Rosalie covers the short boundaries of Fernberg Road, Haig Road, and Thomas Street and is widely regarded as one of the smallest suburbs in Brisbane. Here are five interesting details to know about this neighbourhood.
1. Rosalie is dubbed “Brisbane’s forgotten daughter.”
Following its downgrade from a suburb to a locality in Paddington in the 1970s, the locality’s name has been erased from the Post Office, the buses, and public or commercial buildings. Even the locals who live on the boundaries of Rosalie via Paddington, Milton or Rainworth chose the name of the suburb they wished to live in.
2. Rosalie’s name has two origins.
First, it was believed that Rosalie was named after a terminus by pastoralist and politician John Frederick McDougall, who bought land in the area in 1864. Mr McDougall also owned Rosalie Plains in Darling Downs.
However, another version also cites that the name came from one of the local transportation servicing Oxford Estate when it was common for vehicles to bear girls’ names. But just who is Rosalie? That remains a big mystery.
3. Milton State School was formerly known as the Rosalie State School.
Around the 1880s, Rosalie’s population grew and it was clear that a local school was needed. The government identified a site along Bayswater Road to build a single-storey structure with one classroom. In 1889, Rosalie school welcomed over 160 pupils and Alfred Wall was its first headmaster, who served for nearly three decades. Rosalie School’s name was changed to Milton School after two years.
In 1911, the Creche and Kindergarten Association of Queensland established the Rosalie Kindergarten on Elizabeth Street. Through the suburb’s changes and downgrade, enrolments did decline but the kindergarten has thrived and continues to operate as the C&K Rosalie Community Kindergarten and Preschool.
4. There used to be a Rosalie Police Station.
The police station was located on the corner of Boys Street and Fernberg Road. It was established in 1886 with Constable Thomas Macdonald as the first Officer-In-Charge. The station’s structure was demolished in 1911 and was replaced with a new building a year later. However, in 1964, its operations was shut down with the realignment and redistribution of police functions. The building eventually became a private residence.
5. Albert Hall on Baroona Road was Rosalie’s centre of social activities.
Albert Hall was Rosalie’s earliest social centres until the construction and opening of the School of Arts Committee around the corner of Baroona Road and Nash Street in the late 1920s. Today, these combined properties are now known as the Rosalie Village, the neighbourbood shopping and dining centre.
