Hoop Pines, Bald Hills facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Hoop Pines, Bald Hills |
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Hoop Pines, 2009
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| Location | 34 Strathpine Road, Bald Hills, City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia |
| Design period | 1840s - 1860s (mid-19th century) |
| Built | - |
| Official name: Hoop Pines | |
| Type | state heritage (landscape) |
| Designated | 22 February 2002 |
| Reference no. | 602346 |
| Significant period | 1850s (historical) |
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The Hoop Pines are two very old trees located at St Paul's Anglican School in Bald Hills, Queensland, Australia. These special trees are heritage-listed, meaning they are protected because of their historical importance. They were added to the Queensland Heritage Register on 22 February 2002.
These trees are believed to mark the spot where the first Stewart family farmhouse stood. The Stewarts and their relatives, the Duncans, were among the very first non-Indigenous settlers in the Bald Hills area. This area was known as Wyampa by the Aboriginal people. The taller Hoop Pine might be around 190 years old, a leftover from the original forests. The smaller one could be about 140 years old, possibly planted or grown from a seed from the older tree.
Contents
A Look Back at Bald Hills History
Why Trees Were Important
In the 1820s, valuable trees like hoop pines, bunya pines, and red cedar were a big reason why a prison settlement was started at Moreton Bay. A historian named JD Steele said that Brisbane was founded partly because of the hoop pine. This tree was first seen by John Oxley in 1823 near the Pine River. Sadly, within 50 years, most of the hoop pines in the Moreton Bay area had been cut down.
Settling Bald Hills
Bald Hills became a farming community in the late 1850s. This was linked to Scottish farmers, John and David McConnel, who wanted to create a port at Cabbage Tree Creek near Sandgate. They believed this port would be better for shipping than the Brisbane River. Many important people supported this idea, hoping to develop the area north of Brisbane.
The Government of New South Wales (which Queensland was part of then) set aside land for a village at Cabbage Tree Creek. In 1852, the village was surveyed, and in 1853, the first land lots in Sandgate were sold. Many people bought land, including the McConnels.
Sandgate never became a major port. This was due to government decisions, landowners not developing their properties, poor transport to Brisbane, and strong resistance from Aboriginal people. However, the idea of a port encouraged farmers to settle in Bald Hills.
The Stewart and Duncan Families
Thomas Gray, a bootmaker from Brisbane, encouraged the Stewart and Duncan families to move to Bald Hills. He had met them on a ship from Scotland. The Stewarts and Duncans had been farming on the Hunter River, but their land often flooded. Gray convinced them to move to the South Pine River area, now known as Bald Hills.
John Stewart visited the area around 1855 to choose land. He wanted land for his family and many other settlers from the Hunter River. However, there were delays in surveying the land. Because of this, most of the interested settlers moved to the Clarence River instead. Only the Stewart and Duncan families moved to Bald Hills in October 1857. They are known as the first non-Indigenous settlers there.
Early Life and Farming
After their experiences with floods, the settlers chose higher ground for their farms. They built their first houses on a low ridge above the South Pine River, where St Paul's Anglican School is now. They were worried about attacks from Aboriginal people, so their houses were built to be defended. However, these precautions were not needed. A group of Native Police was stationed in Sandgate from 1858 to 1862. They helped stop Aboriginal resistance to white settlement in the area.
The Stewart and Duncan families cleared the land for their crops. By the late 1860s, most of the valuable red cedar and hoop pine trees in Bald Hills had been cut down. For many years, they grew maize, potatoes, and hay. John Stewart also tried growing arrowroot and cotton, winning awards for them in London.
After a railway opened to Bald Hills in 1888, dairy farming became the main activity. By 1929, dairy farmers in Bald Hills were sending a lot of milk to Brisbane and Sandgate every day.
Community Life and Changes
The Stewart family was very respected in Bald Hills. They were active in the local Presbyterian church. Early church services were held at the Stewart home. Later, a church was built on land donated by John Stewart.
Many community events were also held at the Stewart home. For example, a big party was held in their barn in 1865 to celebrate the opening of a bridge over the South Pine River.
In 1895, the main part of the Stewart farm was sold to William Thomas Taylor. The remaining land became the Woodlawn dairy farm. The Woodlawn Farmhouse still stands today at 15 Listowel Street, Bald Hills.
The house that is now the Administration Building at St Paul's Anglican School seems to date from the 1890s or early 1900s. A photo from 1906 shows this house with the two Hoop Pines already grown tall, framing the entrance. This shows that the trees were not planted recently and were likely part of the original Stewart house garden.
The property continued as a dairy farm, changing owners several times. In 1921, William John Hawkins, a leader in Queensland dairying, bought it. He was known for helping set up the first cold storage for milk in Brisbane. In 1929, a newspaper called his property "a fine property and picturesque homestead."
In 1954, the property passed to John and Dorothy Redmond. They sold the land to the Anglican Church in 1958. This ended over a century of farming on the land, as it was developed into St Paul's Anglican School.
Bald Hills remained a farming community until the mid-1900s. Then, many farms were divided into smaller blocks for houses. Not many 19th-century farmhouses have survived, and most of those that have been changed a lot. The former farmhouse, now the school's Administration Building, is a rare example of an old farmhouse in Bald Hills. Its location is linked to the very first non-Indigenous settlers in the area. The two old hoop pines are a clear reminder of this early farm.
Description of the Hoop Pines
The two Hoop Pines (scientific name: Araucaria cunninghamii) are located on the grounds of St Paul's Anglican School in Bald Hills. They stand at the end of the school's main driveway, creating a natural frame for the entrance to the school's Administration Building. This building used to be a farmhouse from the late 1800s or early 1900s.
The older tree is about 25 meters (82 feet) tall, and its leafy top spreads about 27 meters (89 feet) wide. The younger tree is about 18 meters (59 feet) tall, with a canopy about 22 meters (72 feet) wide. Both trees lost their upper trunks and parts of their tops due to storm damage in the mid-1980s.
Why These Trees Are Special
The Hoop Pines are listed on the Queensland Heritage Register because they are important in several ways:
- Showing Queensland's History: These trees show how Queensland was settled. They are linked to the first non-Indigenous settlements in the Moreton Bay area and especially to the early development of Bald Hills.
- Rare and Unique: The larger Hoop Pine might be older than non-Indigenous settlement itself. As a leftover from the original forests, it's a rare example of the valuable hoop pines that attracted early settlers to Moreton Bay. Most of these trees were cut down in Bald Hills by the late 1860s. These two old Hoop Pines are also rare because not many trees of this age survive in the Brisbane area. They are very interesting for people who study plants.
- Beautiful and Recognizable: The Hoop Pines are beautiful and stand out on the ridge at Bald Hills. They act as a landmark that people can easily recognize.
- Important to the Community: These trees are very important to the Bald Hills community. They remind people of the Stewart family, who were the first non-Indigenous settlers and helped develop Bald Hills into a farming area. For the St Paul's Anglican School community, the trees mark the heart of the school's administration.
