Yeronga Memorial Park
| Yeronga Memorial Park | |
|---|---|
| Yeronga Park[1] | |
 Honour Avenue in Yeronga Memorial Park | |
 | |
| Location | Brisbane, Queensland, Australia |
| Area | 224,600m²[2] |
| Created | 1882[2] |
| Operated by | Brisbane City Council |
| Designation | State Heritage Place (Queensland Heritage Register)[2] |
Yeronga Memorial Park is a heritage-listed park in Brisbane, Australia. It is located on Ipswich Road in Yeronga, and has an area of 224,600m². The park is one of the oldest in Brisbane, having been established in 1882, and has been a World War I memorial since 1917.[2]
History
The area was inhabited by the Coorparoo or Yerongpan clans of the Jagera tribe before the arrival of Europeans, and continued to be used by them for some time after the establishment of Brisbane in 1824. The area was then used by Europeans to depasture sheep from the Government Farm in Oxley.[2]
In 1882 the Shire of Yeerongpilly declared a 419,900m² of land a Public Park and Recreation Ground. In 1886 the park became part of the Shire of Stephens, which in 1888 made 417,400m² of the park a permanent reserve.[2]
In 1917 the reserve became a memorial park commemorating World War I, work on which lasted until 1921. A road named Honour Avenue was built through the park and lined with 96 weeping figs and flame trees. Each tree bore a metal shield with the name of a soldier from the Shire of Stephens who had died in the war. United States military units occupied the park during World War II, and the American Legion erected a memorial stone in the park to commemorate this. In 1979 a plaque commemorating people from the area who had served in World War II, the Malayan Emergency, the Indonesia–Malaysia confrontation and the Vietnam War was added to the gates on Park Road.[2]
The Queensland Country Women's Association established a headquarters on the School Road side of the park in 1952. Three organizations also built on land that was excised from the park: the Yeronga Fire Station, the Yeronga Park Kindergarten and Preschool Association, and Meals on Wheels. The Yeronga Park Memorial Swimming Pool Complex was built in the southwest of the park between 1960 and 1964, with an Olympic-size pool and two wading pools. A heated pool was added to the complex in 1972.[2]
Facilities
The park is home to the Yeronga Park Heated Pools, has a Beach volleyball area, Swimming Club, Tennis Club as well as Lawn Bowls and Cricket fields. A Brisbane City Council 50m swimming pool complex is situated on the southern edge of the park. The Swimming Club was established in 1965.[3]
See also
References
- ^ "Yeronga parks". Brisbane City Council. Retrieved 12 September 2014.
- ^ a b c d e f g h "Yeronga Memorial Park (entry 602462)". Queensland Heritage Register. Queensland Heritage Council. Retrieved 13 July 2015.
- ^ "Yeronga Park Swimming Pool - About Us". Yeronga Park Swimming Complex. Retrieved 11 December 2009.
- Brisbane History Group (1996) Yeronga Heritage Tour ISBN 0-9586469-2-9
External links
Media related to Yeronga Memorial Park at Wikimedia Commons