Kedron is a northern suburb of Brisbane, Australia, centred on Gympie Road and Kedron Brook. It is close to Westfield Chermside shopping centre in the neighbouring suburb of Chermside. Kedron is an inner-northern suburb that neighbours Stafford, Chermside, Wavell Heights, Wooloowin, Lutwyche, and Nundah.
History
Missionaries originally settled in the Nundah area in 1838. These missionaries were granted 500 acres alongside the watercourse they named Kedron Brook, after a famous valley near Jerusalem.
The first land sales commenced in 1857. Alexander and Amelia Barron settled in the area in 1856. James and Claude Barron worked as a blacksmiths on the corner of Gympie and Stafford Roads.
Alfred Lutwyche, Queensland's first judge, purchased 50 acres (20 ha) in 1862. He named his residence Kedron Lodge. This heritage-listed residence is located on the border between Kedron and Wooloowin and is now considered part of the affluent Kalinga district of Wooloowin.
In 1864/1865, Henry Craig settled on land now occupied by Lutwyche Cemetery. He planted the large bunya pines along Gympie Road and lived there until his death in 1877. The cemetery was established in 1878 and was originally named Kedron Brook Cemetery. It was later renamed Lutwyche Cemetery to commemorate Alfred Lutwyche.
William Shaw and family arrived in 1865 and constructed the family residence "Shaw Villa" overlooking Kedron Brook
On 30 November 1866, the locality's first church, St. Andrew's Church of England, was established.
When gold was discovered in Gympie in 1868, a bridge was constructed over the Kedron Brook to permit an alternative northerly route. This route would become known as Gympie Road. In 1868, the Edinburgh Castle Hotel was built by George Orr. The hotel was originally situated on the opposite side of Edinburgh Castle Road. A new brick hotel was completed in 1892. It was demolished in 1959 and yet other structure built on the site.
The Kedron Park Hotel was established by Frederick Morris in 1881.
In 1887, Michael Gallagher and family established the Kedron Tannery, which was very successful and became known Australia-wide.
Paul Maggs and family settled in the 1860s. In 1889 he built the Edinburgh Tannery alongside Kedron Creek at the end of Nundah Street.
In 1891 John and Abigail King's general store was built on Gympie Road opposite the intersection with Somerset Road. In the early 1890s, King became the first postmaster for Kedron, adopted the name Kedron for the locality. The name was not officially recognised until 1901.
In 1904, Part of Kedron, Lutwyche and Wooloowin were incorporated into the Town of Windsor.
In 1913, the Presbyterian Church was established and gained full church status in 1945. In 1923, the Catholic Church was established. In 1925, the Methodist Church was established. First services were held in the Wintergarden Theatre.
In 1914, the tram service was extended from Windsor to the Kedron Park Hotel. It was further extended to the Lutwyche Cemetery in 1925.
On 2 October 1926, the Kedron State School was established. In 1956, Padua College, Mt Alvernia College and Kedron State High School were established.
The Kedron Park was set aside along Kedron Brook, adjacent to the Kedron Park Hotel. It once contained the Kedron Park Racecourse. In 1888 shares were offered in the Kedron Park Racecourse and Sports Ground Co Ltd. A formal race program was held in 1889 but saw little use in the following years. James Sharp purchased the racecourse in 1911 and changed many hands before it was finally closed in 1931 following a Royal Commission into racing. In 1955, Kedron Park was resumed for educational building purposes. The Kedron Park Teachers College, then Queensland University of Technology, and now Queensland Emergency Services have occupied the site.
Other notable pioneer families include the Scriven and Robinson families. Many households speak another language other than English, many of these include Chinese, Hindi, Italian and Vietnamese.
A notable landmark is the War Memorial in Kedron Cemetery on Gympie Road. It contains more than 100 gravestones of servicemen whom the majority gave their life for in World War II.
Demographics
In the 2011 census, Kedron recorded a population of 8,594 people, 51.4% female and 48.6% male.
The median age of the Kedron population was 34 years of age, 3 years below the Australian median.
76.1% of people living in Kedron were born in Australia, compared to the national average of 69.8%; the next most common countries of birth were New Zealand 3.2%, England 2.8%, India 1.4%, Italy 1.1%, Philippines 0.9%.
84.7% of people spoke only English at home; the next most common languages were 2% Italian, 0.6% Mandarin, 0.5% Tagalog, 0.5% Cantonese, 0.5% Spanish.