Albion is bounded by Wooloowin in the north, Ascot in the east, Newstead in the south, and Windsor to the west, with Breakfast Creek defining the suburb border in its south and south-west. Sandgate Road, a major road on the north side of Brisbane, runs through the middle of the suburb. A variety of housing styles, from former workers' cottages through to modern brick homes and unit blocks, can be found in Albion.
The name Breakfast Creek comes from Breakfast Point, which was a rocky point of the downstream side of the creek and was named by explorer John Oxley during his 1823 exploration of the Brisbane River.[3][6]
Students of East Brisbane State School having a geology lession at the Albion quarries, 1918
Albion Hotel, Brisbane, ca. 1866, from which the suburb of Albion takes its name
The name Albion comes from the Albion Hotel built by Thomas Hayseldon (also written as Hazeldon), which was so called because the white wall of Petrie's quarry reminded Hayseldon of the England's white cliffs (Albion being an old name for England, from the Latin albus meaning white). From 1866 to 1870, the proprietor was Edward Hudson.[3] The low lying parts of Albion came into the limelight when a swampy area near the Breakfast Creek was designated as the racecourse. In 1885, it became the headquarters of the Smithfield Pony Club and later in 1895 of the Albion Park Racecourse. Many Chinese migrants settled here and the Temple of the Holy Triad[10] was built on the Higgs Street for the local community in 1885-86.[11]
On 17 May 1890 the Breakfast Creek Hotel opened. The French Renaissance style hotel has remained a prominent landmark to this day, despite going under water in floods in 1893, 1898, 1974, 2011 and 2022.[12]
Breakfast Creek Sportsground was officially opened on Saturday 31 August 1899. Proprietors Michael Gannon and Andrew Lang Petrie drained a swamp to create a major recreational facilities, occupying 26 acres (11 ha) of a 30-acre (12 ha) site. The facilities included a racetrack, trotting track, bicycle track, fields for various sports such as cricket, football, tennis and lacrosse, a skating rink, and a lake for model boats. There were grandstands and a ballroom and concert hall with supper rooms and refreshment areas with 100 electric lights. There was a 435-foot (133 m) "switchback railway" (a roller-coaster) with four falls.[13][14] The Sportsground is now the Albion Park Paceway.[15][8]
On 27 September 1880, eight blocks of land of "Corunna Estate" were advertised for auction by John Cameron.[21][22]
In 1883, a Baptist church opened in Albion.[23][24]
In December 1884, "Albion Township Estate" made up of ninety-one allotments of land were advertised to be auctioned by Arthur Martin & Co., Auctioneers. A map advertising the auction shows the proximity of the estate to Breakfast Creek.[25][26][27]
On 28 October 1899, sixty allotments of land of Albion Hill estate, being re-subdivisions 1 to 60, of subdivision of section 3 of portion 162, Parish of Enoggera, were advertised for auction by Isles, Love & Co.[28][29] The advertising map states the estate's proximity to Albion Train Station, with 76 trains daily. The land for sale was situated between Camden St, Albion, and Ford St and Old Sandgate Rd (now Bonney Ave), Clayfield.
