Anstead
Postcode: 4070
Anstead is an outer suburb of Brisbane, Australia located 16 km south-west of the Brisbane CBD. Anstead is named after the original land owner John Anstead. Locals often refer to Anstead by the colloquial title of “The ‘Stead”. Anstead was officially Gazetted in 1975, prior to which it was part of the suburb of Moggill.
The Jagera and Turrbal groups occupied land in the Brisbane and Ipswich areas. The exact clan boundaries are not known, however the Turrbal generally occupied the area north of the Brisbane River. Both groups had closely related languages, which are classified as belonging to the larger Yaggera language group.
The rich plant and aquatic life in the creeks and rivers in and around Anstead provided the Aboriginal people with abundant resources.
Evidence of Aboriginal occupation includes the bora ground at nearby Bellbowrie. The main bora ring is 22 metres in diameter and the site is still visible. Unfortunately, the smaller ring and the track joining the two rings have been replaced by housing developments.
Prior to being surveyed, land in the Anstead area was settled by the squatter, William Sheehan, who established a cattle station.
Another early settler, Darby McGrath, squatted at the mouth of Moggill Creek near the junction of Moggill and Rafting Ground Roads.
Originally an area of 18.2 hectares at Mt Crosby Road, near Kangaroo Gully Road, belonged to John Anstead. This area was surveyed in 1866. The suburb of Anstead is located at what was the centre of John Anstead’s land.
The new suburb was created in the 1970s. The name of Anstead was announced in the Government Gazette on 16 August 1975. The Brisbane City Council acquired the Anstead Bushland in 1950 and 1957. Up until that time it had been used for many purposes, including quarrying, farming and a minor waste dump and materials storage area. Nevertheless significant portions of the area were still bush. In 2002 the Brisbane City Council put in place a management plan to protect the Anstead Bushland.