Wondering where the name Taringa comes from? It is derived from an Aboriginal term. It describes a place made of stones.
Taringa is a residential suburb. It is located five km south-west of central Brisbane. Taringa sits on the Ipswich railway line and Moggill Road. The Western Freeway is a short distance away.
Taringa’s history is closely linked to the railway. The railway line from Brisbane to Ipswich opened in 1875. Land sales occurred around the Taringa railway station. This happened as soon as trains started running. These sales were among rural acreages. Back then Taringa was only a fraction of the Indooroopilly local government area. That area stretched from Upper Brookfield to St Lucia and south to Priors Pocket. Ironside was the local school for Taringa’s farming families.
The Taringa post office opened in 1884. Six years later, the Taringa local government division was created. It separated from Indooroopilly. This division stretched from St Lucia to Mt Coot-tha. The council met in Taringa.
Taringa had a row of shops along Moggill Road. A Post Office directory from 1901 lists them. There was a grocer a draper and a baker. You could also find two butchers a bootmaker and a blacksmith. The primary school opened in 1900. It was squeezed between Moggill Road and Morrow Street. Taringa steadily grew. In 1919 the Fire Brigade Act extended to Taringa. This provided property protection. In 1925 Taringa was incorporated into Greater Brisbane Council.
During the 1930s, the university at St Lucia was built. This positioned Taringa as a potential dormitory suburb. It was meant for the post-war transfer of higher learning. This transfer moved from the city to the St Lucia campus. Some modern interwar housing was built on Taringa’s slopes. A notable example is the Fulton House from 1940. It is a heritage-listed two-storey brick residence with a railed balcony. You can find it in McCaul Street. Moggill Road also had a shopping centre. It included the Picture Palace cinema, the Alliance Hall, and Anglican and Methodist churches. Taringa East is an outlying location. A post office opened at the nearby fiveways intersection in 1953.
Moggill Road became increasingly busy. It was the route to Indooroopilly and Kenmore. The Western Freeway-Centenary Highway opened in 1969. This relieved some traffic pressure. A bypass route in the heart of Taringa also opened that year. This was in anticipation of Indooroopilly Shoppingtown in 1970. It positioned regional shopping just outside Taringa.
A minor anti-modern housing trend emerged. Rex Addison built new houses in Taringa Parade and McCaul Street in 1975 and 1999. These drew on the timber Queenslander tradition. These houses were close to shopping, public transport, the city, the university and Silvan Slopes. The primary school closed in 1996. It was too close to the bypass. The multi-million dollar site was redeveloped for residential units. Other land parcels along Moggill Road went for development sites. This included a former council depot in 2003 and 2004.
Taringa East gained a small Fiveways drive-in shopping centre in 1990. There is a supermarket and local stores. Moggill Road has retained something of its shopping strip.
In January 2011, water from the Brisbane River flooded into Taringa. It travelled beyond Perrin Park to Whitmore Street and Swann Road. Numerous buildings were affected.
Today Taringa is known for its quiet streets. It has numerous parks. Residents enjoy convenient access to retail districts. It’s close to the city with easy access. Taringa boasts great parks. Some points offer fantastic city views. Taringa is a suburb with a rich history. It provides a blend of convenience and community.