The Story of Whites Hill Reserve
The indigenous clans of the Yuggera and Turrbal people lived in or traversed parts of the Bulimba Creek catchment for at least twenty thousand years. It is believed that a locality on the creek was called boolimbah, meaning a place of the magpie-lark and thought to refer specifically to what we now know as Whites Hill. The first recorded use of the name Bulimba Creek was in 1888.
The Whites Hill Reserve owes its name to one Robert White who, with his wife, in 1863 emigrated from England on the SS Indus arriving in Maryborough and then moving on to Red Hill in Brisbane. White was keen to secure a hilltop property but by this time, most of the Brisbane hilltops were occupied. He looked to the south side where already the Hollands had Holland Park and the Galloways occupied Galloway’s Hill. As such he was forced to look further from the city and in November 1873 purchased for £5/7/6p, 43 acres surrounding the 120 metres elevation at Camp Hill. The hilltop that would bear his name was the last remaining hill in the South of Brisbane probably because it was too steep for grazing and too poor for farming. Though it lacked water and the soil was rocky, White was impressed by the view it afforded, but more importantly its potential for his ambitious plans…
After purchasing the property that would become Whites Hill, Robert White took a job working as a joiner for Andrew Petrie at Petrie Bight north of the river – a daily round trip of some 14 miles! In his spare time, White built the first family home: a slab hut about halfway up the north slope of the hill facing Coorparoo. By 1879 he had built a slab hut and was growing maize plus a piggery and a milking yard for his cows. He erected a small steam driven sawmill in what is now Eric Sivell Park, now located on Boundary Rd across from Indus street (named after the ship on which he travelled to Australia).
But White had ‘grander plans’ for the Hill. By hand, he next built a road to the top of the Hill, where he constructed a much more substantial house that had spectacular views of Ipswich, the City and of Moreton Island. Once he had finished, the dining room had seating for 50 to 60 people and had in it a large stove imported from England.
On the Northern side of the house, with views to the city, White built a two-storey circular tower with a wide verandah offering panoramic views on three sides. Sightseers began to visit the house and so the White family began providing refreshments.
There was a telescope with which it was said one could “pick out the crews of sailing yachts in the bay”. The big drawcard, however, was the Camera Obscura. This was installed in the tower at the northern end of the building and the camera obscura ‘periscoped’ through the roof. The camera ranged through 360 degrees and projected views in natural colour of the surrounding countryside onto a circular viewing table on the lower level. The projected view could be viewed from a circular mezzanine viewing platform within the tower reached by a narrow spiral stairway. Through this relatively new technology, visitors could marvel at the surroundings while indoors in relative comfort – no air-conditioning though.
By the 1920s Robert White’s venture on the Hill had become the most popular excursion destination in Brisbane. It was a great picnic location and hosted school trips and wedding celebrations. Some visitors walked up carrying their baskets, rode or came by horse drawn vehicles. Others would take the Belmont Flyer to City View station (near the present Camp Hill state school) and walk from there.
White’s clever combination of entertainment, scenic views and tea rooms had evolved into a most profitable enterprise. At its height, he was able to generate an income of £500 from the visitors, charging children a penny and adults sixpence to visit.
As the 1920s unfolded, changes were afoot. William A. Jolly, Brisbane’s 1st Lord Mayor, announced his program to 'obtain for the citizens of Brisbane some of the significant scenic viewpoints’ and naturally, Whites Hill was on that list. Robert White declined an offer of £22,000 in 1924, but his death in 1927 gave Brisbane City Council the chance to acquire the land and all its ‘improvements and chattels’, the following year, for just over a third of the initial offer. The era of Mr. White’s ‘grand enterprise on the Hill’ had ended with his passing, but the Whites Hill story still had some chapters left.
While the death of Robert White, and the sale of Whites Hill to the City meant that sight-seers and revelers now had to go elsewhere for fun, that reprieve from the crowds allowed it to evolve into something we’d recognise more today. Still committed to growing reserves, and helped by the Great Depression, in 1934 the City acquired 104.4 hectares (258 acres) of grazing paddocks adjacent to Whites Hill, owned by J.R. Sankey – which today we know as Sankey’s Woods. The lands then remained dormant until the outbreak of World War II. The Australian Army quickly recognised the Hill’s peak offered a superb and unobstructed view of Moreton Bay and beyond, so they constructed a manned signals observation post on the east slope. Later the U.S. Army also installed a searchlight battery to support their anti-aircraft defenses around “Fortress Brisbane”. And with all those acres surrounding the Hill available, the military also regularly used the surrounding bush for training and manoeuvres. Fortunately, by the War’s end, the observation post was no longer needed, and the property at Whites Hill could ‘stand down’ and await its next deployment.
After World War II ended, there were some significant changes to the reserve. A resumption in 1960 extended the White’s Hill Reserve holdings, but four years later Brisbane City Council subdivided 125 acres around the Northern lower slopes, selling the land for residential development, the area between Samuel street and Indus street
Part of the reserve was then transformed into the Whites Hill Landfill & Recycling Facility, which continued in operation until it was replaced in 1994 by a larger facility at Chandler. Other portions of the reserve near Pine Mountain have also been used as a quarry and although that part of the property still houses commercial activity, quarrying has long since ceased. In 1968-69 the Reserve saw the development of sports fields and the establishment of the community-based organizations that run them.
Additionally, land was set aside for a public park, which included a playground, picnic & barbecue areas and in 1997 a bandshell was constructed down on the flat south of White’s Hill about 300m from the site of the White’s former enterprise in an area now known as The Common.
And whatever happened to that original complex of buildings? Well, sadly, while the house remained for many years, repeated acts of vandalism forced the council to condemn the residence and tear it down in 1964. However, the Whites family do hold reunions to recall those former times.
We last left off our local history at about the start of this century. In the two decades since, the three sporting clubs, one each for cricket, soccer and touch football, have become well-established fixtures in the Reserve. The Eastern Districts Junior Cricket Association facilities include four cricket pitches, the Tom Lonegan Pavilion and practice nets. Across the road, the Holland Park Hawks operate two full size soccer pitches on site as well as a club house. And the seven fully lit football fields located on the eastern side of Whites Hill are managed by the Brisbane Metropolitan Touch Association - Brisbane's only dedicated touch football facility. In addition to Club sports, the Reserve is also host to many local schools’ sports days and the Queensland All Schools event each October. But, on any given day, the fields and open spaces of the Reserve are also alive with fitness & exercise groups, joggers and impromptu family games of footie and cricket.
However, as popular and important as the those sporting venues have become, they occupy only about 15% of the 170 hectares that make up the Reserve. And it is what is on offer in the remaining three-quarters that make Whites Hill Reserve the unexpected ‘gem’ of a place that it is for many.
And what of the Pine Mountain Quarry . Well as of 2024 it is earmarked for future development which has created concern for our group and local residents as it covers a large area of the reserve close to rare and endangers plants. What will it become? Will it be a considered development and will the local community be involved in the process? Checkout our page on this site for more information about our campaign to ensure the local community has a say.
