A weird suburb. I know it so well. I have driven through Archerfield maybe over 500 times (maybe more). True story ---> in 2017 I use to take my little boy to the back of Rocklea (Dunn St)....industrial area and no reason anyone would go there, but they had cows in the paddocks along Dunns St and Donaldson Rd, and even near Harvey Norman at Oxley on Ipswich Road. Long story short - I got out of the car with my boy at the far end of Donaldson St one day (where it literally ends at QLD Urban Utlilities) and bumped into a guy herding the cows into a gate. I started chatting to the old man. After a minute he goes "you don't remember me do you?". I was like WTF. He goes " I remember you, you worked at Alphapharm at Carol Park in 2004. You were in IT". He was a courier driver and remembered me. Anyway, get this -----> his family owned ALL that empty land you see between Rocklea (Sherwood Road) and Oxley (along Ipswich Road). It must be 40-50-60 acres of land? His family owned it all. Imagine that - owning that much land in a major city in Australia that close to a city (albeit it was mainly low lying swamp land). People who've ever travelled along Sherwood Rd or Ipswich Road over the last 30-40+ years will know the area I'm talking about (all along the left and right hand side of Ipswich road at Rocklea and Oxley). He told me he's been in a long fight with the QLD Govt over property rights for the land...basically they were trying to screw him over. I felt sorry for him because I could only imagine the amount of legal crap he was going through. He actually said he had a breakthrough recently as a clerk from the Land Registry office contacted him and said "I have a copy of the original title deed with your grandfather's signature".
I have a lot of memories of Archerfield as we lived in Acacia Ridge and used to see the planes flying over all the time. One time a plane came down in Acacia Ridge and hit a house. The occupants were killed as well as one of the firemen who was flung off the truck in their haste to get there. We chased down on our pushbikes to see the wreck. We used to go to the speedway regularly and that was also a constant in our lives growing up in the sixties and seventies. Does anyone remember the big tar pit fires that happened from time to time? I moved not far away when I married and we still live under the circuit of the airfield. I even got my pilots licence back in the nineties, flying around the local area in a Piper Tomahawk or Warrior ( also called an Archer). It's sad the speedway moved off, no doubt due to noise complaints, but it never bothered us. Thanks again for the history lesson 👍🇦🇺
Yes I fully agree with you he is one hell of a good history teacher. I remember in primary school Goodna State School and Bundamba High School the only thing we were taught about history was india-china and other places like that nothing was never told about Australia it was like it was all hush hush.
My paternal family had a dairy farm on Kerry Rd exaclty where Hasting Deering is today. My father was born on site. In 1987 we had a Sims and Spring (we are two related families who built side by side) reunion which Channel 10 news came to cover. My family are proudly represented in Gods Little Acre. My great Uncle Steven ‘Doc’ Sims was an aircraft technition at Archerfield Aerodrome and I even had my wedding reception at the Aerodrome in 1991.
Archerfield is a very interesting area, I live a few suburbs away and see those jets fly over on a regular basis. There's a lot of WW2-era history to learn about. The remains of the Acacia Ridge Air Raid Shelter is located a few hundred metres away from the corner of Mortimer Road and Beatty Road. It was built in Carr's Quarry and is today mostly underwater. It was anticipated that it would provide protection against possible Japanese bombing raids. After the war it was used to dump surplus military equipment, of which some remnants were retrieved in 1992 when it was partially drained.
The loos remained largely intact until the mid 90’s. Before ‘renovation’ they were terrazzo tiled, with all original fittings and signage. Was a real pity to visit a few years ago and find that pretty much everything had been stripped out and ‘renovated.’ Great building and would be a fantastic restoration project to bring it back to its original deco internal and external state.
I have a lot of good memories of Archerfield Speedway as a young bloke ✊The Hastings Dearing shed you pointed out a friend of mine did his diesel fitter apprenticeship in that very shed😎. I actually did a bit of civil work out on the airfield a few years ago for a month or so. It was very interesting to learn a lot of their history and got to see the Albatross fighter take off and land up close .. And such an amazing view of the city , especially when you see the storms roll in over the city . 👌 great little Doco. Thank you
11:35 hey I work there :D The old hangars still use wooden support beams. I recall someone saying its the last aircraft hangar in qld to use wooden supports or something to that affect? Were not allowed to modify them in anyway as they're heritage listed. They're being used for maitenance on catapillar heavy machinary for the BNE and surrounding area :)
I used to go forage figs and Mangos off the old homestead trees when I lived nearer to forest lake! There is a history trail with signs posts on the Richland Station concourse.
Great video and information. My grandfathers brother is buried in Gods Acre cemetery, Stanley Hallett aged 7 months old in 1899. I assume my great grandparents knew the Greniers as they all lived at South Brisbane and must have moved in the same circles
I always enjoy your vids mate, always super interesting local content that most don't know about. May I suggest a doco on the Mayne Family in Brisbane? The literature on this family is fascinating and I think a walk around location vid would be pretty interesting. Ipswich also has plenty of history worth looking into IMO. Keep the content coming whatever you choose as I find it all interesting!
