WEST END: Solving Its Greatest Historic Mystery 

Very good video. Along Grey St is now an aboriginal hostel called Yumbal. Before that it was the Baptist Theological College. I spent several years there where I met my wife. We were married for 51 years. She had MS for 26 years and has now passed. We used to walk along Orleigh Park among those large trees. Many memories. Thanks Rob.

I lived in West End in the mid 80s. Up until then, it had been mainly occupied by working class Mediterranean immigrants. As they became wealthier, they bought bigger houses in the outer suburbs. West End became undesired. That's when my unemployed punk mates and I moved in. I rented our house in Cambridge St for $ 90 per week, as a 17 year old. Then more punks and goths moved into West End because rents were cheap and it was a short walk to the city.

This is one of your best ever as i grew up in West end and worked in the Local Vietnamese Butcher in Boundary street as the only white Aussie with my Great Vietnamese mates was a Lifetime of memories and walked most of those streets thanks ,and remember the great struggles to Preserve a area of Nature as Known as the Gully was a great battle to save some of the remaining bushland in west end Highgate hill but sadly the the Bulldozers came and Bulldozed the last remaining bushland in the area probably around 1992 thanks

Rob, You missed out on a mention of Rock-n-Roll George. He hung out at the corner of Boundary and Vulture and had his own seat at the corner Milk Bar ( Coorey's milk Bar - my Great Aunt and her three daughters owned it). It is now the Optometrist. I grew up in West End and my Grandfather came from Lebanon to West End in the 1920's. We had a factory in Drake St. ( the old Kodak building) and I have many stories and remember many places. If you are interested I can pass on my information.

The Rialto Theatre in the '60s was also used by the Scouts for the Gang Show and Brisbane Grammar held their annual school concerts there. I was tangentially involved in both. Thanks for the channel Rob.

Hey Rob, Great Video, I used to live in an Unit across the river from Orleigh Park. Like your Baskin Robbins, we could hear the Mr Whippy Van at Orleigh Park, So Close, yet so far away. T-Rocks😎

West End used to be a freaky place and I loved it. I used to be relief staff for Australia Post in the inner city areas from Annerley to New Farm to Hamilton and everything in between in the late 80's and 90's so I have gotten to see lots of different places. _ONE_ of the weirdest memories I have was walking to the take-away for lunch (at 17:33 Jackpot Dining was the local takeaway and where the outside dining currently is was a loading bay laneway) and the laneway had the industrial bins. As I approached from Russell St. I noticed one of the bins lids was up and as I got closer one of the homeless people in the area popped up (like a jack in the box) with old food hanging from his bearded mouth and in very nice Queens English said to me _"How Now, Brown Cow"_ grinned at me and then as quick as he had popped up, he popped back down into the bin. I remember thinking... _"that was weird... hmmm West End!"_ Cheers for the content and the trip down memory lane mate.

1990s West End was dominated by migrant families and sharehouses. It was a slightly shabby but very warm place. The last 10 years or so has really challenged and disrupted that sense of community.

I've just visited Brisbane. West End was always a favourite with its bohemian lifestyle. The commercial aspect has really heavily encroached on it and taken something from it. I was so sad to see the Three Monkeys now gone. It still has its charm though and I was happy to take a walk and be able to find somewhere to get some real vegetarian food. (As opposed to many other places in Brisbane where they still just serve a salad). Those historic buildings around Brisbane do seem to have a nasty habit of burning down when they're wanted for development.

Another great history lesson. Thanks Rob

I really enjoyed that thanks Rob. My great-grandparents emigrated from Scotland in 1884 and they and their 9 boys and 2 girls lived in West End for many years. The Wilson boys were particularly active in early rugby league, cricket and rowing in the suburb.

Thanks Rob as a lover of Brisbanes and surrounding areas history I am really enjoying your videos. Thanks

Wonderful. Great production. Thanks Rob.

