Post Code: 4070 Distance to CBD: 21 km
Anstead is a Brisbane suburb that was established in 1975. It is named after John Anstead, one of the settlers in the 1860’s. John Anstead was born in Devon, England. He migrated to Brisbane in 1858 and settled in the area of Mt Crosby Road. His son continued farming in the area and later managed the Sugar Basalt Quarry.
The houses are mostly single detached units that are sparsely distributed in the natural bushland area of the quiet suburb. The neighboring suburbs, Bellbowrie, Brookfield and Moggill provide the shopping centres for Anstead residents.
Anstead Top Attraction:
o Anstead Bushland Reserve
The reserve area covers more than 80 hectares. It is the largest bushland owned by the Brisbane City Council. The reserve was used in many ways in the past. The presence of bora rings in the area indicates that the area was used by the indigenous people as a religious place. When the European settlers came, the area is used for farming and quarrying. Parts of the quarry, like the boiler structure, can still be seen there this day. Over the years, the area was also used as a grazing land for cattle and horses. Unfortunately, it also became a waste dump and a storgae area for Brisbane’s water pipes. However, the major portions are still bushland. The Brisbane City Council acquired the area in 1950 and 1957 and started restoring the place.
The restoration was started in 2004 with the formation of the Anstead Bushcare Group. The group with the support of the City Council was largely responsible for increasing the biodiversity of the reserve and the preservation of its cultural heritage. It also provided the added recreational areas for the residents and visitors of Brisbane. The restoration project includes the construction of the walking tracks, horse trails, bird-watching stations and a look-out platform with a scenic view of the Brisbane River. It also has places for recreational activities like camp outs, picnics, barbecues, hiking, and horse riding. Bird-watching is the most popular of these activities with several bird-watching clubs noting and monitoring the sightings of rare and endangered birds.
The reserve is the home of more than 130 species of wildlife which notably includes the yellow-footed anthechinus, a shrew-like marsupial and the fawn-footed melomys, a species of mouse that lived on trees. It also has four vegetation communities, the spotted gum forest, the red gum forest, the gum topped box forest and the riparian forest.
The Anstead Bushland Reserve was officially opened in 2006