Information

From 1864 a quarantine sheep shed and paddock covered Portion 159, now bounded by Hampstead Road, Vulture Street and Brighton Road. This land was owned by George Appel, who became Moreton Bay’s first stock inspector during the 1850s. He was also a wool buyer and importer of Merino sheep. Quarantine was necessary because sheep suffered with Scab in the moist local climate, and under law they had to be held at the paddock for at least two months. Shortly after what was known as the Quarantine Station or Quarantine Park opened, one local resident publicly complained about the treatment of sheep confined in what he called ‘that wretched paddock’, being shorn of their fleeces in ‘this cold and miserable weather’ and left ‘shaking and shivering’. There was also a reference in the Brisbane Courier about security, as it was feared that the inadequate fencing would allow nearby sheep passing in other paddocks to become infected with any sick animals in the quarantined stock. The quarantine station was closed in 1877 and moved to Indooroopilly.

Citations

JCH Gill, ‘Queensland’s earliest consular appointment?’, Queensland Heritage, volume 1, no.3, 1965, pp. 17-21; Jarrett, History of Highgate Hill, p. 5; Brisbane Courier, 23 June 1864, 23 March 1866.

Image Citations

South Brisbane from Highgate Hill, circa. 1884. John Oxley Library, State Library of Queensland, Record number: 139069.

Map References

QSA. QSA Series ID 2043 City of Brisbane and Suburbs Maps – A1A Series. 1 chain to the inch. Plan of subdivision of section 30 City of Brisbane. 1 chain to an inch. Surveyor General’s Office, Brisbane.(quarter-size). 634488