Gidday Rob, once again love your work. On a side note Mappins, 04:21, has with it's art of famous rock stars from around the world, the late, great local legend, Rollo of Blowhard and many other Brisbane bands. Thanks again

The Peters lane West Village development I never knew was there and look forward to making a visit. Love to see that some of the old buildings, houses are still there. Never thought that on the banks of the river there was farming going on. Thanks for the history lesson again.

mate i loved this walking around my own suburb very cool

The thing I always find funny about your videos is I'm like "Oh I've bought weed near there!" so often.

Uncanny, I was literally just there the previous 2 Saturday's in a row, having not been there for a few years. My old acting agent used to be just near the new rainforest 😉

Not usually a fan of "street art" but some of that is pretty damn good - particularly that at 17.30. The story of the old Greek "moonshiner" reminds me of the tale of a friend's Pa up here. As an expat Italian he was run in for damaging the war effort by supplying the troops at the Tablelands Training Bases with home brewed Grappa! 😉

Yes I’m greek and my grandparents migrated to west end. Was once a large Greek population. But we still get celebrated at the annual Paniyiri

Brilliant video. Thanks! Further to your pondering about why a group of Scottish people would be thinking about London's West End, well there is another swanky West End... in Glasgow. It wouldn't be the only suburb in Brisbane named after a place in Glasgow (Kelvin Grove). Anyway a thought to add to the mix

When we first moved to Brisbane in 1985 we lived in the house where the backpackers building is today. From memory - that whole triangle block was owned by the same family who owned that magnificent old white house with a couple of chimneys on it that was very prominent up on Highgate Hill. The units at the corner of Browning and Besant street was a bit of a 'holding place' for Army families posted to Brisbane before the Army could find them a vacant married quarters in Stafford. Spent many an hour at that corner shop playing Pacman and Galaga and learning to smoke lol. My parents had 4 boys, so the units were a bit small for us: so we got the big house for about 3 months. My parents went to Stafford one day to take a look at the Army Married Quarters there and said 'no thanks'. I think they couldn't get over the houses built up so high and waist high chain link fences. We ended up moving into a private rental in Sunnybank Hills instead. You missed the plaque for Billy Sing (William Edward Sing DCM) on Boundary Road. At the site of the Boarding House where he died, broke and alone in 1943, is a plaque for him. Billy Sing was the famous 'Gallipoli Sniper' decorated for his service at Gallipoli and then on the Western Front during WW1.

Another good walk. My Dad worked for what was Pioneer Concrete, for many years in West End.

I was just reading a news article about Archerfield Speedway closing down today and that article mentions that Davies Park was used for speedway for 13 years. I had no idea and I get two unrelated sources tell me on the same day. One of life's little synchronicities.

Awesome, so much great information- thank you 💕

Soo so good Rob. I worked for a number of years in West End, Boundary rd & Thomas st. So interesting because I used to see all these places and never knew a thing about them but always wondered what they were in the past. You really do trigger such vivid memories. I remembered that Ice cream in the front of the factory. Mind blown with that gem. I must say, you have the very best production Rob. Really very good, extremely entertaining and just so intriguing. Well done, as usual. ❤👍🏼👏oh and thank you, once again. Born Brisbane northsider. 1965

Great show Rob thanks mate👍

Thank you, for your great videos! My husband and I are relatively new to Brisbane and struggled to make a connection to the city, your videos have made us look at this city though different eyes:)

That’s so interesting to see the photos. I went to Brisbane State High School which originally was in the city. And for some reason Yr 8’s (youngest grade in school) were always called Veggies (I thought like an Aussie way of saying freshman) but it was actually because the younger students campus was on the school farm in South Brisbane where they grew veggies patches. Great video thanks for the history and stories!

Thanks Rob! Love your work!

Lots of history in the Westend. You missed out the history from the corner of Cordelia and Peel. It's all changed now though. Nice vid. Cheers.

‘Toonarbin’ in Dornoch Tce was sold by the Catholic church some time ago. It is now a private residence again. Note how the arched niches added in the 1910s no longer have their holy statues. Also, it was a condition of UQ accepting the St. Lucia land from the Mayne family that a bridge be built to connect the University to the city. The State Government at the time wanted the new UQ campus to be built in Victoria Park to be more central, but James Mayne insisted on the St. Lucia land to facilitate rowing, as he had been a rower when attending Oxford. South Brisbane was its own separate municipality at the time, so yes your West End naming theory is more correct.

