Newsletter
No. 3 - 2005
COMMITTEE:
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Jonathan Richards, President
Margaret Watts, Secretary
Yvonne Midgley, Treasurer
Ruth Forrest, Website Co-ordinator
WEBSITE: www.brookfieldhistory.org.au
MEETINGS: Second Thursday at 7.30pm in the Upper Brookfield Hall
CONTACT: The Secretary, Brookfield Historical Society, PO Box 1374, Kenmore, 4069
SERVICES TO UPPER BROOKFIELD
At the turn of the century, horse and bullock teams were hauling timber from
the hills around Brookfield and the land was being opened up for farming,
dairy and fruit growing. After the 1914-1918 War returned soldiers arrived to
take up land. Very few owned a car, so horse and wagon was the mode of
transport which took a whole day to take produce to the Roma Street markets
and return with supplies. Mail was bought by horseback three times a week
from Indooroopilly Post Office and delivered to mail boxes at Upper
Brookfield School. The nearest telephone was at Brookfield, which entailed
quite a journey to make a call or send a telegram. In 1922 men of the district
cleared a line along the road from Brookfield to the home of C.C. Breddin. It
was a party line from Brookfield Office to Brisbane and there was a call
signal for each centre. One long ring for Brisbane, two short rings for
Brookfield and three short rings for Upper Brookfield. Mrs. Breddin the
Postmistress had to submit weekly, monthly and quarterly returns of all
business. Tom Chapman delivered bread for the Bakers, Gerrard’s then
Dances Indooroopilly from 1927 up to 1950. The mailman delivered mail
and meat from butchers, Bagster's Taringa and Pennhaligan’s Indooroopilly.
As there was no refrigeration, meat was kept in a safe which was hung in a
cool area. Other carriers were B. Cogsill, F. Wruck, Ted Carlow, K.
Mumford and K. Congram Most landowners had a house cow and their own
fowls. Some of the earlier produce carriers were C.C. Breddin and Harry
Rooke. Milk and cream were collected and delivered to Brisbane. The
nearest store was at Brookfield in the 1930’s and Chang’s at Kenmore.
There was the occasional salesperson coming around with ice and fish, a
draper and also a Rawleigh van. In 1950 Mr. R. Gillies and his wife Joyce
(nee Breddin) built a home at 576 Upper Brookfield Road and opened a
small store, it was a boon for the area. A Telephone Exchange with 36 lines
and manual switchboard was installed and residents were able to have private
phones in their own homes. The store was listed as an unofficial Post Office.
Postal orders, stamps and stationery were sold. Pension and Child
Endowments were paid, Commonwealth Bank and a State Government
Insurance Agency operated. The store supplied general household goods,
stock feed, farm seeds, fertilizers and sprays, tools and hardware. It became
known as ‘The Friendly Store’ and quickly became the hub of the
district. Mr. Gillies started a school bus service in 1953, the original Chev.
Utility was fitted with a canopy and had fixed side benches. Later a Kombi
Mini Bus was used. He delivered groceries and bread three times a week.
The store outgrew its small premises and in 1957 a new store and residence
was built across the road, No. 575, also a night tennis court, and a post box
was placed outside and cleared daily. New Lessees were Matthew's,
Wallis’s, Hartig’s, Howard's and Draper's. In 1961 telephone subscribers
were connected to Brookfield Automatic Exchange and the switchboard was
removed. The shop closed in 1973 due to lack of patronage. The time had
arrived for the big supermarkets to take over.
Early land holders were Pacey, Moon, Shields, Leiske, James, Logan and
Burnett. Permanent settlers to farm at Upper Brookfield were C.C. Breddin,
W. Smith, Ballard, J. Gregg, F. Upton, W. Horacek, H. Tozeau, J. & E.
Kelly, Carbine, Pacey, W. Congram, F. Weiss, Bolter, H. Rooke, W.
Gregory, J Phillips, Campbell, Fearnley, Levitt Bros Bullock teams, John
Burnett, Shields and W. Cardwell in the Twenties. Returned soldiers were
R. Mumford, A. Gillies, J. Soper, Wm. Gillies, F. Midgley, A. Vaisey,
L.T.C. Jackson.
