On this walk you will pass by one of the original houses in the district, visit the graves of Queensland’s second and sixth governors, and in the process walk along some charming suburban streets in Rainworth, Toowong, Auchenflower and Rosalie. You set off to follow Fernberg Road to the east over the crest with the Government House grounds on your right and continue down the slope to Murruba Street which you follow with the remnant native bush of the grounds above you.

Having reached Rainworth Road passing the low-lying Government House “horse paddock” on your right, you can look across at Number 4 where stood my grandparents’ workers’ cottage, mentioned in the Introduction, of which my grandfather was inordinately proud. Today, still looking back across to the horse paddock, it stands encased within eccentric, some might say unsympathetic, modifications and extensions, although, of course, I could not comment. For some idea of how it looked when we visited in the 1950s, look at the restored cottage two doors along.

Crossing Baroona Road you will see Norman Buchan Park as you continue along Rainworth Road until you reach Barton Street which you now ascend. Climbing the hill you pass historic Rainworth House, built as a farmhouse in 1862 by then Surveyor General Sir Augustus Gregory and listed on the Queensland Heritage Register. The original extensive grounds have been long since subdivided and the outbuildings seen in 19th century photographs no longer exist. However, the beautifully restored house continues to lend its colonial charm, as well as its name, to the surrounding district.

As you continue, you will see a variety of domestic architectural styles from late colonial to modern vernacular. The road bends to the right and eventually takes you to a T-junction from whence you walk up Fairseat Street to its intersection with Birdwood Terrace. Here, cross the road and turn right continuing until it intersects with Route 5 (Frederick Street) where you turn left and descend until you reach the safety island, the best place for you to cross carefully between the waves of heavy traffic.

Enter Toowong Cemetery, Queensland’s largest, where you see many mature trees scattered between the grave sites, headstones, and memorials in a park-like landscape, including numerous towering specimens of our majestic native conifers: the Bunya Pine, the Hoop Pine, and the Kauri Pine.

Go south following the internal road that runs close to the boundary parallel to Route 5. When you have reached First Avenue, turn right and continue until you reach Garland Avenue, named for Canon David Garland, the major architect of Australia’s Anzac Day commemorations; he and his wife are buried about halfway along on the right.

At the end of the avenue, you reach the next intersection where, to the right, you will see a steep hill before you, topped with two large monuments. Ascending the knoll by the grassy passage between burials you reach the larger of the two, the imposing memorial for Samuel Wensley Blackall, Queensland’s second governor, who died in office in 1871 and was the first person entombed in this cemetery.

North-east of this monument lies the less impressive but also well-maintained grave of Sir Anthony Musgrave, sixth governor, who like Blackall died in office, being the only other Queensland governor to do so. They were the only colonial governors to be interred in the state. A little further west is found the tombstone of Sir Samuel Griffith, variously Premier (twice), Lieutenant-Governor and Chief Justice of Queensland, co-author of the Australian Constitution, and first Chief Justice of the High Court of Australia. Many other notable Queenslanders were also buried here including Steel Rudd (Arthur Hoey Davis). There is much scope for further exploration here but now we must press on and leave that for some other day.

Descending the hill by one of the grassy paths, retrace the route to the safety island on Route 5, recross and ascend once more to Birdwood Terrace, and follow it eastward. On a clear day, you will see Mount Barney and the Border Ranges in the far distance to the south. As you proceed further you will also be afforded good views over the leafy suburban landscape of Toowong, Taringa, and St Lucia. On your right, you may also note a good example of a Federation-style house complete with terracotta-tiled roof and finials.

Rounding a dogleg bend you find yourself in Haig Road, continuing the eponymous theme of First World War commanders. Further along, you will be tempted by several potential refreshment stops but if you are able to resist them, you will soon come to a roundabout where you turn into Bayswater Street passing Milton State School opposite. The school was established in 1889 and boasts heritage-listed main buildings built in the 1920s and 1930s by the State Works Department in a style similar to many others of that era but with unique distinguishing features such as the projecting gabled entrance to the main brick building in painted rendered brick with a Juliet balcony above the door. The school abuts Gregory Park (formerly Red Jacket Swamp, giving a hint of its flood-prone nature) which provides a large playground.

