The school holidays are in full swing in Nundah! If you’ve got bored little kids at home, why not swing by the Toombul Shopping Centre on Sandgate Road?
From the 11th to the 12th of April, Toombul’s Sweet as Sprinkles Kids Activity Zone, located outside Witchery, will hold a slime creative workshop for children between two years old to six years old. Staff members from Glitter and Goop will teach the kids how to make their own colourful slime to play countless hours with.
Sessions for the Slime Time are at 40 minutes per group but the activity zone will be open from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. Booking and payment of $5 per person is required as there are limited slots for the event.
Slime might be gooey, sticky and squishy but kids love to enjoy the sensory experience they draw from it. For smaller children, making slime can also help improve fine motor skills.
Meanwhile, parents dropping by with their kids at Toombul are encouraged to be present at the activity centre to assist and supervise their children when it’s their turn to create their very own slime.
A group of residents from Northgate has completed a tree planting activity on Saturday, the 23rd of March, with much success.
Councillor Adam Allan, who sponsored the project along with the Brisbane City Council, confirmed in a post on Facebook that the volunteers were able to plant more than 250 different trees by the side of the streets.
Wearing their most comfortable gardening clothes, shoes and hats, the volunteer residents met at the Plaisted Place Park before 9:00 a.m. to receive instructions from the experts. Mr Allan posted a video showing a staff from Treescape who demonstrated to the residents the proper way to plant the trees.
After working until 12:00 p.m., the following streets in Northgate now have newly-planted trees:
Almond Street
Belmore Street
Cavendish Street
Cook Street
Flower Street
Gympie Street
Krone Street
Little Street
Love Street
Maynard Street
Nansen Street
Northgate Road
Peary Street
Pole Street
Ridge Street
Ross Street
Saint Vincents Road
Sapsford Street
Scott Street
Toombul Street
Photo Credit: Loving Nundah/Facebook
As a token of gratitude, the volunteers were given free native plants, which they could plant in their own garden at home. The participants also enjoyed a sausage sizzle to cap their morning.
The Council will continue to provide these trees with water and maintenance services throughout the year. With proper care, these trees should bring more shade, cool winds and visually pleasing greens around the streets of Northgate.
Good food is best shared with great company and if you’re up to meet and socialise with new people in your community, there is a spot waiting for you at Nundah’s long table dinner at Platform 14.
Dubbed “A Twilight Gathering,” this long table dinner hosted by The Nundah Neighbourhood Centre will take place on Saturday, the 30th of March, at 6:00 p.m on 14 Station Street.
A three-course native Australian dinner will be served at this Nundah community gathering, featuring meals like crusted kangaroo skewers or chicken skewers, salads, yoghurt dip, and a selection of local cheese.
Conveniently, this night also marks the annual Earth Hour observance, where people around the world switch off power for 60 minutes. So, why not be among a group of people when the lights are off and make this night more worthwhile?
Aside from the food and company, “A Twilight Gathering” will also feature live entertainment, raffle prizes and a bar, where you can pay cash as you drink.
Registration is required to acquire the ticket and book your seat at the long dinner table.
To adapt to the demands of the 21st century, Toombul Shopping Centre at Sandgate Road, Nundah is set to launch its new $35-million dining and entertaining precinct called ‘UPSTAIRS’ by the end of 2019.
The latest addition to Toombul Shopping Centre’s modernization, ‘UPSTAIRS’ will integrate indoor/outdoor alfresco dining options with new entertainment facilities. It will feature up to ten new restaurants, lifestyle venues and a refurbished art-house cinema.
Photo credit: Mirvac YouTube Channel
What is exciting about this development is that it will be headlined by Archie Brothers Cirque Electric, a circus-themed leisure-tainment kidult wonderland.
The details surrounding Toombul Shopping Centre’s Archie Brothers outpost are vague but it is expected to be similar to its interstate counterparts which feature arcade games, bowling alleys, dodgem cars, interactive 3D theatres, and virtual reality games.
Customers are also definitely going to go wild with Archie Brothers’ menus which fit in with the circus decor. Their food and drinks focus on over-the-top novelty American diner fare, such as pink burgers and cocktails topped with candy.
When it opened in 1967, Toombul Shopping Centre catered to a market that comprised mostly of lower to middle income workers. Although the major stores which included Kmart, Target, Coles, and ALDI had a loyal following, Toombul Shopping Centre lacked colour, vibrancy and atmosphere. The centre badly needed a brand-new image.
Today, the shopping centre sits in an affluent trade area and the spending power of the market has now increased as high income households are identified as key residents within its trade area. The core customer base presently consists of young, well-educated, affluent, tech-savvy, and socially conscious individuals who expect quality service.
When new management took over in May 2016, some of the first upgrades done were the installation of travelators in the Kmart mall and then some 200 undercover car parks were added.
Car parks with charging bays for electric cars Photo credit: Toombul/Facebook
Renovation of the Fresh Food Mall began almost immediately and soon the centre’s ambience began to change dramatically. The Fresh Food Mall’s transformation was stunning, vibrant and colourful.
