Sunnybank Hills was originally part of a much larger area known as Coopers Plains. In 1885, the railway line was extended from Yeerongpilly, and names had to be given to the railway stations built along the line. One of the stations was named after a local farm, Sunny Brae, when of land were taken over for the railway. Brae is the Scottish word for the English word bank, so the area was given boundaries and named Sunnybank. The area of Sunnybank Hills was officially defined in 1971, although it had been unofficially called this for many years. The Sunnybank Hills Public Library opened in 1987 with a major refurbishment in 2009.
Geography
Sunnybank Hills has numerous ridges and hills, with lower wetter areas in the north and east. These form the marshes near Sunnybank and Runcorn railway stations. There are many parks and greenspaces in the area. The soil is fertile and watered by numerous small creeks, including a large one that flows north-south across the suburb, and the suburb borders on the small wildfowl habitat and wetlands of neighbouring Calamvale Creek.
Demographics
In the, Sunnybank Hills recorded a population of 16,830 people: 50.4% female and 49.6% male. The median age of the Sunnybank Hills population was 34 years, 3 years below the Australian median. Children aged under 15 years made up 16.3% of the population and people aged 65 years and over made up 12.4% of the population. Sunnybank Hills is a very multicultural suburb. 46.7% of people living in Sunnybank Hills were born in Australia, compared to the national average of 69.8%; the next most common countries of birth were China 10.5%, Taiwan 6.6%, New Zealand 4.3%, India 2.5%, England 2.2%. Just under half of people spoke only English at home; the next most popular languages were 17.8% Mandarin, 6.5% Cantonese, 2.3% Vietnamese, 2.2% Korean, 1.2% Greek. According to the, Sunnybank Hills includes the largest communities of both Chinese Australians and Serbian Australians of any suburb in Queensland. Almost half of the family households in the suburb were couples with children, 35% were couples without children, 15% are single-parent households, and 3% are classified as "other family". The great majority of the dwellings in the suburb are stand-alone houses; townhouses account for another 12%. The houses are mainly modern brick and tile houses but there is a sprinkling of post-war weatherboard homes in the area. The most common religious affiliation was "No Religion" ; the next most common responses were Catholic 20.1%, Anglican 9.6%, Buddhism 9.0% and Uniting Church 5.5%.
Amenities
The Brisbane City Council operates a public library in Sunnybank Hills in the Sunnybank Hills Shopping Centre at the corner of Compton and Calam Roads. Churches in Sunnybank Hills include the Southside International Church on the corner of Pinelands and Beenleigh Roads, and Sunnybank Hills Uniting Church on the corner of Hellawell Road and Hillcrest Street.
Approximately 25% of the population is Asian born, and the cultural scene is brought to life with many Asian restaurants, along with numerous coffee shops and eateries of many cultures. Restaurants in Sunnybank Hills and neighbouring Sunnybank include Thai, Korean, Vietnamese, Chinese, Japanese, Indian and Italian cuisines.
Transport
Many bus stops with buses running directly to the city every couple of minutes during peak times. The suburb is also serviced by the train stations, Sunnybank and Altandi, which provide services to the Brisbane CBD and Beenleigh lines.
Education
The local school is Sunnybank Hills State School in Symons Road. This school opened on 30 January 1979. The Autistic Children's Therapy Centre is also located along Hellawell Road.