At the end of Bayswater Street, you reach Baroona Road where you should cross using the nearby pedestrian crossing that you see to your right and, having done so, turn left. You now enter the Rosalie Village shopping precinct which offers a varied range of goods and services to the local community and more temptation for you to resist. At the next corner turn right into Nash Street and continue to the roundabout where you will need to cross to turn left into Beck Street. Here you will pass many traditional Queensland workers’ cottages as you make your way to the T-intersection to rejoin Murruba Street, where you will retrace your steps towards Fernberg Road and doubtless enjoy the invigorating climb back up to Government House where you should feel free to reward yourself with a sense of accomplishment and a well-earned breather.

Setting out from Gate B, follow Fernberg Road westwards to the T-junction with Boundary Road and turn right proceeding to the roundabout and then follow MacGregor Terrace up to the junction with Jubilee Terrace where you cross at the lights to turn right again before turning left down Coopers Camp Road a short distance on. Having endured the noise and fumes of heavy traffic, you will be pleased to learn that most of the remainder of this walk will take you through quiet suburbia, parks, or bushland. Walking on the right or northern side of the road, you will soon come to Lewin Street where you turn right before turning down Empress Terrace at the next corner.

This pocket of Bardon bounded by Jubilee Terrace, Coopers Camp Road, and Ithaca Creek was originally subdivided as the Jubilee Estate at the time of Queen Victoria’s Golden Jubilee and hence its streets bear regal names including Coronation Street, Accession Street, and Crown Street, the latter of which you will soon pass on your right as you reach Jubilee Park situated in the midst of this pleasant and leafy neighbourhood. Continue through the park taking the path along its southern side until you reach Fletcher Parade which you should cross.

Follow the path to the footbridge you see ahead of you a little to your left and cross Ithaca Creek into Ashgrove. Turning left, follow the path along the creek and use the underpass to avoid having to cross Coopers Camp Road. The path will bring you to Dawn Street which you follow, keeping the creek on your left, and continue along Kamber Street where, after rounding a bend, you will enter Moonya Street on your right. On the left side of the road at Number 15, you will see a handsome colonial house with a front verandah and a large multisided room projecting centrally. This building was originally located on the grounds of Old Government House at Gardens Point¹. When the Governor moved to Fernberg in 1909 the house was relocated there to serve as offices and accommodation for the Official Secretary and the Aide-de-Camp. For some time, the central room also served as the Governor’s study. Having been sold for removal in 1938 it found its way to its current location.

Continue up Moonya Street, turn left into Dawn Street, right into Sunrise Street, and then proceed up Milpera Street to its junction with Davies Road. Looking back down Milpera Street, the prospect of verdant, neatly tended gardens surrounding comfortable suburban homes is much altered from the dusty street of recently built Housing Commission weather-board cottages in 1949, most now much altered and enlarged.

Now, walk up Davies Road to its junction with Atthow Avenue and then down to the left until you reach Rangeview Place which happened to sit opposite my parents’ home from the late 1940s to the mid-1960s. At that time, it was the junction with Barnett Road which ran an unsealed course through to the sealed section of Barnett Road and in fact, still does. Walk about halfway to the Blue Care Centre and enter the dirt path on the left turning almost immediately to the right and proceeding until you reach the dirt road which you now follow through the bushland where the children of my generation ranged free beyond the reach of parental supervision. You are surrounded by open eucalypt forest, and you will occasionally see some evidence of the rocky outcrops which come to the surface towards Mt Coot-tha, particularly on the high side of the track. Follow the signs to Barnett Road South and you eventually emerge once more into suburbia. Carefully descend the steep sealed road which will eventually take you along Ithaca Creek to Tate Bridge where you cross and enter Bardon Esplanade on the other side of the creek. Walking along the esplanade you are shaded by large eucalypts and introduced trees while closer to the creek there are rainforest species and a lush understorey.

Before you reach Bowman Park, there is a storyboard on the left providing some details of indigenous activity in the area and of early settlement. Follow the path close to the creek, keeping the oval on your right. The oval was at one time surrounded by a single railing, white wooden fence to aid in determining 4s and 6s when grade cricket was played there. As you walk around, you will note that some of the posts remain. When you are opposite the football clubhouse, take the side path to your left where a storyboard tells of efforts at revegetation, the results of which surround you. Walk on and cross Bowman Parade before proceeding east to turn up Cecil Road and then The Drive. Halfway up The Drive, on the high side, you will see the steep gabled stone edifice of Bardon House, originally built on 39 acres by Joshua Jeays, an early mayor of Brisbane, in the early 1860s².

