Information

Musgrave Park is central to contemporary Brisbane Aboriginal communities, and politically, the city’s most significant Aboriginal site. The Park has been the focus of several significant Aboriginal protests, land claims and tent cities (tent embassies) since 1982. It hosts the largest attended NAIDOC Week celebrations in Australia. Aboriginal use of the area for occasional meetings probably originated during the 1890s on account of its proximity between the West End Aboriginal Girls Home, the house of Aboriginal Protector Archibald Meston, and former camps. Starting in the 1940s-1950s, it became a major Aboriginal meeting and networking place, where the Aboriginal community sought to connect and accomodate persons moving off reserves or arriving in Brisbane from other regions. During the 1960s-1980s, many Aboriginal services and political movements developed close to or on account of the park. Since the 1990s, it has seen regular use for Aboriginal cultural events.

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Map References

QSA. QSA Series 1748 Moreton District, County of Stanley Maps – A1 Series. 120 links to the inch. Burns, Philip & Co’s, and Hancock’s Wharves, Parish of South Brisbane, County of Stanley. 120 links to the inch. Survey Office, Brisbane. (quarter-size). 620436