Whilst other Brisbane suburbs have been named after a distinct landmark, Toowong derived its name from its local birdlife.
The name Toowong is believed to have originated from the call of a migratory bird, the Eastern Koel, which nests in the area between September and April. The bird was known for its call which was thought to mark the arrival of rain.
The Koel has a unique survival tactic. It lays its eggs in the nests of other species and lets them raise their young before returning to Papua New Guinea and other South-East Asian countries for winter.
Eastern Koel Eudynamys orientalis Cuculidae Photo credit: birdlife.org.au
According to the District Historical Society, the suburb was named after the native bird known as the white-throated nightjar. The Aborigines referred to this bird as the “tu-wong” — an onomatopoeic word which copies the sound of the bird’s call. Since the native bird nested in several eucalyptus trees along the river bank on the bend of the Brisbane River below the Indooroopilly Bridge, the Aborigines named the locality Tu-wong.
Bird researcher Ian Venables said that other early records say that Toowong was named after the Koel. The confusion would explain why a newcomer to Toowong, John O’Neil Brenan (who arrived in 1872), came to understand the origin of the word as the Koel’s call. To this day, the confusion as to where the name of Toowong really came from, remains.
Toowong Creek Photo credit: Kgbo/Wikimedia Commons
Survey maps from as early as 1849 show that Toowong Creek was the first to use the name. The word was later adopted as a locality name when local landowner Richard Langlar Drew advertised land along Toowong Creek for sale as “The Village of Toowong”.
The name became more widely used when Toowong was given to the area’s newly-opened local railway station. The district’s inhabitants later identified with the name of “Toowong”, and its inhabitants adopted the name for the locality after the railway station’s name.
Today, Toowong is a popular suburb, home to more than 10,800 people.
Keeping Toowong kids busy for the winter school holidays is made easy as the BCC organised a number of activities at the Toowong Library and the Brisbane Botanic Gardens Mt Coot-tha. Check out the list below to see child-friendly activities for your kids to enjoy.
Smart Phone Eco Photography
Saturday, 30 June 2018 (2:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.)
Photo credit: CC0 Public Domain / PxHere
An activity ideal for aspiring photographers aged 10 to 17 years, the Smart Phone Eco Photography lets you see nature through a different lens.
Bookings required for this free activity. Visit Bazil Grumble to learn more about the session and reserve your place.
Participants are asked to meet outside the Brisbane Botanic Gardens Mt Coot-tha planetarium and don’t forget to bring a hat, some sunscreen, a water bottle, and your smartphone.
Maker Space
Multiple dates
Let your little maker get creative in this free library activity for children aged two to 10 years.
The Maker space will run in the Toowong Library from 11:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m. on the following dates: 2-6, 9, 11, and 12 July 2018.
Bookings required for this free event. Call the Toowong Library on 07 3403 2590 to reserve your place.
Create a Mood Board
Monday 2 July 2018 (2:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m.)
Photo credit: CC-BY/decor8 holly/Flickr
Get inspired by making your own mini mood board. A mood board is goal orientated and includes clips of where you want to live, go on holiday, and what you want to become.
This activity is ideal for young adults aged 12-18 years old.
Bookings required for this free event. Call the Toowong Library on 07 3403 2590 to reserve your place.
Poke-Tanical Hunt
Tuesday, 3 July 2018 (10:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m.)
Inspired by the game Pokemon Go, the Poke-Tanical Hunt is a plant and animal hunting game in the Botanic Gardens. This game is ideal for kids 6-12 years.
Safely hunt through the gardens to find special specimens and “battle” to win badges. You will get a certificate if you “get them all.”
Bookings not required. Participants are asked to meet at the Brisbane Botanic Gardens Mt Coot-tha Visitor Information Centre.
Performance: The Bear in Our Backyard
Tuesday, 3 July 2018 (10:30 a.m. – 11:30 a.m.)
Photo credit: emmamiddleton.com
Let the kids experience the story of The Bear in our Backyard with songs, dance, puppetry, and rhyme with children’s author and performer Emma Middleton.
This session is ideal for children aged 3-7 years.
Bookings required for this free event. Call the Toowong Library on 07 3403 2590 to reserve your place.
Drop in and Meet NAO
Tuesday, 3 July 2018 (2:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m.)
Don’t miss the chance to meet NAO robot, an amazing humanoid robot can sense its environment and interact with people using surprisingly lifelike gestures and movement.
This meet and greet session with NAO robot is open to all ages. Drop by the library any time between the listed times.