The house now sits on the grounds of St Joseph’s Catholic Primary School.

At the top of The Drive, turn left into Simpsons Road and proceed until you reach MacGregor Terrace where the downhill grade makes for easy walking until you return to Fernberg Road and the gate of Government House.

¹ Government House Queensland Conservation Management Plan, April 2005.

² J. Hogan, Historic Homes of Brisbane, National Trust of Queensland, 1979.

This walk, while quite long, does not feature the challenging gradients that abound in some others in this district and so would be more suitable for running for those with that inclination. (Indeed, I know it to have been so used by one future Officer Cadet, then resident at Fernberg, to train for the Army Basic Fitness Assessment.)

Set off along Fernberg Road to Boundary Road and ascend to the top of MacGregor Terrace, the most elevated point of this route. Cross at the lights, bearing right to enter Coopers Camp Road and follow it to its low point where it crosses Ithaca Creek. Having crossed the bridge, go hard left to reach the Ithaca Creek Bikeway that will take you under the bridge as you begin to follow the creek in an easterly direction. You soon cross the creek once more by a footbridge and pass Jubilee Park on the right as you walk through the delightfully shady Fletcher Parade Park. Here you will find a playground conveniently placed for the diversion and amusement of the young and perhaps even the young at heart, but I leave that to your discretion.

Before long, you come to the end of the park but continue to follow Fetcher Parade to its intersection with the very busy Jubilee Terrace. Following the bikeway, cross Ithaca Creek before continuing along its northern bank under the bridge. It will eventually cross the creek once more, having first enticed you with two footbridges on the right (whose temptations you should resist), before taking you to Gilbert Park. Here sits the Red Hill headquarters of the famous Brisbane Broncos Rugby League Football Club.

Shrugging off fond reminiscences of premierships past (or not), continue on the serpentine path by the creek until you have passed under Waterworks Road and reached Glenrosa Road whose gentle incline you now ascend until you reach Waterworks Road. Cross at the lights and bear left to ascend to and follow Enoggera Terrace. As you proceed, you encounter a number of interesting commercial and residential buildings from the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The first to strike your eye is the understated signage of the Red Hill cinemas, whose numerous manifestations since the 1920s have included the State Theatre and the Red Hill Skate Arena of my youth. Having suffered severe fire damage early this century, it has reverted to its initial function.

As you walk along you will also pass historic buildings that will be described in Walk 5 which shares part of its route with this one. However, at the far end of the terrace is another landmark not mentioned later, the old Ithaca Fire Station, built in two stages in the decade after the Great War but now repurposed for commercial use while largely maintaining its livery of old.

Now continue up Latrobe Terrace towards MacGregor Terrace and thence to Fernberg Road to complete your journey.

Departing Government House in the direction of Boundary Road, turn right at the corner and ascend to follow MacGregor Terrace. In so doing, you will be following the old Stafford- Bardon tram route as it swung around from Latrobe Terrace to climb through the Bardon shopping centre to its highest point at the top of MacGregor Terrace. This route provided an alternative for returning from the city to my parents’ home at Ashgrove in the 1960s. It was an interesting trip although necessarily sedate and deliberate due to the steepness of the serpentine track and the narrowness of the roads. As you follow the ridge further on Simpsons Road, you note the steep descents on both sides allowing some fine views between the dwellings on either side which initially are a mixture of blocks of flats and houses, the latter mainly timber, but later the detached houses typical of old Brisbane suburbia.

While you will continue on Simpsons Road for several kilometres, the tram route diverged from it at the top of Chiswick Road which it descended to obviate the need for two more sharp bends and to take a more direct route to its terminus. After descending to Bowman Park on Simpsons Road where it turns left, you once again meet the old tram route as it runs its course towards the terminus which was located just around the corner of Morgan Terrace to the left where its site is still marked by the presence of a few shops.

However, you go straight ahead through a cutting and pass Bardon Anglican Church, formerly known as St Mary’s, on the left.

The road now crosses Ithaca Creek and climbs past Bardon State School on the left. The latter was a relative latecomer to the education scene of inner Brisbane having opened in 1948 just in time for the Baby Boom. Continue along the road over the crest of the hill, apparently known as Bardon Treetops, until you reach Carwoola Street where you turn left, crossing the bridge, and taking the shady path along Ithaca Creek.

