The History of the Society

The genesis of the Society was an historical walk organized by Brisbane City Councilor, David Hinchliffe, on a Saturday morning in February 1994. Forty residents gathered at Holy Spirit School. They were invited to contribute to the knowledge of the sites visited on the walk. Peter Beattie, MLA, and Alderman Beattie Dawson (1973-76) were amongst the walkers. Jan Power spoke on 'Early New Farm Days'. Councilor Hinchliffe thanked all for attending and said New Farm was an interesting place in need of a recorded history from its beginning as a convict farm to today's multicultural village. He suggested a committee to 'Research and Record the History of New Farm'. Action followed quickly and the inaugural meeting of the Society was held on June 18, 1994.

Where are the meetings held?

There are two ways of getting to know us. The first is very quiet and informal and involves coming along to our office in the Ron Muir Room, which is attached to New Farm Library. The library can be found at 135 Sydney Street, New Farm. The office is open from 2pm until 4pm each Thursday afternoon.

The second option is to join with the broader community and attend our monthly meeting where we have a guest speaker, afternoon tea and lots of members looking to make a new acquaintance. These meetings occur on the fourth Saturday of each month (December and January excluded) starting at 2pm and are held at The Merthyr Road Uniting Church Centre, 52 Merthyr Road, New Farm. To find out about the speaker, refer to the current newsletter.

When does the society get together?

We meet every Thursday afternoon at 2pm (Christmas holidays excluded) and once per month on the fourth Saturday of the month (December and January excluded).