a major motorway in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. The Gateway Bridge is owned and operated by Queensland Motorways....
Motorways and the Eight Mile Plains Busway Station
Eight Mile Plains Busway Station, Brisbane
The Eight Mile Plains Busway Station, at Eight Mile Plains, is part of the South East Busway serviced by TransLink bus routes. It is currently the last station on the South East Busway, and is connected to the Springwood Bus Station by the Pacific Motorway used by Logan City Bus Service...
on the South-East Busway. The Brisbane Technology Park is found in Eight Mile Plains and is the home to the Queensland Clunies Ross Centre for Science and Industry. The suburb has two primary schools and no high schools.
Eight Mile Plains was one of Brisbane's southern suburbs first to be settled.
Originally the suburb extended beyond the Brisbane City boundary along the Pacific Highway
Pacific Highway (Australia)
The Pacific Highway is a major transport route along part of the east coast of Australia and is part of Australia's national route 1.It is 960 km long and links Sydney, the capital of New South Wales, to Brisbane, the capital of Queensland, along the coast, via Gosford, Newcastle, Taree, Port...
(Logan Road) into the northern part of Albert Shire (Now Logan City
Logan City, Queensland
Logan City is a Local Government Area in South East Queensland, Australia. The city is situated between the City of Brisbane to the north and Gold Coast to the south. The city also borders the Scenic Rim, the City of Ipswich and Redland City....
). In the 1970s, this southern part of Eight Mile Plains, along with the southern part of Rochedale and Springwood became the new suburb of Underwood
Underwood, Queensland
Underwood is a suburb located south-east of the Brisbane central business district in Queensland, Australia. Its Local Government Area is the Logan City Council.The origin of the suburb name is from William Underwood who was an early property owner in the area...
. Part of Eight Mile Plains within the Brisbane boundary was renamed Rochedale.
Aboriginal history
The name of the Aboriginal clan formerly occupying this area is uncertain. According to one source they are likely to have been the Chepara clan of Eight Mile Plains who spoke Turrbal.The Yerongpan of Oxley Creek who are said to have claimed the area from Brisbane to Ipswich
Ipswich, Queensland
Ipswich is a city in South-East Queensland, Australia. Situated along the Bremer River Valley approximately 40 kilometres away from the state's capital Brisbane. The suburb by the same name forms the city's Central Business District and administrative centre...
. Another source claims they were the Yagarabal, who ranged from Brisbane to the Logan River
Logan River
The Logan River is a river in South East Queensland. The catchment is dominated by urban and agricultural land use. Near the river mouth are mangrove forests and a number of aquaculture farms.-History:...
and west to Moggill Creek
Moggill Creek (Queensland)
Moggill Creek is a creek in Brisbane, the largest city in Queensland, Australia. The creek rises on the Taylor Range and runs in a south-easterly direction from the southern edge of Brisbane Forest Park in Kholo and Pullenvale, flowing through Upper Brookfield and joining the Brisbane River at...
.
The Aborigines used a trail which later became Logan Road. This trail bisected many creeks including the Mimosa Creek and Bulimba Creek watercourse.
Eight Mile Plains has two primary schools: Eight Mile Plains State School and Warrigal Road State School, which sits off Warrigal Road which is one of Eight Mile Plains's and Runcorn's main road. The term "Warrigal" actually means "Dingo" in the local Aboriginal language.
Urban development
The name of Eight Mile Plains is linked to the early days of settlement. It refers to the area's topography as well as the distance (eight miles) by bush track to One Mile (1.6 km) Swamp (now Woolloongabba).In 1861, over 7800 acres (32 km²) in the nearby Coopers Plains
Coopers Plains, Queensland
Coopers Plains is an outer suburb of Brisbane, Australia. It is south-west of the CBD.-Transport:Coopers Plains railway station provides access to regular Citytrain services to Brisbane, Beenleigh and Gold Coast. There are many buses passing Coopers Plains, which are 120 , 135 , 123 , 598 and 599...
area had been proclaimed the Brisbane Agricultural Reserve. In 1864 this was extended by a further 5500 acres (22 km²) and the Eight Mile Plains Agricultural Reserve was formed. It comprised the current suburbs of Sunnybank
Sunnybank, Queensland
Sunnybank is now a suburb in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia much reduced in size from the previous suburb of Sunnybank. The separate Town of Sunnybank was absorbed into the City of Brisbane. This older Sunnybank area is still known locally as Sunnybank...
