Salisbury is 12.4 kilometres (8 mi) by road south of the Brisbane GPO.[4]
Toohey Mountain and Toohey Mountain Reserve is located on the north east boundary of the suburb.
Today, Salisbury is an established residential and industrial area, with substantial park lands in the north.[5]
History
Salisbury was named after the residence of William Coote, an early Brisbane engineer, architect, journalist and political figure, who lived in the area. It is presumed to refer to Salisbury in England.[3][6][7]
Rocklea started to develop before Salisbury, with the Logan Railway estate auctioned on 2 May 1885, advertising that the estate was near Salisbury railway station.[9][10]
On 20 July 1912, the Salisbury Township Estate was advertised to be sold on site by Arthur Blackwood. The estate was located off Main Road (now known as Lilian Avenue) and consisted of 442 predominantly 32 perch (800m2) blocks, between Lillian Ave, Cripps Street, Fairlie Terrace and Rocky Water Holes.[11]
On 23 November 1918, Mountain View Estate, Salisbury located off Main Road (now known as Lilian Avenue) was advertised to be auctioned at 3 o'clock on site, by auctioneer A. S. Phillips & Sons Ltd. The estate consisted of 26 half-acre allotments and four two-acre blocks. he allotments were advertised as situated on a high position between Salisbury and Coopers Plains railway stations and opposite the site purchased by the Queensland Government for the proposed State School.[12][13]
The School Estate Salisbury was advertised for auction on Saturday 14 May 1921. 75 residential sites were sold by Cameron Brothers next to Salisbury State School and within 10 minutes walk to Salisbury Railway station.[15][16]
The area remained predominantly rural until World War II. Because of its comparative remoteness, a series of munition factories were built in the area. In November 1941, the Rocklea Munitions Works was opened to make small arms ammunition and artillery shells for the Australian Army. The buildings werecamouflaged from above. The site was on a land parcel of over 80 acres (32 ha) on the corner of Compo Road (now Evans Road) and Industries Road (27°32′38″S153°01′43″E / 27.5439°S 153.0287°E / -27.5439; 153.0287 (Rocklea Munitions Factory (former))). It was the largest construction in Queensland during World War II.[19][20]
By the end of October 1943, the production of small arms at the Rocklea Factory had ceased and the factory was repurposed to overhaul engines for the US Army Air Force operating in the South-West Pacific against the Japanese.[19][20]
The tram line from the city to Moorooka was extended in 1941 to Evans Road to service these factories.[21] The tram line finally closed on 13 April 1969 when Brisbane ended all tram services.[22]
Provision was also made for the establishment on the site of the Salisbury Hotel.
In 1955, Orange Grove Road was extended north from the eastern end of Lillian Avenue to connect to the eastern end of Evans Road. Toohey Road linked Salisbury to Tarragindi in September 1959.[27] Significant residential development occurred during the post-war years, with rapid growth from the 1960s.[5]
St Pius X Catholic School opened in 1964.[14] The school was instigated by parish priest Father Frank Costello and is located on 3 hectares (7.4 acres) of land behind the St Pius X church. The school was operated by the Sisters of St Joseph of the Sacred Heart until 1981 after which it was under lay leadership.[28]
Nyanda Station which was north of Salisbury station on Railway Avenue under the Beaudesert Road overpass was closed in November 1978.[citation needed] This was due to the electrification on the Beenleigh line, which because of the short distances between Salisbury and Rocklea stations, didn't allow the trains to stop in time. Also, the new Electric Multiple Unit (EMU) were too long to fit on the platform, and due to lack of space, the platform was not able to expand.[citation needed]
Southside Christian College opened at 109A Golda Avenue on 15 April 1985 with 16 primary students.[14] In 2011 the school was renamed Brisbane Christian College.[29] In June 2015 the school purchased the site of the former Nyanda State High School at 63 Fairlie Terrace for their middle and senior school campus.[30][31]