The vegetation along the creek banks has been restored and features many native trees and shrubs including some rainforest species providing a thick overhead canopy lending deep shade, particularly welcome in hot summer months. You will soon reach the open fields of Purtell Park, the home of the Western Suburbs (Panthers) Rugby League Club and a favourite haunt of flocks of sulphur-crested cockatoos in the late afternoon. Leaving the park, take Lorward Avenue and then Morgan Terrace to return to the former tram terminus. Turn left to traverse the cutting once more but this time turn right onto Bardon Esplanade where you can again enjoy the shady bank of the creek. The road bows around to the right where it meets a walking track coming from a footbridge across the creek. Beside the path is a storyboard giving some history of the area. Keep the creek on your left and proceed into Bowman Park, the home of the West Brisbane Cricket Club and the Bardon Latrobe Football Club.

After following the path on the northern side of the park, take the first exit path through the dense foliage and cross Bowman Parade. Turn towards the Bardon Bowls Club and once you have crossed the bridge, take the path on your right to continue along the shady course of Ithaca Creek until you reach a footbridge which you cross to ascend to Cecil Road, following it to the left before turning right into Northam Avenue to commence a steady ascent towards Jubilee Terrace. Here you come to the high point of the old tram route passed previously, whence you retrace your steps to Fernberg.

¹ In the 1960s, services at St Mary’s were attended on occasion by Sir Henry and Lady May Abel-Smith.

On this walk you will pass some of the prominent landmarks of the old Division of Ithaca, first proclaimed in 1879 but later becoming a shire and then a town before being subsumed into the City of Brisbane in 1925. Its boundaries were reduced somewhat over time but always included Red Hill and large parts of Milton, Paddington, and Bardon.

Departing Government House, walk west along Fernberg Road and thence up to the roundabout to enter Latrobe Terrace, which you follow to its junction with Enoggera Terrace. On your way, you will catch some fine views and observe, interspersed with many fine Queenslanders, some well-preserved examples of early shops and commercial buildings as well as passing Trammies Corner, a memorial to the trammies and the old Paddington Tram Depot destroyed by a ferocious fire that lit up the skies of the inner west in 1962 and was seared on the memories of all who saw it. The depot was situated further along between Morris and Warmington Streets where the shopping centre now stands.

As you start to climb the first part of Enoggera Terrace, you pass the old Ithaca Fire Station just before reaching Ithaca Memorial Park where the poignant memorial to the fallen of the Great War stands in the shade of mature trees with its four clock faces marking off the hours, some more faithfully than others, since its dedication in 1922.

Having paused for reflection, continue along Enoggera Terrace, which once again boasts some good examples of colonial and early federation housing as well as some repurposed ecclesiastical buildings and the odd shop. The eastern side of the terrace gives uninterrupted views of the city while the western side looks to Mount Coot-tha and the Taylor Range. In due course, you will come upon the Ithaca Presbyterian Church, a fine sandstone edifice in Gothic style dating from 1928. If for some reason you ever enter the church, you will find there an honour roll of parishioners who served in the Great War, something quite typical of churches of that era.

Diagonally opposite the church at the junction with Kennedy Terrace stands the Ithaca Hall, now owned by the Brisbane City Council, but built in 1910 as the Ithaca Town Council Chambers. It has served many purposes over the years: I remember it as the Ithaca Library in the 1960s.

Continuing along Enoggera Terrace northwards you eventually come to Arthur Terrace where you turn left to descend initially before climbing again and eventually coming to Lugg Street, named for an early 20^th century mayor of Ithaca. Here, turn left up the hill where you will find Ithaca Creek State School, founded in 1885.

The impressive main brick building with its classical columns and pediment was built in the mid-1930s, as was the case for many Queensland state schools, providing work and economic stimulus during the Great Depression. Many other buildings have been added to its pleasant campus with frontage on this quiet suburban street.

The school completes our roll-call of eponymous structures and buildings of the old municipality but there is some good walking to be had to complete our historical perambulation. At the top of Lugg Street turn left into Kennedy Terrace and descend until you reach Stack Street. Turning right on Woodcock Street, opposite, you will reach Rockbourne Terrace, into which you turn right and only follow for a short distance to reach the start of Tooth Avenue (turn left) and begin a steep ascent. On this return journey, an ample variety of late colonial and early 20^th century Queenslanders are to be seen. At the top of the ascent turn left into Perrott Street to enjoy some grand city views before rejoining Latrobe Terrace and returning to Government House.

