Wacol is a

suburb A suburb (more broadly suburban area) is an area within a metropolitan area, which may include commercial and mixed-use, that is primarily a residential area. A suburb can exist either as part of a larger city/urban area or as a separ ...

in the

City of Brisbane The City of Brisbane is a local government area (LGA) which comprises the inner portion of the metropolitan area of Brisbane, the capital of Queensland, Australia. Its governing body is the Brisbane City Council. Unlike LGAs in the other mainlan ...

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , establishe ...

, Australia. In the , Wacol had a population of 3,761 people.

Geography

Wacol is bounded to the west by the

Brisbane River The Brisbane River is the longest river in South East Queensland, Australia, and flows through the city of Brisbane, before emptying into Moreton Bay on the Coral Sea. John Oxley, the first European to explore the river, named it after the ...

and to the north loosely by Wolston Creek. It is south-west of the

Brisbane central business district Brisbane City is the central suburb and central business district of Brisbane, the state capital of Queensland, Australia. It is colloquially referred to as the "Brisbane CBD" or "the city". It is located on a point on the northern bank of the ...

. The Brisbane-Ipswich railway line enters the suburb from the north-east ( Darra), via

Wacol railway station Wacol railway station is located on the Main line in Queensland, Australia. It serves the Brisbane suburb of Wacol. It is the last station on the Ipswich line located within Brisbane. History The Wolston railway station was opened on 8 Oct ...

in the centre of the locality () and

Gailes railway station Gailes railway station was a railway station approximately two miles south of the town of Irvine, North Ayrshire, Scotland. The station was originally part of the Glasgow, Paisley, Kilmarnock and Ayr Railway (now the Ayrshire Coast Line). ...

in the south-west of the locality (), before exiting to the south-west (

Goodna Goodna is a suburb on the eastern edge of the City of Ipswich in Queensland, Australia. In the , Goodna had a population of 10,461 people. Geography Goodna is from the Brisbane central business district, being just outside the Brisbane City C ...

/ Gailes). The suburb includes the undeveloped Cockatoo Island () in the Brisbane River. Termination Hill is a peak in the south of the suburb ().

History

Termination Hill was named by explorer

John Oxley John Joseph William Molesworth Oxley (1784 – 25 May 1828) was an explorer and surveyor of Australia in the early period of British colonisation. He served as Surveyor General of New South Wales and is perhaps best known for his two exp ...

at the termination point of his first voyage up the Brisbane River in December 1823.

Wolston House Wolston House is a heritage-listed museum and former homestead at 223 Grindle Road, Wacol, City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. It was built from 1852 to 1860s. It was added to the Queensland Heritage Register on 21 October 1992. It is no ...

was opened in 1852. Still intact today the building is the only surviving early Brisbane River settlement. The building was planned to be demolished however the

National Trust of Queensland National Trust of Queensland is a membership-based community organisation to "promote the natural, Indigenous and cultural heritage" of Queensland. It was founded in 1963. It is a member of the National Trust of Australia, which federates the e ...

intervened to save the building. Major conservation work was undertaken. The Wolston railway station was opened on 8 October 1874, taking its name from Wolston House. However, the name caused confusion with the

Wilston railway station Wilston railway station is located on the Ferny Grove line in Queensland, Australia. It serves the Brisbane suburb of Wilston. Services Wilston station is served by all stops Ferny Grove line services from Ferny Grove to Roma Street, Pa ...