Love your work Rob! This has become one of my new favorite channels!

living in west end a few years. my best years in Brisbane. my landlord was greek and his backyard was all tiles no lawn.

Why is it that 'gentification' usually mean the soul, the specialness, of a place, is sucked out, replaced by the bland??

Another great episode. I don't really have anything to add, just commenting for the algorithm. Thanks Rob, keep up the great work!

Aaaaw i got a bad case of the sads seeing hellenic house demotiolished at the end there. So many years of cypriot food

I'd always wondered why West End was so light on pubs. Now I know.

Love these historical walks, Thanks Rob!!

Another brilliant historical piece thanks Rob (I’ve been awol so catching up 😁)

A West End history without Rock'n'Roll George? Maybe you're planning an episode just on him. He lived in Princhester Street a couple of doors up from my 1980's student share house .... great days.

Excellent can you do one for New Farm?

Whynot St...I love that name

Very informative! Thank you for sharing❤

Don't forget to watch this documentary in 4K! If unsure, go to the settings icon next the CC button above, and choose Quality 2160 4K.

Hey there mate. Can you come up north side and school us on the history up this way. I live in north lakes I’ll love to know the history so I can educate my kids. I’m a big fan keep up the work ❤

Rob, this was absolute magic. Informative, funny and fascinating all in one. It's lovely to see some old buildings still standing including the old convent...if only walls could talk it would surely make for fascinating stories. I would have to agree with you about how West End was named, at least that's what I always thought. In agreement with other comments, Thank you for all the hard work and effort you put into these videos. They should be aired on TV, they are so good 👍

It’s called west end because it’s the west end of brisbane-thanks Rob!

Cheers Rob, yet another awesome video.

Bugger the temperance movement. Wowsers😛

I went to school in West end from 72 to 76 and before that st Francis of Assisi on Dornoch Terrence.Rock n roll George last name was Kiprios .I went to school with his nephew lucky.Thats right Lucky Kiprios.

It would be great to have some interior footage on some places,... Obviously impossible for all places of interest, but im sure if you put a request in a video, youd get a few replies, and after sifting out the chaff, possibly a gem or two. Anyway, thanks for your efforts and bringing a totally wild local homebrew to youtube.

Good one Rob.

Good one Rob

A good time to tell the oldie 👍✌️🙏

Have you ever thought about doing one on the Logan River? Just a thought. The bridges alone have so much history. No one tells it better than you. Scrubby creek was one my favorites.

Thank you

Rob what an interesting take on West End, i sometimes feel if they going to rename a suburb they should rename this one and the other one up near Townsville. Perhaps they should rename it West Brisbane makes sense to me. That Peters Ice cream factory Remodel was done well. The problem with West End its on that Flooding plain area wouldn't be sweet if a canal was man made thru West end so it would alleviate the flood risk well thanks for the tour of West End that Jane St Community Garden is sweet and that Dornoch Bridge is a weird but i guess it what connects Highgate hill with West End.

Went to Davies Park pool when I was a kid. Grandma lived at West End and I inherited her house.

The land for the Boundary Road to St Lucia bridge as been preserved. It is one of 3 locations currently being considered for a West End to St Lucia green bridge.

Love our Brisbane ❤😊

Great video

boundary street,well I lived at 500 boundary st. spring hill in the 1940's during my boyhood years,I would love to know the history of that old shop where my family and I lived and the buildings that were near there in the area near the spring hill baths.

Enjoy your tour 🎉 I am keen to learn more First Nations history of the place as well

It's noteworthy that most things eventually seem to burn down!

Is the lyric theater in Qpac named after the old theater in west end?

i use to play football there at this park a few years ago now

18:25 Jack The Slasher!!! You need to do an episode on that!

I thought Russel st street was the first road in West End as it was where the first original ferry crossed over to the old convict store house ? Maybe it’s south Brisbane not West End?

Usually too busy dodging scooters and Barker's eggs to look up and see the beautiful buildings

I really enjoy your videos, would you consider doing tarragindi?

