Wavell Heights is a Brisbane suburb located 9 kilometres north of the Brisbane central business district. It is named after Field Marshal Lord Wavell who was the Commander-In-Chief of the Allied Forces in the Middle East during the Second World War.
In 1941 the Brisbane City Council requested that the area commonly known as West Nundah be recognised as Wavell Heights.
Demographics
In the 2011 census, Wavell Heights recorded a population of 9,435 people; 51.7% female and 48.3% male.
The median age of the Wavell Heights population was 36 years, 1 year below the Australian median. Children aged under 15 years made up 20.9% of the population and people aged 65 years and over made up 13.1% of the population.
78.5% of people living in Wavell Heights were born in Australia, compared to the national average of 69.8%; the next most common countries of birth were New Zealand 3.7%, England 3.2%, Philippines 0.8%, India 0.8%, Italy 0.6%.
87.8% of people spoke only English at home; the next most popular languages were 1.3% Italian, 0.5% Tagalog, 0.5% Cantonese, 0.5% Mandarin, 0.4% French.
Facilities
Wavell Heights is serviced by the Wavell Heights Neighbourhood Society Inc. which manages the Murray Duus park on Edinburgh Castle Road, Wavell Heights, including the subleasing of areas to a kindergarten, Karate club, girl guides, scouts and a lapitary club. The Society also manages a public tennis court and a community centre, consisting of a hall with two floors, stages and kitchen facilities.
The Wavell Heights Neighbourhood Society Inc. is unique in that it is the only organisation within Brisbane to manage a park precinct on behalf of the Brisbane City Council.
Schools
Wavell Heights includes one public primary school, Wavell Heights State School, which opened in 1948 following a post-war expansion in Brisbane's northern suburbs. Through the 1950s and 1960s, the school grew to be a large primary school with over 900 enrolments, but during the 1970s, this number began to decline dramatically. By the 1990s, enrolments were as low as 210, but this number has since increased to over 300. In April 2011, one of the school's main classroom buildings was destroyed in an arson attack, one of several of which that have happened in public schools across Queensland.
Wavell State High School, is a public secondary school located in Wavell Heights. It has a population of around 1300 students, making it among the largest of public secondary schools in Brisbane's northern suburbs.
Wavell Heights also includes one catholic primary school, Our Lady of the Angels, which opened in 1950.