, so it was renamed on 8 July 1927 to Wacol railway station. ''Wacol'' is a

coined word ''Protologism'' is a term coined in 2003 by the American literary theorist Mikhail Epstein in reference to a word coined, by an individual or a small group, that has not yet been published independently of the coiner(s). The word may be proposed, ...

from ''weigh coal'', as the principal purpose of the station was coal handling. The suburb takes its name from its railway station. A portion of Wacol comes from the Wolston Estate, consisting of 54 farms on an area of 3000 acres, offered for auction at Centennial Hall, Brisbane, on 16 October 1901. Wolston Estate is the property of M. B. Goggs, whose father obtained the land forty years previously in the 1860s and after whom Goggs Road is named. Only three of the farms sold at the original auction. In 1879, the local government area of

Yeerongpilly Division Yeerongpilly is a southern suburb in the City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. In the , Yeerongpilly had a population of 1,934 people. Geography Yeerongpilly is south-west of the Brisbane GPO. A small section of the north eastern bounda ...

was created. In 1891, parts of Yeerongpilly Division were excised to create Sherwood Division becoming a Shire in 1903 which contained the area of Wolston Estate. In 1925, the Shire of Sherwood was amalgamated into the

. The suburb played host to the American military during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, who constructed Camp Columbia () in 1942; after the war, control of the facility was transferred to the

Australian Government The Australian Government, also known as the Commonwealth Government, is the national government of Australia, a federal parliamentary constitutional monarchy. Like other Westminster-style systems of government, the Australian Governmen ...

which used it as a migrant reception and training centre from 1949 to 1987. Associated with the migrant centre was the Wacol East State School, which opened on 14 November 1949 as a "Special School for

New Australians New Australians were non-British migrants to Australia who arrived in the wave of immigration following World War II. The term initially referred to newly arrived immigrants, generally refugees, who were expected to eventually become mainstream ...

" and closed on 11 April 1963. Carole Park State School opened on 17 September 1948. Also, in the post-war period, the suburb increasingly became home to correctional and mental health facilities. HM Prison Wacol opened in 1957 with a special wing for the Wacol Security Patients' Hospital (for the mentally ill). In 1988 it is renamed Wacol Correctional Centre, then in 1996 Moreton Correctional Centre. In 1999 it is closed and rebuilt as the Wolston Correctional Centre. In 1984 the Sir Leslie Wilson Youth Centre (a secure facility for young offenders and "troubled" children, formerly known as the Wilson Youth Hospital) and its associated Sir Leslie Wilson School relocated from

Windsor Windsor may refer to: Places Australia * Windsor, New South Wales ** Municipality of Windsor, a former local government area * Windsor, Queensland, a suburb of Brisbane, Queensland **Shire of Windsor, a former local government authority around Wi ...

to Wacol. In 1994 it was renamed the Sir Leslie Wilson Youth Detention Centre in 1994. Barrett Adolescent Centre Special School opened on 29 January 1985. It provided education for children with mental health issues. It closed as a full-time school in 2013, but was relocated to

Tennyson Alfred Tennyson, 1st Baron Tennyson (6 August 1809 – 6 October 1892) was an English poet. He was the Poet Laureate during much of Queen Victoria's reign. In 1829, Tennyson was awarded the Chancellor's Gold Medal at Cambridge for one of his ...

where it provides part-time support to children with mental health issues but who remain enrolled full-time in other schools. The John Oxley Youth Detention Centre opened at 139 Wacol Road in 1987. On 15 July 1994 John Oxley School opened to provide education to children held in the John Oxley centre. More correctional facilities followed with Sir David Longland Correctional Centre opening at 234 Wacol Station Road in 1988. In 1990 the former migrant reception centre site was cleared for the construction of the

Arthur Gorrie Correctional Centre Arthur Gorrie Correctional Centre is a high security Remand Centre for males, primarily accommodating individuals who a Judge or Magistrate has ordered must be held in custody as they await, and during, trial. The centre is located on the Ipswic ...

in 1992. The

Wolston Correctional Centre Wolston Correctional Centre is an Australian high-security prison facility in Wacol, Queensland, Australia. Wolston is a 'protection' prison, and as such houses many paedophiles, sex offenders and high-profile prisoners. In addition to those ...