Thomas Grenier was my great great great Grandfather. From his house in Sth Brisbane where the Cultural Centre is today the explorer Ludwig Leichhardt departed on his fateful third journey in 1848 first asssembling on the Darling Downs then onroute to Perth, never to be heard of again. In memory of Ludwig a son born in 1854 was christened William Leichardt Grenier.
Hey Rob, Great Video Mate, I learnt to fly there in the 90s and have spent many hours in that terminal. I have wandered through that cemetery, but never did any research, The name Archerfield always intrigued me, but due the the dates and the nature of the business, I always presumed one of the (many) Archer brothers were involved. I was also there that a private company dug up the old sink holes looking for dumped WW2 aircraft, I don't think they found much. Looking forward to your next Sojourn. 😎
I grew up in Salisbury. Thought I knew Archerfield well but I never knew there was a cemetery there. We were told as kids that the sink hole full of water at Archerfield was bottom less and had lots of WW2 equipment thrown into it. My first job in 1971 was at Hastings Deering. Trying to learn about the giant computers they had and the punch cards with zeros and ones. I couldn’t get the hang of it then but now I am really into Mac computers etc. Funny old days.
Rob, great history as usual but you went to archerfield raceway but if you follow Mortimer rd back towards to acacia ridge is a fenced off quarry which is like a lake, that was drained sometimes in the 90's and they were pulling WW2 planes, guns etc where the US dumped them, and the odd dumped car back in the day. I say this because when we are in drought you can see where the Americans had bunkers there....
Remember it well, but i think 80s. i went there to see what they pulled out regularly but it got closed down because of the amount of explosives in the hole
The bunker consists of one main room with two entry points which each have a thick wooden door a couple of meters inside the actual entry which can be seen.
The recovery got closed down because the dude running it ran out of money. He pulled up some rusted bored out (destroyed) Machine Guns and aircraft parts and a couple of stolen cars a swell ... Including one the owner was tracked down, and he said he pushed it in himself lol ;) There were no 'Tommy Guns' or 'Whole planes' or 'explosives' found. The Oz in WW2 site did an extensive report on the recovery using old newspapers, tv and interviews.
Great research. Love your history lessons about the lesser known suburbs. I feel like they need to be captured and saved - by the State library maybe. I am sure some of your info isn’t as readily available in such a collated manner elsewhere.
Australian fighter ace Leslie Douglas (Les) Jackson flew with the No.23 Squadron based out of Archerfield before being moved to the No.75 Squadron (Port Moresby) where he'd rack up a bunch of kills under the command of his brother. His brother got shot down at the Battle of Port Moresby so command was given to Les who would then go on to lead the charge at the Battle of Milne Bay (racking up even more kills). He would become the first fighter ace of New Guinea, awarded the DFC and yea.. Brissy boy! Born in Newmarket, went to BGS, died in 1980 Southport!
my Amberley State School headmaster, Bill Belford, RAAF pilot, POW Burma Railroad, POW at Seganaski (near Nagasaki) and QLD Light Heavyweight boxing champion, Australian Golden Gloves champion and Australian Heavyweight crown holder, was reprimanded and suspended from flying and put on six months "Confined to Barracks" for flying low over the shop his sweetheart (and future wife) Joan worked at and mock dive bombing a local fishing ship, he flew out of Archerfield that day in a RAAF Tiger Moth
Our family home is in Spowers street just off Kerry road and desgrand st. I went to school in the blue catholic school building in Mortimer Road at the Beaudesert road intersection. The old quarry near the souths football field was part of the huge American airfield and used as a tip after the war. I vividly remember the detectives from Marooka coming to the school and flogging our tommy gun that a couple of us kids had dug out of the mud at the quarry. It was drained in the 1990's and dozens of machine guns were recovered. My dad and several friends worked at Hastings on kerry road.
I'm a Moorooka boy and we used to raid the quarry on our bikes (it was securely fenced off) for electrical parts and scrap metal in the fifties. The story I was told that all the left over spare parts and supplies from the hangers in Kerry Road were simply bulldozed into the quarry when the Americans left in 45. No attempt was ever made to cover the parts. The quarry slowly filled with water during the fifties and drowned the booty. The edges of the quarry were pure gold as the abandoned stores were simply pushed over the edge. You simply had to climb down the tip face to retrieve anything you wanted. Over the late fifties the quarry slowly filled. We used to scavenge for copper and stuff which we then sold off. Money was in short supply for us but we managed. The best of times.
@@walkaboutwithrob Looked ok to me. Hard to film with planes flying over lol. I worked at Awisco, a welding supply company, and did a lot of business with Hastings Deering. You work in the area, but don’t think about it’s history background.
The main terminal men's room door is interesting with Sir Charles Kingsford Smith, thanks for the behind the door look 😂 but was there a ladies room with someone on the door since you mentioned those 2 aviatrix Maude Bonney and Jean Batten. I have been so unaware of the Americans in Brisbane and surrounds during the war until watching your video's.
@Sandra Mackin there must be a ladies loo there somewhere but didn't notice it. And yes it'd be either Jean or Maude I'm guessing. Or the cat. Did you see the Battle of Brisbane video?
Hi Rob, I love your work. Any chance you can do something on the cattle drive from the area south of Greenbank to to Rocklea Markets via Teviot Rd and Paradise Rd. Now there is an army base on the original route. It also was part of the original coach route (Cobb and Co ????). I think the original Tavern is still there on Teviot Rd (crnr of Tyson), but just a house now.
