Rocklea Township, [Moorooka], 1884 (Map of the Week)

State Library of Queensland has an extensive collection of historical maps of Queensland, some of which have been digitised and can be viewed online.

Rocklea Township, 1884. John Oxley Library, State Library of Queensland

This real estate map from 1884 advertises 214 allotments of land for sale at the Rocklea Township (located in present day Moorooka). The allotments were situated along Blackburn Street, Holmes Street, Piers Street, Brier Street, Hawtree Street, Hamilton Road and one unnamed road (now Blackburn Lane).

Advertisement for land sales at Rocklea, Brisbane 1884. John Oxley Library, State Library of Queensland. Neg 65153

Prior to the sale extensive publicity was published in Brisbane newspapers, including a Rocklea poem.

'Rocklea' poem - from an advertisement for the Rocklea Township. Published in the Brisbane Telegraph, September 9, 1884

A public auction was held at the site on the afternoon of September 13, 1884 after a "champagne luncheon". The Brisbane Courier newspaper reported the results of the sale –

"...Mr W.J. Hooker conducted the sale from beginning to end, and continued it till about sunset. One hundred and twenty-one allotments were sold for the total sum of 1281 10s. About twenty loaded conveyances left the mart to convey purchasers to and from the ground, the attendance being very large. The balance of unsold allotments is to be sold in the mart, Town Hall, next Saturday afternoon, as per advertisement." (Brisbane Courier, September 15, 1884).

A higher resolution image of this map can be viewed through our One Search catalogue.

Prints of this map are also available through the Library Shop.

You can browse a compendium of our previous maps of the week on our blog.

Myles Sinnamon – Project Coordinator, State Library of Queensland