What We Left Behind:
When I started down this track, the route was pretty obvious. Start with childhood memories of where we'd lived in Brisbane. From there, logically, the story runs through temporary lodgings on The Strand in Townsville to suburban Aitkenvale. That placed us on the city's western fringe just before a massive growth spurt that started in the late sixties. I could sum that side of things up by casting my eye over modern-day Vincent, Heatley and Cranbrook towards Kirwan and points beyond. I pictured a grizzled bushman doing just that as he remarked,"'Course, When I Come Here, This Was All Scrub." That's a logical progression.
However, when I started looking at suburban Auchenflower, I found unexpected indigenous elements. Investigating them produced Maiwar and Meanjin and a direct link to the first settlement of Brisbane.
I don't recall learning anything about that as I sat in a classroom beside what used to be Red Jacket Swamp. So, we have the beginnings of a look at Early Brisbane that morphs into the details of McIlwraith's Auchenflower and Suburban Auchenflower. A Queensland premier's estate and personal railway station lead to intriguing and previously unimagined details about one of Brisbane's inner suburbs.
So, from here, My Familiar Territory leads into those investigations, and What We Found takes the reader to Townsville.
