Bracken Ridge, Queensland

Bracken Ridge is a northern suburb in the City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. In the Bracken Ridge had a population of 16,936 people.
Geography.
The suburb is located about north of the Brisbane central business district. The southern border is formed by Telegraph Road, one of the oldest roads in the suburb, and a portion of the western border is formed by the Caboolture railway line. A number of housing estates are located within the suburb, including "The Oaks", "Enbrook Heights" and the most recent development "Sungate Estate".
The terrain in the suburb is, as the name suggests, generally hilly. The highest area of the suburb features a park and a reservoir; from this height it is quite easy to see Moreton Bay to the east and the CBD to the south.
History.
The Turrbul people are the traditional owners of the area.
The suburb takes its name from a property name and later an estate name, which in turn was a name given by the original settlers because there was so much Bracken fern.
The first land sales in the area occurred on 3 August 1857, with the first purchase being made by William Loudon. John McPherson and James Ferguson bought land at the next land auction on 28 April 1862 and were the first to buy and settle on the land.
Bracken Ridge State School opened on 26 August 1957.
Nashville State High School opened on 23 January 1967. On 25 September 2000 it was renamed Bracken Ridge State High School.
Norris Road State School opened on 24 January 1977.
St Joseph's Catholic Primary School opened on 28 January 1978.
St John Fisher College opened on 5 October 1981.
The Bracken Ridge Library opened in 1987.
In the Bracken Ridge had a population of 16,936 people.
Heritage listings.
Bracken Ridge has a few heritage-listed sites, including:
Demographics.
Bracken Ridge is home to a variety of persons on the socio-economic scale. The majority of residents are professional couples and families. The estates south of Barbour Road, the homes surrounding the "ridge" and St Joseph's church, the areas on top of the hills, "Enbrook Heights Estate" and the most recent development "Sungate Estate" are affluent. The average price for a home in the suburb was $513,499 in 2020. 86% of these homes are owner-occupied or in the process of being purchased.
In the , Bracken Ridge recorded a population of 16,936 people, 51% female and 49% male.
The median age of the Bracken Ridge population was 36 years of age, 2 years below the Australian median, and 1 year below Queensland median. Children aged 0 - 14 years made up 20.4% of the population and people aged 65 years and over made up 13.1% of the population
Of people in Bracken Ridge 51.8% were married, this higher than the State and National level.
72.6% of people living in Bracken Ridge were born in Australia. The other top responses for country of birth were New Zealand 4.6%, England 3.3%, India 2.9% Philippines 2.5%, Fiji 0.8%.
82.0% of people only spoke English at home. Other languages spoken at home included Punjabi 1.4%, Tagalog 1.4%, Hindi 1.2%, Malayalam 1.0% and Filipino 0.7%.
Education.
Bracken Ridge State School is a government primary (Prep-6) school for boys and girls at 1 Binburra Street (). In 2018, the school had an enrolment of 366 students with 32 teachers (26 full-time equivalent) and 23 non-teaching staff (12 full-time equivalent). It includes a special education program.
Norris Road State School is a government primary (Prep-6) school for boys and girls at 28 Greenore Street (). In 2018, the school had an enrolment of 688 students with 57 teachers (49 full-time equivalent) and 35 non-teaching staff (24 full-time equivalent). It includes a special education program.
St Joseph's Catholic Primary School is a Catholic primary (Prep-6) school for boys and girls at 30 Eldorado Street (). In 2018, the school had an enrolment of 681 students with 49 teachers (40 full-time equivalent) and 35 non-teaching staff (20 full-time equivalent).
Bracken Ridge State High School is a government secondary (7-12) school for boys and girls at 68 Barfoot Street (). In 2018, the school had an enrolment of 520 students with 50 teachers (48 full-time equivalent) and 29 non-teaching staff (21 full-time equivalent). It includes a special education program.
St John Fisher College is a Catholic secondary (7-12) school for girls at John Fisher Drive (). In 2018, the school had an enrolment of 526 students with 48 teachers (45 full-time equivalent) and 26 non-teaching staff (18 full-time equivalent).
Queensland Pathways State College is a secondary (10-12) campus of Queensland Pathways State College (headquartered at Coorparoo) at 157 Norris Road ().
Jabiru Community College is a private secondary (10-12) school for boys and girls at Community Annexe, Bracken Street (). In 2018, the school had an enrolment of 78 students with 9 teachers (8 full-time equivalent) and 6 non-teaching staff (5 full-time equivalent).
Brisbane North Institute of TAFE has a campus at Bracken Ridge.
Amenities.
Shopping strips are located in Gawain Road and Barrett Street. A more substantial shopping centre is located on the corner of Telegraph Road and Norris Road. There is also a small shopping centre near the Bracken Ridge Tavern incorporating a Woolworths, chemist and a newsagent on Barrett St. There is a pub (The Bracken Ridge Tavern which incorporates 'Phoenix') on the corner of Barrett and Denham Streets, and a sports centre located on Bracken Ridge Road.
The Brisbane City Council operates a public library on the corner of Barrett St and Bracken St, next to Ferguson Park.
Bracken Ridge is also home to Bracken Ridge District Cricket Club based at McPherson Park, with McPherson also being the homeground of the Bracken Ridge Little Athletics Club "Roadrunners".
The Bracken Ridge Central Lions club hold a monthly miniature and electrice steam day on the 4th Sunday of each month at Mcphersons Park. Established in 1997. The monthly days sees hundreds of residents turn out.
Bracken Ridge has an Indoor Sports Centre and also has a netball club "Ridgettes" who are a part of the Brisbane Netball Association on Rode Road in Chermside.
There are also a number of churches present, including the Catholic, Baptist, Uniting Church and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints denominations. An Islamic community centre lies just across the border in Bald Hills.
Bracken Ridge has a number of parklands and reserves, including: