Chandler, Queensland

Chandler is 14 kilometres (9 mi) south-east of the Brisbane CBD.

The easternmost point of mainland City of Brisbane, Chandler is a semi-rural suburb consisting largely of bushland and residential properties on acreage, close to the major commercial precincts of Carindale and Capalaba.[4]

Chandler is perhaps best known for the Sleeman Centre, a large sporting and entertainment complex.[5]

Chandler was named after the former Lord Mayor of Brisbane, Sir John Beals Chandler.[3][6]

The Grassdale Land Company Limited formed on 8 January 1885 to acquire the property known as Grassdale Paddocks, in the parish of Tingalpa, with registered shareholders holding 80 shares of 250 pounds each.[7]This area is spread across the Brisbane suburbs of Chandler, Gumdale and Belmont. The company offered the land for auction in the Grassdale Estate later in 1885.[8] The allotments were situated along Grassdale Road, London Road, Boston Road, Old Cleveland Road, Archer Street and four unnamed roads (later called Belmont Road, Stanborough Road, Tilley Road and New Cleveland Road). Prior to the sale extensive publicity was published in the Brisbane newspapers, calling for "the attention of the investor, capitalist, farmer, merchant, artizan [sic], and mechanic, and is only one hour’s drive from Brisbane, and as it has been decided to run the Cleveland Railway through the Estate, it will be brought within a few minutes’ ride of the heart of the city" [9]. The results of the public auction on 28 November 1885 were reported in the Telegraph newspaper with "forty-two lots were disposed of, comprising an area of 144 acres..." [10] The Grassdale Land Company Limited later produced a plan of divisions of unsold land into 45 lots, listing the size and value of the lots at the time.[11]

It remained sparsely populated for decades, retaining much of its natural bushland. This lack of population motivated the construction of multiple buildings of the Sleeman Centre for the 1982 Commonwealth Games.[12]

The Sleeman Centre housed the suburb's only significant structures until 2010, when the former suburb of Capalaba West became incorporated into Chandler.[13] This extended Chandler's eastern border to Tingalpa Creek, separating Brisbane from Redland City, and added a small commercial area along Old Cleveland Road to the suburb, including the erroneously named Capalaba Produce Village.[14]

An area of bushland in Chandler, consisting of eucalyptus trees and a small lake, close to the Sleeman Centre.

In the 2011 census,[15] the population of Chandler was 1,422, of which 50.4% were female and 49.6% were male. The median age of the Chandler population was 42 years of age, 5 years above the Australian median.

78.9% of people living in Chandler were born in Australia. The other top responses for country of birth were England (3.4%), New Zealand (2.3%), Italy (1%), Fiji (0.9%), and India (0.8%). 85.2% of people spoke only English at home; the next most popular languages were Italian (2%), Greek (1.5%), Vietnamese (0.9%), Hindi (0.5%), and Dutch (0.4%).

The Brisbane Aquatic Centre, a major venue of the Sleeman Sports Complex, which hosts an Olympic-size swimming pool and a diving platform.

The Sleeman Sports Complex is located at the corner of Old Cleveland & Tilley Roads,[16] and has brought Chandler to prominence during events such as the 1982 Commonwealth Games, the 2001 Goodwill Games, and the 2018 Commonwealth Games.[4][17] Alongside an auditorium, accommodation, and gardens, it provides facilities for a wide range of sports, including:[5]

• BMX Supercross Track
• Brisbane Aquatic Centre
• Chandler Arena (used for indoor soccer, basketball, badminton, volleyball, martial arts, and ballroom dancing)
• Chandler Velodrome
• Dry Diving Training Hall
• Gymnastics Training Hall
• State Weightlifting Centre
• A fitness centre for cardio, weight training, aerobics and spinning

Situated on Old Cleveland Road, the Complex also features a large TransLink public "Park 'n' ride" facility, to travel by bus to nearby Carindale bus station or Capalaba bus station, and beyond.[18] Once completed, TransLink's Eastern Busway is expected to travel through Chandler, near the Sleeman Centre.

• University of Queensland: Queensland Places: Chandler
• "Chandler". BRISbites. Brisbane City Council. Archived from the original on 20 July 2008. Retrieved 30 October 2013.
• "Chandler". Our Brisbane. Brisbane City Council. Archived from the original on 12 February 2008. Retrieved 30 October 2013.