Bookings required for this free BNEtechkids workshop. Call the Toowong Library on 07 3403 2590 to reserve your place.
Chocolate At Risk
Thursday, 5 July 2018 (10:00 a.m. – 11:30 a.m.)
Photo credit: CC0 Public Domain / PxHere
Let your little chocolate lover learn more about chocolates in this free learning session for kids eight years and over.
Participants are asked to meet at the Kitchen in the Garden of Brisbane Botanic Gardens Mt Coot-tha.
Bookings required for this free event. For more information and to book, call 07 3403 2535.
Indigenous Stories with Craig Kemp
Saturday, 7 July 2018 (10:30 a.m. – 11:30 a.m.)
Open for kids aged 8-12 years, this event will let your child learn more about Aboriginal culture with the help of Craig Kemp.
Working as a cultural facilitator for 25 years, he is capable of engaging young people with light-hearted educational and comedic cultural immersion.
This workshop is perfect for 10-17-year-old sushi lovers. Learn the art of preparing delicious healthy sushi in this hands-on cooking workshop.
Bookings essential. Visit NAQ Nutrition to book. Registration for the event costs $5.
Participants are asked to wear closed in shoes and meet at the outdoor kitchen in the garden of Brisbane Botanic Gardens Mt Coot-tha.
Tinker Table: Bee-Bots
Monday, 9 July 2018 (2:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m.)
Wednesday, 11 July 2018 (2:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m.)
A BNEtechkids workshop for kids and teens, let the children have some hands-on experimenting with Bee-Bots. Learn basic programming skills while helping your Bee-Bot navigate and solve a maze.
Booking not required.
Venue: Toowong Library
Palm Sheath Baskets – School Holiday Version
Tuesday, 10 July 2018 (10:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.)
Photo credit: Brisbane City Council
Learn how to shape and stitch native palm sheaths into beautiful shapes. Discover some of our native palms such as the Piccabeen Palm, while learning about their place in our rainforest ecosystems.
Ideal for kids 10 years and over, all materials will be provided in this free workshop.
Bookings required. Call 07 3403 2535 for more information and to reserve your place.
Participants are asked to meet at the Administration Building of the Brisbane Botanic Gardens Mt Coot-tha.
Treasure Hunt
Tuesday, 10 July 2018 (10:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m.)
Race against the clock and crack the clues to discover the natural treasures hidden within the Botanic Gardens at Mt Coot-tha. Work alone or in a group and explore the Botanic Gardens to solve this exciting treasure hunt.
The treasure hunt is suitable for children aged 5-12 years and they must be accompanied by an adult.
Bookings not required. Participants are asked to meet at the Visitor Information Centre. Don’t forget to bring a pencil or pen.
Toowong Library School Holidays Children’s Book Club
Thursday, 12 July 2018 (2:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m.)
Photo credit: Brisbane City Council
Join the Toowong Library for fun activities and a reading of the laugh-aloud Mr Bambuckle’s Remarkables by Tim Harris. Mr Bambuckle cooks breakfast for his students and gives lessons in drone building!
This free event is ideal for children aged 7-12 years. Bookings required so call the Toowong Library on 07 3403 2590 to reserve your place.
The Tiger Who Came to Tea
Friday, 13 July 2018 (2:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m.)
What would you do if a tiger arrived on your doorstep to join you for tea? Join the Toowong Library to celebrate the 50th birthday of the beloved picture book The Tiger Who Came to Tea by Judith Kerr. Lots of fun to be had with a storytime, crafts and games.
This free event is ideal for children aged 5-9 years.
Bookings required. Call the Toowong Library on 07 3403 2590 to reserve your place.
Active Transport Committee Chairman Adrian Schrinner said that they came to the decision after public consultation and after receiving tender responses.
Following community consultation and the receipt of construction tender responses, Council has decided not to proceed with the Land Street Tunnel Bikeway project. Any funds freed-up will be invested into other bikeway projects as part of our $100m program over 4 years.
Cycling groups were not supportive of the project which was supposed to be part of the $100-million Better Bikeways for Brisbane plan by the City Council. Cycling advocacy group Space4cyclingBNE questioned the need for the project.
Draft plan for the tunnel duplication (Photo credit: Brisbane City Council)
Photo credit: Brisbane City Council
The group insisted that there was no need for the project, considering that they have not received any reports of issues concerning the existing tunnel. Space4cyclingBNE also said that people who take tunnel route have not experienced actual conflicts or have reported any risky behaviour.