EXTRACT FROM BRISBANE COURIER Thursday, May 31, 192821
CROSSINGS UPPER BROOKFIELD ROADIMPROVEMENTS
WANTED
Improvements to the Upper Brookfield road were sought by a deputation from the L.P.A., which
waited on Alderman E. Lanham at the City Hall yesterday. There were 21 crossings on the road, and
the deputation asked that these should be repaired to enable farmers to get their produce to the city, and
that a maintenance man should be put on to look after the road. Mr. Jackson said that the crossings had
been in need of attention for a number of years. Before the advent of the new council the old Moggill
Shire Council had had the position in hand to the extent that funds from the Government had been
made available for the crossings to be made permanent. The crossings would have been done had the
area been outside the city. The only permanent work that had been done was on one crossing and it had
been started about a week before the election. The City Engineer (Mr. E.F. Gilchrist): What became of
the money?Mr. Jackson: As soon as the Greater Brisbane scheme was introduced the funds were not
available. Alderman Lanham said that, so far as he knew, no loan money had been available for the
Moggill, Enoggera, and Taringa areas. Mr. Jackson added that they wanted something done this year.
The City Engineer explained that he had been instructed by the works committee to have a survey
made of a road which would avoid as many crossings as possible. The deputation explained that any
request that had been made on those lines had nothing to do with them.
Mr. Breddin complained that heavy overnight storms made it impossible for the farmers to get their
produce to market, with the result that whole loads of produce packed the night previously were
wasted. When they had horse vehicles they could get through the water, but now most of them owned
motor trucks which could not cross deep streams. Alderman Lanham promised to see what could be
done to improve the position and said he would place the requests before the works committee.
Research by Jonathan Richards
Extracts from Brisbane Courier 23 March 1929 p13
Research by Jonathan Richards
BROOKFIELD DISTRICT FERTILITY AND BEAUTY By Thos J. McMahon
Brookfield, situated 12 miles from the city of Brisbane proper, and within the area governed by
the Brisbane City Council, is a picturesque area of hills and dales and spacious grass-lands. An
unlimited supply of water is provided by numerous creeks and brooks, and the district is notable
for its mixed farming, dairying, poultry farming, fruitgrowing, and market
gardening. Brookfield is divided into two sections, known as Upper and Lower Brookfield and
lies at the back of Indooroopilly, on towards the head of the Brisbane River and Ipswich. From
any of the many hills of the district wonderful views are obtainable. From Armagh Farm, which
is owned by Mrs. M.A. Kerr, a very old resident, and perched on a rise of quite 700ft. the view
takes in such landmarks as Mt. Elphinstone, the Pullen Vale district, the hills of Gold Creek and
Mt. Coot-tha. The picture is one of rural prosperity. Old residents of Brookfield, who can recall
the days of 50 to 60 years ago, say that the district was then mostly dense scrub and heavily
timbered forests. An interesting reminder of those days will be the diamond jubilee of the local
Methodist Church, which will be celebrated shortly. Very many years, however, before this
period of settlement – 70 to 80 years ago – Brookfield was pioneered by timber getters, the hills
and dales being famous for excellent red cedar and pine. A crudely made track, rough and
narrow, curved and twisted its way from the hill-tops, and extended through the district to
Brisbane. The main traffic on this track comprised bullock wagons laden with logs from
Brookfield for Pettigrew’s sawmill in Brisbane. That rough track has become the fine
bituminized highway running through the populous suburbs of Indooroopilly, Taringa,
Auchenflower and Toowong. That the timber in the district is not yet exhausted is evidenced by
the up-to-date sawmill established by Mr. E. Burrows, who has an extensive business in sawn
timber and fruit casing.
PROSPEROUS AREA
The more general settlement and development of the district began between 20 and 30 years ago.
Today the district is well settled and prosperous. The hills are crowned with comfortable
homesteads flanked by well-kept orchards, and on the hillside are cultivations of maize, imphee,
cow cane and other fodders, and on every side vegetable gardens, while there are paddocks of
Lucerne, Paspalum, Rhodes and other well known grasses. The many herds of sleek and primeconditioned dairy cattle are of good breed and quality, and the whole scene is one of agricultural
richness. Brookfield is appropriately named for it has an abundance of water. Residents state
that there has never been anything serious in the way of a drought. Most of the farms at
Brookfield range in size from 10 – 100 acres, but there are some of 300 to 400 acres. In the very
early days land could be purchased for as little as half-a-crown an acre; today farms probably
would be difficult to purchase at 20 to 30 pound per acre, or more, and sales are very infrequent.
