Bryant Constructions, the appointed contractor, has been mobilising on site and has been doing excavation and piling work for the foundations at the start of February. The ceremonial turning of the sod took place on Friday, the 17th, with Mark Bailey MP, Graham Perrett MP and Cr Nicole Johnston.
The actual construction will begin at the end of February with a projected completion date at the end of the year. Pandemic delays affected the development’s progress and planning between 2020 and 2021 after the demolition of the old TAFE site in 2019.
The Yeronga Community Centre is part of a Yeronga Priority Development Area spanning three hectares and covering Villa St and Park Rd. The location is close to the Yeronga State High School and accessible to the arterial road network, rail and bus services.
The two-storey venue will become the permanent home of the Annerley Stephens History Group and All Gauge Model Railway Club and will give access to valuable social and support services.
The activated site is only the first stage of the development as future plans will also include a housing complex, retail centre, children’s health centre and an aged-care facility.
Spring Bloom Art & Design Show, the popular biennial exhibition featuring the works of emerging local and renowned artists, marks its 48th year with another must-not-miss exhibition for art lovers. Over 200 original artworks will be on display at the two-day event at St Sebastian’s Primary School in Yeronga.
Brisbane’s best artisans in the field of 2D artwork, 3D sculpture, glass and ceramics, miniature work and jewellery making will showcase their work in interactive activities, demonstrations and creative stalls.
The Spring Bloom Art & Design Show Gala Evening is an event for adults on Saturday 10 Sept 2022, from 6:30p. p.m.and will be filled with quality art, music, auctions, raffles, food, and wine.
Tickets are $75 which includes an Osteria Epoca 3-course meal, two drinks and access to Art Show and Gala Jewellery Tent.
The Spring Bloom Art & Design Show Family Day on Sunday 11 Sept 2022, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. is a family-friendly fun day with art demonstrations, creative stalls, and interactive activities for all ages.
Beautiful artwork made by the children of St Sebastian’s will also be on display. Entry is a gold coin donation, with free and low-cost activities on offer as well as access to food vans and coffee.
Photo Credit: Supplied
This is a fundraiser for the school’s goals to procure equipment and technology, as well as enhance the classrooms’ teaching support and other general school improvements.
After the COVID disruptions in the last two years, the school community is looking forward to achieving its fundraising goals and reconnecting.
Did you know that a former TAFE site in Yeronga could be transformed into ‘Parkside Yeronga,’ a new mixed-use community development that will be carried over in four stages if approved?
Four private companies form part of the development, located on the corner of Park Road and Villa Street, which will provide residential, commercial and, recreational precincts to form the master-planned community under the Yeronga Priority Development Area.
The 3.3-hectare site will be divided among Brisbane Housing Company, JGL Properties, Children Health Queensland, and Retire Australia. Each consortium will then submit separate dedicated plans for Parkside Yeronga.
Photo Credit: Development Application/EDQ
The residential development consists of at least five separate blocks of multiple dwellings with a retirement and residential care facility. The commercial sites will have a childcare centre connected to a public plaza filled with shaded trees and vegetation, alongside the rest of the community facilities that may include a place of worship, offices, and healthcare establishments.
The plans also include a new home for the Yeronga Community Centre. Provisions for several pedestrian paths have also been considered in the proposal.
Photo Credit: Development Application/EDQ
“The proposal guides future development within the YPDA by prescribing various controls and subdividing the site to make it ‘construction ready’ for future developers,” as per the detailed plan submitted to the State Government in September 2021. (Application #DEV2021/1221)
“This involves establishing, four (4) precincts to spatially organise development and set land use expectations for a range of stakeholders, including MEDQ (the asset owner) and the community (the end users). This process ensures only primary land uses, and some secondary land uses (generally at a lower scale) are located consistently with the intent of the Development Scheme.”
Circle of Men is a not-for-profit charity that runs weekly companionship sessions for men in aged care facilities in Yeronga and other Brisbane sites. The initiative is trying to build its volunteer support so that more men, especially those with limited mobility, will feel less isolated.
Formed by Washuntara Roberts in Queensland nearly two decades ago, Circle of Men does 90-minute sessions at different care facilities, where the men share their life experiences and talk about simple and complex issues. Spearheaded by volunteer facilitators, the circle has helped the men deal with depression, grief, anger, loss, boredom, or fear.
Sessions begin with the men forming into a circle, where they are warmly welcomed by volunteers. Often this is by touch, be it a handshake or a hand on the shoulder, or sometimes through voice and eye contact. The meetings close with everyone having a great time cracking jokes, reminiscing & singing songs.
Photo Credit: Supplied
Kevin James experienced the challenges of recreating social connections after his retirement at 52 years old due to a chronic condition. After meeting Mr Roberts and learning about the circle, Mr James realised that isolation is an all-too-common problem faced by elderly men in aged care facilities around Australia.
