Bridgeman

Henry St John Bridgeman lends his name to the suburb. He brought 378 acres in 1860 to the east of Albany Creek.
Important families in the region included the Beckett family, who lived in Beckett Road until 1914. The family was originally involved in mixed farming but from 1912 they raised pigs, which were sold to Huttons in Zillmere Road.
Peter Bilsen also lived in Beckett Road and grew pineapples, bananas, and small crops and ran a dairy. Dingoes decimated his calves and he had to lock up his stock nightly. Another dairy on that road was the ‘Tyghum Dairy’ run by Fred Drew. He was the first farmer in the area to install milking machines and he also built a concrete silo to store fodder crops (over 6 metres in height).
I.J. Williams was another successful farmer in he area. The Williams family bought property on Neville Road in 1908. he started out by working at Huttons smallgoods factory but gradually built up the farm using irrigation. He first irrigated by carrying water from the river using kerosene tins, but later installed a pump and pipes and used flood irrigation successfully. That irrigation was still in working order in the 1960’s.
He grew greens on the sunny side of the pineapples and cabbage on the shaded side. He went on to own five farms producing tons of lettuce, celery, cucumbers, beans, peas and rhubarb for the Brisbane market.
He introduced celery growing to Queensland from South Australia but was known as “The Lettuce King” and the small nondenominational church on Neville Road was donated by his family in 1930.
Just around the corner in northern Roghan Road, (opposite Travorten Estate), was the Fishle canning works, started in 1912 and still canning and exporting local produce of PawPaw, pineapple, beetroot under the brand name of ‘Hi Glow, Sunny sided ‘Q’ brands, in the 1960’s.

The Fishle brothers leased the Pinaroo Lawn Cemetery site from the Catholic Church and farmed small crops and produced honey from the 75 hives of bees. Others to lease from the Catholic Church included families Buse, Krause, Brannberger and Hulse.
Albany Creek and Bridgeman suburbs were the “produce” bowl for a century up to the 1960’s. Most of the high quality agricultural lands have given over to residential subdivisions.

In a country so rich in climate and rich soil, it’s a shame that our “no name brands” at the supermarket now contain more imported fruit and vegetable and contribute to the vast imbalance in our balance of trade.

Obviously Henry St John Bridgeman has the knack to buy good property when he saw it.

Peter Campbell Realty is your local agent with knowledge of Albany Creek and adjacent suburbs.

To Rent Buy or Sell in Bridgeman Downs – Phone Peter – 0418 774 663

TO RENT TO BUY TO SELL

Peter Campbell - 0418 774 663