Sunnybank

Interesting facts about Sunnybank

Sunnybank is both an area or district and a suburb in Brisbane,Queensland, Australia. The suburb of Sunnybank is only a small part of the area generally known as Sunnybank, which also includes Banoon, Nathan, Robertson, MacGregor, Runcorn, and Sunnybank Hills.

Rolling hills and the headwaters for both Stable Swamp Creek and Bulimba Creek have drawn people and wildlife to the Sunnybank area.

History

The Jagara Indigenous people are believed to be the first to inhabit the area. The Sunnybank district was a farming area from the mid 1800s. With rich, red soil, it was highly productive.

Sunnybank in the 1800s was part of a much larger area known as Coopers Plains. In 1885, the railway line was extended from Yeerongpilly, and names had to be given to the railway stations along the line.Sunnybank got its name from a local farm, Sunnybrae, owned by the Gillespies, when two acres of land were taken over for the railway. Brae is Scottish for the English word bank, so the area was given boundaries and named Sunnybank.

Development
By the first part of the 20th century, farmland increasingly gave way to suburbia. General Motors Holden established a car manufacturing plant on Bradman Street at Acacia Ridge, creating a major source of employment for the entire city of Brisbane.

With the Commonwealth games being held in 1982 at the Queen Elizabeth II sporting complex (QE II), now known as the Queensland Sport and Athletics Centre (QSAC), and Expo 88 years later, Brisbane and its suburbs like Sunnybank were shown to the world.

With new land releases rare in the region, developers have turned to building higher density residential and commercial projects.

Asian influence on culture
In the early 1980s, an increasing number of Asian immigrants began to settle in Sunnybank and neighbouring suburbs. When this happened the look of the area changed, especially in the outlying business district of Sunnybank at the intersection of Mains Road and McCullough Street, where Asian restaurants and businesses are numerous.

Sunnybank is today a thriving multicultural suburb, with strong Asian influences in design, food and culture. Many of the suburb's shops and businesses are owned and run by Asian people.

Society and education

Sunnybank has many churches, including Catholic, Anglican, Uniting, and Churches of Christ.Schools in the area include Sunnybank State High School, St Thomas More College (Catholic), Macgregor State School and Macgregor State High School.

Shopping

A shopping centre, Sunnybank Plaza, is located at the intersection of Mains Road and McCullough Street and is anchored by Kmart, Coles and a cinema complex. Other retail areas include Sunny Park Shopping Centre, Sunnybank Hills Shoppingtown, Pinelands Plaza and Calamvale Central. Sunny Park Shopping Centre was previously anchored by a Big W discount department store, which to date is the only Big W store in Brisbane that has closed.

Dining
Restaurants in Sunnybank and neighbouring Sunnybank Hills include Thai, Korean, Vietnamese, Chinese, Japanese, Indian and Italian cuisines. The two local pubs are the Sunnybank Dragons Rugby Club and Sunnybank Hotel.

Sport

Sunnybank is home of the Sunnybank Dragons Rugby Club and the Souths Sunnybank Magpies Rugby League Club.