Historic Hemmant - Brisbane's Last Country Town?

Trust me, there's a load of fascinating history in Hemmant that few know about - this included me until I began researching it. This video really was an eye-opener inasmuch as history is all around us, no matter where we are.
And I finally get my Fonzi moment...
#hemmant #brisbane #queensland

[@walkaboutwithrob]

Be sure to set your viewing preferences to 4K.

[@amative63]

The Queensport Hotel, or as it was commonly known as The Hemmant, is where I had my first legal drink in a pub.

[@buckwilliams6600]

My old stomping ground, sadly my old house is now a shipping container holding yard 😢 such wonderful memories and superb rural feel growing up there.

[@LisaColeman-hs1kp]

#11 - 1974 to 1988. Mum and Dad sold in 2000

[@Mick116]

Thanks Rob, glad you were able to capture the chapel in use by our community.

[@yuk-erkmckirk9277]

the war memorial was moved to the corner behind you before being moved to the park. A section of the base foundation is still there today. Still live in Hemmant and swam in the quarry and jumped off the train bridge into the creek as a kid. There were a lot more houses along Aquarium ave and the industrial area in the past even the caravan park and marina ,which had the aquariums and zoo earlier, have been closed bulldozed and turned to sheds. It was a great place to grow up in as a kid and a great little primary school too. I think we had maybe 80 kids max and that was grades 1to6. It was like a little country village, we'd help milk the local farmers cows and deliver it fresh on the back of his old Datsun ute to the local customers after school, go fishing with the principal and spend the weekends in the bushland or the creek in homemade corrogated iron canoes. I've drank at the Hemmant for 45yrs now, and been locked up in that jail cell before on more than one occasion. Good to see a bit of info on Hemmant around, but don't spread it to much, as we like our little unheard of neck of the woods. unfortunately the larger blocks of land are being bought out and joined up to to make way for estates that are just making traffic a problem and ruining the suburbs character. There is more than one hill in Hemmant, I'd say 3, I'm surprised you hadn't noticed,you filmed from 2 of them.

[@walkaboutwithrob]

Very interesting, thanks!

[@BrianRich-tv6mi]

Yes very fond memories of hemmant, i was in grade 7 combined with grade six students at hemmant state school for last six months 1979 and came back to hemmant in 1981-82. And also would help Malcolm with milking of cows and deliveries of the back of the Ute with a bunch of us kids. (Best milk ever) and the old datsun never failed. Life long memories by great community.

[@kieranosullivan445]

There was a train station near Hemmant named Doboy It was used by factory workers and is no longer there. The creek is now spelt Doboy. Changed from Doughboy. I wonder why. Great videos Rob.

[@anthonykennedy5324]

Doboy Station was for the workers at the adjacent KR Darling Downs Bacon Factory. After the factory closed there was no need for the siding.

[@dougrogan379]

My Dad's family is from Hemmant. I spent a lot of time there growing up, I recognise a lot of the places in this video. Sadly, their old house has now made way for town houses and my grandparents reside in the Hemmant cemetery. How time flies. Thanks for the video

[@deannavanvelsen2057]

Thank you Rob for this video. My ancestors are the Annings and you have shown the memorial for my great, great uncle! Also they part owned the aquarium which was washed away in the 1893 floods

[@timandrewberends3539]

My brother, sister, grandfather and grandmother are all buried at the Hemmant Cemetery.

[@anthonykennedy5324]

As are my parents. I did not know it was the first lawn cemetery though.

[@mebradhen]

That voice over joke was fantastic! Great video once again!

[@rosewright4605]

Thanks for your research and tour. My 2x great grandparents, fresh off the ships from England and Scotland respectively, met, lived and worked in Hemmant. I believe they worked on farms. They ultimately ended up on a selection of 100 acres at Bli Bli in the mid 1880's.

[@Peters8749]

Hey Rob ,great video mate I live in Wynnum and I've never visited the quarry I will have to go and have a look at the quarry have a look around. I like to drive through Hemmant because it reminds me of a little country Village.

[@adventureicecream]

I lived in Hemmant for 30 years from 1970. Absolutely nothing changed there in that time :D

[@robdiv5848]

Great work! You should do a video of Murarrie/Park Hill lots of history in that area - Meat works/Bacon factories & other cool stuff

[@t-rocks1960]

Hey Rob, Great Vid again, I love Hemant, I Have walked that quarry Quite a few times, Its great, I love reading the names on those old cadastral maps, Keep it up mate, T-Rocks 😎

[@stuartmackay]

@2:37 regarding the naming of Doughboy Creek - a book called ‘A History of Bulimba Creek Valley’ Compiled by John Godfrey - Project Convenor and a founding member of what was originally The Bulimba Creek Protection Society states in his research about the European settlement from 1823 to 1860 states that: 'doughboy' is supposed to have been a maize meal and soda dumpling or damper cooked by one of the early European trail-blazers when camped nearby - however there could be a derivation from the aboriginal word "dubee" for mud-crab. American troops in Europe during World War 1 were euphemistically called " Doughboys "

[@shellebelle53]

Always fascinating videos, love the old church. I can remember as a teenager swimming in the quarry at Daisy Hill 😊 Go the Fonz 😂

[@chrismcgovern1760]

Another excellent doco! Thank you - these episodes are awesome

[@sandramackin9817]

Interesting especially also about the steam ship Walrus which had some history, as you said, on the Albert River Beenleigh. Good video again .