This walk is as close to circular as the topography of this district will allow. However, its achievement does require considerable changes in elevation with some steep inclines to be negotiated. Those who prefer a gentler walk can avoid the worst of these by taking a slightly longer alternate route for one section without missing any highlights.

Departing Government House, walk west and then up to the roundabout at the junction of Boundary Road, MacGregor Terrace, and Latrobe Terrace. Continue right on the latter until you pass the Paddington Shopping Centre and Post Office and come to the traffic island where you can proceed along Terrace Street if feeling energetic, or take Enoggera Terrace for less physical exertion. The latter route will bring you to Waterworks Road which you descend to take the slip road on the left just past Mornington Street, while the former will bring you to Kennedy Terrace which you ascend until you take the U-shaped Glassey Street to Arthur Terrace, thence descending to take Dover Street on the right which dips steeply before its challenging ascent to the slip road parallel to Waterworks.

Now walk down to St Barnabas Place where stands the charming timber building with steeply pitched roof and Gothic pointed windows so typical of early colonial Queensland churches. It and its hall have served the Ithaca community since 1888. Now, proceed down the hill away from the main road and follow Dyne Street to reach Arthur Terrace once more. Turning right, climb up to Kenwyn Road and follow it down to the pedestrian and bike path that will take you past Gilbert Park and the famous “Red Hill” home of the Brisbane Broncos. After crossing Ithaca Creek, go right on the narrow path with a railing and walk up to Betheden Terrace and then right again to Waterworks Road. After turning left, you will come upon St Finbar’s Catholic Church, Ashgrove. This picturesque church was consecrated on 17 March 1957 and was one of the last of many commissioned by Brisbane’s longest-serving Catholic Archbishop James Duhig and is typical of his preferred Romanesque style.

As you continue along Waterworks Road, you will see Stewart Place on the opposite side. The Ashgrove War Memorial is located on the western side of this small park while a series of informative storyboards provides some interesting local history. The park marks the eastern boundary of the estate that originally surrounded Glenlyon House, which we shall pass on another walk. This district was also the home of the 61st Battalion Queensland Cameron Highlanders, Royal Queensland Regiment, the first new militia battalion to be raised before World War II. The battalion provided an honour guard at Government House for the then Governor, Sir Leslie Wilson in 1939, and went on to fight at the Battle of Milne Bay (along with three other Queensland battalions) where the Japanese Imperial Forces suffered their first defeat on land.

As you walk further along Waterworks Road you are following a route used by the Turrbal people to reach Mt Coot-tha (Kuta)¹. The road was built in the 1860s to provide access to the Enoggera Reservoir, hence the name. Soon you will come upon St Paul’s Anglican Church consecrated in 1952 by Archbishop Reginald Halse, replacing a timber structure built on land purchased by Canon Garland, then rector of Ithaca. An interesting feature is a memorial gate dedicated to King George VI. The church itself is in a modern Gothic style. It also saw the christening of the author in 1953.

Turn into Jubilee Terrace and then immediately into Devonshire Street on the right (it is best to cross at the lights on Waterworks Road as Jubilee Terrace is very busy). You are now in a typical Ashgrove suburban street that will bring you back to Ithaca Creek and a steep path on the left that you follow down to a footbridge. On the other side of the bridge, you will find Fletcher Parade which you follow to the right eventually coming to a shady creek-side walk through Fletcher Parade Park and thence to Jubilee Park where you cross to ascend Empress Terrace and thence Lewin Street to reach the Coopers Camp Road. Now climb up to the junction with MacGregor Terrace and descend once more to Fernberg.

¹ J.G. Steele, Aboriginal Pathways, UQ Press, 1984.

This walk begins with a familiar walk along Fernberg Road and then the ascent of MacGregor Terrace to the junction with Jubilee Terrace. Rather than taking that road, enter Northam Avenue taking the northern side of the divided road and a little way along you will find a steep staircase that takes you down to a delightful, shady gully between the backs of yards facing on one side onto Northam, and on the other, onto Coopers Camp Road.

Strolling down this parkland you come to Cecil Road which will take you right to join Coopers Camp Road. Descending the latter, you cross Ithaca Creek and then ascend and follow the right-hand bend to reach the Ashgrove West Shopping Centre, in former days known as the Terminus. The Ashgrove tramline, whose route followed Waterworks Road, terminated here from 1935 to 1969.

