Brassall

Brassall was originally known as Hungary Flats (or Hungry Flats). The exact origin of the name is unknown but possible explanations are that the name Hungry was selected because the land was poor and very cold in winter or Hungary because a Hungarian person lived there. The surveyor James Warner noted Brassall as a parish on his plan of 1851.  The land was surveyed into large allotments between nine and twenty-five acres.

Brassall was a Divisional Board and then a Shire Council from 1860 until 1917, when it became a suburb of Ipswich. The Ipswich to Walloon railway line was completed and opened on 31 July 1865 as part of the Ipswich to Bigge's Camp (Grandchester) railway which was the first railway line in Queensland.  The line began at the Ipswich Railway Workshops crossed the Mihi Creek and turned south west crossing Ironpot Creek.  It continued to present day Wulkuraka then turned west to Walloon.

An 1869 map shows a reserve set aside from Portion 165 as crown land. This is the land which became the school reserve. The first move to establish a school was in 1887 and in 1893 a committee was appointed. The following year an application for a Provisional School was sent to the Minister and by September 1894 the school had been constructed.

In 1887 a rifle range was established and a red flag was hoisted on the Glamorgan Vale Road to warn people that anyone passing between the flag and North Ipswich was in the line of fire.

In 1927, Mrs. Sara von der Groeben was appointed Postmistress and her daughter, Mrs. Estella Weatherhog was appointed Postmistress in 1964. She was assisted by her son Eric.

Early Brassall businesses
Early businesses in Brassall included: Boody's Store, the Brassall Meat Mart, Fountains Garage, Suttons Foundry and Warrens Garage.

Boody's Store: In an oral history interview in 1995, Len Trower spoke about his memories of Brassall.  He was born in Emerald  Hill in 1913 and recalled that the only shop was down near the school and that it was built when he started school. The shop which was only one little room was built by Mr Charlton, later on Bill Boody bought the shop. Len recalled that when he was young there were only a few families living in the area and that it was mostly bushland. William John Boody purchased Charlton’s building at Hungry/Hungary Flat (Brassall) in 1922 and opened a grocery store. Prior to this William J. Boody worked as a Clerk at Cribb and Footes Department Store in Ipswich. In its early days Boody’s supplied and delivered produce to local farmers by horse and cart.

Brassall Meat Mart: The Brassall Meat Mart, formerly Muckert & Green Butchers, opened beside Boody’s store since in 1960. Mr. Gerry Muckert was one of the original owners.

Fountain's Garage: Originally a butcher's shop built by Mr. Byers senior, built on the corner of Clem Street and Pine Mountain Road. He was the only butcher in this area at the time, and he did a delivery service in a solid tyre truck. In the late 1940s or early 1950s the premises changed to a garage when Tom Fountain purchased the building. As well as serving petrol and carrying out the usual garage tasks, he also did mechanical repairs to trucks. Mr Tom Fountain died in 1984 and the garage closed in 1985. Brassall Motor Mower Sales & Services then occupied the premises.

G. & E. Steinhardt:  For many years G. & E. Steinhardt operated a mixed business. Steinhardt’s constructed a larger premises across the road and here operated Brassall’s first ‘Supermarket’.

Sutton's Foundry: A.G. Sutton established the well-known Brassall foundry in 1929 during the Great Depression. For many years, he worked for Messrs Barbat and Sons before launching his own business in a small way with a very small amount of capital and a staff of three. He secured a contract for castings with the Ipswich City Council and others and the business blossomed. By 1950, there was a staff of 30 and buildings including a large foundry, a pattern shop and garages that covered nearly half an acre of land. Catalyst Church was founded on 7 January 1980 by Pastor Vince and Denise Esterman and the site was purchased by the church on 30 April 1986.

Warrens Sawmill: Warrens Sawmill which was established in High Street in the 1940s became Bonanza Wrecking in the 1960s.

Shopping Centre and Tennis Court: The Brassall Shopping Village opened in 1979 and Denmans Tennis Centre opened in 1988.

Road and Place Names in Brassall

Federation Recreation Area was named on 30 March 2001 to reflect that the area was developed with a grant associated with 'Federation Funding'. Harland Court was named on 8 April 2003 in recognition of the former Deputy Valuer General of Queensland Mr. William Harland. The theme of the estate was to use the names of distinguished previous pupils of the Ipswich Grammar School.

Hunter Street was named after John Hunter. John migrated to Australia from Scotland in 1855 with his wife Mary (nee Campbell) and their children Robert, Alexander, Mary, Janet, John, Anne and James. The family settled at Brassall. John Hunter senior was employed as a stonemason in the building of the first Presbyterian Church and the Roman Catholic Church in Ipswich.

Mary Trower Park was named after Mary Bridget Trower who was born on 22 January 1886. Mary was the eldest of nine children born to Patrick and Hannah McNamara. She married Jim Trower in 1906 and they built a home and settled in the area known as Emerald Hill. Their children, Jim, Cecil, Len and Colin were among the first pupils to attend the Brassall School. Mary died at the age of 89 in February 1975.

Sandhurst Place: street names in this section of Emerald Hill are named after historic houses in Queensland. Sandhurst located at 35 Brisbane Road in Ebbw Vale was built ca.1875 for Mr. C. Agnew who owned a brickworks at Ebbw Vale.

Tom Craik Lookout: On 30 March 2001 the lookout was named after Tom Craik who was born on 28 June 1936 in Samford. He worked on a dairy farm at Wivenhoe Pocket and moved to Bundamba when he started work at the Jacaranda Butter Factory at Booval. In 1955 he worked within Queensland Railway and continued to work there for 44 years. In 1958 he married Joyce Salomon in Ipswich. They built a home in Haig Street Brassall which, was the first home to be built there. Tom was involved in the Brassall Congregational Church, was a member of the United Service Masonic Lodge No 124 at Booval for 24 years and in the 1974 floods he assisted many residents when there homes were isolated by the flood waters.