[@uzetaab]

Great video! Wait, what was that about gem stones?

[@ronsmith2241]

Well researched and presented. Many thanks. Very interesting. The only time I was ever there was to attend a funeral years ago.

[@tomwitherspoon7021]

Thank you Rob another great history lessen, look forward to your next walk about cheers mate.

[@Sennagod]

14:08 Thats the tug Campbell Cove which along with another tug were salvaged from the bottom of a river in Tasmania last year. Both tugs were hit by a large ship. No one bothered to give her a clean

[@peterblack1538]

Great work as always Rob, having lived in Hemmant for a few years, I found it very interesting indeed. Thanks for what you do mate and please keep it up.

[@walkaboutwithrob]

@Peter Black will do indeed, and thanks for your feedback

[@jurog1]

You showed Smith family in windows of church … They were originally owners of post office which was first bakery before PO I have photos of them standing on front verandah before being built in!! Steven Smith rowed to Brisbane every Sunday to bring back pews for church service in Hemmant and then back again. He. died in his 30’s and wife followed soon after in her 30’s in childbirth. First white settlers with George Gibson!!

[@elizabethsmith3609]

My dad used to work for the port of Brisbane for years. ❤

[@spoonbang]

Rob! This is an excellent video! So impressed! So much awesome information and knowledge, I absolutely loved it!

[@walkaboutwithrob]

@Spoonbang thank you for your awesome feedback!

[@qlandr]

I used to live on Garth street, on the eastern point of Hemmant, in the 80s. It was a small estate, which has since been consumed by freight.

[@LisaColeman-hs1kp]

We must have been neighbours? Only 4 houses on Garth St. #11

[@qlandr]

@@LisaColeman-hs1kp I remember an Amanda Coleman. Neighbours?

[@EarJuice]

Brookfield still has the country town feel hidden away behind Mt Cootha. Especially with the showgrounds. I used to swim down at the waterhole everyday. The rope swing was so good.

[@walkaboutwithrob]

I'll definitely keep Brookfield in mind...

[@EarJuice]

@@walkaboutwithrob well let us know if u need help locating where waterhole was or anything else. It was there from at least the 60s. U got Bayden Clays house if u want morbid. Lol. Mountain is a tiny bit taller than Mt Cootha. Don't know much about older history though.

[@Wayner71]

In the early 70's we used to travel from Bulimba (where we lived) to Hemmant to buy meat from Jack Horner's. This large processing and retail meat proprietor was on the banks of the Doboy Creek. They made good quality pork sausages which unfortunately are hard to find anywhere today. Cheers.

[@robkatrinabianchi7449]

This is great, I really enjoyed it! My son recently bought his first house in Hemmant which is incredibly exciting. I love the drive to his house through the farms and the bushland. It really is a hidden gem. Even though I live in Murarrie, I had no idea about the history of Hemmant! So interesting. I'm keen to take a walk around the area now and see the sights! Thank you!

[@walkaboutwithrob]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@leeny1871]

Another great video Rob. I loved the church with the old police cell next to it ☺️ Definitely on my photography list. Cheers 👍😁

[@jessiecallaghan216]

Great video! We've lived here 10 years now, but my mum lived down Lytton road area as a baby (before moving to Lota), and her grandparents are in Hemmant cemetery. Some fascinating little bits of info I was unaware of, thankyou! Also there was meant to be a bunker on Fleming Road from the war time as well

[@user-io2bd4cq9z]

wow , that roller coaster ride with bears , tigers all at hemmant who would have thought ,,,i most certainly didn't ,,,thats just amazing it seems to me anything that has a chance gets blowen away ....but its still amazing that it was there...thanks mate if not for u none of us would know these things ,,,its great fun what u do ....

[@bikerleo1966]

The Aquarium park you were talking about if you walked to the very end of the street you can still see a few rails from the train that circumnavigated the park.

[@julieschipplock9439]

Another great informative walk Rob.

[@timthompson6092]

I went to hemming pre school back in 85

[@rogergreen9861]

My early childhood was dotted with trips to the Dixon tannery with my grandfather. I had no idea of ANY of your fantastic facts, and cannot wait to go back.

[@markb3146]

First time I heard of Hemmant was about 1980 when we went to a Judo tournament there. It was at a hall I think near the train station.

[@duncaninglis5407]

Gday Rob mate I love your shows they are so professional yet so relatable your humour always makes me laugh and it’s always totally accurate information you tell, you’re show pisses over anything in the msm good onya mate👍

[@joshuabrown8550]

I realise the mill you showed at 3:06 there was only an example, but that's the wool mill in New Lanark, Scotland. It in itself has a very interesting history! I used to live quite close to it and got excited to see a bit of my old home while watching a video on a suburb that's also my old home :)

[@divarachelenvy]

fantastic snippets of history as per your usual Rob, cheers...

