Moggill, Queensland
Moggill is a suburb in the City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. In the, Moggill had a population of 5,029 people.
Geography
Moggill is about by from the Brisbane CBD.The Brisbane River bounds the suburb to the east, south and west with two of its reaches:
- Cockatoo Reach
- Redbank Reach
It comprises a mixture of small-lot and acreage residential homes along with a small number of remaining farms. Moggill is located in the Parish of Moggill within the County of Stanley, Queensland.
History
Garumngar is a language of the Upper Brisbane River catchment. The Garumngar language region includes the landscape within the local government boundaries of the Ipswich, Brisbane, Somerset and Moreton Bay Regional Councils, particularly the towns of Dayboro and Esk extending east towards Moggill.The Brisbane River and Moggill Creek were rich in resources and evidence of Aboriginal occupation includes bora grounds near the Moggill Pony Club and O'Brien Road. Another Bora ring is located at the end of Riversleigh Road.
John Oxley the first European visitor, named it Termination Plains when he landed in the Priors Pocket area in 1823.
In 1846, the first paddle steamer service from Brisbane to Ipswich began, travelling along the Brisbane and Bremer rivers past Moggill. At least eight steamers operated between 1846 and 1875, the trip taking four to seven hours. Previously a row boat operated by convicts would take around 12 hours from Brisbane to Ipswich and punts flowing with the tide would take several days.
In 1848, a profitable coal mine owned by John Williams commenced operation.
In 1849, The Moreton Bay Courier noted that land near "Moghill Creek" might be soon put up for sale, with settlers who arrived on The Fortitude given some assistance to help with a purchase. The first survey of Moggill was in 1851, with a township planned in the vicinity of Weekes Rd, however it was later established near the present school.
Moggill Cemetery was established in 1865.
The Moggill State School opened on 12 February 1866, with 53 students enrolled, and an average attendance of 31-24 boys and 13 girls. The school began as a two-room schoolhouse and remaining that way until 1970 when the population of the area started expanding rapidly. The school celebrated its sesquicentenary on 12 February 2016.
In 1868 the Moggill Methodist Church was built at the corner of Moggill Road and Kangaroo Gully Road. Originally it had neither lining or ceiling, and had a shingle roof and cedar window frames. The church remains on the grounds of the Moggill Uniting Church.
In 1877 Moggill and the Moggill residents were described thus in The Queensland Times newspaper:
"The Moggill farmers are a well-to-do class, not with standing the fact that their holdings are comparatively small, and they are dependent entirely on agricultural pursuits, there being no outside country to be made use of for the running of cattle. The land is, for the most part, composed of rich alluvial deposits, and its quality is such that it is very hard to exhaust it. There are parts of the district where the soil is patchy, and there are places where it is rather difficult to cultivate, but these disadvantages are more than counterbalanced by the richness of the remaining portions, from which crops of more than average yield are taken each successive season."The Moggill punt was important as a means of transport across the Brisbane River. In 1884 the ferry sank and was eventually replaced with a hand pulled, rope guided ferry.
In 1886 Colledge Brothers, a contracting firm, secured a 10-year lease with the option of a further 10-year extension from Thomas Sugars to open the Moggill Blue Metal Quarry, four miles above the Bremer River, employing 20 men. in 1924 the Moggill Quarry was purchased by the Gravel, Sand and Metal Supply Ltd. for £4500. Mr J Anstead became the works manager.
In 1968, the original Moggill State School building was moved to an adjacent block of land to become the Anglican Church.
In 1973, Moggill was divided into three suburbs, the other two were named Anstead and Bellbowrie. The name of the creek is derived from 'Magil', from Yuggera Nation language meaning water dragon.
After 2004, the traditional Moggill pineapple farms, situated on the rich red clay soils around Witty Road and Priors Pocket Road, began to be subdivided for housing. There was vocal opposition to the subdivision from Moggill residents, who wished to preserve the rural amenity of the area with larger block sizes. In spite of this, the average block size of the new estates is around 700 m².
