Yeronga

Yeronga is a residential suburb of the City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia located on the Brisbane River 7 kilometres (4.3 mi) south of the Brisbane central business district.

Yeronga is a residential suburb of the City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia located on the Brisbane River 7 kilometres (4.3 mi) south of the Brisbane central business district.

The name Yeronga is thought to be either derived from the Aboriginal words yarung (meaning sandy or gravelly) and ba (meaning place), or that it derives from the name of the house Yerong-lea, the residence of Charles Hardie Buzacott.The first inhabitants of the Yeronga area were the Jagera people, whose traditional country is the south side of the Brisbane River.In 1823 the first Europeans passed through the Brisbane region, being the former convicts, then timber getters, Thomas Pamphlett, John Finnigan and Richard Parsons. Their journey around the Moreton Bay area following being blown off course by a cyclone is an epic story in itself. Suffice to say that in their attempt to walk north along the coastline to Sydney (they thought the cyclone had pushed their boat south of Sydney) they followed the south bank of the Brisbane River (around May 1823) upstream through Yeronga to Oxley Creek (originally named Canoe Creek), where they found a bark canoe and used it to travel further north. The present Pamphlett Bridge at that spot honours the member of the party who could swim, as the canoe was on the west bank of the creek.The explorer John Oxley sailed into Moreton Bay in November 1823 but didn't see the entrance to the Brisbane River due to the extensive mangrove forest there at the time. He then sailed north and encountered Pamphlett and Finnegan around Bribie Island (Parsons had continued north to the Noosa area). Finnegan then guided Oxley to the entrance of the river, where he sailed upstream as far as Goodna. Thus whilst Oxley is traditionally credited with the discovery of the Brisbane River (and Canoe Creek was renamed in his honour), but for his encounter with Pamphlett and Finnegan he may never have known it was there.Following the establishment of the Moreton Bay Penal Colony at the site of what is now the Brisbane central business district in 1825, and the opening up of the area to free settlers in 1842, European settlement spread from that site.The first recorded land sale at Yeronga occurred in 1854, with 154 acres (~62 hectares) being purchased by Edward Cooke and TLM Prior. Being part of NSW at that stage, the contract was sent to Sydney and has not been located. After Queensland became a separate colony in 1859, a second land sale of 100 acres (~40ha) occurred in 1861. When local government was established, Yeronga became part of the Shire of Stephens. This and other councils amalgamated to form the Brisbane City Council in 1925.Yeronga was originally used for agricultural purposes, and dairy farms were established, especially on the fertile riverside and adjacent floodplains. Crops recorded as grown in the area were cotton, sugar, maize, potatoes and arrowroot. Urban residential settlement first occurred along Fairfield Road, and especially around Station Avenue (now Kadumba St) once the railway opened.A small coal mine was established near Newcastle St but appears to have been quickly mined out.In July 1884, 180 subdivided allotments of "Yeronga Estate", were auctioned by Simon Fraser & Son Auctioneers. A map advertising the shows the estate to be adjoining the Yeronga Railway Station.In 1917, 30 subdivided allotments of "Avoca Estate" were auctioned by Webb & Webb Auctioneers. A map advertising the auction shows the estate is close to Yeronga railway station.In November 1920, 17 business and residential subdivided allotments of "Gilbert Estate, Yeronga", were auctioned by A. M. Newman, Associate Auctioneer. The auctioneer was acting under the instructions from trustees of the late Eli Gilbert. A map advertising the auction shows the estate adjoins the Yeronga Railway Station.In May 1923, 85 subdivided allotments of "River Park and Grimes Estate" were advertised to be auctioned by Cameron Bros. Auctioneers.In 1923 the Stephens Croquet Club was established in the Yeronga Memorial Park consisting of two lawns and a clubhouse.

On Sunday 6 May 1923, the Yeronga Memorial Church of England (now Christ Church Anglican) was opened and dedicated by Archbishop Gerald Sharp. The church was erected to commemorate 15 Church of England men from Yeronga who died in World War I; a marble slab in the church lists their names.In August 1927, 9 subdivided allotments of "St. Olaves Estate, Yeronga", were auctioned by Isles, Love & Co. Limited Auctioneers. A map advertising the auction states that it is only a few minutes from the Yeronga Railway Station.The last farm in Yeronga was subdivided for residential use in the mid 1950s, and part of the north side of Hyde Rd became a light industrial area with the opening of the Taubmans (later Akzo Nobel) paint factory in 1952. A Sunbeam electrical appliances factory was later established on the corner of Hyde Rd and Cansdale St, and a warehouse and timber yard west of the paint factory. All have now closed, and the area is subject to a planning study to determine future (likely residential) redevelopment plans.The Anglican Church of the Good Shepherd was dedicated on 26 October 1958 by Coadjutor Bishop Horace Henry Dixon. Its closure on 10 May 1992 by Archbishop Peter Hollingworth. The church building was subsequently moved to Rainbow Beach where it retains the name of the Anglican Church of the Good Shepherd.There were a series of lagoons adjacent to the river, and these were initially used as rubbish tips for the expanding area. Once the lagoons were filled, they were topped with clay and became parks. This explains the relatively large area of parkland, sports fields and open space adjacent to the river in Yeronga today.

Parts of Yeronga were inundated during Brisbane's 2011 floods.The major flood events of the Brisbane River in 1887, 1890, 1893, 1907 and 1931 are not recorded as causing significant damage to Yeronga (the flood-prone areas of which were not extensively developed at those times), but the 1974 and 2011 floods caused extensive damage to many of the properties adjacent to the river and built in low-lying parts of the suburb. At the peak of these floods Hyde Road was blocked and Kadumba Street (which is built on a ridgeline) was the only major access to the western part of the suburb.