[@brydensears6318]

Great video

[@davidlove7825]

The area around the mouth of Bulimba creek adjacent to Gibson Island was or still is referred to as Aquarium Passage for obvious reasons.

[@fishstixfishingadventures]

And you were so close to the Hemmant Scout hall! Good video though.

[@ownyourcrazy8734]

The convenience store shut down last year. 😢. It is now home to an online only business. The suburb border with Tingalpa should be shifted beyond Fleming Road to the end of Hemmant and Tingalpa Road at the creek beyond it.

[@kidfreejones]

Great video. It's what you expect of residential adjacent to industrial in today's age - low rate housing with trouble on the corner. Considering how close to water it is and the block sizes, I predict at some stage it'll become a sought after spot especially how Wynnum is changing from punch-on port workers and their kids to uppitty wealth that's moving in now!

[@andyirons7162]

Fair post....however, there are parts of Wynuum that are stuck in time and not sure what will ever move them. Wynuum.central is literally the same itcwas in the 1980s. Weird suburb. Something is holding it back. I've heard the.council is old school dead wood

[@ktownenduro7344]

Should do one on the north pine area better known as Petrie, lots of history there

[@AlphaGeekgirl]

So I waited until the end to find out whether there was any significance or backstory to the name Doughboy :-/ Sounds American to me.

[@AlphaGeekgirl]

Does anybody live in Queensland? Apart from you, Rob, there’s never ever anyone else around. Queensland seems like a ghost town.

[@walkaboutwithrob]

@D Taylor I usually shoot my documentaries on Sundays, so there's less people about in general. Apart from that, I always try to not get people in frame. If someone is nearby I'll wait until they pass by then resume filming.

[@v6hilux]

@@walkaboutwithrob - I think the busy weekday people and traffic aspect is something you should include, in at least one scene and a mention about the rest being a Sunday - to me it was obvious it's Sunday or P/Hol. It kind of gives me a false impression about the area you are focusing on - like "ghost towns". It makes me want to start a RE search because I wish every day where you go is a place I could buy to live. Anyway, that's your style and I love your work, even if you don't change. 👍 PS, are you a RE agent? 😁

[@nauticxnt2960]

Mr partners brother in laws father made the tables at the pub you had that beer, he’s just gone up to cairns as a care taker for a life guard club up there

[@bikerleo1966]

Doughboys were American Servicemen and many were stationed or camped around Hemmant in WW2.

[@walkaboutwithrob]

@bikerleo1966 the name Doughboy is a corruption of the Aboriginal word Doboi. It was first used in the early 20th century for a railway siding. This therefore predates the arrival of US servicemen during World War 2.

[@AlphaGeekgirl]

12:10 😂🤣😅

[@turbo840]

Disappointed you didn't tour the hemmant triangle!

[@walkaboutwithrob]

What's the Hemmant triangle?

[@tayt_]

@@walkaboutwithrobA triangle of Hemmant. The biggest draw to the area and you completely missed it.

[@walkaboutwithrob]

@@tayt_ so you don’t know what it is either?

[@jessiecallaghan216]

​@walkaboutwithrob it's said to be Hemmant's answer to the Bermuda triangle haha. Just the big triangle at the Youngs Road/Hemmant Tingalpa Road Y section

[@Bims79-w3b]

Hey rob is your channel monetised

[@walkaboutwithrob]

yes

[@Bims79-w3b]

@@walkaboutwithrob yay!

[@user-up6jv6ui2t]

Rob,your car parked off the side of the road makes me feel your feet are sore

[@walkaboutwithrob]

Why would you feel that?

[@bikerleo1966]

Not a very apt name for this vid Brisbanes last country town? What is Priors Pocket then ?

[@walkaboutwithrob]

@bikerleo1966 Prior's Pocket is a locality within the suburb of Moggill.

[@waynestanley1627]

I have always known it ss Doboy not doughboy.

[@walkaboutwithrob]

@waynestanley1627 it's actual name is Doughboy.

[@waynestanley1627]

When I worked at QR it was called Doboy the station and the meat works .Can't recall exactly but used push pig wagons down there least once a week.from Murarrie station.

[@johngreydanus2033]

Do people not realize he is speaking of the history from 150 years ago?

[@Tarquin67]

Hello Rob….it is called DOBOY CREEK, DOBOY BRIDGE, and they are in the voting parish of DOBOY…..not Doughboy.

[@walkaboutwithrob]

@Tarquin67 Hello. The old name for the area was spelt Doughboy and it crops up in various newspapers and government documents. Today, both spellings are considered valid and there is Doughboy Parade in the centre of the old town. At 6:05 in the documentary there is a newspaper article from 1876 that lists it as Doughboy. Another reference is here apps.des.qld.gov.au/heritage-register/detail/?id=602382