A first meeting of the Church of Christ took place on 1 January 1911 at the Good Templar's hall in Stoneleigh Street involving members of the Ann Street congregation. On 6 January 1912 a separate congregation was formed in Albion. Land for a church was bought at 86 McLennan Street in 1913 and the church was opened in 1915.[30][31] In 1929, the Albion congregation helped to establish a new congregation in Kedron. In 1992, the Albion and Kedron congregations merged to form the Brisbane North congregation and the Albion church was sold in 1997.[32]
On 25 February 1929, a plan was drawn up for the Frank Mann Estate, Subdivisions 1 to 4 of Resubdivision 1 and Subdivision 1 of Resubdivision 1 of Subdivision A of Resubdivision 2 of Subdivisions 51 to 54 of Portion 149, Parish of Enoggera, County of Stanley.[38]
In 2013 the A$29m state-of-the-art Bupa National Cricket Centre was completed at the Allan Border Field. The centre now serves as the headquarters of the Queensland Cricket Association.[39][40]
In the 2011 census, Albion recorded a population of 1,986 people, 48.4% female and 51.6% male. The median age of the Albion population was 33 years, 4 years below the national median of 37. 67.7% of people living in Albion were born in Australia, compared to the national average of 69.8%; the next most common countries of birth were New Zealand 4.4%, England 3.1%, India 3%, Italy 1.2%, China 1.1%. 79% of people spoke only English at home; the next most popular languages were 2.1% Italian, 1.2% Mandarin, 1.1% Nepali, 1% Arabic, 0.8% Punjabi. Of the total population in Albion, 1.2% were Indigenous persons.[42] In wealth terms, the median weekly individual income in Albion is approximately A$200 higher than the Australian average, and a median weekly family income A$220 higher. The suburb has a significantly higher proportion of residents that have never married (49.0%) compared to the Australian average (33.2%) and, in turn, a lower proportion of married persons (29.6% vs 49.6%).[42]
In the 2016 census, Albion had a population of 2,296 people.[1]
Heritage listings
Abbotsford Road Bridge, listed on the Brisbane Heritage Register
^"BRISBANE AND THE BUFFS". The Week. Vol. CXII, no. 2, 997. Queensland, Australia. 31 May 1933. p. 39. Archived from the original on 16 October 2020. Retrieved 17 October 2020 – via National Library of Australia.
^"Albion". Queensland Places. Centre for the Government of Queensland, University of Queensland. Archived from the original on 6 March 2021. Retrieved 9 November 2021.
^"New Sports Ground". The Telegraph. No. 5, 105. Queensland, Australia. 21 February 1889. p. 4. Archived from the original on 9 November 2021. Retrieved 9 November 2021 – via National Library of Australia.
^"SPORTING ECHOES". Queensland Figaro And Punch. Vol. XIII, no. 314. Queensland, Australia. 23 February 1889. p. 18 (SUPPLEMENT TO QUEENSLAND FIGARO). Archived from the original on 9 November 2021. Retrieved 9 November 2021 – via National Library of Australia.
^"Breakfast Creek". Queensland Places. Centre for the Government of Queensland, University of Queensland. Archived from the original on 6 March 2021. Retrieved 9 November 2021.
^"Classified Advertising". The Brisbane Courier. Vol. XXXV, no. 4, 165. Queensland, Australia. 25 September 1880. p. 8. Archived from the original on 16 October 2020. Retrieved 5 March 2019 – via National Library of Australia.
^"Classified Advertising". The Brisbane Courier. Vol. XXXIX, no. 8, 401. Queensland, Australia. 12 December 1884. p. 6. Archived from the original on 9 November 2021. Retrieved 20 January 2021 – via National Library of Australia.
^"Commercial". The Telegraph. No. 3, 819. Queensland, Australia. 16 December 1884. p. 4. Archived from the original on 9 November 2021. Retrieved 20 January 2021 – via National Library of Australia.
^"Advertising". The Telegraph. Queensland, Australia. 20 October 1899. p. 8. Archived from the original on 16 October 2020. Retrieved 3 June 2020 – via Trove.
^Haigh, George; Churches of Christ in Queensland (1983), Churches of Christ in Queensland: 100 years venturing in faith, Historical Committee, Conference of Churches of Christ in Queensland, pp. 112–116, ISBN978-0-909116-38-5
^"Index to Churches". Gregory's Street Directory of Brisbane and Suburbs and Metropolitan Road Guide (11 ed.). 1975. pp. 105–112.
^"New Catholic School". The Telegraph. No. 16, 852. Queensland, Australia. 6 December 1926. p. 9 (5 O'CLOCK CITY EDITION). Archived from the original on 24 September 2020. Retrieved 24 September 2020 – via National Library of Australia.
^UBD street directory. Brisbane. Australia: Universal Business Directories. 1990. p. 27. Archived from the original on 24 August 2020. Retrieved 24 September 2020.
