2025 Brisbane Open House
20/07/2025
10.00AM - 11.30AM

If parks could talk, Victoria Park Barrambin would be able to spin a thousand yarns! Spend the morning in Brisbane’s green heart and discover the fascinating layers of this ancient parkland, from its profound First Nations connections to its diverse uses and transformations since European settlement. This tour offered a compelling look at the evolution of Brisbane’s largest inner-city parkland.

Highlights included:

• First Nations History of Barrambin: Explore the traditional importance of the area as a campground, meeting ground, and place of ceremony, including the cultural significance of the sacred waterhole at York’s Hollow. Understand the period of both connection and conflict post-European settlement.

• Modern History of Victoria Park: Discover the park’s evolution, including its early industrial uses, transformation into a public recreation reserve, and its role during significant socio-economic shifts.

• Barrambin’s Best Bits: Meander through the park’s rolling landscape while uncovering its special vegetation and colourful wildlife. From its towering pre-settlement trees to its iconic steep ridges, this park offers up some of the most breathtaking vistas of our subtropical city.

About Your Guides:
Dr Ray Kerkhove is a public historian and Adjunct Associate Professor with the University of Southern Queensland. He is the author of Aboriginal Campsites of Greater Brisbane and has produced numerous heritage reports for councils, museums, arts bodies, and Indigenous organisations on the Aboriginal history of Brisbane sites. His work includes the foundational research on Indigenous history that informed Brisbane City Council’s Victoria Park Master Plan. Bev Flutter is a long-time Spring Hill resident with deep knowledge of the park. Dr Neil Peach is a researcher in sustainable development who has contributed to recent heritage work related to Victoria Park, including the current state heritage submission under consideration by the Queensland Heritage Council. Sue Bremner is a local resident who has contributed to local initiatives that celebrate the park’s unique history and landscape.

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