10:17 dam tragic story. 😢.

Fun fact: Peters Ice-cream was the first true white coloured ice cream in Australia. The rest of the brands were yellow in colour due to using full cream milk. Soon the other companies followed suit as Peters Ice-cream became the market leader.

I believe there was a big rezoning in West End in the nineties. A lot of the industry had to get out. I used to work as a Cooper. Their original works was in West End. Three generations. Then they were told to pack up and leave. They used to make the barrels for Milton brewery. And had workshops at the brewery as well. This re zoning has happened in other locations in and around the city. From what I understand the pay outs were not that handsome.

Omg that’s my primary school

Rob who was the owner from Canada do U know? I am part Metis. I am related to the Wendat from Ontario. 🥰

2:15 Why did Brisbane need boundaries? It was to tell the indigenous people where they weren’t allowed to be. We carry the scars of our ancestry.

Nice one Rob, any interest in doing a series or a few videos on the old tram that ended at Evans Rd in Salisbury and the history of the suburbs along the way?

Really random question here Rob. Just shown my father your channel and he is now happily watching all your videos but wants to know where your backpack is from? Like I said strange question but he loves hiking and would love one.

You're right - there's something off about West End these days. It's lost all of its old funkiness and gained this veneer of hipster fakeness about it. West Village being the worst offender. Nassagewaya is my favourite building in all Brisbane. Wanda Walla is just a wannabe. That wall you showed in Boundary St at 17:13 - back in the mid 80's, I used to stay up and watch rage or whatever was on until about 2:00 in the morning, them walk down from Highgate Hill and absolutely cover that wall in posters for the band I was in, over the top of all the posters that the bands my friends were in. It was dog eat dog when it came to getting a prime site! The Tailor shop in Boundary street you show a little later on used to be, don't know if it still is, but it used to be the best place in town for bespoke suit making.

21:08 intresting how alot of Brisbane preserved landmarks are of theariatrical district type hotels and theatres, witch is derived through London's theariatrical district.

Hi Rob. A local historian in Rockhampton is trying to track a statue. She believes it is sitting in Sydney's royal botanical Gardens. I thought of you as you have spoken of Sydney. Thought you might recall it. I did a screen shot of her request and old photo. Thank you. I like your videos.😊

Does anyone know the name of the piece of piano music at around 16.25 min?? Very nice.

There's a West End in Edinburgh and Glasgow

Explains why there is a hockings st off Montague rd

My Aunty lived at west end till her death..

I understood that the area was named after the West End Brewery that was established on the current Woolworths site.

Where was that forester area in the first scene?

Please do Moorooka

😂and the order of the druids😂

Personal note re Thomas Dixon tanners and bootmakers. His grandson, Donald, started a tannery in Hemmant in which my grandfather was eventually General Manager. They employed hugely innovative techniques, as has Thomas and his sons in the course of becoming one of the largest businesses in the nation, rebuilding after one disaster to have to rebuild again a few years later. The present Thomas Dixon Centre is his fitting legacy as a driver of the growth of West End.

Ah yes, West End, one of the most hipstery parts of Brisbane. There's some great restaurants and stores there but it's a suburb that I wouldn't particularly recommend anyone go to alone at night... I dunno, it's just always given me a dodgy vibe, especially with and the influx of (not fully sober, or hygienic) people who always seem to be asking for money and/or cigarettes whenever I'm there... It's kinda like Fortitude Valley in that respect, though that part of Brisbane is more of a "nightlife" partyish aria so it feels a bit less sinister.. Anyway, great video as usual! This stuff is fascinating!

Some food for thoughts in 2023. Dornoch Terrace, Highgate Hill, why?

7 months ago was the right time to get this done. just housesat for a mate right near that 7/11 and my god does that suburb eat the sun

You didn’t touch on Paul’s milk factory

so many hotels established in 1864

Can you do an AMA on r/brisbane?

If Centrelink can't get you over the line how about finding work

I'll go rhythm

Just going in to get abit of info from the publican... nothing to see here....🍺🍺