Yeronga Park

Yeronga Memorial Park was one of Brisbane's second earliest parks, originally reserved in 1888. The sprawling park caters for sports and recreational activities and is a significant WW1 and WW2 place of remembrance. Yeronga Park is situted on Ipswich Road in the suburb of Yeronga.

A Brisbane City Council 50 m swimming pool complex is situated on the southern edge of the park. Also nearby, the Yeronga railway station is about 500 m to the west of the park.

Activities

+Yeronga Park Heated Pools
+Beach volleyball area
+Swimming Club
+Tennis Club
+Bowling
+Cricket

History

Yeronga Park was first declared as a reserve for a Public Park and Recreation Ground in 1882.

Before European settlement the area was inhabited by the Aborigines, and this use continued for some time after the establishment of a convict settlement. The area was then used by the Europeans to depasture sheep from the Government Farm at Oxley. The first major boost to development around Yeronga occurred when the South Brisbane to Corinda railway link was opened in 1884.Yeronga Park is one of the oldest parks in Brisbane.

One of the most historically significant aspects of Yeronga Park is its World War One memorial role, which was developed between 1917 and 1921. 1917, a road was constructed through the park, Between 1917 and 1919 a total of 96 weeping figs and flame trees were planted either side of this road, forming Honour Avenue. Each tree was accompanied by a metal shield, which bore the name of a soldier. Having a named avenue of memorial trees within a park is uncommon in Queensland. In 1979 the memorial gates at Park Road received a plaque dedicated to the soldiers of later wars.

During World War Two Yeronga Park was occupied by a number of American military units. To the west of the memorial pavilion the American Legion has erected a memorial stone, commemorating the World War Two occupation of the park by the United States' military forces.

The Yeronga Tennis Club was formed in 1909, and still occupies the three courts near Villa Street. The Yeronga Park Memorial Swimming Pool Complex was built in the southwest of the park between 1960 and 1964, with an Olympic pool and two wading pools, and a heated pool was added by 1972.

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, as mentioned earlier: the Yeronga Fire Station, the Yeronga Park Kindergarten and Preschool Association, and Meals on Wheels.

References

*Brisbane History Group (1996) Yeronga Heritage Tour ISBN 0-9586469-2-9