Great video Rob. It's worth mentioning that the speedway will have its last ever race on June 2nd this year and will become no more than a memory thereafter :(
Thanks Rob Didn’t think old Archerfield would be so interesting and surprising! My son lives at Richlands so it was amazing to hear it was part of a pastoral station. When he bought his off the plan townhouse a few years ago the surrounding land was market gardens which are now new housing estates. He can hear the Speedway at night but that has been sold and is closing this year ..
I am in Richlands too. My italian aunty grew up on a farm on old progress road, which is still being farmed! there is a memorial to the Italian Settler's in the old school grounds.
I find the size of suburbs fascinating. I've long felt that Redland Bay must be one of the biggest in the south-east. It just goes on and on and on. Apparently, it's 52.4 square kilometres.
Opposite the airport there is a paddock with a pond in the middle of it. Rumours are nobody seen the bottom of it and at the end of World War 2 a lot of the military equipment including tanks cars and trucks was pushed over the edge into the hole. I was born in 1964 living in a place called Camira. I remember in the late 60s and the early 70s they had light aircraft and used to have a race from Archerfield to Amberley and back there was some 60 to 70 aircraft flying.
Damn that aircraft race woukd have been awesome to see. With regards to the bottomless pit, its called Carr's Quarry....they made it into a airshelter during ww2, so I would say the bottom was known before they filled it with a natural spring...FWIW, I got this info of BBC site. I honestly thought that hole was some type of sink-hole....they say once they filled it with water the locals use to swim in it.
I grew up in Acacia ridge and as a kid we would ride our bikes to that sink hole and the fence was always cut someone where as kids and we would swim there…
My grandma lived in coopers Plains from the mid 50s until she passed in 2018. I lived in acacia Ridge as a kid in the 90s they drained in when I was a kid and found all that and more.
Wow so much history with the airport, amazing, especially when I drive past there frequently and had no idea. Thanks for informing me and others. Great vid and keep up the great work 👍
The Southern Cross plane is on display opposite the International BNE Airport ... corner of the roundabout. It's in a glass wall and tricky to drive into car park ... I believe that's the case, otherwise ppl would use it as a waiting spot for arrivals.
Hi Rob . Did you ever find any thing about the large hole across the road from the airport . It's been said for years that the Yank's used it as an equipment dump site . Thanks for the Vid mate .
Rumours persisted for years that it was amongst other things a secret entry to underground bunkers, and where surplus WW2 equipment was dumped in 1945-46. There were even supposed to be crates of Harley Davidson motorcycles that were shipped to Brisbane but never assembled. I can't recall which year (mid 1980s?) when they pumped out the water and put on display found items. A couple of stolen motorbikes and bicycles were found, but nothing of great value.
There is a system of tunnels that link the hangers on the air field to the maintenance hangers on Kerry Road. one of the entrances is in the water hole on Mortimer
Really great video, I knew nothing about this area other than my uncle and cousins used to race at the Speedway early 80's. You have a real knack/gift for making these videos interesting 😊
@shelleigh5993 thanks! I knew virtually nothing about the Archerfield area either until I began investigating it. Local history can be a rather dry subject for some, so I just try to include as many different things in them as possible. Keep them moving and entertaining.
I have seen a few of your videos now (only recently found your page, I lived in Kingston in the 80s and 90s) and have noticed you look up when an aircraft flys overhead. Are you an aviator?
Yeah it's sad for many people, but nobody can deny that as a grassroots racetrack it attracted the WORST illegal hooning behaviour to the area and it was never policed adequately. At least now it will be an overall benefit to society as an e-commerce warehouse (or whatever they make it).
Rob did you know that Archerfield is the airport the "Stinson" airplane took off from and was lost over the Mac Phearson ranges on the Border and survivors found by Bernard O'Reilly 14 days later
Slight correction, he found them on the 10th day. If you haven't already, the Jack Thomson film about it "Riddle of the Stinson" is well worth watching and the mock up full size Stinson in it is the one that now sits out the front of Oreilly's guesthouse. th-cam.com/video/lk6XcvbIF1Y/w-d-xo.html
@@paulh4691 thanks for the correction op the amount of days, i wasnt quite sure, i have the book and the DVD both interesting and Jack Thompson did an excellent job in the movie
In the 70’s I would sit in the long grass near the edge of the runways. Got chased by security many times. Also made pocket money picking up cans to recycle at the speedway after race nights… simpler times
The idiots got rid of the original chrome art deco furniture from the waiting room. It was there in the 1970s as i used to wait there and smoke in what was an elegant space. . .
Hey Rob, Great Video Mate, I learnt to fly there in the 90s and have spent many hours in that terminal. I have wandered through that cemetery, but never did any research, The name Archerfield always intrigued me, but due the the dates and the nature of the business, I always presumed one of the (many) Archer brothers were involved. I was also there that a private company dug up the old sink holes looking for dumped WW2 aircraft, I don't think they found much. Looking forward to your next Sojourn. 😎
@@utubetrutharrowmichael-and9105 The blue car is mine and I parked well away from the trailer. Additionally, I was there for all of fifteen minutes to get the shot, then I left. If the truck had arrived to carry the trailer away during that fifteen minutes I would of course moved my car.
