At first, there were ridges covered in trees and bracken fern. The Turrbal people travelled, hunted and gathered food there. The arrival of Europeans presaged immense change and the beginning of the end of their way of life, the demise of which was guaranteed by the first government sale of some of these millennia-old tribal lands to white settlers in the mid-19th century.
Among the early land buyers were John McPherson and his wife, Elspeth, who, with their 10 children, had arrived in Brisbane from Scotland via England in 1855. In 1862, they purchased 93 acres of land – comprising a large part of what we now know as Bracken Ridge – where they grew crops and raised cattle.
The McPhersons were soon joined by other settlers and the area became dotted with small holdings, which produced a variety of vegetable crops and later, pineapples. Bracken Ridge (the first official use of the name appears in the 1907 electoral roll) was, up until the 1920s, largely occupied by farming families. Suburbia was some time in the future.
Landmarks of Early Bracken Ridge
Apart from farms, there were two notable landmarks in early Bracken Ridge. One was the 37-acre manure depot, near the present-day junction of Depot (naturally) and Lemke roads.
This vital municipal site was where, prior to the inception of septic tanks and sewerage, waste from the toilets of Sandgate and Shorncliffe was transported by the night soil carters. Sadly, for the residents of Bracken Ridge, this service was not available to them; they were responsible for the removal of their own waste. The depot operated well into the 20th century, being reported in Queensland’s centenary historical survey in 1923 as “among the most up-to-date in Queensland”.
If toilets are a fact of life, then burial often marks the end of it and Bracken Ridge’s other major historical locus is its cemetery. Known inaccurately as the Bald Hills (or, in the past, Sandgate) cemetery it is located just to the north of one of James McPherson’s original landholdings. This historic cemetery received its first occupants in 1869 and became the final resting place of many local notables including, unsurprisingly, Elspeth (in 1881) and McPherson himself (in 1886).
People come and go, times change, property ownership varies and land use alters but on a quiet night, as you enjoy the peace of Bracken Ridge, especially if you live near the cemetery or McPherson Park, consider that you stand where others have for millennia and thus, in a small way, you, like them, are a part of history.
Read more stories from the Sandgate Guide print magazine here:
- Bramble Buzz: Updates from the Community
- Sandgate Newsletter – February 2025: Big Goals, Small Steps
- Local Author’s Graphic Novel Series Offers Expansive Universe
- From Setback to Success: A Sandgate Hawk’s Journey Back to the Field
- Knit One, Purl One, for Remembrance
- Kid’s Book Club A ‘Bestseller’
- Community Library Opens at Local Mower Store
- Keep Sandgate Beautiful Association Clean – Up Australia Day Event
- From Setback to Success: A Sandgate Hawk’s Journey Back to the Field
- Celebrating a Century
- Council Concept Plan Signals Progress for Brighton Foreshore
- The Love Language Guide to Valentine Gift Giving
- Celebrate Culture and Cuisine at BrisAsia Festival
- Ear Hustle Podcast Review
- Top Tips for Downsizing Your Property
- Top 5 Picks for Best Picture Oscar
[With thanks to the Sandgate Historical Museum (opening hours: Sunday and Wednesday, 9am to 1.30pm). Photograph: Sandgate Historical Museum]