and the Brisbane Women's Correctional Centre both opened in 1999. The Brisbane Youth Detention Centre opened in January 2001 as an amgalmation of Sir Leslie Wilson and John Oxley facilities. In 2007 the

Brisbane Correctional Centre Brisbane Correctional Centre, formerly the Sir David Longland Correctional Centre, is a prison facility located at Wacol (near Brisbane), Queensland, Australia, which was renovated and re-opened in June 2008. The complex houses a water conservati ...

opened as a redevelopment of the Sir David Longland facility. In the Wacol had a population of 2,957 people. In December 2011, the

Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals The Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA) is a charity operating in England and Wales that promotes animal welfare. The RSPCA is funded primarily by voluntary donations. Founded in 1824, it is the oldest and largest a ...

moved from their premises in Fairfield to Wacol. In the , Wacol recorded a population of 3,761 people; 18.9% female and 81.1% male. The median age in Wacol was 33 years, 5 years below the Australian median. There was a marked over-representation of people aged between 20 and 44 years in Wacol, where they accounted for 68.6% of the population, compared to the national figure of 34.6%. The young and old were under-represented: children aged under 15 years made up just 2.9% of the population (18.7% nationally) and people aged 65 years and over made up 5.2% of the population (nationally 15.8%). 79.4% of people living in Wacol were born in Australia, compared to the national average of 66.7%; the next most common countries of birth were New Zealand 6.4%, Vietnam 1.9%, England 1.7%, Philippines 0.9%, Samoa 0.5%. 15.8% of people spoke only English at home; the next most popular languages were Vietnamese 1%, Tagalog 0.4%, Spanish 0.3%, Mandarin 0.3% and Italian 0.2%.

Heritage listings

Wacol has a number of

heritage-listed This list is of heritage registers, inventories of cultural properties, natural and man-made, tangible and intangible, movable and immovable, that are deemed to be of sufficient heritage value to be separately identified and recorded. In many i ...

sites, including: * 60 Grindle Road ():

Wolston Park Hospital The Park Centre for Mental Health is a heritage-listed psychiatric hospital at 60 Grindle Road, Wacol, City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. It is one of the largest psychiatric hospitals in Australia. The hospital provides a range of mental ...

(now the Park Centre for Mental Health) * 223 Grindle Road ():

Facilities

Brisbane Correctional Centre, Wacol, Queensland 02

Wacol is home for correctional centre inmates at: *

, a high security remand centre at 3068 Ipswich Road () *

(previously known as Sir David Longland Correctional Centre), high security prison at 234 Wacol Station Road () * Brisbane Women's Correctional Centre, a high security prison for women at 176 Grindle Road () * Brisbane Youth Detention Centre, a facility for 10- to 17-year-olds at 99 Wolston Park Road () *

, a high security prison at 176 Grindle Road ()

The Park Centre for Mental Health The Park Centre for Mental Health is a heritage-listed psychiatric hospital at 60 Grindle Road, Wacol, City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. It is one of the largest psychiatric hospitals in Australia. The hospital provides a range of menta ...

, formerly known as the Wolston Park Hospital, has acted as an institution for the mentally ill since 1865. It is at the corner of Ellerton Drive and Wolston Park Road () and can also be accessed from Ellerton Road. The

operate their Brisbane animal hospital and adoption shelter at 139 Wacol Station Road (). Wacol Wastewater Treatment Plant is a sewage treatment plant at 176A Grindle Road (). It is operated by

Queensland Urban Utilities Urban Utilities (UU) is the trading name of the Central SEQ Distributor-Retailer Authority, a statutory authority of the Government of Queensland that is responsible for the delivery of retail water supply and wastewater services across five lo ...

. There is also a significant industrial park located in the area.

