CPHG Chair, Simon Cole will answer Kat’s questions about our latest success – the naming of a park in Coopers Plains after the mid 20th Century Dutch Houses project.
Monday 14th at about 1:20pm ABC Radio Brisbane broadcasts on 612 AM.
Moorooka History Group Merge
Highlighting History – Call for History Buffs
Dutch Houses Park
Moorooka History Group. At yesterday’s MHG meeting, we discussed bringing our two groups closer together. This would be good for us both because MHG has members who attend regularly from the Annerley-Stephens History Group, thus linking the three groups. Also, the chair of MHG, Barbara Ravenswood is considering scaling down her workload. There is now a page linked from our website giving information about the MHG and how to get involved with them. New members welcome. The CPHG catchment will now include the group and our map will be updated to show this. Contact details are on this page.
Moorooka History Group meet at St Brendan’s Church
Highlighting History. Coopers Plains and surrounding areas are rich in history, but it’s being forgotten. We are lobbying for places and parks to be named with accompanying signage and history boards in places of historical significance to educate the public. Here’s our wish-list: Naming The Village (next to Coopers Plains State School) Damour Village (after the military barracks and ‘igloos’ built there during WWII). Renaming Lillian Avenue Park to Salisbury Quarry Park (we submitted a petition and a qualified response came back from the relevant city committee requesting more information). Naming Soden Place (the triangle of shops where Salisbury Aldi and Hungry Jacks now stand). Putting a sign in front of Salisbury/Rocklea Munitions South Gatehouse (cnr Evans Road and Project Street). Erecting a history board and shelter shed at VictoryPark (cnr Evans & Beaudesert Rds, a joint project with Moorooka History Group). Toohey Private Cemetery (Toohey Forest, behind Barnehurst Street, Tarragindi) which is totally unmarked and overgrown. This only just came to my attention through Mr Bill Metcalf, Adjunct Lecturer, Griffith University, Honorary Associate Professor, University of Queensland who has been researching the Toohey family for 40 years. Lewis Hill Futures is a small team of neighbours in the grid bounded by Middle, Musgrave, Troughton and Orange Grove Roads who are working to improve the area – one is a long time resident and town planner.
Dutch Houses Park. As you would have noticed, yesterday we (CPHG & DACC) sent a media release out announcing the news that we have had our first success since this group was brought out of hiatus in 2023. The park on McKoy Street in the Cornerstone Living area in Coopers Plains that was created (as a contractual requirement) by the developer did not have a proper name (Council uses the street as a default name). It will have a sign ‘Dutch Houses Park’ and a history board telling the story of the 1950s public housing project.
We could use your help in several ways: Write to Cr Steve Griffiths about any particular project we’re pursuing or all of them and ask for his support. If you like doing research, you could find information about any of our projects listed above or listed on Our History. If you’re an ex-librarian, you could help tidy up our archives. Or you might like to research the history of your house or street and write it up. New members are welcome. We would like someone to help Barbara with an information stall at an event next month (see below).
Events
There are some great events happening next month:
The Moreton Bay Settlement Conference –
Celebrating 200 Years Since the Relocation of the Colony from Redcliffe to the Brisbane River
Saturday, 17th May 2025, 8:30am – 4pm
Join us on Saturday 17th May for a day jampacked full of historical talks at the Commissariat Store! Talks will centre around the early colony with topics ranging from convicts, soldiers, botany, medicine, and more.
For more information, or to reserve your spot, please follow the link: https://moretonbayconference.eventbrite.com.au
CPHG Information Stall at St David’s Neighbourhood Centre Autumn Festival stall – Call for helpers,
Saturday 17th May 2025, 8:30am – 12:30pm
This is always a big, fun day and we need some kind people to help Barbara with our information stall. Please get in touch by commenting on this post below (if you can’t see the comment field, click the heading above).
The Festival is open to all – just rock up! https://www.facebook.com/share/16Uan96KUD/
CoopersPlains History Group Monthly Meeting
No Meeting in April due to Easter Saturday 17th of May at 4pm
Coopers Plains Library Meeting Room (at the back)
All welcome. Please RSVP by commenting on this post below (if you can’t see the comment field, click the heading above). Thanks to the friendly and helpful staff of the Coopers Plains Library for their assistance. The Coopers Plains Library Meeting Room is booked every 3rd Saturday at 4pm for us to meet.
The Coopers Plains and Sunnybank areas will soon see a key part of their rich migration history recognised, with Brisbane City Council supporting the naming of a park on McKoy Street in Coopers Plains to ‘Dutch Houses Park’. The decision marks a significant step in acknowledging the post-World War II Dutch Housing Project—one of the most unique examples of international collaboration in Brisbane’s suburban development.
Following a proposal by the Coopers Plains History Group and supported by the Dutch Australian Cultural Centre, Council has agreed that the new park name will honour the legacy of the Dutch-designed concrete houses built in the early 1950s. These houses were part of a joint initiative between the Queensland Housing Commission and the Dutch-Australian company Concrete Developments Pty. Ltd.
Over 300 homes were constructed as part of this ambitious housing solution for Brisbane’s rapidly growing post-war population. Designed and manufactured using innovative materials and construction techniques imported from the Netherlands, the houses introduced Dutch building methods to Brisbane. Today, about 70 of these homes still stand in Sunnybank and Coopers Plains and remain a powerful symbol of Brisbane’s post-war migration story. While only a handful are in private hands as cherished homes, some are still public housing owned by the state government.
Six of these publicly owned Dutch Houses, located near Lawford Street in Sunnybank, have been nominated for inclusion on the Brisbane City Council Heritage Register, despite alterations having been made to them. This proposed listing would help ensure their protection and ongoing recognition for future generations.
While ideally a commemorative park would be placed closer to this cluster of heritage-nominated homes, Brisbane City Council has acknowledged that few naming opportunities exist in the area. As McKoy Street Park sits within the original boundary of the Dutch Housing Estate, and retains a strong historical link to the project, it has been selected as the most suitable site for this lasting tribute.
“This initiative is a great example of how local stories of migration and lessons about globalized development can be preserved and shared in our public spaces,” said Simon Cole, Chair of the Coopers Plains History Group.
“We’re delighted that Council has recognised the historical importance of this unique housing project. The park renaming, together with the proposed heritage listings, helps tell a broader story about how post-war migration shaped Brisbane’s suburbs,” added Paul Budde, Chair of the Dutch Australian Cultural Centre.
The naming of the park will be accompanied by interpretive signage outlining the historical significance of the Dutch Housing Project and its role in shaping Brisbane’s southern suburbs. The park will serve as a focal point for residents, visitors, and future generations to reflect on the area’s diverse and vibrant history.
