The A-Z of Old Brisbane – Coopers Plains, Coorparoo and Corinda.

Coopers Plains

Coopers Plains is one of the oldest European settlements in Queensland. It began its existence as a rural outpost of the Moreton Bay Penal Settlement around 1828, and was named Cowper’s Plains after the Assistant Surgeon, Dr Henry Cowper.

Henry Cowper was the lone physician at the Settlement for five years from 1825, and oversaw the treatment of more than 1000 convicts in that time, during outbreaks of dysentery, ophthalmia and “intermittent fever” (probably malaria). It seems fitting that the Queensland Health Forensic and Scientific Services campus (John Tonge Centre) and the QEII Hospital are located in the suburb named after Cowper. (Over the years, the name altered through use to Coopers Plains – Cowper was pronounced Cooper.)

1890: Wide open spaces. Cattle camped at Coopers Plains. (State Library of Queensland – SLQ.)
1940s: A GI and his gal at Coopers Plains. The young lad at left sums up the attitude of local boys to the US servicemen at the time. (Brisbane City Council – BCC.)
1956: Postwar life could be tough. Here a BCC photographer visits a temporary dwelling at Coopers Plains. You can imagine how uncomfortable the living conditions were. (BCC)
1960s: A Mobil service station on Boundary Road, Coopers Plains.
Some rather challenging repairs to be made there.

A billboard for pawpaw (papaya) oil ointment, and a roadside fruit and vegetable stall. Coopers Plains, 1960s. (BCC.)

An aerial view of the QEII Hospital under construction in 1979. (BCC)

Coorparoo

Very close to the city, and established as a district in the 1870s, Coorparoo is an indigenous name, probably related to the wildlife around Norman Creek. Land there had been put up for sale as early as the mid-1850s, and the bridging of Norman Creek had a lot to do with the growth of its population. An electric tram service was introduced at the turn of the 20th century, and served the area until the 1960s.

1890: Coorparoo residence The Moorings (SLQ).
1900: A horse and carriage at St. Leonard’s Coorparoo (SLQ).
1941: Before there were rubbish trucks, there was a long-suffering bloke and his equally long-suffering horse to take care of your household rubbish. (BCC)
1956: Cavendish Road Trolley Bus Terminus (BCC)

Left: Alexandra House in the 1990s (BCC). Right: An entrant in the Courier-Mail Gardens Competition in 1967 – I don’t think that Mrs Harvey of Clayfield would have lost any sleep over this.

Corinda

Corinda began life in the late 19th century as home to some grand spreads owned by graziers. It’s probable that the suburb was named after Corinda, the home of Arthur Palmer, who had a grazing spread of the same name at Aramac.

Corinda Station was the impetus for the area to become a suburb, mainly in the 20th century. Some beautiful old properties still grace its streets.

A family and their pets at a home in Corinda, c 1892
Clewley, a local grazier’s home in 1895.
By 1890, Corinda had its railway station and overhead bridge.
In 1895, the gents of the Corinda Railway Station posed for an official photograph. The expressions and body language in the photo are superb – particularly the photogenic chap in front and centre, who appears to be anticipating a Beyonce video by about 100 years.
Second row. Again.
Why am I in back?
I call it Blue Steel
Despite the horseless carriage, it was still possible to get your baked goods from W Tainton’s cart in 1925.
Leahy’s “Californian Bungalow” 1919
A picturesque Corinda cottage in the 1990s. BCC.

All photographs are from the State Library of Queensland’s Digital Collection and are out of copyright. Where stated, other images are taken from Brisbane Images, part of the Brisbane City Council (BCC) collection.

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