Education

Carole Park State School is a government primary (Prep-6) school for boys and girls at 260 Waterford Road (). In 2018, the school had an enrolment of 201 students with 16 teachers (14 full-time equivalent) and 27 non-teaching staff (15 full-time equivalent). It includes a

special education Special education (known as special-needs education, aided education, exceptional education, alternative provision, exceptional student education, special ed., SDC, or SPED) is the practice of educating students in a way that accommodates th ...

program. Brisbane Youth Education and Training Centre is a primary and secondary (6-12) educational unit for boys and girls at the Brisbane Youth Detention Centre, 99 Wolston Park Road (). In 2018, the school had an enrolment of 124 students with 33 teachers (29 full-time equivalent) and 25 non-teaching staff (18 full-time equivalent). There is no mainstream secondary school in Wacol; the nearest are

Glenala State High School Glenala State High School is a high school located on Glenala Road in Durack, Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Queensland, and the third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, ...

in Durack to the east,

Forest Lake State High School Forest Lake State High School (FLSHS) is a secondary state school located in Forest Lake, Queensland, Australia. History The school was opened in 2001, with only year 8. Year levels increased each year with the first cohort of year 12 student ...

in Forest Lake to the south-east, and

Woodcrest State College Woodcrest State College is a coeducational public Prep–Year 12 school located in the City of Ipswich suburb of Springfield in Queensland, Australia. The school has a total enrolment of more than 1600 students each year, with an official cou ...

in Springfield to the south.

Amenities

Gailes Golf Club The Gailes Golf Club is a golf club in Wacol, Queensland, Australia, 20 minutes south of Brisbane. It hosted the Australian Open in 1955 with the winner was Bobby Locke Arthur D'Arcy "Bobby" Locke (20 November 1917 – 9 March 1987) was a Sou ...

is an 18-hole golf course for members and visitors at 299 Wilruna Street (). Wolston Park Golf Club is an 18-hole golf course for members and visitors at Ellerton Drive (corner of Boyce Road, ). There are a number of parks in the area: * M. Z. Holland Memorial Park at 57 Monterey Street () * Newton Place Park at 26 Newton Place () *PJ McIlwain Place at 221 Grindle Road (), home ground of the Centenary Junior Rugby League * Pooh Corner at 205 Wacol Station Road () * Progress Road Park at 440 Progress Road () * Wacol Bushlands at 3063 Ipswich Road ()

Transport

The

Ipswich Motorway The Ipswich Motorway (M7) is a major road that connects Brisbane and Ipswich in South East Queensland, Australia. It commences at the junction of Ipswich Road and Granard Road and proceeds through to the M2 Logan Motorway interchange. It is the ...

crosses the suburb. A major upgrade of the road was completed in 2010. The

Logan Motorway The M2/M6 Logan Motorway is a 30-kilometre toll road between Ipswich and the M1 or Pacific Motorway at Loganholme, and the Gateway Motorway, providing access to the Gold Coast on the eastern seaboard and to the rural areas of the Darling Down ...

connects to the Ipswich Motorway in the south of the suburb.

and

(which, despite its name, is located in Wacol) provides access to regular

Queensland Rail City network The Queensland Rail Citytrain network, provides urban, suburban and interurban electric passenger railway services in South East Queensland, Australia. History The first railway in Queensland did not run to Brisbane, but ran from Ipswich to ...

services to Brisbane,

Ipswich Ipswich () is a port town and borough in Suffolk, England, of which it is the county town. The town is located in East Anglia about away from the mouth of the River Orwell and the North Sea. Ipswich is both on the Great Eastern Main Line ...

and

Rosewood Rosewood refers to any of a number of richly hued timbers, often brownish with darker veining, but found in many different hues. True rosewoods All genuine rosewoods belong to the genus ''Dalbergia''. The pre-eminent rosewood appreciated ...

via Ipswich. In the , 11.2% of employed people traveled to work on public transport and 66.3% by car (either as driver or as passenger).

References

External links

University of Queensland: Queensland Places: Wacol
{{Suburbs of Brisbane City Council Suburbs of the City of Brisbane Queensland in World War II