, Sunnybank Hills
Sunnybank Hills, Queensland
Sunnybank Hills is an outer southern suburb of Brisbane about 15 kilometres from Brisbane CBD, in Queensland, Australia. It is a large suburb, and adjoins the suburbs of Calamvale, Coopers Plains, Sunnybank, Macgregor, Algester, Acacia Ridge and Runcorn....
, Runcorn
Runcorn, Queensland
Runcorn is a suburb on the south side of Brisbane, Queensland, and is about from Brisbane’s central business district. The Jagera Aboriginal people occupied most of the land south of the Brisbane River and Runcorn would have been in the territory of the Chepara clan of Eight Mile Plains, Queensland...
, Kuraby
Kuraby, Queensland
Kuraby is a suburb of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. It is situated approximately by road or by rail south-east of the city of Brisbane.Beenleigh Road is the main road connecting the suburb to the motorways leading to the city and further parts of Brisbane and beyond.Kuraby is serviced by fast...
, Eight Mile Plains and parts of Coopers Plains, Algester
Algester, Queensland
Algester is an outer suburb of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. It is south-west of the central business district.Algester was heavily developed after the Second World War and has also seen considerable recent development. It forms part of the Brisbane Agricultural Reserve, which once covered a...
and Stretton
Stretton, Queensland
Stretton is a suburb on the south side of Brisbane, Australia. It is 17 kilometres from the Brisbane Central Business District, and borders the suburbs of Calamvale, Sunnybank Hills, Karawatha, Kuraby, and Drewvale.- History :...
.
Electricity was extended to the district in 1936 and in 1958 a new school was constructed to service the area.
Notable residents
In 1857 Charles Baker bought land from a sheep herder named Wilson. Fox hunting developed on the Baker property and he also turned his hand to construction, building a hotel. In 1868 he became the postmaster at Eight Mile Plains. His services were called upon when the Cobb and CoCobb and Co
Cobb and Co is the name of a transportation company in Australia. It was prominent in the late 19th century when it operated stagecoaches to many areas in the outback and at one point in several other countries, as well....
. services started a regular run through Eight Mile Plains to the Logan and Nerang River
Nerang River
The Nerang River is a river that begins in the McPherson Range in the Gold Coast hinterland and runs through Gold Coast City in South East Queensland, Australia...
settlements.
Brigadier Sam Langford owned a large parcel of land which was known as the 'wire paddock'. In 1932 it was the first farm to be fenced in this way. He later divided his property into 60 and 80 acres (323,748.8 m²) lots and sold them. The sites became housing estates.
Hughesville
Hughesville is the heritage listed residence located on the corner of Logan and Padstow Road. The timber single-storied home was erected in 1892-93 by Richard Hughes (a local horse dealer)and reputedly given to his son, Richard, as a wedding gift when he married Elizabeth Magee in 1891.Hughesville survives as illustration of a past way of life, and of a particular residential type - the quintessential Queensland house of the late colonial period. It is significant for its intactness, cohesive character, aesthetic appeal and landmark position. The house has a strong community association, being for many years a principal landmark along the old Pacific Highway to the Gold Coast, demarking the outskirts of Brisbane. In the late 1990s, it was used in one of the beer advertisements in QLD. The land has now been subdivided and a few townhouses has been built behind the house. The house itself has been converted into a business establishment.
In 2007 the recently renovated hughesville was bought and became the southside home of Bennett Carroll solicitors. The firm which has been in the area for over 35 years, has long sought to have the landmark as its headquarters.
Other Landmarks
The Brisbane Technology Park (BTP) is an initiative of the Queensland Government developed to provide a catalytic environment for established and emerging knowledge-intensive, technology-based companies. Opened in 1986, the park is located on a 33.5 hectare site that is only 12 minutes from the Brisbane CBD.The Queensland Clunies Ross Centre for Science and Industry opened at the Technology Park in 1997.
Dominant natural features of the area include Bulimba Creek, which sits in a hilly area near Eight Mile Plains. Before white settlement the area was home to a diverse range of plants and animals. There are also areas of remnant bushland in the suburb and a small number of market gardens.