@@walkaboutwithrob thats funny I didn't even click that that was your blue car as I've been going to make a joke that there's a blue car flowing you in the Rathdowney and other videos 😂 but yeah it's totally in the way out of truck when a hook back up is what it is
@steviev1422 thanks for the passive-aggressive comment. Let me respond in kind. Ms Ball was mentioned as she had a conveniently appropriate surname that reflected her role as a PE teacher. (Following so far?) And I only put in the peeing bit to piss you off. Glad it worked! And no, not to much sun. Just a love of life and exploration and creativity. Anything else?
Another great video Rob. The US Army Air Corp 5th Air Force landed P-40's flown from the US in 1942 at Archerfield. I know the 7th Fighter Pursuit Squadron was one of them, named "The Screaming Demons" and had a squadron insignia of a Demons face. Some of the aircraft that fly up from Sydney's Bankstown airport didn't make, from memory 2 got lost and 2 crash landed. The details I'd have to look up but they were the first US military unit to occupy the air field in WW2 until they moved north to Darwin to help the RAAF fight off Japanese attacking aircraft and launch raids on Rabaul from FNQ/NT. You might find the history behind Hanger 7 and Eagle Farm really interesting with regards to WW2 history. A lot of enemy aircraft were reverse engineered there and test flown with stories of jumpy anti-aircraft gunners often taking pot shots at these aircraft and many USAAF aircraft being assembled there. The Ford factory just south of the airfield assembled aircraft, Jeeps and landing barges that were then floated down a canal to the Brisbane River near the US Navy Catalina float plane base which I believe is mow the international cruise terminal area. Anyway....get onto Peter Dunn and check out his website Oz at War ( www.ozatwar.com) as he's got a massive amount of WW2 history of not only Brisbane and SEQ but Australia as a whole.
A weird suburb. I know it so well. I have driven through Archerfield maybe over 500 times (maybe more).
True story ---> in 2017 I use to take my little boy to the back of Rocklea (Dunn St)....industrial area and no reason anyone would go there, but they had cows in the paddocks along Dunns St and Donaldson Rd, and even near Harvey Norman at Oxley on Ipswich Road. Long story short - I got out of the car with my boy at the far end of Donaldson St one day (where it literally ends at QLD Urban Utlilities) and bumped into a guy herding the cows into a gate. I started chatting to the old man. After a minute he goes "you don't remember me do you?". I was like WTF. He goes " I remember you, you worked at Alphapharm at Carol Park in 2004. You were in IT". He was a courier driver and remembered me.
Anyway, get this -----> his family owned ALL that empty land you see between Rocklea (Sherwood Road) and Oxley (along Ipswich Road). It must be 40-50-60 acres of land? His family owned it all. Imagine that - owning that much land in a major city in Australia that close to a city (albeit it was mainly low lying swamp land). People who've ever travelled along Sherwood Rd or Ipswich Road over the last 30-40+ years will know the area I'm talking about (all along the left and right hand side of Ipswich road at Rocklea and Oxley). He told me he's been in a long fight with the QLD Govt over property rights for the land...basically they were trying to screw him over. I felt sorry for him because I could only imagine the amount of legal crap he was going through. He actually said he had a breakthrough recently as a clerk from the Land Registry office contacted him and said "I have a copy of the original title deed with your grandfather's signature".
I have a lot of memories of Archerfield as we lived in Acacia Ridge and used to see the planes flying over all the time. One time a plane came down in Acacia Ridge and hit a house. The occupants were killed as well as one of the firemen who was flung off the truck in their haste to get there. We chased down on our pushbikes to see the wreck. We used to go to the speedway regularly and that was also a constant in our lives growing up in the sixties and seventies. Does anyone remember the big tar pit fires that happened from time to time? I moved not far away when I married and we still live under the circuit of the airfield. I even got my pilots licence back in the nineties, flying around the local area in a Piper Tomahawk or Warrior ( also called an Archer). It's sad the speedway moved off, no doubt due to noise complaints, but it never bothered us. Thanks again for the history lesson 👍🇦🇺
😀 I actually get excited nowadays when I've seen that you've posted, Rob. You're the best history teacher I've ever had. Good stuff 😁👍🏼👍🏼
@Shellie Savoie What a lovely compliment! I really appreciate it. I'll keep trying harder to make better videos.
Yes I fully agree with you he is one hell of a good history teacher.
I remember in primary school Goodna State School and Bundamba High School the only thing we were taught about history was india-china and other places like that nothing was never told about Australia it was like it was all hush hush.
My paternal family had a dairy farm on Kerry Rd exaclty where Hasting Deering is today. My father was born on site. In 1987 we had a Sims and Spring (we are two related families who built side by side) reunion which Channel 10 news came to cover. My family are proudly represented in Gods Little Acre. My great Uncle Steven ‘Doc’ Sims was an aircraft technition at Archerfield Aerodrome and I even had my wedding reception at the Aerodrome in 1991.
