Coopers Plains Origin Project Update
Heritage & Environment

Origin Project – incorporating the Dutch Houses

We are waiting on word from St David’s Neighbourhood Centre as to whether we will be auspiced for an application to Brisbane City Council’s Lord Mayor’s Better Suburb Grants. This is essential because our group is not a legal entity as such with a bank account. Once that assurance is given, the grant will apply for funds to cover expenses incurred by our plans to promote the area as the First Crossroad of Moreton Bay Penal Colony as part of this year’s Bicentenary of Queensland’s conception. That will include authoring the investigation into the ‘Cowper’s Convict Government Camp’ or ‘Hut’, its publication and presentation for education to the wider community, a cairn monument to be erected in the vicinity of the Hut, plaques around the suburb at historically significant locations (aided by our local Ward representative) and marketing material for our group. We need marketing material to, for example, hold an information stall at Oxley Creek Catchment Association’s Peaks to Point Family Day opening event this year on Sunday 21 July at the Oxley Creek Common.

As mentioned in last month’s newsletter, we identified 4 McKoy Street, Coopers Plains as a much better Dutch House to set aside for public access in the form of a history cafe. Better, that is, than 9 Macdevitt Street where OCCA is currently housed. in the Cornerstone Living area. However, it is privately owned by small-time investors, which makes any possibility of public access very difficult. Therefore our strategy now is to call on City Council to place an information plaque in front of both Dutch Houses (at Macdevitt and McKoy Streets) describing their unique place in Brisbane’s public housing and migrant history. This will be pursued by the Coopers Plains History Group as part of the Origin Project.

Heritage and Environment

At our March meeting, my call to add Heritage and Environment as a subtitle to our group was approved. It now appears on our homepage.  It states that “We include heritage and environmental concerns in our critique of the past, present and future.” This brings our group’s interests and concerns into the modern era. It is fitting, also, that our first public information stall with proper marketing material will be at OCCA’s Family Day, which “invites catchment, bushcare, community, history and wildlife groups as well as local businesses that have a focus on environment to host an activity or have a stall.”

Neighbour Day

Sunday, March 31st saw our group attempt to host an information stall at Beryl Roberts Park as part of Relationships Australia’s Neighbour Day of Action. Local realtor, Smith & Li has promised us a banner and flyers, but unfortunately their printing machine ran out of ink. Mr Smith has promised to send out a promotional flyer throughout the suburb to give our group exposure. He has also promised to provide us with a pull-up banner showing our logo:

Events

Cooper Plains History Group Monthly Meeting
April 20^th Saturday at 4pm
Coopers Plains Library Meeting Room (at the back)

All welcome. Please RSVP by commenting below (if the field isn’t there, click on this post’s heading and try again). Thanks to the friendly and helpful staff of the Coopers Plains Library for printing out these newsletters and offering them to anyone who wants to keep in touch without going online. The Coopers Plains Library Meeting Room is booked every 3^rd Saturday at 4pm for us to meet.