Stafford, Queensland

Stafford is a suburb in the City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. In the Stafford had a population of 6,561 people.
Geography.
Stafford is predominantly a residential suburb, including some original Queenslander-style homes and a significant number of post-war Queensland Housing Commission homes on quarter-acre blocks built around the 1940s and 1950s.
Stafford lies to the west of Lutwyche Road, along the banks of Kedron Brook. Being an area of that age, many of Stafford's residents are elderly, but there younger families are increasing there.
Sparkes Hill () is in the south-west of the suburb and is above sea level. The water reservoir on the top of the hill holds , which 16% of Brisbane's water supply.
History.
Stafford was originally called Happy Valley. It is possible that the name originates from the fact the Sir Thomas Brisbane for whom the city is named was an officer in the Staffordshire Regiment - a Stafford Knot is featured in the city's coat-of-arms. A public move to rename the area after the English county of Staffordshire in 1885 and 1886 led to its current name.
Stafford State School opened on 25 May 1886. On 24 January 1955 the Stafford Infants State School opened removing the younger children from the main. The infants school closed on 9 December 1977 and the younger children became part of the main school again.
In 1928, in what is now known as Stafford, 20 sites at Gourock Estate, Kedron, being resubs of 1 to 20 (subs A & B easements) of sub 1 of portion 96, Parish of Kedron, were advertised for auction by Isles, Love & Co. Auctioneers. A map produced to advertise the sale shows the land for sale being off Main Stafford (or Happy Valley) Road, near Clifford St.
Queen of Apostles Catholic Primary School opened on 30 January 1962. In 2002 it opened its second campus for the younger students in neighbouring Stafford Heights to the north.
Between 1940 and 1968 Stafford was served by electric trams operated by the Brisbane City Council. This was the last completely new tram line (as distinct from tram line extension) built in Brisbane.
Construction commenced on the water reservoirs on top of Sparkes Hill in 1973 and was completed in 1978.
One of the original large employers of local workers, Gibson's Tannery (also known as Scotia Works), closed in 1982 to make way for the Stafford City Shopping Centre, which opened in 1983 and extended in 1997. Previously, the Stafford Road shopping strip at the tram terminus was the local centre.
At the Stafford had a population of 6,041 people.
In the Stafford had a population of 6,561 people.
Heritage listings.
Stafford has a number of heritage-listed sites, including:
Education.
Stafford State School is a government primary (Prep-6) school for boys and girls at 314 Stafford Road (). In 2018, the school had an enrolment of 264 students with 32 teachers (25 full-time equivalent) and 33 non-teaching staff (19 full-time equivalent). It includes a special education program.
Queen of Apostles Catholic Primary School is a Catholic primary (Prep-6) school for boys and girls. The school has two campuses. The upper campus (3-6) is at 10 Thuruna Street () while the lower campus (Prep-2) is at 46 Chuter Street in Stafford Heights . In 2018, the school had an enrolment of 486 students with 40 teachers (28 full-time equivalent) and 35 non-teaching staff (17 full-time equivalent).
There is no secondary school in Stafford. The nearest government secondary schools are Everton Park State High School in neighbouring Everton Park to the west and Kedron State High School in neighbouring Kedron to the east.
Amenities.
There are a number of parks in the suburb, including:
Sporting clubs.
The Wilston Grange Australian Football Club has played Australian rules football at Hickey Park in Stafford since 1964. The Past Brothers competes in the South East Division junior competitions, playing out of Gibson Park in Stafford.
Demographics.
In the , the population of Stafford was 6,041, 52% female and 48% male. The median age of the Stafford population was 34 years, 3 years below the Australian median. 77.7% of people living in Stafford were born in Australia, compared to the national average of 69.8%; the next most common countries of birth were New Zealand 3%, England 2.3%, Philippines 1.4%, India 0.9%, Italy 0.6%. 86.1% of people spoke only English at home; the next most common languages were 1.3% Italian, 0.6% Punjabi, 0.6% Cantonese, 0.6% Mandarin, 0.5% Spanish.