Now cross Waterworks Road and walk west passing the Ashgrove West Uniting (formerly Methodist) Church where rests a memorial stone that was dedicated in 1951 to the memory of those who served in two World Wars.

Cross Glory Street and enjoy the view of Ashgrove State School. The school dating to 1877 was one of the first established by the colonial government. The current imposing main building was amongst the last of the series of neoclassical style brick schools built in Queensland from the 1920s to the 1950s. Each was distinguished by individual architectural features as you will see if you visit Ithaca Creek and Milton State Schools on this series of walks.

The façade, tinged with fond memories, remains quite unchanged from that familiar to pupils of the 1950s and 1960s, including the author. If passing by in the morning, those ripe in years may imagine they discern the faint and sadly distant echo of loudly recited times-tables resounding up and down the length of the building.

Auditory hallucinations notwithstanding, continue along Glory Street past the school practice nets and oval and turn into Wonga Drive. Having passed the well-wooded Wonga Drive Park, follow Cypress Drive to the corner with Glenlyon Drive.

Looking down tree-lined Glenlyon Drive towards Waterworks Road, you see some magnificent mature Bunya Pines as well as figs and other species. Glenlyon Drive was originally the approach to Glenlyon House, seen opposite, which was built in 1876 by a Scot, Alexander Stewart, and sat at the heart of a 250-acre estate until its subdivision in the early 20^th century. Continue down Glenlyon Drive until you come to Enoggera Creek where you see the bridge and entrance to Marist College, whose alumni include many famous Rugby internationals.

Follow the creek, walking west along Acacia Drive and thence along the bikeway that almost circumnavigates Ashgrove Sportsground Park and then continues along the creek to the bridge that crosses to St Johns Wood. The banks of the creek have undergone substantial revegetation providing a pleasant microclimate.

When you arrive at Waterworks Road turn across the bridge over Enoggera Creek, thus entering St Johns Wood, and continue on to turn left into Piddington Street. At Number 31 stands St Johns Wood House¹, also known as the Granite House, built in 1864, a year before Fernberg. The large estate that surrounded it has been long since subdivided to create the modern suburb. An apocryphal account suggests that it was visited by Prince Albert and Prince George (the future George V) in early 1881, but while no documented evidence supports the claim, it appears it did no harm to real estate sales of the subdivision.

Continue along Piddington to the crossroad where you will see much more modern mansions ranged steeply above you. Turn left down the hill to enter Royal Parade and follow the path through the well-vegetated park that follows the course of the creek back towards Gresham Street, on the corner of which once stood the Ambassador Theatre in pre-television days, but where now stands an early learning centre.

Cross the bridge and Waterworks Road to Chandlers Corner, walking past the shops to Monoplane Street. Follow the latter uphill past the Mater Dei Catholic Primary School to Sunset Park situated on the site of an old rubbish dump but now the scene of unbridled joy for frisky dogs and their owners. Walk up through the park and then along the optimistically named Rangeview Place (formerly the eastern end of Barnett Road) to reach Davies Road.

The houses on the lower side of the road, including that of my parents directly opposite, built by the Housing Commission in the immediate post-war years, have in the main been extended and modified or in some cases replaced to present a more affluent picture than in those distant aspirational and optimistic times.

Follow the road downhill until, after a dogleg, it becomes Bowman Parade and continue.

When you reach the Bardon Bowls Club, keep left to take the path that leads along Ithaca Creek, an excellent spot for catching tadpoles and tortoises as I recall. Eventually, you come to a footbridge that will take you up to Cecil Road, crossing there to reach Northam Avenue again. With steady but hopefully, not excessive exertion, climb the unrelenting incline until you come once more to Jubilee Terrace and then MacGregor Terrace to begin the welcome downhill promenade back to Fernberg Road and Government House.

¹ Wikipedia, accessed 9th April 2023

This walk leads to a high point of the district, where stands one of Brisbane’s signature landmarks. Leaving Fernberg, follow the now familiar route west to Boundary Road and then up to the roundabout to enter Latrobe Terrace which will eventually take you to Enoggera Terrace (both of these have been described in preceding walks and I am relying on you to have walked them in order. If not, see Walks 3 and 5). At the far end of Enoggera Terrace, turn right into Musgrave Road (Route 31).