“The work of Circle of Men is not only rewarding, but it is also synergistic, in that volunteers get back in return as much as they give, with huge mental health benefits for Residents & volunteers alike,” Mr James, who now heads the volunteer program, said.
“Many men enter an aged care facility as a last resort, after they’ve lost their health, mobility and final network of support, & for 90 minutes each week, Circle of Men volunteers break through that wall of isolation.”
Edible-looking backyard vegetable patches in Yeronga have high levels of toxic lead, according to a study published in the journal Environment International from the experts at Macquarie University.
The research found traces of lead in 19 percent of Brisbane’s backyard gardens with the highest readings in Yeronga and Holland Park. In one of the most extensive studies to be conducted in the country, Professor Mark Taylor’s team analysed 17,256 soil samples across 3,600 homes.
The experts learned that 35 percent of the soil samples exceeded the Australian guidelines for lead content at more than 300 milligrams per kilogram. Most of these soil samples were collected from old properties, inner-city locations, and areas with much traffic congestion.
Highlights
About 35 percent of backyard garden soil in Australia contains high levels of lead, based on a study from Macquarie University.
In Brisbane, Yeronga and Holland Park have the highest reading of traces of lead in the soil.
Experts at Macquarie University suggested workarounds for gardeners to prevent contamination.
Over time, a build-up of lead in the body, from eating contaminated produce, can bring serious health impacts, especially in children.
“The effects would include developmental delays, ADHD behaviours, increased irritability, and poorer executive functioning,” the experts noted in their research.
However, Prof Taylor said that they released the study to help gardeners find a workaround instead of discouraging the public to tend to a garden.
Photo Credit: Rene Bittner/Pixabay
The experts recommend planting on raised garden beds with clean and fresh soil using compost and mulch to lessen the amount of lead. Leafy green vegetables tend to absorb more of the soil’s content and if the gardeners are growing these in their backyard, consumption should be lessened among kids or pregnant women.
Thoroughly wash fruits and vegetables plucked from the backyard garden before eating. The play area for the children and animals should be far away from the vegetable patch so that contaminated soil cannot be transported inside the house.
Macquarie University runs a VegeSafe program to test the level of lead on the soil and they are encouraging residents to send soil samples if they want to know if the condition of their backyard garden.
Did you know that the WW1 Cenotaph at the Yeronga Memorial Park was erected one hundred years ago, in July 1921? To celebrate its centenary, a new memorial wall adjacent to the cenotaph will be unveiled.
Happening Saturday, 31 July 2021, the All Conflicts Memorial Wall dedication will take place at 10:00 a.m. near the Bridge Club and it’s open to the public. A special one-hour service will take place to honour all the men and women in all wars and conflicts who have bravely served and sacrificed their lives for the country.
Expected to attend the event are:
Lt Col Ross Thomas CO of 7CSSB, on behalf of the 7th Brigade Commanding Officer
Stephens Sub Branch, formed in 1922, is one of the oldest RSL Sub Branches in Brisbane and caters to the activities of various members of the Defence Force, including reservists, peacekeepers, National Servicemen, and veterans.
Meanwhile, the WW1 Cenotaph was originally designed by Sgt Henry Hayward Priest, a veteran of the Australian Imperial Force. His design was picked during a competition in 1919. Architect George Trotter Jr was tasked to improve the design during the construction phase.
Photo Credit: http://indicatorloops.com/yeronga/
“The form of the cenotaph could probably be described as a rotunda or pavilion. Not unique in Australia but a little unusual – it would have been very expensive for a small community. It’s a fine piece of work,” Professor John Stephens, a specialist in War Commemoration and Architectural History said.
The cenotaph underwent a major refurbishment in 2015.
Refurbishments at the Yeronga State School are underway at the existing Dental Building that will soon turn to more classrooms, a Resource Centre, and the new administration building.
In June 2021, members of the Yeronga State School P & C Association visited the construction site to check on the progress with Principal Eunice Webb and MP Mark Bailey. Construction work is expected to be completed before the end of 2021.
“The school has been growing at more young families move into the area and we need to make sure the students have the room they need to learn in a comfortable and modern learning environment,” Mr Bailey said.
Photo Credit: Yeronga State School/Facebook
Whilst the construction is ongoing, students did a project to discover the history of the Yeronga State School Dental Building and were surprised to learn that it used to be a farmhouse for chickens and cows.
“Some of the ideas for our future building are rather exciting! We are curious about what the future brings.”
The $8.5 million transformations has been made possible with funding from the State Government’s Renewing Our Schools program.
“As our state begins to recover from the COVID-19 global health pandemic we must continue to invest in school infrastructure to continue supporting local jobs,” Education Minister Grace Grace said.
