Post Code: 4014 Distance to CBD: 11 km
Banyo is a Brisbane suburb which serves as a residential area and an industrial area. The suburb is highly accessible by the Gateway Motorway. Its proximity to Brisbane Airport and the Port of Brisbane makes the suburb a great place for warehouses and logistical structures. Most of the houses are single detached units constructed from bricks and tile. Although there are still a few old houses that were constructed from tin and timber
Banyo is the home of Earnshaw State College which is located at Earnshaw Road and the St. Pius Catholic Primiary School which can be found at Apperley Street. The Earnshaw State College was established in 2003 when the Nudgee State School and Banyo State High School were merged.
The suburb also has one of the Australian Catholic University (ACU) campuses at McAuley which used to be the Banyo Seminary. The ACU McAuley Campus is also the site of St. Paul’s Theological College. Banyo has also a public library located at 284 St. Vincents Road
The name of the suburb is derived from the aboriginal word which means ‘hill’ or ‘ridge’. The area used to be a marsh land with many small streams. It was settled by James Robinson. The Robinson Road is named in honor of his sons that served in the Toombul Shire Council.
Parts of the area are owned by William Purchase and Purchase Street is named in his honour. The hill refered by the name of the suburb does not exist anymore. It was extensively quarried by the US Army for the construction of the Eagle Farm Airport during the World War II.
Banyo’s Famous Landmark
o The US Army Brisbane General Depot
The depot is a vast logistical complex that supplied the needed materials and ordnance for the war in the Pacific. It was during this period that Banyo was transformed from a farming area to a wartime logistical hub. The US Army constructed 14 warehouses in the suburb and widened the Earnshaw Road.
By the end of World War II, the US Army had build 75 buildings in the US Army Brisbane General Depot complex.
After the war, the US Army handed over the site to the Australian Army. The Brisbane City Council, who owned the site, sold the block to the Committee of Direction on Fruit Marketing. The place contained two vehicle storage areas and the important rail siding.
The Committee of Direction on Fruit Marketing leased these areas to the Australian Army for 5 years. The Golden Circle Cannery now occupies the original Brisbane General Depot.
In 1950, the Australain Army bought 75 acres of the site and renamed the site as Banyo Ordnance Depot. The depot now serves as a support base for the Queensland Logistic Support Group.