Important Piece of Archerfield and Its History

The majority of the suburb is made up of the Archerfield Airport. The Archerfield Airport was established during the early 1930s and originally served as the main international airport for Brisbane. This was until 1949 because companies such as Qantas, Trans Australia Airlines, and Ansett ANA started to offer regular passenger transport services. This was not the only use Archerfield Airport served. During World War Two, Archerfield Airport served as the base for military flying operations and became a hive of activity. This base hosted many people including the Royal Australian Air Force, the United States Army Air Forces, the Royal Navy Fleet Air Arm, and the Royal Netherlands Air Force.

After the war, another Brisbane suburb, Eagle Farm, took over and controlled the majority of aviation activity. Therefore, the Archerfield Airport was put back into secondary significance. The airport then turned its focus and attention towards flight training and movements peaked around the late 1980s to the early 1990s. Due to a deficiency in investment, there was a gradual decline in serviceability, so much so that a great deal of the infrastructure had fallen to a state of disrepair in the late 1980s. Commerciality had deteriorated as well as the environmental standards. Persistent efforts were made during the 1990s by the Federal Airports Corporation to restore the airport’s viability, but again, a deficiency in investments hindered this process and prevented these efforts.

Archerfield Airport was privatised in 1998 and now operates as Queensland’s major general aviation airport as well as the metropolitan airport for the greater part of Brisbane. Since being privatised, Archerfield Airport runs under the Australian Airports Act 1996. Aircraft movements have remained steady this past decade but hasn’t reached anywhere near its peak in the late 1980s to the early 1990s. The airport possesses the capacity, space, and availability for regular passenger transport services should it require to in the future. For now though, the Archerfield Airport Corporation is aiming to nurture the dynamic potential of Archerfield Airport as an exceptional aviation destination.

The suburb of Archerfield, as a whole, has an unusual piece of history. In the month of August during 1995, southern Queensland experienced a rare, but severe cold snap and a record temperature of zero degrees Celsius was recorded in Archerfield. This is a vast difference to the weather that was recorded in 2014. In the month of January, Archerfield had a recorded maximum temperature of 42.4 degrees Celsius which was just under the record maximum that was set in 1940.

 

Archerfield Amenities

Although the area is partly industrial, it is still a great place for a family. There are two parks within the suburb; E C Backwell Park and Kerry Road Park. Between them, they contain playgrounds and lovely picnic areas with wood barbeques. As well as this, neighbouring suburbs such as Rocklea, Acacia Ridge, and Coopers Plains have an expansive range of parks with a variety of amenities that Archerfield may not acquire. Although there are no primary or secondary schools located within the area, there are an abundance of great schools in neighbouring suburbs. However, there are a few flight and aviation schools located in Archerfield which are associated with the Archerfield Airport.

Archerfield is also home to the Archerfield Speedway; a 400 metre length track with a clay surface. Archerfield Speedway races a variety of racing classes including sprintcars, compact speedcars, formula 500s, super sedans, open sedans, V8 dirt modifieds, midgets, late models and many more. The Archerfield Speedway is technically located in Acacia Ridge on Colebard Street West, however, it is just outside the Archerfield border behind the Archerfield Airport.

With Archerfield’s rich and dense history, there are a number of heritage listed sites located within the suburb. These include the God’s Acre Cemetery located on Beatty Road, in front of the Archerfield Airport, and the Archerfield Second World War Igloos Complex located on Kerry Road. God’s Acre Cemetery was established in 1859 by a man named Thomas Grenier who made the area a burial place for his son. The Archerfield Second World War Igloos Complex is a group of hangars which were built from early 1943 to early 1944 for the Department of Aircraft Production. It was used for military aircraft maintenance and repair during the Second World War.

Archerfield’s rich history is among one of it’s greatest amenities. Although majority of the suburb is taken up by the airport, this allows for a small but tight knit community. If this sounds like the right place for you, visit Reval Estate Agents for more information and guidance from experienced team members.

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