Cribb Island, Queensland facts for kids
Cribb Island was once a small suburb in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. Today, it's mostly covered by the Brisbane Airport and the suburb of Brisbane Airport. This area is famous because it was the childhood home of the Bee Gees pop stars!
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What Was Cribb Island Like?
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Locals called it "Cribbie." It had two main parts. One was Cribb Island itself, with a beach facing Moreton Bay, popular with holidaymakers. The other was Jackson's Estate, a farming area with permanent homes.
The whole area was about 5 kilometers (3.1 miles) long and 400 meters (1,300 feet) wide. It was built on a mud flat near Moreton Bay. It wasn't a real island, but it was surrounded by creeks and muddy areas.
Cribb Island also gave its name to a type of marine worm called Marphysa mullawa. Fishermen loved these worms for bait!
A Look Back in Time
The area was first home to about 50 Indigenous Australian people in 1884. They traded fish and mud crabs with early European settlers for food like bread and potatoes.
Cribb Island got its name from John George Cribb. He bought land there in 1863. Later, some of this land was sold to James Jackson for growing bananas, which became Jackson's Estate.
For a long time, there was only one road into Cribb Island. It was built on logs over the mud, so it often flooded. In 1914, a better road was built, making it easier for cars to get there.
Schools and Churches
Cribb Island State School opened on August 18, 1919. It closed many years later on December 14, 1979.
A Methodist church was built in 1918. It was made of timber. A Catholic church, St Martha's, opened in 1936. It also had a school, St Martha's Catholic School, which opened in 1952 but closed in 1968.
A Popular Holiday Spot
In the 1920s, Cribb Island became a popular place for tourists. People came from Brisbane to enjoy the seaside. A post office and kiosk opened in 1920. In 1925, the area even got its first bus service to the city.
By the 1930s, Cribb Island had many important services like a school, a general store, and cafes. About 400 people lived there.
However, the 1930s brought tough economic times. Many people had to sell their homes for very little money. This meant that many people who were struggling moved to Cribb Island. It became a place where people could find affordable homes.
The Bee Gees and the Airport
In the early 1960s, the famous pop stars, the Bee Gees, lived on Cribb Island. Barry, Robin, and Maurice lived at 30 Elmslie Street. They went to Cribb Island State School for a short time.
In 1970, the Australian Government decided to take over the land on Cribb Island. They wanted to make the Brisbane Airport much bigger. About 900 people lived there at the time. Over the next ten years, people slowly moved away. The very last person left their home in 1980.
On September 22, 1986, the Queensland Government officially removed Cribb Island from the maps. This was because almost nothing was left of the old suburb.
Today, you won't find Cribb Island on a map. The land was changed and rebuilt as part of the Brisbane Airport. A new runway, finished in 2020, now sits where the suburb used to be.
Remembering Cribb Island
Even though Cribb Island is gone, many former residents keep its memory alive. They share stories and photos on websites. A writer named Tracy Wills even wrote a book about growing up there, called On the Flats: The Road to Cribb Island.
The Ibis Hotel at Brisbane Airport has a restaurant called the Cribb Island Beach Club, keeping the name alive.