Archerfield is a very interesting area, I live a few suburbs away and see those jets fly over on a regular basis. There's a lot of WW2-era history to learn about. The remains of the Acacia Ridge Air Raid Shelter is located a few hundred metres away from the corner of Mortimer Road and Beatty Road. It was built in Carr's Quarry and is today mostly underwater. It was anticipated that it would provide protection against possible Japanese bombing raids. After the war it was used to dump surplus military equipment, of which some remnants were retrieved in 1992 when it was partially drained.
I recommend walking the new ARCHERFIELD WETLANDS trail, off Bowhill Road, which is part of the Oxley Creek Wetlands Masterplan.
The loos remained largely intact until the mid 90’s. Before ‘renovation’ they were terrazzo tiled, with all original fittings and signage. Was a real pity to visit a few years ago and find that pretty much everything had been stripped out and ‘renovated.’ Great building and would be a fantastic restoration project to bring it back to its original deco internal and external state.
I have a lot of good memories of Archerfield Speedway as a young bloke ✊The Hastings Dearing shed you pointed out a friend of mine did his diesel fitter apprenticeship in that very shed😎. I actually did a bit of civil work out on the airfield a few years ago for a month or so. It was very interesting to learn a lot of their history and got to see the Albatross fighter take off and land up close .. And such an amazing view of the city , especially when you see the storms roll in over the city .
👌 great little Doco. Thank you
Really enjoyed this episode, I live in Salisbury so I am very familiar with the area. Love the history of this side of Brisbane.
Another good video mate, your research as always is too notch
11:35 hey I work there :D
The old hangars still use wooden support beams. I recall someone saying its the last aircraft hangar in qld to use wooden supports or something to that affect? Were not allowed to modify them in anyway as they're heritage listed. They're being used for maitenance on catapillar heavy machinary for the BNE and surrounding area :)
I used to go forage figs and Mangos off the old homestead trees when I lived nearer to forest lake!
There is a history trail with signs posts on the Richland Station concourse.
love your work, your videos make me homesick for Brissy
Where do you call home now?
Another great video Rob :) Well done 👍
Great video and information. My grandfathers brother is buried in Gods Acre cemetery, Stanley Hallett aged 7 months old in 1899. I assume my great grandparents knew the Greniers as they all lived at South Brisbane and must have moved in the same circles
I always enjoy your vids mate, always super interesting local content that most don't know about. May I suggest a doco on the Mayne Family in Brisbane? The literature on this family is fascinating and I think a walk around location vid would be pretty interesting. Ipswich also has plenty of history worth looking into IMO. Keep the content coming whatever you choose as I find it all interesting!
@Mongrel Jack's Adventure Time! I have certainly thought about a video of the Mayne's. If I can find a new angle to it, I'll definitely do it.
That look at Archerfield was brilliant! Well done Rob!
Speedway and drift track are sadly closing in may, believe it was sold😢
Thomas Grenier was my great great great Grandfather. From his house in Sth Brisbane where the Cultural Centre is today the explorer Ludwig Leichhardt departed on his fateful third journey in 1848 first asssembling on the Darling Downs then onroute to Perth, never to be heard of again. In memory of Ludwig a son born in 1854 was christened William Leichardt Grenier.
………maybe 1848?
@@elizabethroberts6215 I'm only a 100 years out. Corrected . ha ha.
Hey Rob, Great Video Mate, I learnt to fly there in the 90s and have spent many hours in that terminal. I have wandered through that cemetery, but never did any research, The name Archerfield always intrigued me, but due the the dates and the nature of the business, I always presumed one of the (many) Archer brothers were involved. I was also there that a private company dug up the old sink holes looking for dumped WW2 aircraft, I don't think they found much. Looking forward to your next Sojourn. 😎
I grew up in Salisbury. Thought I knew Archerfield well but I never knew there was a cemetery there. We were told as kids that the sink hole full of water at Archerfield was bottom less and had lots of WW2 equipment thrown into it. My first job in 1971 was at Hastings Deering. Trying to learn about the giant computers they had and the punch cards with zeros and ones. I couldn’t get the hang of it then but now I am really into Mac computers etc. Funny old days.
Really good as l grew up in Acacia Ridge, was hoping you would of mentioned the history of the body of water near the airfield.
Yes, 'The Quarry', I learnt to swim there at 13, my mates would throw me in then haul me out until I could manage on my own, ah childhood memories.
Great work again Rob. Very informative. I often wondered about the history of the area. Thanks so much. :)
I grew up in Acacia ridge and know Archerfield very well, have you done history of Acacia ridge! Would love to see my old suburb,
Thanks for this. I grew up in Coopers Plains so was somewhat familiar with Archerfield's history, but you've filled in the gaps for me.
@Tina Jenkins thank you!
Thank you very much Rob, another very informative video✈️
Excellent video, very well put together.
Your channel is awesome Rob 👌 great information and content
As a new arrival to SEQ have watched a number of your videos. So much interesting and valuable information. Keep up the wonderful work please.
Welcome aboard!
Was at the airport lounge just recently -glad you did this too!
A good video. Thanks Rob.
Champion work!
Follow up question: can anyone request access up to the viewing platform at the Archerfield airport?