Walking past a variety of shops and houses of various vintages you come to a short, elevated slip road that will bring you back onto Musgrave Road proper and to the towering fortress-like red brick structure of St Brigid’s Church, Red Hill. Designed by Robin Dodd and built just prior to the First World War, it was one of the first hilltop churches associated with the long career of Catholic Archbishop James Duhig. It provides Brisbane with one of its most strikingly visible and unique buildings.

The church grounds enjoy panoramic views over inner Brisbane and give access on the lower side to Cambridge Street which, if you walk a little further towards the city, brings you to the precipitously steep descent of Stoneleigh Street. Following the crooked course of Stoneleigh Street gingerly, you find yourself in Crystal Street whence you turn right into Charlotte Street (obviously a popular name in early Brisbane) and right again into Moreton Street and so to the somewhat tautologically named Neal Macrossan Playground Park. If you pause here, you will be able to admire an ancient fig tree that would do Middle Earth proud, growing close to Caxton Street.

Continuing on you pass another remarkable specimen at the corner with Downe Street before ascending to the intersection where Caxton Street is transfigured into Given Terrace. Cross here and walk a little way along Castlemaine Street on the side opposite Lang Park to turn into Hall Street. (Before doing so, devotees of Rugby League may wish to make a short detour before proceeding to admire the stadium and its forecourt featuring statues of State of Origin legends.)

You now navigate a zigzag course through typical Paddington suburbia with its many examples of late 19^th and early 20^th century domestic architecture. At the end of Hall Street, you will turn right into Isaac Street, then left into Nairn, then right into Moore, then left into Guthrie, then right once more into Royal that will mercifully bring you, hopefully not too bamboozled, back to Given Terrace where for the last time on this perambulation you turn, you have probably guessed it, left. You may have also noticed that you have achieved some substantial changes in elevation and therefore a short refreshing pause at this point could be forgiven. Notwithstanding this, the next point of interest is on the opposite side of the road. Here you will find a significant ecclesiastical precinct now centred on the Catholic Parish of Rosalie. You first come upon one of the most charming monastic buildings in Brisbane, Our Lady Help of Christians Convent. Here a storyboard informs us that the convent was opened by Archbishop Duhig in 1919 for the Sisters of Mercy, providing accommodation for nuns teaching at the nearby Sacred Heart School that provided education for the Rosalie Parish from 1906 to 1995.

Further along the terrace, you encounter the impressive Romanesque edifice of Sacred Heart Church, the foundation stone of which was laid, once again, by Archbishop Duhig in 1917.

When you come to Fernberg Road, you see on the far side the main building of what was the Marist Brothers College, Rosalie. The College provided secondary education for children of the area from the late 1920s until its controversial closure in 2008. To your right and just below the school, stands the Marist Brothers Monastery, opened by Archbishop Duhig in 1929.

This walk commences with an easy stroll down Fernberg Road to turn into Murruba and thence to Rainworth Road, continuing until you reach the series of roundabouts where it meets Boundary Road. Take the path under the large fig trees that will bring you to a pedestrian crossing. Having crossed, enter Boundary Road and proceed uphill passing several shops in the process.

On the southern side of the road stands Rainworth State School which opened in 1928 and which retains the first stage of a Depression Era brick building from the mid-1930s, now heritage listed but alas not visible from the street. Turn down Hanning Street and climb up to the T-junction, turn left then right into Harwood Street, and ascend to Birdwood Terrace through typical late 20^th century Bardon suburbia.

Turning west you can cross over and enter Toowong Cemetery, Queensland’s largest, where you follow Francis Forde Avenue (named for Frank Forde, Australia’s shortest-term Prime Minister and father-in-law of the 22^nd Governor of Queensland, the Honourable Ms Leneen Forde AC) in the same westerly direction while it runs parallel to Birdwood. Here, on a clear day, you will be afforded expansive views over the cemetery and suburbs to the south with the Border Ranges in the far distance.

At some point, you need to return to Birdwood Terrace and cross to the northern side. The road follows the ridge until you reach Stuartholme Road on the right and commence its steep ascent. The road is named for Stuartholme, a farm of the late 19^th century¹. The farmhouse having been destroyed by fire, the land was purchased by Archbishop James Duhig for the establishment of Stuartholme School (for girls) by the Order of the Sacred Heart. The castle-like main building and the large steeply-roofed chapel loom above beyond the trees as you make your way to the high point of the road where you are rewarded with a spectacular view east towards the city.

