Moorooka, Queensland

Moorooka is a suburb of Brisbane, the state capital of Queensland, Australia. It is seven kilometres south of Brisbane's central business district. At the 2011 Australian census the suburb had a population of 9,984.^[1] The suburb was originally founded as a stop-over for journeys from Brisbane south (Logan and Albert river valleys) and south-west (Ipswich and beyond). A section of the suburb's eastern boundary lies adjacent to Toohey Forest Park.

History

The area was occupied by the Australian Aboriginal Jagera tribe before European settlement. The area was probably a hunting ground with plentiful food and water. There was also reportedly a Bora ring, which older residents of the area recall being shown. The word Moorooka is an indigenous word, either meaning 'iron bark', referring to the numerous iron bark trees in the area, or 'long nose', referring to Mt Toohey at the suburb's periphery.

Residents

Moorooka has traditionally hosted a working class population stemming from its history as a manufacturing hub during World War 2. The southern part of Moorooka bordering Salisbury was the location of government built returned servicemen housing. Recently Moorooka has seen immigrants from various places of the world, including people from the ex-Yugoslavia (Bosnia, Croatia, Serbia), Middle East (Iraq and Iran) and recently people from Africa (Southern Sudan and Eritrea), which has brought an influx of new families into the area. Many of these immigrants live in the low-cost housing and units.

Demographics

In the 2011 census the population of Moorooka was 9,984, 50.1% female and 49.9% male.

The median age of the Moorooka population was 35 years of age, two years below the Australian median.

66.8% of people living in Moorooka were born in Australia, compared to the national average of 69.8%. The other top responses for country of birth were New Zealand (3.1%), England (3%), India (2.7%), China (1.1%), Vietnam (0.9%).

73.9% of people spoke only English at home; the next most popular languages were 1.7% Arabic, 1.2% Vietnamese, 1.2% Mandarin, 1% Punjabi, 1% Greek.^[1]

Zoning

The suburb has mixed uses - large areas, particularly in the elevated eastern side of the suburb are residential. The lower, western side of the suburb is dominated by retail, particularly motor vehicle dealerships along Ipswich Road, known popularly throughout Brisbane as the "Magic Mile", light industry and warehouses.

Transport

The rail line to Robina on the Gold Coast forms the western border of the suburb. Commuter trains on the Beenleigh line stop at Moorooka railway station.

Moorooka entrance sign at Beaudesert Road shops

Between the 1930s and 1969, trams ran along Beaudesert Road, thence along Ipswich Road to the City. The suburb continues to be served by Brisbane Transport buses, namely the 110 Inala-City server, 116 Rocklea-Moorvale service, the 117 Acacia Ridge-City Valley Service, the 124 Sunnybank-City service, and the 125 Garden City-City Valley service. There is a zone border crossing at the Beaudesert Road shops, popularly known as Moorvale, for transport zones 2 and 3.

Politics

The Moorvale Shopping district hosts office for the Brisbane City Council Councillor for Moorooka Ward Steve Griffiths, and State Government of Queensland Member for Yeerongpilly, Mark Bailey MP. The office for the Federal Seat of Moreton is in the nearby suburb of Sunnybank.

Education

Moorooka is serviced by two kindergartens and primary schools, the non-denominational Moorooka State School at Beaudesert Road, and the Roman Catholic St Brendan's at Hawtree Street. Moorooka State School is the oldest of the two, being founded in 1929,^[2] and hosts an annual Festival in July. Approximately 700 students attend the School, which features a strong multi-cultural community.

Religion

Moorooka has two principal churches, the St Brendan's Catholic Church at Hawtree Street (Roman Catholic), and the Church of Christ at Pampas Street and Beaudesert Road. Both feature Sunday services.

Shopping

Moorvale Newsagency at Moorooka with artwork "Home is where the heart is"

The principal Moorooka shopping district on Beaudesert Road, known as Moorvale, features over 100 businesses from takeaways to restaurants and coffee shops, discount stores, newsagents, dry cleaners, locksmiths, jewellery shop, second hand and pawn shops, and a new range of businesses that serve the African community including food and groceries, hair salons, furniture shops, and halal butcheries.