Very well done. Lots of history and would make an excellent video around the Evans Rd area.
boyish smile when seeing the jet
Rob, great history as usual but you went to archerfield raceway but if you follow Mortimer rd back towards to acacia ridge is a fenced off quarry which is like a lake, that was drained sometimes in the 90's and they were pulling WW2 planes, guns etc where the US dumped them, and the odd dumped car back in the day. I say this because when we are in drought you can see where the Americans had bunkers there....
Remember it well, but i think 80s. i went there to see what they pulled out regularly but it got closed down because of the amount of explosives in the hole
The bunker consists of one main room with two entry points which each have a thick wooden door a couple of meters inside the actual entry which can be seen.
We used to jump off the bunker and swim there as kids, remember it well.
@@shmick4203 thanks for sharing....so hole isn't that deep?
The recovery got closed down because the dude running it ran out of money. He pulled up some rusted bored out (destroyed) Machine Guns and aircraft parts and a couple of stolen cars a swell ... Including one the owner was tracked down, and he said he pushed it in himself lol ;) There were no 'Tommy Guns' or 'Whole planes' or 'explosives' found. The Oz in WW2 site did an extensive report on the recovery using old newspapers, tv and interviews.
Great research. Love your history lessons about the lesser known suburbs. I feel like they need to be captured and saved - by the State library maybe. I am sure some of your info isn’t as readily available in such a collated manner elsewhere.
@Wendy Brealey all the information is out there, it's just a matter of finding it and wrenching it out of the record-keepers.
Australian fighter ace Leslie Douglas (Les) Jackson flew with the No.23 Squadron based out of Archerfield before being moved to the No.75 Squadron (Port Moresby) where he'd rack up a bunch of kills under the command of his brother.
His brother got shot down at the Battle of Port Moresby so command was given to Les who would then go on to lead the charge at the Battle of Milne Bay (racking up even more kills).
He would become the first fighter ace of New Guinea, awarded the DFC and yea.. Brissy boy! Born in Newmarket, went to BGS, died in 1980 Southport!
@moist_nana very interesting. Thank you for sharing this.
@@walkaboutwithrob No worries, love your vids m8
my Amberley State School headmaster, Bill Belford, RAAF pilot, POW Burma Railroad, POW at Seganaski (near Nagasaki) and QLD Light Heavyweight boxing champion, Australian Golden Gloves champion and Australian Heavyweight crown holder, was reprimanded and suspended from flying and put on six months "Confined to Barracks" for flying low over the shop his sweetheart (and future wife) Joan worked at and mock dive bombing a local fishing ship, he flew out of Archerfield that day in a RAAF Tiger Moth
Our family home is in Spowers street just off Kerry road and desgrand st. I went to school in the blue catholic school building in Mortimer Road at the Beaudesert road intersection. The old quarry near the souths football field was part of the huge American airfield and used as a tip after the war. I vividly remember the detectives from Marooka coming to the school and flogging our tommy gun that a couple of us kids had dug out of the mud at the quarry. It was drained in the 1990's and dozens of machine guns were recovered. My dad and several friends worked at Hastings on kerry road.
I'm a Moorooka boy and we used to raid the quarry on our bikes (it was securely fenced off) for electrical parts and scrap metal in the fifties. The story I was told that all the left over spare parts and supplies from the hangers in Kerry Road were simply bulldozed into the quarry when the Americans left in 45. No attempt was ever made to cover the parts. The quarry slowly filled with water during the fifties and drowned the booty. The edges of the quarry were pure gold as the abandoned stores were simply pushed over the edge. You simply had to climb down the tip face to retrieve anything you wanted. Over the late fifties the quarry slowly filled. We used to scavenge for copper and stuff which we then sold off. Money was in short supply for us but we managed. The best of times.
Awesome. General Mac Arthur also built other bases around Brisbane.
Very interesting history. Worked in the Archerfield area for many years.
@Julie Schipplock thanks! Was a difficult video to make but it turned out ok.
@@walkaboutwithrob Looked ok to me. Hard to film with planes flying over lol. I worked at Awisco, a welding supply company, and did a lot of business with Hastings Deering. You work in the area, but don’t think about it’s history background.
Parts of the 2017 movie "Australia Day" were filmed on the street you pan up at 12:25. I lived just around the corner at the time.
I enjoyed the video, thanks. Just commenting to boost the algorithm.
The main terminal men's room door is interesting with Sir Charles Kingsford Smith, thanks for the behind the door look 😂 but was there a ladies room with someone on the door since you mentioned those 2 aviatrix Maude Bonney and Jean Batten. I have been so unaware of the Americans in Brisbane and surrounds during the war until watching your video's.
@Sandra Mackin there must be a ladies loo there somewhere but didn't notice it. And yes it'd be either Jean or Maude I'm guessing. Or the cat. Did you see the Battle of Brisbane video?
@@walkaboutwithrob yes her cat in the plane and yes watched the Battle of Brisbane video. Interesting historical facts to know now.
Hi Rob, I love your work. Any chance you can do something on the cattle drive from the area south of Greenbank to to Rocklea Markets via Teviot Rd and Paradise Rd. Now there is an army base on the original route. It also was part of the original coach route (Cobb and Co ????). I think the original Tavern is still there on Teviot Rd (crnr of Tyson), but just a house now.
My father and his mate rode in that. He lives in North Maclean down the road still today
@v6hilux I've been compiling notes for a Greenbank video...
