Memorial Crows Ash

A marble plaque located on the sandstone planter box records two separate events. The first inscription reads:

Flindersia Australis (Crows Ash) 
This Tree Was Planted On Sept 1924 By The Mayor Of Toowong To Commemorate The Centenary Of The Landing Of Lieutenant John Oxley

                     Alderman
A.Watson (Mayor)        MD Davies
         I Ham                  WH Booth
     RJ Burnett               EA Keefer
         J Barker               G Rose
       L Degrant              WE Stock

The Surveyor General of New South Wales, Oxley had been sent by Governor Brisbane to explore the Moreton Bay locality. Overcrowding of the penal colonies in Sydney and Port Macquarie were causing problems and Oxley’s exploration resulted in a prison camp being established at Moreton Bay (later Redcliffe) in September 1824. This site was found to be unsuitable, and in 1825 a permanent settlement was established 32 kilometres upstream on the Brisbane River, the site of the present day CBD.

Located beneath is a separate inscription in a different font. It reads:

The Toowong Town Council after forty years of Local Government ceased to function on the inauguration of the (Greater) Brisbane City Council 1st October 1925.

With the introduction of the Greater Brisbane scheme in 1925, Brisbane, South Brisbane plus six adjoining towns and councils joined into one municipal unit. The only city council in Australia that covered the entire metropolitan region, the new Brisbane City Council’s area of authority was approximately 970 square kilometres. Containing selected members of the superseded municipalities, 20 aldermen were elected under adult franchise and a new Mayor elected by the city as a whole. The first Mayor of the new Greater Brisbane Council was William Alfred Jolly, an alderman of the Windsor Town Council for thirteen years and Mayor of Windsor for five years.. The combination of the councils proved to be a success, with many important works being carried out in the area of roads, bridge building, sewerage and lighting. William Jolly would serve six years in office before retiring in 1931.

Surprisingly, even the Lord Mayor himself had reservations on the scheme at the time:

I had no say in the formation of the scheme. At the time, I had some grave doubts as to the wisdom of embarking upon such an ambitious scheme which covered a radius of ten miles. I must admit, however, after the experience of the actual working of the scheme, that there is a good deal to be said in favour of the larger area, particularly in a growing and expanding city like Brisbane, as it enabled those in charge to plan the future developments of the City in the best interest of the Community as a whole.

Jolly went on to identify one aspect that he felt was missing from the merger:

One of the disadvantages of the Greater City control, is that it tends to destroy local civic pride. There existed a friendly rivalry between the various old Councils, which helped to stimulate a healthy interest in the local affairs. Under the new Order, there is nobody to give a lead in this direction.

This physical reference to the inauguration of the Greater Brisbane City Council is one of the few known public acknowledgments of the occurrence.

1. 1824 – 1974 Sesqui – Centenary of Brisbane, Brisbane City Council, 1974

2. Fitzgerald, Ross. From 1915 To The Early 1980’s: A History of Queensland, University of Queensland Press, St Lucia, 1984

3. Johnston, W Ross. Brisbane The First 30 Years, Boolarong Publications, Brisbane, 1988