“Since 2015, we have built and opened 13 new schools with another nine to be delivered in the next four years. Through the Renewing Our Schools program, we’re investing $235 million to upgrade education infrastructure across the State, delivering 44 projects at 26 state schools including new and refurbished learning spaces, multi-purpose halls and performing arts centres.”
The Paint Factory, a new venue that’s shaping up to become one of the biggest hotspots in the art community, provides local artists with avenues to create art in a free and spacious environment. The site has even become a focal point for Yeronga locals, with markets springing up alongside tours and other community events for people to take part in.
Purchased by the Brisbane-based developer Montague Developments in 2015, the site of The Paint Factory was developed by Stockwell in 2019 to become the thriving venue it is today. Invited artists are free to use the site, which is made up of a grand total of 34,000 square metres of old factories and offices, to broaden their horizons and work on a significantly larger scale.
Photo credit: Instagram/paint_factory_yeronga
One artist in particular, Gordon Hookey, had remarked that he was working on a large piece that required him to roll it up and unfurl it every time he worked on it before he was invited to come do his work at The Paint Factory. Now, he’s free to staple the canvas to giant walls and begin painting.
Gordon Hookey. Photo credit: Instagram/paint_factory_yeronga
As of June 2021, over 20 artists are now based in The Paint Factory, creating a small but tightly-knit community of local artists within the area where they’re free to make masterpieces with spaces to call their own. Photographers and filmmakers would flock to the site to take pictures and record in lively and artistic backdrops for music videos.
The Paint Factory Yeronga can be found at 115 Hyde Rd, Yeronga. For more information, visit their website here. Follow their social media pages on Facebook and Instagram for the latest updates and announcements concerning the factory and its artists.
Australia will soon have its very first fully integrated Arts Village in the Brisbane southside. Plans are being carried out to turn the old Taubmans factory in Hyde Road into a mixed-use residential and artist hive.
After years of discussing with the community, project manager Paul Hey said that they have come up with a better solution to develop the abandoned factory into The Paint Factory Art Village.
The proposal includes living spaces with art studios for the creatives, as well as an art gallery and event space, educational facilities, microbrewery and coffee roaster, gym and indoor rock-climbing space, artisan market with fresh produce pop-ups, florist and boutique nursery, and large well-manicured landscape and open spaces.
“Our vision is to revitalise the industrial factory buildings to create an integrated, mixed-use residential project with world-leading creative uses on the site in an open and industrial setting,” the project team stated on the official site.
“We will build on this opportunity to create a permanent address that features artists, art galleries, event space, artisans, microbrewers, market operators, coffee roasters, visual artists and other creative professionals, living and working on the site alongside stunning homes, artists-in-residences and large areas of open space.”
The arts village will take inspirations from Brisbane CBD’s The Powerhouse, the Abbotsford Convent in Victoria, the Alte-Spinnerei in Germany and the Wynwood Walls in Miami.
Photo Credit: The Paint Factory YerongaPhoto Credit: The Paint Factory Yeronga
Several artists have been using the Taubamans factory as a workspace since it closed more than five years ago. It has become an informal space for experimentation, sharing of ideas and receiving feedback from each other.
But the 3.4 hectares of land is part of an industrial zone, open to buildings, businesses and factories with more roads and access. The developer originally applied for rezoning the site as a residential area with more green, livable spaces but fewer roads and buildings.
Neighbouring businesses apparently opposed to the rezoning, while other locals prefer a community plan that will also consider the future infrastructure of Yeronga.
On 20 July 2020, the developer withdrew the original application and said it will resubmit plans for the Arts Village.
“Our future, revised development application will be an evolution from the current proposal which responds to the feedback received, particularly from Brisbane’s vibrant arts community for more dedicated creative and gallery spaces. We expect to lodge a new development application in coming weeks, which will include a residential component, along with other complementary artistic uses to regenerate the former industrial site,” Wolter Consulting Group stated.
July marks the return of the #PlasticFree challenge and if you’d like to be part of the solution to reduce plastic waste then make a quick trip to ReThink, the green store in Yeronga.
ReThink has a good selection of plastic-free, often used and consumable household items to stock up on, such as shampoo and conditioner, deodorant, hand wash, body lotion, laundry and dishwashing liquids, cleansing pads, toilet paper and even dog shampoo. If you want to lessen your use of plastic, then this store can help you make small but significant changes.
Products sold at ReThink are locally sourced and either unpacked for zero waste, or contained in reusable glass, which you can return to the store for recycling. The staff also provide valuable information and education for consumers who want to manage their waste more sustainably and better for the environment.
When you patronise ReThink, you’re not just helping local businesses thrive but you’re also supporting its workers. The store employs people with disabilities who make their place of work their social hub as well.
Founded by Dr Megan Ashcroft as a not-for-profit, volunteer-led social venture, ReThink opened in April 2019 and functions in collaboration with Community Plus Queensland.
Check their Facebook page for the store hours. ReThink also has an online store, so you can shop with ease from your home.