Great video Rob. It's worth mentioning that the speedway will have its last ever race on June 2nd this year and will become no more than a memory thereafter :(
Another brilliant documentary!
Also there was a matching ground control tower which toped the racy art deco terminal.
Very informative as usual, cheers Rob...
I live very close to Archerfield and loved the history
Another excellent video Rob of a near by suburb of Brisbane.
👍👍 once again great research Rob
Thanks Rob Didn’t think old Archerfield would be so interesting and surprising! My son lives at Richlands so it was amazing to hear it was part of a pastoral station. When he bought his off the plan townhouse a few years ago the surrounding land was market gardens which are now new housing estates. He can hear the Speedway at night but that has been sold and is closing this year ..
I am in Richlands too. My italian aunty grew up on a farm on old progress road, which is still being farmed! there is a memorial to the Italian Settler's in the old school grounds.
Hey Rob, would you please do a video on Fitzgibbon, the smallest suburb in Brisbane, thanks.
Actually Petrie Terrace is the smallest suburb, then comes Gordon Park.
@walkaboutwithrob oh really, Bald Hills & Strathpine are also old suburbs that need exploration.
I find the size of suburbs fascinating. I've long felt that Redland Bay must be one of the biggest in the south-east. It just goes on and on and on. Apparently, it's 52.4 square kilometres.
No mention of the bunker?
Across the road on the Mortimer street junction, toward the dog park & souths?
Pretty interesting mate! i grew up in Acacia Ridge.
Opposite the airport there is a paddock with a pond in the middle of it. Rumours are nobody seen the bottom of it and at the end of World War 2 a lot of the military equipment including tanks cars and trucks was pushed over the edge into the hole. I was born in 1964 living in a place called Camira. I remember in the late 60s and the early 70s they had light aircraft and used to have a race from Archerfield to Amberley and back there was some 60 to 70 aircraft flying.
I'd believe it I grew up near a place that had a rumour similar and people actually found WWII motorbikes in the hole
Damn that aircraft race woukd have been awesome to see. With regards to the bottomless pit, its called Carr's Quarry....they made it into a airshelter during ww2, so I would say the bottom was known before they filled it with a natural spring...FWIW, I got this info of BBC site. I honestly thought that hole was some type of sink-hole....they say once they filled it with water the locals use to swim in it.
I grew up in Acacia ridge and as a kid we would ride our bikes to that sink hole and the fence was always cut someone where as kids and we would swim there…
My grandma lived in coopers Plains from the mid 50s until she passed in 2018. I lived in acacia Ridge as a kid in the 90s they drained in when I was a kid and found all that and more.
Great video Rob!
Wow so much history with the airport, amazing, especially when I drive past there frequently and had no idea. Thanks for informing me and others.
Great vid and keep up the great work 👍
@BeardeDragon77 Thanks indeed for the feedback. There's history literally everywhere and I just love digging a little deeper to find it.
Loved it ..thanku xx
The Southern Cross plane is on display opposite the International BNE Airport ... corner of the roundabout. It's in a glass wall and tricky to drive into car park ... I believe that's the case, otherwise ppl would use it as a waiting spot for arrivals.
i used to work across the road from there and lived up the road at rocklea
……had a Xmas DEO job at CIG from 1983 to 1991 inclusive. It was a fab job, with great work colleagues’………
How and when did Eagle Farm take back over as Brisbane's Primary Airport?
I see that single engine jet flying over my work most days.
Hi Rob . Did you ever find any thing about the large hole across the road from the airport . It's been said for years that the Yank's used it as an equipment dump site . Thanks for the Vid mate .
Oh wow! Anyone else with news about that?
Rumours persisted for years that it was amongst other things a secret entry to underground bunkers, and where surplus WW2 equipment was dumped in 1945-46. There were even supposed to be crates of Harley Davidson motorcycles that were shipped to Brisbane but never assembled. I can't recall which year (mid 1980s?) when they pumped out the water and put on display found items. A couple of stolen motorbikes and bicycles were found, but nothing of great value.
When the water is low enough you can see the entrance to whatever it was
There is a system of tunnels that link the hangers on the air field to the maintenance hangers on Kerry Road. one of the entrances is in the water hole on Mortimer
Cheers Cliff. That would explain why they wiil not build anything heavy on there. I do prefer the mystery though 😀👍
You survived Forest Lake. Well done!
Really great video, I knew nothing about this area other than my uncle and cousins used to race at the Speedway early 80's. You have a real knack/gift for making these videos interesting 😊
@shelleigh5993 thanks! I knew virtually nothing about the Archerfield area either until I began investigating it. Local history can be a rather dry subject for some, so I just try to include as many different things in them as possible. Keep them moving and entertaining.
@walkaboutwithrob you most certainly make them both interesting and entertaining, so Thank you!
I have seen a few of your videos now (only recently found your page, I lived in Kingston in the 80s and 90s) and have noticed you look up when an aircraft flys overhead. Are you an aviator?
R.I.P Archerfield speedway
speedway is now closed and Im glad coz as a shift worker in that area we don't get hoons coming around in the wet no more thrashing their cars.