Demographics
In the, Moggill had a population of 3,606 people; 51.1% female and 48.9% male. The median age of the Moggill population was 34 years of age, 3 years below the Australian median. Children aged under 15 years made up 27.2% of the population and people aged 65 years and over made up 9.1% of the population. 67.1% of people living in Moggill were born in Australia, similar to the national average of 69.8%; the next most common countries of birth were England 7.3%, South Africa 5.8%, New Zealand 3.6%, India 1.4%, Zimbabwe 0.9%. 86.3% of people spoke only English at home; the next most popular languages were 1.7% Afrikaans, 0.9% Sinhalese, 0.9% Mandarin, 0.7% Spanish, 0.6% Korean. The most common religious affiliation was "No Religion" 25.9%; the next most common responses were Catholic 24.1%, Anglican 18.5%, Uniting Church 6.7% and "Christian, nfd" 4.1%.In the, Moggill had a population of 4,641 people.
In the, Moggill had a population of 5,029 people.
Local government administration
Moggill has been administered by six local government entities:- Ipswich-Bundamba between 1876 and 1878
- Toowong Division between 1879 and 1880;
- Indooroopilly Division between 2 June 1880 and 31 March 1903;
- Indooroopilly Shire between 31 March 1903 and 8 December 1917;
- Moggill Shire between 8 December 1917 and 1 October 1925 and
- Brisbane City Council from 1 October 1925.
Heritage listings
- 3407 Moggill Road: St Michael's Anglican Church
- 3451 Moggill Road: former Moggill Methodist Church
- 3600 Moggill Road: Riverside Colliery Residence
- 351 Priors pocket Road: Fig Tree Lodge
Education
There are no secondary schools in Moggill. The nearest government secondary school is Kenmore State High School, in Aberfeldy Street, Kenmore, which offers secondary education between Grades 7 to 12, and contains Moggill within its catchment area.
Emergency services
Police
Moggill is within the Brisbane West District of the Metropolitan North Region of the Queensland Police Service. The Bellbowire Neighbourhood Police Beat, located at 5 Westaway Crescent, Bellbowrie, provides Moggill with an effective policing presence in an urban situation. The nearest police station within the Metropolitan North Region is Indooroopilly Police Station. Ignoring the established District, police stations closer than Indooroopilly are Karana Downs Station, Goodna Station and Mount Ommaney Station.Medical
The Queensland Ambulance Service provide emergency care and transport services for Moggill residents. Funding was allocated within the Queensland Government's 2010-11 State Budget for the initial planning stage of a new ambulance station at Pinjarra Hills which will be equipped with multiple ambulances and first responders. The Pinjarra Hills ambulance station will be the closest but not the only ambulance station caring for Moggill residents.Fire and rescue
Moggill is located within the City West Command of the Brisbane Region of the Queensland Fire and Rescue Service. In May 2010 construction commenced on a new fire station, located at 6 Pullenvale Road, Pullenvale, to replace the Kenmore Fire Station. The Pullenvale fire station will be the closest but not the only fire station serving Moggill residents.Evacuation centre
During the 2011 Brisbane River flood the Uniting Church, corner Moggill and Kangaroo Gully Roads, was used as an unofficial evacuation centre.Transport
Water
, a tolled vehicular cable ferry, crosses the Brisbane River between Moggill Road, Moggill, and Moggill Ferry Road, Riverview. The ferry was motorised in the 1940s under the joint control of the Ipswich and Brisbane City Councils. As of 2010, the service is provided by Stradbroke Ferries Ltd. The communities on either side of the Brisbane River have for a long time been divided on the topic of replacing the ferry service with a bridge. Those opposed to a bridge say: the ferry is historical; the rural lifestyle on the north side of the river will be replaced with urban sprawl; Moggill Road already suffers from congestion; and the cost would be too great. Those in favour of a bridge say : there is a lack of alternative convenient river crossings ; the ferry does not operate at night; sporadic halts to service occur due to mechanical breakdowns; and severe weather causes dangerous river debris and strong river currents. The ferry is free for pedestrians and bicycles.During the 2011 Brisbane River flood, the service was suspended and the ferry secured on the western bank. On 12 January 2011, when the river reached the peak of 18 metres its force broke one of its 2 cables. An assessment was made as to whether to sink, demolish or secure the ferry to prevent it becoming a 'missile' downstream if it came free. A decision was made to further secure it with a 1.5 tonne anchor, which was flown in by helicopter.