New Farm, Queensland

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New Farm
Brisbane, Queensland

The western side of the peninsula is characterised by large houses and tree-lined streets.

Population:

10,891 (2004) ^[1]

Postcode:

4005

Area:

2 km² (0.8 sq mi)

Property Value:

AUD $836,000 ^[2]

Location:

2 km (1 mi) from City CBD

LGA:

Brisbane City Council
Central Ward

State District:

Brisbane Central

Federal Division:

Brisbane

Suburbs around New Farm:
Fortitude Valley	Teneriffe	Bulimba and Hawthorne
Brisbane City	New Farm	Hawthorne
Kangaroo Point	East Brisbane	Norman Park

New Farm is an inner suburb of Brisbane, Australia, located 2km east from the Brisbane CBD on a peninsula on the Brisbane River.

1 Geography
2 Attractions
3 History
4 Transport
5 References
6 Pictures
7 References

[edit] Geography

Newfarm is surrounded by the Brisbane River, with land access from the north west through Fortitude Valley and the east through Newstead.

New Farm, Queensland is at coordinates 27°28′05″S 153°02′53″E / -27.468, 153.048 (New Farm, Queensland)Coordinates: 27°28′05″S 153°02′53″E / -27.468, 153.048 (New Farm, Queensland)

[edit] Attractions

The suburb of New Farm is located on the peninsula seen in the foreground of this photograph. New Farm Park is located near the river bend.

At the south-eastern end of the peninsula is the historic New Farm Park. The suburb derives its name from the fact that the peninsula was used as a farming area in the early years of Brisbane's History. Brunswick Street is the main street running northwest-southeast up the centre of the peninsula. To the south of Brunswick Street the suburb is characterised by large ornate Queenslander style houses, shady streets lined with large trees and tall apartment buildings, predominantly along the river. More modest Queenslander style houses dominate the north of Brunswick Street where there are fewer large trees and apartments.

The suburb has one main commercial area close to New Farm Park, called 'Merthyr Village'. A wide variety of businesses also successfully operate along Brunswick Street and in adjacent streets heading back to Fortitude Valley. The former electric tramway power station, located at the eastern end of New Farm Park, has been converted into a community arts and performance space called 'The Powerhouse'.

[edit] History

From 1885 to 1897 New Farm's transport needs were served by horse drawn trams, which operated along Brunswick Street, as far as Barker Street. In 1897 the horse trams were replaced with electric trams and the line extended, with trams ultimately running as far as Macquarie Street and down to the river at New Farm Park. The electric trams ceased operation on 13 April 1969, since then the suburb has been served by diesel buses.

New Farm's developed a reputation in the late 1980s as a drug-addled, low-rent culture depicted in Andrew McGahan's grunge novel 'Praise' which is set largely in the suburb. Along with the Fortitude Valley, New Farm has a Brisbane wide reputation as a centre of drug use and prostitution. [1]

Since then, and like many Brisbane suburbs, New Farm has experienced much 'gentrification' and 'infill development' throughout the 1990s and the years since 2000. However, New Farm maintains its diversity, being known for its long established Italian community and its now home to a large gay community. It is also known for its many restaurants and cafes and for illegal street prostitution after dark along the Valley end of Brunswick Street .

On the 23rd of January 2007, Part of the upcoming movie "Fool's Gold" (starring Kate Hudson) was shot at New Farm Park.

[edit] Transport

By Ferry , at the river end of Brunswick Street a small cross river ferry operated by Brisbane Transport links New Farm with Norman Park. New Farm can also be accessed via two CityCat stops (operated by Brisbane Transport) - at Sydney Street and at New Farm Park.

By Bus The suburb is serviced by several bus routes to and from the city centre. There are no direct services from the suburb to the local high school at Kelvin Grove for students.

Merthyr Road and Brunswick Street form a major urban node in New Farm with Coles. The Smart Cities: Rethinking the City Centre^[3] report proposes extending Merthy Road across green bridges to the east to link across to Bulimba and to the west to link across Kangaroo Point to the City close to the Stock Exchange Hotel (and on across the Goodwill Bridge to Southbank, Boggo Road Gaol and the University of Queensland).