Before and after photos of Toombul Shopping Centre’s makeover Photo credit: Toombul/Facebook
Also, the covered outdoor dining area linked to the centre entrance significantly improved the liveliness of the shopping centre.
Photo credit: Google Street View
Photo credit: Google Street View
‘UPSTAIRS’ promises to be a place not only for people to eat and shop but also to socialise, be entertained and indulge. It promises to host Insta-worthy experiences and will offer a different kind of dining experience for those craving for something new and exciting.
Great coffee, comfortable setting, and delectable food makes any cafe worth visiting. If these are what makes a good cafe then the new Chapel Park Cafe at 3/1180 Sandgate Road, Nundah will not disappoint.
The Chapel Park Cafe has the ambience of a typical coffee shop. The style is a bit industrial due to the polished concrete floor and subway tiles. The wood furniture and potted plants add warmth and coziness to the cafe. The large windows allow natural light into the shop, which brighten up the space.
Yet there is more to this cafe than the inviting look. Their black coffee, for instance, is something you should not miss because it’s the Moonshine Coffee Roasters blend best known for its complex flavour. They also have it in white, which is not that strong but will please you with its smoothness and chocolate overtones.
When you are not in the mood for some hot drinks, they can serve your Moonshine Coffee Roasters cold, with ice cream on top. They also have the green smoothies, which is a combination of spinach, banana, mango, coconut water, and passionfruit.
Then who would say no to their poppyseed pikelets with a whipped vanilla ricotta, spiced pear, fresh berries, Canadian maple and a shaved macadamia? Or if you want something to grab on a busy day, their Ham Hock Bagel with aged cheddar, rocket, green apple, caramelised onions and a fried egg is a sure winner!
The breakfast and lunch, all prepared by chef Theodore Wray, are served from 7:00 am to 2:00 pm all days of the week. The coffee and drinks can be ordered from 6:00 am to 3:00 pm from Monday to Saturday and 7:00 am to 2:00 pm on Sundays.
For the full menu and contact details, visit the Chapel Park cafe website or follow them on Instagram.
A Valentine’s bike fest, hosted by Cycling Mums Australia, will be held at the Nundah Crit Track on Saturday, 16 February 2019.
Many couples celebrate Valentine’s Day with dinner or a special home-cooked meal, or gifts of flowers, chocolates, and cards. Some indulge in a luxury hotel stay to spend some quality time together.
Cycling Mums Australia believes that even if people aren’t part of a couple, they can still get to celebrate Valentine’s Day. The support group, which was created to encourage and empower women to enjoy cycling, is hosting RPM4 LOVE, a bike fest to bring back the love in riding bicycles.
Photo credit: Cycling Mums Australia/Facebook
Members of the family, partners, aunts and uncles, and single buds are all welcome to join the event.
A Kids Minis Clinic will be conducted by trained and qualified instructors from 4:00 to 5:00 pm. Children from 3 to 10 years old can learn some tips and tricks to be safer, better riders.
Photo credit: Cycling Mums Australia/Facebook
The Women Skills session will be from 5:00 to 6:00 pm. A couple from Breakaway Cycle Tours will give rider safety tips, crit racing tips, confidence building stuff, and maybe even some track stop tips.
At 6:00 to 7:00 pm, there will be a crit style Speed Dating Session. To the tune of Beyonce’s Single Ladies, participants will be pinned a number, paired with a riding buddy, and they’ll do a couple of loops at conversation pace till the bell rings.
Photo credit: Cycling Mums Australia/Facebook
What better way to chill and have a few laughs this Valentine’s? So come and ride side by side with like-minded people to put the love back in riding.
Do you know that a public toilet in Nundah has been classified as a state heritage site by the Queensland Heritage Register?
Yes, that’s right! A public toilet located at Sandgate Road in Nundah is included amongst Queensland’s heritage-listed sites due to its historic role as an air raid shelter back in World War Two.
Nundah Air Raid Shelter
Brisbane’s population increased dramatically during the Second World War. This population growth was brought by the different military headquarters and supply facilities that were set up in the area in aid of the ongoing war.
Given its strategic position and the number of people dwelling in Brisbane, the Brisbane City Council then took responsibility for the different Air Raid Precaution (ARP) activities to cover the area. The council established an Air Raid Warden system, which include a firefighting operation system and provision of air raid shelters.
The Nundah air raid shelter was designed by Council Architect Frank Gibson Costello, and it was built in 1942 by the Brisbane City Council. This shelter was built in preparation for the possible bombing raids by the Japanese in Nundah. Nundah was seen as a potential target during that time because of its close proximity to the Petroleum Warehouse built by the United States Army in Brisbane.
Renewed Purpose
Majority of the structures built for wartime purposes, such as military camps and munition factories, were removed shortly by the end of the Second World War. However, some of the structures that had survived, including Costello’s public surface shelters, were given a secondary purpose. Amongst these wartime structures that still exist even at present day are the Story Bridge Hotel, Howard Smith Wharves, and the Nundah Air Raid Shelter.
