The Brisbane Property Hotspots With Less than Glamourous Histories

You can’t even get close to these high demand suburbs now, but back in the day, they were on nobody’s hit list.

North Lakes

Now known as “Little Brittan” North Lakes is the biggest population hub in greater Brisbane and properties come with a premium price tag, despite smaller than average blocks.  All the mod cons, all the shops, all the must-do and must-dine locations, sit on what was once, a swamp.  Known by locals as “the swamp between Aspley and Caboolture, North Lakes underwent extensive drainage engineering to become the property hot spot it is today.

“I always check for subsidence when I do building inspections in North Lakes.  I haven’t found it to date but I remember when it was all wetlands” said one building inspector.

Chermside

Chermside’s chic apartments, big ticket shopping, health and wellness precincts and city-style suburban dining makes it the high demand HQ for northern Brisbane.  But once upon a time, Chermside was a dowdy “seniors village” playing second fiddle to the more affluent Wavell Heights and the more cosmopolitan Toombul Shopping Centre.  Oh how things change.

“I remember working at Chermside shopping centre in the early 1990s, it was a dark, dank little place with not much more than a supermarket and a few odd shops” said John from Salmon Plumbers Brisbane. 

Nudgee Beach

With just a handful of properties available, right on the waterfront and less than 15 kilometers from the city centre, Nudgee Beach is one of those “snapped up” suburbs where the demand far exceeds the supply.  But the water and park front mansions of modern Nudgee Beach are built on a much darker foundation.  In the early 20th century, Nudgee Beach was largely populated by the Romani community, and known locally as “Gypsie Town”.  At adjoining Cribb Island (now part of the Brisbane Airport), Brisbane’s poorest gathered in a poor but tight knit shanty town.

Brisbane’s suburbs boast a fascinating history and one that is often surprising to the current residents.  You could be sitting on a piece of history and not even know it.