Raymond Park, Brisbane

Coordinates: 27°28′50″S 153°02′20″E / 27.4805°S 153.039013°E / -27.4805; 153.039013
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Raymond Park
Central area, 2015
TypePublic park
LocationKangaroo Point
Nearest cityBrisbane
Coordinates27°28′50″S 153°02′20″E / 27.4805°S 153.039013°E / -27.4805; 153.039013
Created1913

Raymond Park is a park in Kangaroo Point, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. It is also known informally as Pineapple Park due to the presence of the Pineapple Hotel on the corner of the park.

Geography[edit]

Raymond Park is roughly rectangular in shape and bounded by Main Street to the west, Wellington Street to the east, and Baines Street to the south, and Sinclair Street in part to the north. The irregularity in shape is due to the presence of the Pineapple Hotel in the south-west corner and housing at other locations, presumably existing prior to the establishment of the park. Note Baines Street is named after Edward Joseph Baines, a mayor of Brisbane who was the publican of the Pineapple Hotel.

History[edit]

Pineapple Hotel Kangaroo Point, 2015
Raymond Park (East) Air Raid Shelter, 2015
Raymond Park (West) Air Raid Shelter, 2015

In 1864, the Pineapple Hotel was established on the south-western corner of Main Street and Baines Street in Kangaroo Point.[1]

In the early 1880s, the first soccer teams were established in Brisbane, initially practising at Queen's Park in Alice Street (now part of the City Botanic Gardens) in the Brisbane CBD. However, as that park was used by other sports teams, the soccer teams decided to seek a new practice ground. A vacant block of land at South Brisbane bounded by Melbourne Street, Stanley Street and Grey Street was trialled but was found to be frequently waterlogged after rain, so the soccer teams relocated to grounds behind the Pineapple Hotel (the ground is now the western part of Raymond Park). The first competitive soccer matches in Brisbane were played at the Pineapple Sportsground in 1884.[2] The ground was also the home of Pineapple Rovers [soccer] Football Club, one of the most prominent clubs in Brisbane, from the late 1880s until around 1940.[3]

In 1886-1887, the Pineapple Hotel was re-built in its current form.[1]

In July 1913, over six acres of land on Wellington Road was purchased at a cost of £4,600 by the Brisbane City Council to establish a park called Raymond Park after Alfred John Raymond, who had been mayor of Brisbane in 1912 and the alderman for Kangaroo Point for many years and was the chairman of the Parks Committee in 1913.[4][5][6] Following work undertaken by the Brisbane City Council to create the park,[7] Raymond Park was officially designated a public place in April 1915.[8]

During World War II, concerns about air raids by Japan resulted in the construction of many air raid shelters in Brisbane. Two air raid shelters were constructed at the eastern and western ends of Raymond Park. Although most air raid shelters were demolished after the war, the eastern and western air raid shelters in Raymond Park are among the handful to survive, albeit with their outer walls removed. They are listed on the Queensland Heritage Register.[9][10]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b "Pineapple Hotel". Brisbane Heritage Register. Brisbane City Council. Retrieved 13 May 2014.
  2. ^ "Sport Lively in the Eighties". The Courier-Mail. Brisbane: National Library of Australia. 16 July 1937. p. 14. Retrieved 13 May 2015.
  3. ^ "Kangaroo Point Rovers: About". Kangaroo Point Rovers. Archived from the original on 1 March 2016. Retrieved 3 January 2016.
  4. ^ "CITY COUNCIL". The Brisbane Courier. National Library of Australia. 8 July 1913. p. 8. Retrieved 13 May 2015.
  5. ^ "LOCAL GOVERNMENT". The Brisbane Courier. National Library of Australia. 17 March 1914. p. 8. Retrieved 13 May 2015.
  6. ^ "Raymond Park – Pineapple Park". Weekend Notes. Archived from the original on 18 May 2015. Retrieved 13 May 2015.
  7. ^ "Brisbane Parks". The Brisbane Courier. National Library of Australia. 13 May 1914. p. 4. Retrieved 13 May 2015.
  8. ^ "Police Jurisdiction Act". The Brisbane Courier. National Library of Australia. 23 April 1915. p. 8. Retrieved 13 May 2015.
  9. ^ "Raymond Park (East) Air Raid Shelter (entry 602479)". Queensland Heritage Register. Queensland Heritage Council. Retrieved 1 August 2014.
  10. ^ "Raymond Park (West) Air Raid Shelter (entry 602478)". Queensland Heritage Register. Queensland Heritage Council. Retrieved 1 August 2014.

External links[edit]

Media related to Raymond Park at Wikimedia Commons