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Pre-settlement
Settlement and development
Post-war suburban development and industry
Current situation
Past land-use along Kedron Brook has
undergone a sequence of changes that are similar to other parts of the
Brisbane area. The rich resources in South-Eastern Queensland enabled
many aboriginal tribal groups to establish semi-permanent camps in the
area. The local Undumbi people were custodians of the land through
which Kedron Brook flows.
Pre-settlement
The Undumbi group of people were part of the
Gubi Gubi nation. Early settlers called this group the “Duke of York”
clan. The orignial inhabitants of Kedron Brook harvested food and no
doubt influenced the numbers of different species in the area through
plant and animal harvesting, and modifying the environment either by
fire or by planting.
First contact with the Undumbi clan was made
by three sailors – Pamphlett, Finnegan and Parsons – after being
shipwrecked on Moreton Island in 1823.
Descendants of the Undumbi people continue
to live in the area and are actively researching their history and past
ties with local flora and fauna and the land.
Settlement and
development
The fact that the lower reaches of Kedron
Brook were one of the first sites of free settlement in Brisbane is
evidence of the rich resources and attractive nature of Kedron Brook to
the new settlers. As settlement expanded in Brisbane, settlers sought
the best land for harvesting timber and establishing productive market
gardens. This land was also that favoured by wildlife.
German missionaries, who established Zion
Hill Mission for the Aborigines in 1838, named Kedron Brook. The name
is derived from biblical references to the crossing of Kidron Valley to
enter the Garden of Gesthsemane.
European occupation along Kedron Brook
followed the opening of the former penal colony to free settlement in
1842. As settlement expanded in Brisbane, settlers sought the best land
for harvesting timber and establishing productive market gardens. This
land was also that favoured by wildlife and undoubtedly had the highest
biodiversity. Early settlers would have exploited fish and wildlife,
particularly during difficult times such as during the depression.
Increasing occupation during the 1860s and
1870s diversified development. Loggers harvested red cedar and pine
from the upper reaches of Kedron Brook. Timber harvesting for building
materials was undertaken as land was surveyed. Gold was mined at
Bellbird Grove at the ‘Golden Boulder Mine’. Small coal deposits
supplied local needs from the Kalinga area. Brisbane tuff was quarried
at Windsor, Stafford and Lutwyche quarries to produce crushed aggregate.
Development of the Brook began along the
route to the Gympie goldfields. This route is now called Lutwyche Road.
Kedron Brook was described at the time as a “fairy-like stream, its
banks lined with wattle, ti-tree and flowers’ and was a favourite
fishing spot.
Farms that grew maize, fruit and vegetables
were established along the Brook and grapes were also grown for a time
in the Mitchelton area. Market gardens were established along the
floodplain on the rich alluvial soils adjacent to Kedron Brook.
Brisbane boomed in the 1880’s, but
reticulated water supplies were limited at the time. With seasonal
rainfall, it was important to have a reliable water source; Kedron
Brook provided that.
Farming, urban and industrial development
spread in a more or less haphazard manner to the west along the reaches
of Kedron Brook. Transport corridors and proximity to water linked
development.
The opening of railway lines to Sandgate in
1882 and Enoggera in 1899 led to further commercial development. The
railway extended to Mitchelton and Samford in 1918 with the addition of
stations along the Sandgate line and a bridge suitable for trams on
Lutwyche Road in 1927.
Although farming and dairying were major
activities in the Kedron Brook catchment, the water flow lent itself to
the production of hides and slaughtering. Tanneries, skin traders and
slaughter yards were established. The first tannery was established in
1886 at Kedron, others were located in the Ferny Grove and Keperra
areas.
Intensive use and limited sanitation led to
pollution of Kedron Brook by the early 1900’s.
Post-war suburban
development and industry
Subdivision of some of the large allotments
for suburban settlement took place before World War II. The development
of large housing estates and the widespread ownership of cars in the
post-war period brought more intense development to the suburbs along
the Brook. Shopping centres were built next to the floodplain to
service the new suburbs.
By the 1930’s, much of the Brisbane
landscape had been modified by timber harvesting, agricultural pursuits
and urban settlement. The pristine creeks had lost a lot of their
vegetation, and water quality was declining.
During this phase of Brisbane’s history,
many of the creek systems were considered convenient drains for the
disposal of wastewater – from industry and domestic sources.
Development of many innovative chemicals and a lack of understanding of
their toxicological consequences, led to damage to the waterways. There
are tales of the creek waters around Brisbane foaming with bubbles at
the time of introduction of detergents – which unlike the soaps
previously used, did not break down in the natural environment.
Resources would have been gradually depleted
as development increased in intensity and moved up stream. Subdivision
in the Stafford area in the 1940’s was followed by development at
Grovely, Arana Hills and Ferny Grove in the 1960s and 1970s. The rate
of development has slowed since the mid 1990’s but clearing of native
vegetation for housing development is still occurring in the upper
catchment.
Development in the 1960’s and 1970’s led to
siltation of the creek.
Landfills and refuse dumps were seen as ways
of making low-lying terrain more usable. Sites were located in the past
at Grinstead Park, Wolverhampton Street, Hickey Park, Emerson Park,
Upper Kedron, Teralba Park and at the Nudgee Tip site. The most
extensive landfill area is near the mouth of Kedron Brook where
development of the airport greatly modified the original wetland
complex.
Bushland remnants are located at Enoggera
Military Area, Sparkes Hill, Shaw and Grinstead Parks.
Schulz Canal was first built during the
depression of the 1940s to link Kedron Brook with the Serpentine Creek
system. The Kedron Brook floodplain was radically altered to make way
for Brisbane Airport in the 1940’s. Prior to development for the
airport, the coastal plain had supported many ecosystems including
freshwater swamps, paperbark forests, coastal scrubs, mangroves and
saltmarsh. Airport development in the 1980’s led to the further
modification of the tidal reaches of Kedron Brook. Most had been
severely degraded by the time of the airport re-development.
More recently, some of the industrial areas
in the lower reaches of Kedron Brook have been replaced with
residential or commercial developments.
The 1974 flood and subsequent mitigation had
a dramatic effect on Kedron Brook. Habitat was lost, flow patterns
changed, variation in depth and bank characteristics of the channel
were altered in middle sections of Kedron Brook. New ecosystems were
created by channelisation.
Current situation
Urban development in the upper catchment is
contributing to the loss of natural ecosystems and habitat along Kedron
Brook. It is also one of the greatest potential sources for sediment
and nutrient discharge into Kedron Brook. Urban development and related
activities are more regulated and undertaken with greater environmental
awareness than ever before. Despite this, the development will have an
irreversible impact on local natural biodiversity.
Along Kedron Brook a network of parkland,
bush and land not able to be “developed” due to flooding or other
restrictions have become an important community resource. The areas are
important for recreation but also provide relicts of habitat for
wildlife still surviving in the human modified landscape. In the 21st
century, the visual, recreational and habitat quality of the remnant
open areas along Kedron Brook have the potential to at last improve
following many years of exploitation and degradation last century.
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