Refreshed by your pause for the view, you now begin the gradual descent. On the left, you will notice some impressively grand tree-change residences nestled deeply in the bush while opposite is more typical Bardon suburbia. Reaching Boundary Road, turn down the hill, take the first left into Mackay Terrace, and then turn right into Gerler Street. Following this quiet, leafy street you are in a pocket of Bardon that feels quite off the beaten track in spite of its proximity to some busy traffic routes. Having regained Boundary Road, descend and cross at the pedestrian crossing to enter Norman Buchan Park walking under the magnificent fig trees, thus reaching the grassy field beloved of local dogs and their ever-attentive owners.

Cross the field to reach the dead-end stretch of Baroona Road that will take you back to Rainworth Road, Murruba Road, and eventually Fernberg Road where that unenviably steep climb to Government House inevitably awaits you.

¹ Wikipedia, accessed 16th February 2023

The final and perhaps most gentle walk in this collection will allow you to explore some of the history of Milton including a bishop’s palace, prominent early houses, and a hallowed sporting precinct.

Departing Fernberg, turn east and descend to Murruba Street as on previous occasions. About halfway along turn into Beck Street, following it to the roundabout with the large fig tree. Now turn and follow Nash Street towards Rosalie Shopping Centre where you go left and continue along Baroona Road toward Milton State School. In this early part of the walk, you will notice that some houses have been elevated in response to recent floods.

Just before Milton Road, turn left into the driveway of St Francis Theological College. As you walk up the drive, the grand residence (perhaps palace is overstating it) known as Old Bishopsbourne will come into view. Designed by Benjamin Backhouse with Gothic arches suggesting its ecclesiastical nature, it was occupied by the first Anglican Bishop of Brisbane, Edward Wyndham Tufnell, in 1868 and was the home of bishops and archbishops until 1964 when it was incorporated into the College¹.

When retracing your steps, leave the College drive, turn left, and cross Milton Road via the subterranean underpass to enter Park Road, noted for its shops, bistros, and restaurants. Turning second left into McDougall Street, you will find Milton House some way along on the right, nestled amongst modern, multi-storey corporate and residential blocks. A Council storyboard informs us that the house that gave its name to the modern suburb was built in the early 1850s, thus one of the oldest in the city. It originally stood at the heart of a 30-acre farm on the Brisbane River now long since subdivided.

Cross the road and complete rounding the block by walking along Walsh Street and then Railway Terrace to return to Park Road. Cross Milton Road once more, head west along it until you reach Frew Park and the Emerson Tennis Centre. Walking through the latter, those of us of mellow years will conjure up memories of towering wooden stands that once echoed with thunderous applause for the likes of Roy Emerson, Rod Laver, Mal Anderson, Margaret Court, Evonne Goolagong, and Wendy Turnbull in Australian Open tournaments, and Davis and Federation Cup ties played on centre court. Breaking the spell of this reverie, cross Frew Park to Haig Road.

At the fig-shaded roundabout, head north and follow Bayswater Road alongside Milton State School until you reach Howard Street. Turning left and walking uphill you soon come upon Boondah² looking down upon you over its white picket fence. The house dates from 1907 having replaced one destroyed by fire. The façade presents one of the most striking manifestations of the Queensland front verandah with its projecting octagonal bays and finial-spiked domes at either end.

Continuing the ascent, you pass some other examples of colonial and early Federation Queenslanders before reaching the top of Howard Street which takes a turn to the right. Before proceeding in that direction, look above you to the left to catch a glimpse of Baroona³, largely obscured by its high stone wall and surrounding vegetation, which was designed by Benjamin Backhouse and built in the 1860s or early 1870s. It once sat on a large estate that suffered the same fate of subdivision of all in the district save Fernberg.

At the end of Howard Street, you come to the eponymous Baroona Road and follow it left downhill to cross Rainworth Road and once again ascend Murruba and Fernberg Roads in a strenuous conclusion to this otherwise quite sedate walk to reach Government House for the last time in this series.

¹ J. Hogan, Historic Homes of Brisbane, National Trust of Queensland, 1979.

² J. Hogan, Historic Homes of Brisbane, National Trust of Queensland, 1979.

³ J. Hogan, Historic Homes of Brisbane, National Trust of Queensland, 1979.