As a resident remarked, the richness of the soil, the numerous products that can be cultivated
and the high and healthy situation of the district, influence settlers to make permanent homes.
DAIRYING AND POULTRY FARMING
A number of farmers are engaged in dairying, a few sending cream to the Kingston factory but
most of them vending milk. Dairy herds vary in numbers from 20 head to that of the Tuckett
family who milk nearly 100 cows daily. The cultivation of fodder is very general for the feeding of
stock, yet large quantities of feed are purchased during the winter to keep the milk supply up to
the public demand. At present the pastures are ample, and not a poor beast is to be seen in the
district. Mixed herds are the rule, mostly Jerseys and Illawarra Shorthorns, the latter possibly
predominating in numbers. Farmers have shown discretion in the purchase and rearing of goodclass, profitable herds and some have enterprisingly bought bulls and young cows for stud
purposes from some of the best studs of the Commonwealth. Many of the Jerseys came from the
well-known stud herd of Mr. J. Sinnamon of Moggill. Poultry farming is very general throughout
the district. White Leghorns are the popular breed of bird, and the flocks vary from 1000 to
4000. With the abundance of green feed and the large areas available for runs, this industry does
well.
FRUIT AND VEGETABLES
If Brookfield farmers did nothing else than cultivate fruit, they would do well, as the district is
admirably adapted to many tropical and sub-tropical fruits. Papaws, pineapples, custard apples,
citrus fruits, and in some parts bananas, thrive excellently.Many growers are successfully
cultivating papaws. One plantation of two acres, owned by Mr. F. Meirlandt, is a model of
careful maintenance. Mr. Meirlandt has between 800 and 900 trees, and his annual crop averages
at least 2000 cases, a case holding from six to a dozen papaws, according to the size of the fruit.
The papaws grown in the district are ready for the markets in June and most of them go the
Brisbane markets, where a proportion is sent South.Vegetables also thrive, including cabbages,
peas, beans, cauliflowers and tomatoes. Brookfield can grow a number of varieties of vegetables
all the year round, as there are sheltered nooks in the hills and dales and high positions away
from frosts.
The beauty of Brookfield attracts many motorists at weekends and holidays and on some
occasions as many as 700 cars have been counted. With the exception of one crossing, the road is
in good repair. This crossing, known as Doyle’s, while safe enough in fine weather, very quickly
floods after rain and then becomes deep and dangerous. At such times it holds up 40 to 50
families, and occasions much loss, as products from the farms cannot be conveyed to Brisbane.
An agitation is on foot to have the crossing attended to as quickly as possible. Brookfield has no
township; shopping is done in Brisbane. It has two churches, however, the Church of England
and the Methodist, a post office and telephone exchange, and two State Schools – Lower
Brookfield, which has a roll of about 30 children, with Mr. Laws as head teacher, and Upper
Brookfield, which has 28 children, with Miss Queale as head teacher. Letters and newspapers are
delivered daily throughout the district. The population is estimated at between 300 and 400.
Among the well known family names of the district are: Gregg, Jones, Kerr, Burnett, Breddin,
Rooke, Fearnley Meirlandt, Teazeau, Wuiske, Fearnley, Carlow, Appel, Burgiss, Kunde, Dent,
Dart, Roberts, Phillips, Cooper, Williams, Upton, Vaisey, Doyle, Campbell, Soper, Gillies, Van
Renan, Midgley, Mohr, Martin, Hewsen, Congram, Horacek, Tuckett, Shields, Moon, Ballard
and N. Box.
STOP PRESS – GREAT NEWS!
►OUR HISTORIC BROOKFIELD DISTRICT MUSEUM
Restored by the Brookfield Show Society Inc now ready to open regularly – first Sunday each
month (except January) from 2pm to 4pm.
First regular opening Sunday 6 November 2005
Please support this special community effort!
►BACK TO BROOKFIELD ON AUSTRALIA DAY
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26 January 2006 all day at the Brookfield Hall
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Next year will be the fiftieth consecutive Brookfield Show and Brookfield Show BallWe
need your photos and memorabilia to prepare a special Golden Anniversary Show
Display
Three computers, scanners etc will be set up to scan and record your precious photos
digitally and give them back to you on the same day
This event will be advertised throughout Queensland to attract former residents. We
will be tempting them to join in this "Back to Brookfield Day" with an offer for them to
stay a night or two with a Brookfield resident.
If you can help, please contact Brendan Ryan
3374 1660
patriciaryan@hotmail.com