In the 2016 census, Salisbury had a population of 6,290 people, of whom 50.0% were female and 50.0% were male. The median age of the Salisbury population was 35 years, three years below the Australian median. 67.8% of people living in Salisbury were born in Australia, compared to the national average of 66.7%. The other top responses for country of birth were India (4.0%), New Zealand (2.8%), England (2.6%), China (1.9%) and Vietnam (0.8%). 74.2% of people spoke only English at home; the next most popular languages were Mandarin (2.4%), Cantonese (1.4%), Punjabi and Spanish (both 1.2%) and Gujarati (1.0).[36]
In the 2021 census, Salisbury had a population of 6,790 people.[1]
Heritage listings
There are a number of heritage-listed sites in the suburb, including:
45 Assembly Street: former Rocklea Munitions Works - Shell Machining Shop & Air Raid Shelter [37]
9 Chrome Street: former Rocklea Munitions Works - Oil Store and Lead Press [38]
18 Chrome Street: former Rocklea Munitions Works - S.A.A. Mess [39]
32 Commerce Street: former Rocklea Munitions Works - S.A.A. Case & Assembly Shop [40]
32 Industries Road: former Rocklea Munitions Works - Magazine 8A [48]
9 Precision Street: former Rocklea Munitions Works - Electrical Workshop [49]
23 Precision Street: former Rocklea Munitions Works - Tools & Gauges building [50]
Facilities
Major features of the area include Toohey Forest, Toohey Mountain, The Construction Training Centre, SkillsTech Australia (Salisbury Campus), Brisbane Christian College, Life Church, Russ Hall Park and a number of local schools, shops, aged care facilities, clubs and sporting facilities. The area is serviced by both a railway station and a number of bus routes connecting to Brisbane central business district and surrounding areas.
The suburb is served by Transport for Brisbanebuses, namely the P119 QE2 Hospital-City route,[59] the 120 Garden City-City route,[60] the 121 Salisbury-Fortitude Valley route,[61] the 124 Sunnybank-Fortitude Valley route,[62] and the 125 Garden City-Fortitude Valley route.[63] Also, along the Salisbury side of Beaudesert Road, the 110 Inala-City route,[64] the 115 Calamvale-City route,[65] and the 117 Acacia Ridge-Woolloongabba route [66] stop at Beaudesert Rd at Moorooka South, stop 38.[67]
Housing predominantly consists of a variety of detached dwellings on various lot sizes, ranging from traditional Queenslander style homes on 800 meters squared to modern style homes on 400 meters squared.[citation needed]
The area is undergoing change and renewal with many families seeking to make it their home.[70]
Main Roads
Salisbury has four major roads that run throughout the suburb. This include of:
Metroad 2 (Kessels/Riawena Roads) to the south.[71]
National Route 13 (Beaudesert Road) to the west.[72]
State Route 11 (Orange Grove Road) to the west.[73]
^Kerr, John (1990). Triumph of narrow gauge: a history of Queensland Railways. Boolarong Publications. pp. 68–69. ISBN978-0-86439-102-5.
^"Classified Advertising". The Brisbane Courier. Vol. XXXIX, no. 8, 521. Queensland, Australia. 2 May 1885. p. 8. Archived from the original on 5 October 2020. Retrieved 26 November 2019 – via National Library of Australia.
^"Mountain View Estate". The Brisbane Courier. No. 18, 986. Queensland, Australia. 23 November 1918. p. 11. Archived from the original on 5 October 2020. Retrieved 26 November 2019 – via National Library of Australia.
^"Advertising". The Telegraph. No. 15, 117. Queensland, Australia. 11 May 1921. p. 12. Archived from the original on 5 October 2020. Retrieved 5 June 2019 – via National Library of Australia.
^"Advertising". The Brisbane Courier. No. 20, 682. Queensland, Australia. 7 May 1924. p. 10. Archived from the original on 5 October 2020. Retrieved 5 October 2020 – via National Library of Australia.
^"Forever Nyanda". Forever Nyanda. Archived from the original on 26 April 2020. Retrieved 26 April 2020.
^Coopers Plains Local History Group (February 2000). A closer look at Salisbury and Nathan Heights. Brisbane, Coopers Plains Local History Group. p. 136.
^"School History". St Pius X School. Archived from the original on 26 April 2020. Retrieved 26 April 2020.