Norman Creek enters the suburb from the south-west (
Annerley) and exits to the north (Stones Corner); it becomes a tributary of the
Brisbane River at
East Brisbane /
Norman Park. There is some slight variety in the terrain, with low hills in the east and south sloping down to the flood plain of Norman Creek.[9]
The land use is mostly residential with some shops. In the south-west of the locality is the
Greenslopes Private Hospital and an
Energex office and service centre.[10]
Stephens Mountain is the south-west of the suburb, rising to 55 metres (180 ft) (27°30′42″S153°02′36″E / 27.5117°S 153.0434°E / -27.5117; 153.0434 (Stephens Mountain)).[11][12] It is located between the Greenslopes Private Hospital located on a ridge leading east from its highest point, and the Greenslopes busway station and the Pacific Motorway to the west. The hill is low and its highest points are still covered in scrub.[13]
History
Parts of the current suburb were originally opened for settlement under names such as the Dunellan, Thompson and Mount Pleasant Estates. There is still a Dunellan Street in the suburb, adjacent to the state school.[citation needed]
Greenslopes was named after an early estate in the area.[14] The estate was owned by Frederick Wecker, who purchased the land in 1857 and named it after the area's green pastures.[15][16]
In July 1887, "Baynes' Paddock", comprising 471 allotments, was advertised to be auctioned by Arthur Martin & Co.[17] The allotments for sale were situated along Logan Road; Cornwall Street; Ernest Street; Beatrice Street; Vera Street; Logan Street; Adelaine Street (now Juliette Street); Reuben Street (now Zillah Street); Victor Street (now Flora Street); Arnold Street (now Lincoln Street) and Rita Street (now Regina Street).[18] A map advertising the auction includes a local sketch that shows the nearby bus stands and South Brisbane Railway.[19]
Greenslopes formed part of
Stephens Shire until its amalgamation with over 20 other local shires into
Greater Brisbane in 1925. The shire's name can still be seen on a plaque on the bridge where Juliette Street crosses
Norman Creek.[20]
Mount Pleasant Provisional School opened on 30 July 1890 with an enrolment of 65 students. It was renamed Dunellan Provisional School. In 1892 it became Dunellan State School. In 1922 it was renamed Greenslopes State School.[21][22]
In 1900, a small Baptist church was built in Cedar Street. In 1913, it was moved to the north-west corner of Dunellan Street and Henry Street (27°30′24″S153°02′54″E / 27.5068°S 153.0482°E / -27.5068; 153.0482 (Greenslopes Baptist Church)). On Saturday 14 October 1933 a new Greenslopes Baptist Church was officially opened on the north-west corner of Dunellan Street and Henry Street.[23][24][25] The brick church has a 61 by 31 feet (18.6 by 9.4 m) main room with a seating capacity for 300 people, a 16 by 8 feet (4.9 by 2.4 m) entrance porch, together with a
baptistry and
vestries for both minister and choir.[26] It is listed on the
Brisbane Heritage Register.[27]
The
Brisbane City Council operated
trams along
Logan Road to Greenslopes from 1914 to 13 April 1969. Until 1957 a tram line also operated along Chatsworth Road, branching off the Logan Road line at Greenslopes.[citation needed]
Chatsworth Heights Estate bordering Logan Road was auctioned on the Saturday 14 June 1914.[28][29]
In October 1925, 23 allotments bordered by Holland Street, Donaldson Street and Curd Street, were advertised to be auctioned by Isles, Love & Co, Limited.[30] A map advertising the auction shows the nearby tram line on Chatsworth Road.[31]
St Matthew's Anglican Church hall opened circa 1936 and closed circa 1968.[32]
In September 1938, "Waratah Estate", made up of eight allotments bordered by Logan Road and Donaldson Street, were advertised to be auctioned by Sharp & Musgrave.[33] A map advertising the auction states that the allotments are on the Holland Park tramline.[34]
In 1942 during
World War II, the
Repatriation General Hospital (RGH) opened in Greenslopes. It was also known as 112 General Military Hospital (Brisbane). It was operated by the
Australian Government though the
Department of Veterans Affairs (DVA) to provide healthcare for war veterans. It was Brisbane's first purpose-built military hospital.[35] By the late 1980s, the need for veterans' hospital care was reducing. In 1995, the government sold the hospital to private hospital operator
Ramsay Health Care. The arrangement provided for the continued care of veterans in the hospital funded by the Australian Goverment with the remainder of the hospital's services being available for private patients. The hospital has been expanded with additional buildings allowing a wider range of specialist services to be provided in areas such as cardiac care, day cancer treatments, and robotic surgery.[36] Some of the buildings on the site including the administration block and the chapel are heritage-listed.[37]
In 1975, the suburb of
Stones Corner was absorbed into Greenslopes before officially being re-instated as a suburb of its own in November 2017.[38][39]
The
2011 census recorded 8,565 residents in Greenslopes, of whom 50.8% were female and 49.2% were male. The
median age of the population was 32; five years younger than the Australian median.[43] 64.1% of people living in Greenslopes were born in Australia, compared to the national average of 69.8%. The other most common countries of birth were
India (4.3%),
England (3.2%),
New Zealand (3.1%),
the Philippines (1.1%), and
China (0.8%). 74% of people only spoke English at home, while the next most commonly spoken languages were
Punjabi (1.2%),
Hindi (1.1%),
Mandarin (1.1%),
Cantonese (0.9%), and
Greek (0.9%). The most common religious affiliation was
Catholic (25.7%), followed by '
No Religion' (25%),
Anglican (12%),
Uniting Church (3.8%), and
Buddhist (3%). The suburb's population density was 2,913/km2, whereas Brisbane's was 140/km2. Most occupied dwellings were
apartments (48.7%), followed by
separate houses (42.6%).[43]
In the
2016 census, Greenslopes had a population of 8,936 people.[44]
In the
2021 census, Greenslopes had a population of 7,941 people.[6]
Heritage listings
There are a number of heritage-listed sites in Greenslopes:
De Aar (an interwar house), 80 Chatsworth Road [45]
^Centre for the Government of Queensland.
"Greenslopes".
Archived from the original on 18 October 2014. Retrieved 18 October 2014.
^"Advertising". The Telegraph. No. 4, 606. Queensland, Australia. 13 July 1887. p. 7.
Archived from the original on 17 July 2023. Retrieved 31 January 2023 – via National Library of Australia.
^"Advertising". The Brisbane Courier. No. 21, 127. Queensland, Australia. 10 October 1925. p. 12.
Archived from the original on 22 April 2021. Retrieved 28 May 2019 – via National Library of Australia.
^"Advertising". The Courier-mail. No. 1562. Queensland, Australia. 3 September 1938. p. 12 (Second Section.).
Archived from the original on 5 December 2021. Retrieved 28 May 2019 – via National Library of Australia.
Chris Strakosch; De Wytt, Carolyn (2002), Healing the wounds of war a history of the Greenslopes Hospital 1942-2002 (60th anniversary ed.), Greenslopes, NSW Greenslopes Private Hospital,
ISBN978-0-9750140-0-4