The Karana Downs-Mt Crosby district is a developing rural residential area located across the western limits of the city of Brisbane and the northern limits of Ipswich. The district is usually considered to include the localities of Karana Downs, Mt Crosby, Lake Manchester, Chuwar, Karalee and Kholo, all of which are characterised by their relationship to the Brisbane River and its local tributaries (Kholo or Ugly Creek, Camerons Creek and Cabbage Tree Creek). It is these important waterways and their relatively unspoilt condition that speaks most volubly for the district's appeal.
The district was discovered by John Oxley and Alan Cunningham in 1824, when their survey of the Brisbane River terminated nearby. Subsequent development was slow because, in contrast to many neighbouring areas, the district is also characterised by poor soil and stony ridges. As a result, it was the 1870s before all land had been selected.
After 1890, development in the district was heavily influenced by the decision to locate Brisbane's water supply scheme at Mt Crosby, just above the tidal influence on the Brisbane River. This constrained freehold land purchases but brought a level of engineering activity that became the mainstay of employment and stability for over 100 years, and still forms an important backdrop to community life. The influences that slowed rural and residential development also acted to preserve the local environment and industrial heritage to an uncommon degree.
Since the 1970s, the suburbs of Ipswich and Brisbane have merged around the previous water supply town of Mt Crosby and formed an attractive and diverse rural residential district with most of the services of suburban living and an agreeable spaciousness that is becoming rarer in southeast Queensland.
Mt Crosby postcard series
The images you see at the top of this page have been developed into a series of postcards which reflect the past and present of the Mt Crosby community. Local residents participated in a series of voting processes to determine the top ten images from the Historical Society's collection of photographs past and present. The postcard series is available from the Historical Society and the Mt Crosby Store.