Moorvale is also known for its extensive Woolworths Supermarket, at the northern end of the shopping district, which was opened in 1972 and was the largest Woolworths in Queensland at the time.

On the South end of Moorooka near the AFL club and Moorooka State Primary School located off Beaudesert Road is Pizza Hut, Shear Image Hair & Beauty, a petrol station, and within a few blocks either way convenience stores.

Architecture

Many of the houses are pre-war Queenslanders (on posts, with simple one floor, wooden construction), with small apartment blocks scattered through the suburb. As with many older suburbs of Brisbane, Moorooka is becoming gentrified, with many older homes now being either renovated and extended or replaced by more modern buildings. There are prime real estate areas on the top of hills, with views to the Great Dividing Range over Archerfield in the south, Seventeen Mile Rocks to the west, Mount Coot-tha, St. Lucia, Indooroopilly to the north-west and the city to the north.

References

1 2 3 Australian Bureau of Statistics (31 October 2012). "Moorooka (Brisbane City) (State Suburb)". 2011 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 10 October 2011.
↑ "Moorooka State School History". Education Queensland. Retrieved 10 October 2012.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Moorooka, Queensland.

Coordinates: 27°32′06″S 153°01′34″E / 27.535°S 153.026°E / -27.535; 153.026

Suburbs of the City of Brisbane, Queensland

North side	Albion Alderley Ascot Aspley Bald Hills Banyo Boondall Bowen Hills Bracken Ridge Bridgeman Downs Brighton Brisbane Airport Brisbane CBD Carseldine Chermside Chermside West Clayfield Deagon Eagle Farm England Creek Enoggera Everton Park Ferny Grove Fitzgibbon Fortitude Valley Gaythorne Geebung Gordon Park Grange Hamilton Hendra Herston Kedron Kelvin Grove Keperra Lutwyche McDowall Mitchelton New Farm Newmarket Newstead Northgate Nudgee Nudgee Beach Nundah Pinkenba Sandgate Shorncliffe Spring Hill Stafford Stafford Heights Taigum Teneriffe Upper Kedron Virginia Wavell Heights Wilston Windsor Wooloowin Zillmere

West side	Anstead Ashgrove Auchenflower Banks Creek Bardon Bellbowrie Brookfield Carole Park Chapel Hill Chelmer Chuwar Corinda Darra Doolandella Durack Ellen Grove Enoggera Reservoir Fig Tree Pocket Forest Lake Graceville Heathwood Inala Indooroopilly Jamboree Heights Jindalee Karana Downs Kenmore Kenmore Hills Kholo Lake Manchester Middle Park Milton Moggill Mount Coot-tha Mount Crosby Mount Ommaney Oxley Pallara Paddington Petrie Terrace Pinjarra Hills Pullenvale Red Hill Richlands Riverhills St Lucia Seventeen Mile Rocks Sherwood Sinnamon Park Sumner Taringa The Gap Toowong Upper Brookfield Wacol Westlake Willawong

South side	Acacia Ridge Algester Annerley Archerfield Berrinba Burbank Calamvale Coopers Plains Drewvale Dutton Park Eight Mile Plains Fairfield Greenslopes Highgate Hill Holland Park Holland Park West Karawatha Kuraby Larapinta Macgregor Mackenzie Mansfield Moorooka Mount Gravatt Mount Gravatt East Nathan Parkinson Robertson Rochedale Rocklea Runcorn Salisbury South Brisbane Stretton Sunnybank Sunnybank Hills Tarragindi Tennyson Upper Mount Gravatt West End Wishart Woolloongabba Yeerongpilly Yeronga

East side	Balmoral Belmont Bulimba Camp Hill Cannon Hill Capalaba West (defunct) Carina Carina Heights Carindale Chandler Coorparoo East Brisbane Gumdale Hawthorne Hemmant Kangaroo Point Lota Lytton Manly Manly West Morningside Murarrie Norman Park Port of Brisbane Ransome Seven Hills Tingalpa Wakerley Wynnum Wynnum West

Moreton Bay	Bulwer Cowan Cowan Kooringal Moreton Island

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