There was one incident where a pedestrian was hit by a bicycle, but the advocacy group stressed that even the victim does not see a need for a duplicate tunnel.
The project was primarily intended to improve safety and capacity for cyclists and pedestrians using the Land Street tunnel. It was also planned to anticipate an increasing number of cyclists and pedestrians.
Because of the decision to not proceed with the project, Cr Schrinner assured that any unused funds will be allocated to other Better Bikeways for Brisbane projects by the council.
After competing against five other Catholic girls’ schools from across Brisbane, Toowong’s Stuartholme School took home the CaSSSA Cross Country championship for the second year.
Photo credit: Supplied
Stuartholme School’s Cross Country Team won big in the recently concluded CaSSSA Cross Country championships. The team’s hard work in training with cross country coach Chris Gale paid off as they won win first place in the 17 years, 16 years, 15 years, 14 years, and 13 years age categories and fifth place in the 12 years category.
Photo credit: Supplied
Mr Gale couldn’t be more proud as the team wins second place at the Percentage Cup and first place at the Aggregate Cup making them CaSSSA Cross Country 2018 Champions.
In their annual Cross-Country Launch on Sunday, 25 February 2018, the school was visited by former Olympic marathon runner Steve Moneghetti who also spent time with members of the Stuartholme cross country team during their training session.
Following Stuartholme cross country team’s winnings, Holly Robertson was named as Stuartholme Cross Country Runner of the Year during the Stuartholme Cross Country Presentations.
Photo credit: Supplied
Other awards recipients include Ema Stebbins, Harriet Williams, and Grace White who received five-year cross country merit awards.
Truly, the Stuartholme School cross country team has made their coach, school, and most importantly, their parents proud.
Unearth buried headstones in the Toowong Cemetery as part of the Archaeology Week happening on 24-26 May from 9:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m.
The cemetery is the largest in Queensland and is heritage-listed. The annual excavation event is made possible through the partnership of the University of Queensland and Friends of Toowong Cemetery. The event is designed to recover buried headstones from the North Brisbane Burial Grounds, which is currently the home of Suncorp Stadium.
On the last day of the excavations happening on a Saturday, families and residents are encouraged to attend and be part of the digging process. Who knows what you might discover?
To keep participants energised throughout the whole day, juice, smoothies, coffee and protein bars from Juice Power will be served. If you can’t make it in the morning, you are welcome to attend in the afternoon for a sausage sizzles, scavenger hunt that will begin at 4:00 p.m.
You can also get a chance to win a family pass to the Planetarium. After that, catch The Goonies for an outdoor screening at 6:00 p.m. at Canon Garland Place within the cemetery.
The Regatta Hotel will once again transform its loading zone into a festive venue for an exciting culinary and drinking event as the Laneway Vineyard returns on Friday, 25 May until Sunday, 27 May 2018.
Photo credit: Facebook/Laneway Vineyard
Featuring a premium selection of over 50 local and international wines, the event will offer guests a chance to partake of a selection of wine varietals with delicious gourmet food from the hotel’s restaurant The Boatshed.
Official Festival Launch Party
Friday, 25 May 2018 (6:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.)
The Official Festival Launch Party will be on Friday, 25 May 2018 and tickets are selling fast.
Photo credit: www.regattahotel.com.au
At a cost of $65 (plus a booking fee of $2.60), you get to be amongst the first ones to sample more than 50 wines that will be featured in the event coupled with unlimited gourmet bites from The Boatshed.
Tickets will be available until 2:00 p.m. on Friday.
Saturday, 26 May and Sunday, 27 May 2018 (2:00 p.m. – 10:00 p.m.)
Entry to the event on the weekend is free and live entertainment awaits festival goers.
Photo credit: www.regattahotel.com.au
Get a chance to savour the flavours of more than 50 international and local wines at Laneway Vineyard 2018. An array of perfectly pairings, gourmet delicacies prepared by The Boatshed, awaits.
Wine passports priced at $30 will allow you to sip up to ten samples of your favourite pours.
Photo credit: www.regattahotel.com.au
Guests can buy food and beverages throughout the day via the cash bar and all items in the menu will be available for $9 per serve.
Arriving through public transport is highly encouraged as the Toowong CityCat Ferry Terminal is located right out the front of the Regatta Hotel offering convenient access to the venue. Parking is pretty limited and offered only for a two-hour duration.
For more information and updates check the event’s Facebook page or the official Regatta Laneway Vineyard event page.
