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The Oondumbi people of the Turrbul Clan inhabited the area before the arrival of Europeans. They lived at a number of different sites which were used for food gathering, ceremonies, meetings, conflicts and burials.
The area now known as Dinah Island (within the Boondall Wetlands at Nudgee Beach) was a sacred burial ground. At least one Bora-ring was located in the Ward at the Nudgee Waterholes (near Childs Road).
In 1887 a Government appointed 'Protector of Aboriginals', rounded-up most of the Oondumbi people and transported them to Fraser Island.
The first free European settlement in Queensland was by 11 Lutheran missionaries and their families at German Station, (later Nundah) in 1838. They established themselves close to the major pathways to maximise their opportunities of converting the aborigines to Christianity. Their mission was named 'Zion Hill' (now the Walkers Way area at Toombul).
The missionary undertaking was largely unsuccessful, but many German families remained in the area taking up farming and giving rise to numerous German place names.
At that time, the area around Northgate Ward was heavily timbered and Kedron Brook was described as a 'fairy like stream'.
In 1842 Moreton Bay was fully opened to free settlers by the Queensland Government and the road from Brisbane to the north marked out. The settlers panned the gullies for gold, tilled the soil and fished the creeks for sustenance.
The early immigrants carried all their produce and supplies on their backs or by wheelbarrow, which fascinated the aborigines. Farmers used the land for dairy and pig farming and crops such as pineapples, grapes, corn, oats, peas, bananas and watermelons.
Over the next 50 years the Queensland Government actively recruited Europeans to immigrate. The programs in Great Britain and Germany were the most successful.
In 1849 the Childs family established a farm at Nudgee, initially growing potatoes and corn, and going on to establish the Toombul Vineyards in 1866. At that time, the Catholic Church owned 3000 acres of land between Nudgee and Nudgee Beach.
By the early 1970's agriculture had virtually disappeared from the Northgate Ward, being replaced by residential housing and industry .
For further information on history of the area, contact the Nundah and District Historical Society or the Noonga Reconciliation Group (Contact Ms Bev Hickey).
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