Darra, Queensland

Darra is located about 14 kilometres (8.7 mi) southwest of Brisbane central business district.

The suburb features the cross over of the Ipswich Motorway (M7) and Centenary Motorway (M5).

Surrounding suburbs include Seventeen Mile Rocks, Oxley, Sumner, Richlands, and Jamboree Heights.

The first subdivisions in the area occurred in 1864.[4]

Wolston Estate was the property of M. B. Goggs, whose father obtained the land forty years previously in the 1860s and after whom Goggs Road is named.[5]

The name Darra comes from the Darra railway station, which in turn was named in mid-1876 by the Queensland Railways Department.[3] In 1914, the Railways did not know the origin of the name.[6]

In 1879, the local government area of Yeerongpilly Division was created. In 1891, parts of Yeerongpilly Division were excised to create Sherwood Division becoming a Shire in 1903 which contained the area of Wolston Estate.

A portion of Darra comes from the Wolston Estate, consisting of 54 farms on an area of 3000 acres, offered for auction at Centennial Hall, Brisbane, on 16 October 1901.[7] Only three of the farms sold at the original auction.[8]

In 1914 Queensland Cement and Lime Company was formed established a cement manufacturing plant in Darra. The company (by then known as Queensland Cement Limited) closed the Darra plant in 1998 after losing its right to dredge Moreton Bay for coral from which lime was extracted to make cement.[9]

Darra State School opened on 1 June 1916.[10]

In 1925, the Shire of Sherwood was amalgamated into the City of Brisbane.[11]

Our Lady of the Sacred Heart School was established on 5 April 1937 by the Sisters of Our Lady of the Sacred Heart. In 1987 the school opened a pre-school at Jindalee and the school's name became Darra-Jindalee Catholic School. The Jindalee site was closed in 2003. On 14 July 2008 the school was again renamed to be Our Lady of the Sacred Heart School Darra.[10]

In 1954, the Darra RSL Memorial Hall was opened.[4] Sumner was known as Darra until 1969 when it became a separate suburb. Vietnamese refugees began to settle in the area in 1975. The origin of the word Darra came from the Aboriginal word for 'stones'.[12]

The houses are mainly of the Queenslander style built in the 1940s and 1950s. The majority of blocks in Darra are large enough to be subdivided, which is becoming popular in the suburb, hence making room for more modern homes. In the last few years, a property developer bought a vast tract of vacant, government land. As a result, there are now many new homes and townhouses built in Darra, which has increased its population and its geographical boundaries.

In the 2016 census, Darra had a population of 4,343 people.[1]

Darra railway station, 2012

Darra railway station provides access to regular Queensland Rail City network services to Brisbane CBD, Ipswich, Rosewood and Springfield. When the railway was completed in 1876 "with a stop at nine mile eighty four chain gate", halfway between the planned Oxley railway station and Wacol railway station, the site was set for the future Darra. The station was once the terminus for the first of Brisbane's electric rail lines, linked to Ferny Grove railway station in 1979.[4]

The Centenary Freeway and the Ipswich Motorway provide access to the Brisbane CBD. Bus routes travel to surrounding suburbs of Inala, Mount Ommaney, Middle Park, Jamboree Heights, Riverhills and Sinnamon Park

Darra State School is a government primary (Prep-6) school for boys and girls at Winslow Street (27.5705°S 152.9534°E / -27.5705; 152.9534 (Darra State School)).[13][14] In 2017, the school had an enrolment of 201 students with 22 teachers (16 full-time equivalent) and 17 non-teaching staff (12 full-time equivalent).[15]

Our Lady of the Sacred Heart Catholic Primary School is a Catholic primary (Prep-6) school for boys and girls at 115 Darra Station Road (27.5680°S 152.9522°E / -27.5680; 152.9522 (Our Lady of the Sacred Heart Catholic Primary School)).[13][16] In 2017, the school had an enrolment of 531 students with 38 teachers (33 full-time equivalent) and 15 non-teaching staff (11 full-time equivalent).[15]

Overall plans include the further redevelopment of the industrial park, which should provide an injection of capital into the community and further upgrade local infrastructure and community facilities. The Brisbane City Council has been active in rejuvenating the streetscapes of the Darra suburb as well as neighbouring recreational and parkland facilities in Jindalee and Sinnamon Park. Brisbane Technology Park, located at Westlink Court, next to Darra railway station, is currently the largest business and technology precinct in Queensland.

In the 2016 census, Darra recorded a population of 4,343 people, 48.2% female and 51.8% male.[17] The median age of the Darra population was 32 years of age, 5 years below the Australian median. 48.1% of people living in Darra were born in Australia, compared to the national average of 69.8%; the next most common countries of birth were Vietnam 15.8%, New Zealand 3.4%, India 2.9%, Philippines 2%, Samoa 1.2%. 45.1% of people spoke only English at home; the next most popular languages were 23.1% Vietnamese, 4.1% Arabic, 2.2% Samoan, 1.3% Tagalog, 1.3% Spanish.[17]

• List of Brisbane suburbs

• Mynott, Vicki; Richlands, Inala and Suburbs History Group (2010), Darra by decade 1820-2010 : historical themes, milestones and personal recollections, Richlands, Inala & Suburbs History Group Inc, retrieved 7 March 2020

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Darra, Queensland.

• "Darra". Queensland Places. Centre for the Government of Queensland, University of Queensland.