Primarily residential, Acacia Ridge is also known for its heavy industrial area in the suburb's east, occupying much of the suburb's area east of Beaudesert Road.[citation needed]
History
The name Acacia Ridge derives from the number of Acacia species growing in the area.[3]
In October 1884, 275 allotments of "Flemington Estate" were advertised for sale by T. Howling & Co.[5] A map advertising the sale states that the estate was close to the Coopers Plains railway station and that coaches passed the estate every day.[6]
The suburb was established after World War II to house returning servicemen and their families. Many of the original post-war dwellings still stand today.[citation needed]
Our Lady of Fatima Catholic Church (built 1966), 2022
Our Lady of Fatima Catholic Church was established on 5 acres (2.0 ha) on land on the corner of Beaudesert and Mortimer Roads in Coopers Plains which was bought in April 1949 from Arthur Harper for £2250 by the parish priest of Moorooka, Father Flanagan. He also arranged for an old army hut to be relocated from the Archerfield Airport to the church site and spent £720 converting the building into a church. The church was officially dedicated on Sunday 26 March 1950 by James Duhig, the Archbishop of Brisbane, with about 150 people attending.[11] Two further army huts were relocated to the site. One of them was used to establish Our Lady of Fatima Primary School which opened on 25 January 1954. At its opening, the school had 78 pupils taught by two Sisters of St Joseph led by Sister Ibar. On 5 June 1966, Archbishop Patrick Mary O'Donnell opened the new brick church building, with the former church building being used as a hall.[12] On 24 January 1971, the new school was officially opened by Bishop Henry Joseph Kennedy with 8 classrooms, an office, a staff room and a sick room. By that time, there were 260 students and 7 staff.[7][13]
Acacia Ridge Uniting Church (formerly Methodist), 2022
Acacia Ridge Methodist Church was established in 1966. On the creation of the Uniting Church in Australia in 1977, it became the Acacia Ridge Uniting Church.[14][15]
Watson Road State School opened on 23 January 1967.[7]
The suburb was officially named and bounded on 11 August 1975.[3]
St Alban's Anglican Church closed circa 1980.[17][18] The church building relocated to the Anglican Church of the Holy Spirit in neighbouring Algester to be used as a parish hall.[19]
The Aboriginal and Islander Independent Community School (also known as The Murri School)[20] was founded on the initiative of Gungalu and Birri Gubba man Ross Watson.[21][22] It was opened 1 January 1986 in a disused Catholic primary school in Highgate Hill. In 1995, the school relocated to a disused state school in Milton. In 1997, the school obtained its current site in Acacia Ridge, which was the original site of Acacia Ridge State School before its relocation to the site of the former Acacia Ridge State High School, after that school's closure.[7][23][24]
Demographics
In the 2011 census, Acacia Ridge had a population of 6,945 people.[25]
In the 2016 census, Acacia Ridge had a population of 7,429 people, 49.8% female and 50.2% male. The median age of the Acacia Ridge population was 34 years, 3 years below the national median of 37. 61.6% of people living in Acacia Ridge were born in Australia, compared to the national average of 69.8%; the next most common countries of birth were New Zealand 3.9%, India 3.1%, Philippines 2.3% and Vietnam 2%. 59.6% spoke only English at home; the next most popular languages were 2.8% Somali, 2.6% Vietnamese, 2.4% Arabic, 1.8% Spanish, 1.8% Mandarin.[26]
In the 2021 census, Acacia Ridge had a population of 7,486 people.[1] In 2021, 5.7% of people are Indigenous, compared to 4.6% Queensland-wide. [27]
Heritage listings
Partially submerged Acacia Ridge Air Raid Shelter in 2015Our Lady of Fatima Catholic Church hall was the first church established in 1950, 2022
Acacia Ridge has a number of heritage-listed sites, including:
From 1966 until the mid-1980s, Acacia Ridge accommodated one of Holden's main vehicle manufacturing plants, which produced both full-sized and smaller models including the Holden Gemini. When local production of the Gemini ceased in October 1984, the manufacturing plant closed down.[30] The manufacturer remained, retaining a small area of the site for its regional headquarters until the early 2000s, when it relocated to Murarrie. Since closure of the plant, Woolworths occupied the area, utilising its space as a regional distribution centre until recently, when an independent retail grocery chain resumed the site for similar purposes.[citation needed]
On the opposite side of Beaudesert Road from the former manufacturing plant, Toyota has based its southern Queensland regional headquarters. This site is primarily used for managerial and distribution related duties, as opposed to vehicle production.[citation needed]
Acacia Ridge is home to one of Queensland's largest railway freight yards, dealing with interstate freight and the break-of-gauge from 1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in) to 1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in). In 2008, the Beaudesert Road level crossing was replaced by an overbridge, so that the sidings in the yard could be extended for the shunting of longer 1500 m trains.[31] Because space was not sufficient for all potential users of this yard. In 2009, the line between Acacia Ridge and Bromelton was converted to dual gauge to enable another break-of-gauge freight hub to be established at Bromelton in 2017.[32]
^"Advertising". The Telegraph. No. 3, 753. Queensland, Australia. 10 October 1884. p. 7. Archived from the original on 23 August 2020. Retrieved 7 June 2019 – via National Library of Australia.
^ ab"Our school". Acacia Ridge State School. 19 February 2020. Archived from the original on 29 March 2022. Retrieved 30 April 2022.
^"CHURCH RISE SINCE 1912". The Courier-mail. No. 4160. Queensland, Australia. 27 March 1950. p. 6. Archived from the original on 24 August 2021. Retrieved 23 August 2020 – via National Library of Australia.
^"Acacia Ridge—in retrospect"(PDF), People (Oct/Nov 1984), GMH Public Affairs Department: 3, archived from the original(PDF) on 22 December 2016, retrieved 19 January 2017
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