South Brisbane, Queensland


South Brisbane is an inner southern suburb in the City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. In the, South Brisbane had a population of 7,196 people.

Geography

The suburb is on the southern bank of the Brisbane River, bounded to the north-west, north, and east by the river. The river to the east of the suburb is the South Brisbane Reach.. The suburb is directly connected to the central business district across the river by the Merivale, William Jolly, Kurilpa, Victoria and Goodwill bridges.
Modern public transport services include suburban train stations at South Brisbane and South Bank and South East Busway stations at Cultural Centre, South Bank, and Mater Hill. CityCat ferry services link South Brisbane to other riverside suburbs.

History

South Brisbane together with West End and Highgate Hill is known as Kurilpa by the local Indigenous people and the area remains important in Indigenous life. Musgrave Park has been for many years a place of congregation for the Murri peoples of south-east Queensland. It is the site of a bora ring that has been buried. The Ngundari and Jagara groups were drawn to the river at South Brisbane for fishing and gunyah building.
The area was named South Brisbane because it was on the south side of the Brisbane River relative to North Brisbane during the era of the Moreton Bay penal colony. The name Brisbane comes from the name of the river, which in turn was named by explorer John Oxley in 1823 after Sir Thomas Brisbane, then the Governor of New South Wales.
European settlement commenced with the first land sales in 1843, followed by the development of wharves along the bank of the Brisbane River. The first street in the area was called Stanley Quay, later to become Stanley Street.
In December 1849, the Church of England obtained a block of land facing Melbourne Street and extending to Grey Street and Stanley Street, a total of 1 acre, 3 roods, 8 perches of land, on which to erect a church, a school and a parsonage. However it is not until August 1858 that the school house was constructed on the site with the expectation that it would also be used for "occasional" public worship. The building was of hammer-dressed stone. On 6 September 1858 Miss Clothier opens a school there. In 1859 it is described as an "English Church" at "South Brisbane". By June 1868 the church has an incumbent minister. The church was adversely impacted by the construction of the 1874 Victoria Bridge as the bridge was higher and the approach roads had to be built up accordingly, resulting in the church being below the new road level, forcing the parishioners to approach the church from the rear. In October 1875 the congregation decided erect a new church in a more "central" location, apparently desiring a more elevated site and a more "pretentious" church. It is unclear when the church was named for St Thomas but that name is in use by October 1877.
Commercial buildings and hotels developed around the Russell Street area. By the 1850s there were over 100 residences in the area. Due to its proximity to wharves the area became the place where bullock drovers stayed and relaxed. Thomas Baines visited Brisbane in 1855 and depicted South Brisbane in a painting titled 'South Brisbane from North Brisbane', 13 years later. South Brisbane Recreation Reserve was created in 1856.
South Brisbane School opened circa 1865. At some time it split into South Brisbane Boys State School and South Brisbane Girls and Infants State School. In 1929 the Boys School and the Girls and Infants were amalgamated to form two new schools, South Brisbane State School for Preparatory to Grade 5 and South Brisbane Intermediate State School for Grades 6 and 7. In 1953 the Intermediate School was amalgamated into South Brisbane State School. The school closed in 1963.
A school was established at St Mary's Catholic Church with a lay teacher in 1866. St Mary's School opened at the school on 1870 operated by Mother Mary MacKillop and her Sisters of St Joseph of the Sacred Heart. The long-running disputes between MacKillop and James Quinn, the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Brisbane, resulted Quinn expelling the Sisters from his diocese in 1880, but the school continued to operate nonetheless. The Sisters of Mercy opened a new St Mary's School in 1909. The school closed in 1964.
In 1874 John Cani established St Kilian's College in Raymond Terrace at the site now occupied by St Laurence's College. On Tuesday 20 December 1904 it was partially demolished in a severe storm and its buildings were sold for removal.
In 1884, the railway to the south was opened with a terminus at South Brisbane. As a result, South Brisbane experienced a construction boom. In 1888, South Brisbane became an independent municipality, initially as the Borough of South Brisbane and then becoming the City of South Brisbane in 1903. In 1925 the City of South Brisbane was amalgamated into the City of Greater Brisbane. The first electric tramway in Brisbane ran along Stanley Street in South Brisbane on 16 June 1897.
In 1919 the Brisbane High School for Girls was relocated to the property Cumbooqueepa in Vulture Street in South Brisbane, adjacent to the South Brisbane Town Hall. The school was opened on 6 October 1899 by Eliza Fewings in the basement of the Baptist City Tabernacle at 183 Wickham Terrace, relocating to Erneton as an amalgamation of the High School Department of the Brisbane Central Technical College combined with Brisbane Junior State High School. The first students were admitted on 4 July 1921.
St Laurence's College for boys was officially opened and blessed on Sunday 11 July 1915 by the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Brisbane James Duhig. The school was operated by the Christian Brothers.
In May 1931 a new St Thomas's Anglican Church was established close to the site of the 1850s St Thomas' church under the control of St Andrew's Anglican Church and built from white stucco.
South Brisbane gained a seedy reputation with many pubs, brothels and boarding houses among warehouses with few homes. During World War II when the there was a large American military presence in Brisbane, the desire to separate the white and black American troops saw South Brisbane unofficially declared the city's 'black' area, leaving the white troops to enjoy the better parts of the city.
The suburb became heavily industrialised. Being adjacent to the Brisbane River, the suburb and its industries suffered in the 1974 Brisbane flood.
Mater Hospital Special School opened on 3 January 1981. On 1 December 2014 it was renamed the Lady Cilento Children's Hospital School. On 1 January 2019 it was renamed Queensland Children's Hospital School.
Its regeneration began when it was selected as the location of World Expo '88, which was built on former wharves and industrial land. Following Expo '88, South Bank Parklands was built on the former Expo site. South Brisbane has emerged as fashionable, high density, modern residential area, given its proximity to the city centre and good public transport links.
In the the population of South Brisbane was 5,416.
In the, South Brisbane had a population of 7,196 people.