You may already have an idea of what to dispose and what to keep for theKerbside Collection Day 2018 in Toowong on the 21st of May, but there are still some things that you can do to make the collection day run as smooth as possible.
The Brisbane City Council has an app to provide you with information and tips on recycling and waste disposal. This app will also help you keep up-to-date with upcoming Kerbside Collection.
Photo credit: iTunes
The app includes a bin collection calendar that will allow you to input your address so you can get a customised one for you. You can also opt to activate the bin day remembers lest you forget.
To make recycling much easier, you can also browse through the alphabetical list of materials on the app. It also provides information on how to recycle or discard them.
The app also also includes information about the council’s waste facilities and optional notifications on free tipping days.
Here is a list of acceptable and unacceptable items that you can and can’t place by the kerb. Doing a second sweep at your items based on this before the collection day would be a wise move.
Keep in mind that there is a required pile size for items placed by the kerb. The size should not exceed two cubic meters.
Vera Street Community Garden has been actively conducting workshops that help Brisbane City Council in their efforts to cultivate greener communities. Consisting of locals and non-local residents, the association is dedicated to helping people establish and maintain organic vegetable garden beds for shared consumption and rehabilitating the Toowong Creek.
Tim Davies from All You Can Eat Gardens will be facilitating a hands-on workshop on making a no-dig garden out of recycled timber and compost from 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. on Sunday, 13 May 2018.
Photo credit: www.allyoucaneatgardens.com.au
No-dig gardens are an excellent way to transform wasted spaces into productive food gardens. This type of garden can be built on lawns, weeds, hardpan clay, and even on concrete. This workshop will show you how you can do it on your own.
Attendees will also learn the necessary skills to make their own raised bed at home.
Photo credit: www.allyoucaneatgardens.com.au
Tim Davies has been engaged with Permaculture and organic farming through woofing, teaching, and designing since 2008. His studies as an Environmental Engineer helped him develop his understanding of natural systems and design.
For those who want to attend the free event, call the Council on 3403 8888 to reserve your slot. Don’t forget to wear a hat, a long sleeve shirt, and closed in shoes during the event.
For Mother’s Day, treat your mum to a day of art appreciation at the Richard Randall Art Studio in Toowong. There will be a watercolour exhibition there from 9-13 May.
An artist-couple from Pinjarra Hills renowned for their excellence in watercolour, Nevand Barbara Logan will exhibit their beautiful works of art along some creations from their friends, Ferie Sadeghi from St Lucia, Yasaman Dehghan from Annerley and Samantha Mohtadi from Chermside.
Mr Logan is an award-winning artist who born in Brisbane. He is well-recognised for his various works of streets and building scenes. He describes his style as realist and impressionism.
The artworks will present local and overseas subjects whilst acrylic fabric collages by Ms Logan will be on display as well.
The schedule
Wednesday (9 May) – 12:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. Thursday to Sunday (10-13 May) – 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
This is also a great way to enjoy the Brisbane Botanic Gardens on the upcoming Mother’s Day weekend.
This is a FREE event.
Address: Richard Randall Art Studio, Mt Coot-tha Rd.
As part of Brisbane City Council’s Streets of Remembrance project, additional street sign upgrades have been seen in neighbourhoods across the city since 2015. This project does not only aim to honour those who have been part of the armed forces but also to raise community awareness and pride.
In the suburbs of Toowong and Auchenflower, there are several streets that have been upgraded as part of the council’s project.
Birdwood Terrace (Toowong & Auchenflower)
Both present in Toowong and Auchenflower, the street is a tribute to Lieutenant General Sir William Birdwood. He was a senior officer in Britain’s pre-1914 Indian Army and was later on appointed to the command of the Australian and New Zealand forces.
Haig Road (Auchenflower)
Field Marshall Douglas Haig, 1st Earl Haig, KT, GCB, OM, GCVO, KCIE, ADC commanded the 1st Army Corps of the British Expeditionary Force. He is also known for his take on machine guns and tanks as he thought they were overrated. He was the mastermind behind the campaign at Passchendaele in 1917 and the successful Allied advances on the Western Front in 1918.
Hobbs Street (Auchenflower)
Originally an architect in Perth, Lieutenant General Sir Joseph John Talbot Hobbs KCB, KCMG, VD, joined the volunteer artillery in 1893. From then on, he rose through the ranks. He was knighted in 1918 and 1919 and he was also awarded the Serbian Order of the White Eagle in 1917.
The Streets of Remembrance is an ongoing project and the council aims to identify more streets.