Yeah it's sad for many people, but nobody can deny that as a grassroots racetrack it attracted the WORST illegal hooning behaviour to the area and it was never policed adequately. At least now it will be an overall benefit to society as an e-commerce warehouse (or whatever they make it).
Now that's what I call a top video... Is Caboolture on your list ???????
@midnightrambler6018 thanks! And yes, am most keen to explore Caboolture!
RIP Archerfield Speedway 2023 :( I was surprized you did mention the Carr's Quarry / Air Raid Shelter
Sad to see the Archerfield speed way closes in May this year new owners flatting whole land
Rob did you know that Archerfield is the airport the "Stinson" airplane took off from and was lost over the Mac Phearson ranges on the Border and survivors found by Bernard O'Reilly 14 days later
Slight correction, he found them on the 10th day. If you haven't already, the Jack Thomson film about it "Riddle of the Stinson" is well worth watching and the mock up full size Stinson in it is the one that now sits out the front of Oreilly's guesthouse. th-cam.com/video/lk6XcvbIF1Y/w-d-xo.html
@@paulh4691 thanks for the correction op the amount of days, i wasnt quite sure, i have the book and the DVD both interesting and Jack Thompson did an excellent job in the movie
@@bigcarle Yep me too👍 good movie and O'reilly's Green Mountains book is a great read
……took a scenic flight on a DC-3 in 1960, from Archerfield Aerodrome…………
Was the time to be alive❤
Man, you forgot about Gil Layt, might be recent history but he was a massive part of Archerfield
In the 70’s I would sit in the long grass near the edge of the runways. Got chased by security many times. Also made pocket money picking up cans to recycle at the speedway after race nights… simpler times
The idiots got rid of the original chrome art deco furniture from the waiting room. It was there in the 1970s as i used to wait there and smoke in what was an elegant space. . .
My kindergarten teacher was a Miss Byrd or Bird.
👌
Hey Rob, Great Video Mate, I learnt to fly there in the 90s and have spent many hours in that terminal. I have wandered through that cemetery, but never did any research, The name Archerfield always intrigued me, but due the the dates and the nature of the business, I always presumed one of the (many) Archer brothers were involved. I was also there that a private company dug up the old sink holes looking for dumped WW2 aircraft, I don't think they found much. Looking forward to your next Sojourn. 😎
At 0:44 I’m pretty sure I saw my mums car
Didn't I say it was going to be a good one?
@Daniel Warnock I almost believe you! 😆😁
PLANES!!!!!
8:10 👁👃👁 spare a thought for the b double driver with this car parking under his trailer .... wonder why we get the SHIT's
I don't see any car parked under the trailer
@@walkaboutwithrob the blue one cob I can't see a Prime movie being able to hook up again either
Not shiting on you cob love your local insight
@@utubetrutharrowmichael-and9105 The blue car is mine and I parked well away from the trailer. Additionally, I was there for all of fifteen minutes to get the shot, then I left. If the truck had arrived to carry the trailer away during that fifteen minutes I would of course moved my car.
@@walkaboutwithrob thats funny I didn't even click that that was your blue car as I've been going to make a joke that there's a blue car flowing you in the Rathdowney and other videos 😂 but yeah it's totally in the way out of truck when a hook back up is what it is
Traditional custodians the British
Yeah top work mate, true, but don't need to see you pee (again), and wtf has Ms Ball got to do with it?
..too much sun bro? :)
@steviev1422 thanks for the passive-aggressive comment. Let me respond in kind. Ms Ball was mentioned as she had a conveniently appropriate surname that reflected her role as a PE teacher. (Following so far?) And I only put in the peeing bit to piss you off. Glad it worked! And no, not to much sun. Just a love of life and exploration and creativity. Anything else?
Goon.
Hopefully he adds the odd pee in every few episodes just for you. Also the Ball joke was spot on, maybe you had too much of something?
@@walkaboutwithrob Keep peeing!
Everyone does it, even if some like to pretend that they don't!
Another great video Rob. The US Army Air Corp 5th Air Force landed P-40's flown from the US in 1942 at Archerfield. I know the 7th Fighter Pursuit Squadron was one of them, named "The Screaming Demons" and had a squadron insignia of a Demons face. Some of the aircraft that fly up from Sydney's Bankstown airport didn't make, from memory 2 got lost and 2 crash landed. The details I'd have to look up but they were the first US military unit to occupy the air field in WW2 until they moved north to Darwin to help the RAAF fight off Japanese attacking aircraft and launch raids on Rabaul from FNQ/NT.
You might find the history behind Hanger 7 and Eagle Farm really interesting with regards to WW2 history. A lot of enemy aircraft were reverse engineered there and test flown with stories of jumpy anti-aircraft gunners often taking pot shots at these aircraft and many USAAF aircraft being assembled there.
The Ford factory just south of the airfield assembled aircraft, Jeeps and landing barges that were then floated down a canal to the Brisbane River near the US Navy Catalina float plane base which I believe is mow the international cruise terminal area.
Anyway....get onto Peter Dunn and check out his website Oz at War ( www.ozatwar.com) as he's got a massive amount of WW2 history of not only Brisbane and SEQ but Australia as a whole.
……’hangar’………
Love the woke indigenous pandering....
@signature 1990 I thought you might. I put it there just for you.