Heritage listings

Being one of the older parts of Brisbane and an area of greater cultural heritage, South Brisbane has many heritage-listed buildings.

Education

Somerville House is a private primary and secondary school for girls at 17 Graham Street. In 2018, the school had an enrolment of 1317 students with 125 teachers and 102 non-teaching staff.
Lady Cilento Children's Hospital School is a specific-purpose primary and secondary school at Raymond terrace. It provides schooling to children being treated in the hospital and also for other children in the family whose schooling has been disrupted by the hospitalisation and to assist in their transition to/from their regular school. In 2019, the school had an enrolment of 3,567 students across all of its campuses with 42 teachers and 24 non-teaching staff.
St Laurence's College is a Catholic primary and secondary school for boys at 82 Stephens Road. In 2018, the school had an enrolment of 1890 students with 149 teachers and 91 non-teaching staff.
Brisbane State High School is a government secondary school for boys and girls at Cnr Cordelia and Glenelg Streets. In 2018, the school had an enrolment of 3156 students with 207 teachers and 74 non-teaching staff. It includes a special education program.
There are two teritary institutions in South Brisbane:
The South Bank precinct in South Brisbane contains many notable attractions.

South Bank Parklands

The South Bank Parklands are one of Brisbane's most popular tourist attractions. The parklands are home to many restaurants and café's as well as landmarks such as the Queensland Conservatorium, the Wheel of Brisbane, the Nepal Peace Pagoda, Streets Beach, and the Grand Arbour. Approximately 11,000,000 people visit the South Bank Parklands each year.

Grey Street and Little Stanley Street

A number of Brisbane's most popular restaurants and fashion boutiques are located on Grey Street, and Little Stanley Street which it runs parallel to. The South Bank Cinemas are also located on Grey Street, along with two five star hotels.

Brisbane Convention & Exhibition Centre

The Brisbane Convention & Exhibition Centre contains 24 meeting and event spaces including four exhibition halls with a combined area of 20,000m² and an auditorium capable of seating 8,000. The venue has received 107 industry awards, making it the most awarded convention centre in Australia. The centre has also been ranked among the top three convention centres worldwide by the Association Internationale des Palais de Congres.

Queensland Maritime Museum

The Queensland Maritime Museum is located next to the Goodwill Bridge at the southern end of the South Bank Parklands. It houses a two level exhibition building, a library, a dry dock, a lighthouse and several retired vessels.

Queensland Cultural Centre

The Queensland Cultural Centre consists of:
The South Bank campus of Griffith University includes the Queensland Conservatorium and the Queensland College of Art and the Griffith Film School.

Southbank Institute of Technology

The Southbank Institute of Technology spreads over several blocks between the railway line and Merivale Street.

Business

provides a wide range of public and private medical services in the area to the south of the suburb around Mater Hill and close to its border with Woolloongabba.
A number of major corporations have recently established offices in new buildings along Grey Street and Melbourne Street.

Demographics

In the 2011 census the population of South Brisbane was 5,416, 48.8% female and 51.2% male. The median age of the South Brisbane population was 30 years, seven years below the Australian median. One-third of the population were aged in their twenties, compared to 13.8% nationally. 44.2% of people living in South Brisbane were born in Australia, compared to the national average of 69.8%. The other top responses for country of birth were England 3.8%, New Zealand 3.7%, China 3.3%, Korea, Republic of 3%, India 2%. 57.2% of people spoke only English at home; the next most popular languages were 5.5% Mandarin, 2.8% Korean, 2.7% Cantonese, 2.1% Greek, 1.9% Arabic. The most common religious affiliation was "No Religion" ; the next most common responses were Catholic, Anglican, Buddhism and Islam.