Kenmore, Queensland

Kenmore is a suburb of the City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. It is on the Brisbane River south-west of the Brisbane CBD. Kenmore is a leafy suburb with a high number of professional residents and families. It is dominated by detached housing, but townhouses and units are increasing within the suburb. Kenmore has benefited greatly from the Centenary Highway which gives it direct access to the city via Milton Road, Coronation Drive, or since 2015 the Legacy Way (toll road).
There are a number of schools in the suburb, including Kenmore State School, Kenmore South State School, Kenmore State High School and private Christian schools. There are many restaurants as well as two large retail centres, Kenmore Village and Kenmore Plaza, located on Moggill Road.
Kenmore is characterised by rolling hills and greenery.
Demographics.
In the , Kenmore recorded a population of 8,483 people, 51.3% female and 48.7% male.
The median age of the Kenmore population was 39 years of age, 2 years above the Australian median.
66% of people living in Kenmore were born in Australia, compared to the national average of 69.8%; the next most common countries of birth were England 6%, South Africa 3.2%, New Zealand 2.9%, India 1.5%, United States of America 1.1%.
82.9% of people spoke only English at home; the next most common languages were 1.6% Mandarin, 0.9% Korean, 0.9% Japanese, 0.8% Cantonese, 0.7% Spanish.
History.
European settlement began in the 1840s and was part of a sheep and cattle run which extended from Milton to Mt Crosby. In the 1850s land was released to new settlers from Britain in 15 to 20 acre lots. During the 1850s and 1860s areas around Kenmore and Brookfield provided Brisbane with timber and there were also small farms producing a variety of crops.
Around 1880 Andrew Todd purchased 100 acres in the centre of what is called Kenmore today. In the early 1900s dairy farming began to be a major farming activity. In 1910 Chinese market gardeners moved in and grew vegetables.
A war memorial was commissioned by the residents of the Shire of Moggill commissioned a war memorial which was unveiled on 3 July 1920 by General Spencer Browne and Edward Macartney, the Member of the Queensland Legislative Assembly for Toowong.
In the early 1950s Hooker's bought dairy farming land around Dumbarton Drive and this began the modern development of Kenmore. In 1960 roads were upgraded. In the 1960s earth works for the village shopping centre began. In 1972 the ambulance centre opened, in 1975 the fire station opened and in 1978 the police station opened.
Kenmore was one of many Brisbane suburbs partially affected by the 2010–11 Queensland floods.
Kenmore's history has been compiled by local historian, Lesley Jenkins, as part of the BRISbites community history project. A lengthier local online history has been compiled by David Horton and Kerry Raymond. The Kenmore and District Historical Society has also compiled a history of the area post European settlement.
Kenmore Library opened in 2010 as part of an extension of the Kenmore Village shopping centre.
Kenmore State School opened on 9 July 1900.
Attractions.
Kenmore Village Shopping Centre is a central shopping centre located near the Moggill Road and Brookfield Road intersection. The shopping centre also has offices. Kenmore Plaza is another large shopping centre in the area. There are restaurants in Kenmore, including cafés, take-aways and pubs. The Indooroopilly Shopping Centre, a large mall with over 250 retail outlets, is about two km from Kenmore.
The Brisbane City Council operates a public library at the Kenmore Village Shopping Centre on the corner Moggill Road and Brookfield Road.
Kenmore has a number of churches, including Our Lady of the Rosary, Kenmore Community Church (currently located in Bellbowrie), Kenmore Anglican Church, Fuel Christian Church, Kenmore Presbyterian Church and Kenmore Uniting Church.
Sports.
Kenmore has numerous parks and playing fields. It has easy access to outdoors activities in surrounding suburbs, including walking tracks and roads to Mt Coot-tha lookout, Brisbane Botanic Gardens and the planetarium; boating ramps into the Brisbane River and horse riding facilities in Fig Tree Pocket and Brookfield.
It has a variety of sporting venues that are available for use. The largest and easiest to access is Akuna Oval, which has areas for soccer, AFL and rugby, as well as extensive walking tracks throughout the area. Other venues that can be rented are the Kenmore Primary School tennis courts and some facilities at Kenmore South Primary School. Community classes are often held at various areas around Kenmore during term-time and these classes range from yoga to fencing to pilates. There is also a women-only gym, Curves International, on Brookfield Road and a Jett's Gym, on Marshall Lane.
Active sporting groups include Kenmore Australian Football Club, Gem Road Park Soccer Association, Kenmore Lions Football Club and Kenmore Centenary Bears Rugby Union. In October 2012, the Kenmore Football Club merged with the University of Queensland Football Club.
Community groups.
Kenmore is dissected by Moggill Creek. The Moggill Creek Catchment Group organises working bees to rid the creek area of rubbish and introduced plant species, which are not suited to the area.
The Rotary Club of Kenmore is non-political, non-denominational and open to all cultures, races and creeds.
The Kenmore branch of the Queensland Country Women's Association meets at the Kenmore Library at the Kenmore Village shopping centre at 9 Brookfield Road.
Transport.
Kenmore is well connected to the city and the University of Queensland by road and bus.
The main road through Kenmore is Moggill Road. The retail centre of Kenmore is clustered around the roundabout where Brookfield and Moggill Roads intersect. Another transport hub is at the Kenmore Tavern complex, on the corner of Marshall Lane and Moggill Road.
A motorway extension known as the Kenmore Bypass has been proposed, to alleviate congestion along Moggill Road during peak commuting hours, but has met widespread opposition from local residents because of the inevitable resumption of residential properties, loss of amenity and disruption associated with building a major new road through an established residential area.
There is no rail station in Kenmore. Indooroopilly is the closest station. In the 1890s the Queensland Parliament approved the construction of a rail line from Indooroopilly to Brookfield, running through the southern side of Kenmore following the valley of Cubberla Creek and thence roughly parallel to the present alignment of Kersley Road. However the line was never constructed.