The area now known as Indooroopilly was once part of a cattle run - McDougall Station - which extended from Toowong through to Moggill. The property was later subdivided into farms, one of which belonged to Louis Stamm. He was one of the earliest chair- men of the Indooroopilly Divisional Board, after its separation from Taringa and Toowong. Stamm's estate covered the present site of the Indooroopilly Railway Station, and practically all the area that comprises the present day suburb.
Before 1870 there were very few houses built in the area. The district received its first impetus from the opening of the railway. The first train carrying passengers from Brisbane to Ipswich started at 6.30 am on June 14th, 1875. The Albert Bridge over the river was not finished, and passengers and goods had to be conveyed across the river by punt. The bridge was not completed and opened for railway traffic till July of the following year. With the establishment of the railway station shops and houses began to spring up in the area. There were four trains a day, Monday to Saturday, and Sunday trains eventually also approved. The main span of the bridge was washed away in the 1893 floods, but was later rebuilt.
At this time the village of Indooroopilly surrounding the station of that name, was included in the Taringa Shire. The old Shire of Indooroopilly commenced a little further up the river, and comprised of Fig Tree Pocket, Kenmore, Brookfield and Pullenvale. A State School was opened in Indooroopilly on July 8th, 1889. Its Principal was George Victor Le Vaux, whose son was one of the 142 pupils enrolled on the first day. (The Indooroopilly High School was opened in 1933?)
Towards the end of 1918 a discovery of argentiferous lead carbonate was made in a garden rockery, the materials for which had been obtained on the site, on a property in Isles Road, on Finney Hill,. After several mining leases were obtained in the area, open-cut mining was commenced. The Indooroopilly Silver Lead Extended Mining Syndicate was formed. Several shafts were sunk in the area and mining continued through the 1920's, but by 1929 the mine was no longer profitable, and was closed. It was acquired by the University of Queensland in June 1951 for the use of the Dept. of Mining and Metallurgical Engineering. Through its 10 year history the mine produced 227343 ounces of silver and 1796 tons of lead.
As early as 1886 there had been requests to the Government to build a road bridge over the river at Indooroopilly. It was not until Walter Taylor, president of the Progress Association of Graceville, prepared a design and estimate in 1925, that serious planning commenced. It was decided to build a concrete re-inforced structure which would be financed by a toll.. Work commenced in 1932.A temporary bridge was first put across the weir, and from this, construction of the bridge began. The bridge was opened in February, 1936.
Green Hill Reservoir, Brisbane's largest water storage, was completed in September 1968, and the first stage of Indooroopilly Shoppingtown was opened in 1970. The library was opened in 1981.
PREPARED FROM THE LOCAL HISTORY FILE
INDOOROOPILLY LIBRARY
BRISBANE CITY LIBRARY SERVICE
MAY 1987
Indooroopilly
is a suburb of Brisbane in the Australian state of Queensland.
See also History of Indooroopilly (4068) and OurBrisbane - history of Indooroopilly.
Maps of the area are available in Indooroopilly library