The Nundah Air Raid Shelter at present is a rectangular structure that accommodates public toilets. The toilets are enclosed by block walls and a mural is placed around the exterior walls of the structure. Its original floor slab has now been covered with pebbles and tiles. For lighting, wires have been placed inside the structure and skylights have also been cut into the roof slab.
Photo credit: Shiftchange/Wikimedia Commons
Significance of Nundah Air Raid Shelter
On the 6th of April in 2005, the Air Raid Shelter in Nundah was listed amongst the heritage sites in Queensland after successfully meeting the following criteria:
The place is important in demonstrating the evolution or pattern of Queensland’s history. The Nundah air raid shelter had a significant role during World War Two. It was part of Brisbane’s implemented Air Raid Precaution activity that provided protection to the civilian population of Brisbane in the event of an air raid attack.
The place demonstrates rare, uncommon or endangered aspects of Queensland’s cultural heritage. There were many structures built for wartime purposes by the Brisbane City Council during World War Two, however only very few of these structures have survived. This air raid shelter is amongst those structures that have lasted until today.
The place is important in demonstrating the principal characteristics of a particular class of cultural places. Given its shape, siting, and solid construction, this structure demonstrates the principal attributes of a pubic air raid shelter in Brisbane during the World War Two.
The place is important in demonstrating a high degree of creative or technical achievement at a particular period. With its secondary purpose, from an air raid shelter to a public toilet, it then possesses an innovative and durable design using concrete technology available during the World War Two.
The place has a special association with the life or work of a particular person, group or organisation of importance in Queensland’s history. This structure is an important example of the wartime work of the City Architect’s Office, and particularly the work of Architect F.G. Costello.
The Nundah Fresh Farmers Markets is a great place to spend Sunday mornings with the family, enjoying freshly roasted coffee and hearty breakfast treats such as steak burgers, croissants, crepes, and donuts.
Of course, after you’ve had your fill and before heading back home, you can support local farmers and suppliers by picking-up some fresh farm produce and crafts — and there’s definitely lots to choose from.
GFree Donuts
Nundah Farmers Markets / Facebook
Two Busy Bees – Raw Honey
Nundah Farmers Markets / Facebook
Nundah’s Fresh Farmers Markets offers the freshest produce such as seafood, local prawns, farm-fresh eggs, gourmet meats, herbs and spices. Also, there’s a great assortment of fresh flowers and plants, artisan baked breads and pastries, arts and crafts, health and lifestyle products, and home decors.
Did we mention that there’s live music too?
Breakfast Shack
Nundah Farmers Markets / Facebook
Nundah Farmers Markets / Facebook
Loose Leaf Specialty Iced Tea
Nundah Farmers Markets / Facebook
Nundah Farmers Markets / Facebook
Nundah Farmers Markets / Facebook
The Nundah Fresh Farmers Markets is located in the Nundah train station car park, below Nundah Village. This all-weather market runs every Sunday from 6 a.m. to 12 noon, closing only for four weekends a year — Christmas to early January.
No need to worry about parking because free parking at Nundah Fresh Farmers Markets is aplenty. This farmer’s market is also conveniently located just across the Nundah Rail Station, so going there by public transport is not a problem.
Don’t forget to check out Nundah Fresh Farmers Markets’ social media page to catch up on the latest happenings and events.
After submissions on the proposed development on Sandgate Road in Nundah closed last year and despite the changes made to the plan, issues still hound the controversial development proposal.
The proposed development is for a multiple dwelling of 72 units above 12 retail tenancies on the site of a local heritage place and involving a partial demolition of a commercial character building.
Original proposed design
Photo Credit: Brisbane City Council / pdonline.brisbane.qld.gov.au
Proposed new design
Photo Credit: Brisbane City Council / pdonline.brisbane.qld.gov.au
The proposal met strong opposition from the residents and sparked an online petition that saw over two thousand individuals supporting the petition. By the end of the consultation period, over 150 submissions have been lodged by the locals as well.
An information request by the Council was issued on March 2018 asking the applicant to respond to the issues that were brought up such as the “heritage impacts, building height, architectural design, streetscape interface, traffic impacts, parking, air quality, amenity impacts, landscaping, unit sizes and land use mix.”
In their response to the information requestsubmitted 16 October 2018, the applicant amended their plans and changes to the key design elements they summarised under the following:
Provision of a strong, two-storey podium element which is designed to provide an architectural rhythm in keeping with the retained Local heritage façade. This also integrates apartments into the second level, akin to shop-top-living, and removes any double height glazing along the ground level, providing better articulation and a stronger village feel to the street frontages.
In terms of the number of storeys, the building is now six storeys to Sandgate Road and seven storeys to the rear of the site. This is a significant reduction of 2 to 3 storeys from the 9 storeys as noted by Council in the Information Request. This provision of stepped height from Sandgate Road to the rear of the site is due to the top storey being set back significantly from Sandgate Road, with rooftop communal area now overlooking Sandgate Road.
The ground level and access have been amended to ensure that all access and servicing are provided for on site, with servicing hours limited to mitigate any potential amenity concerns for nearby and proposed residents. A designated and clearly identifiable residential lobby is also provided off Chapel Street, as is a pedestrian pathway to the rear tenancies.
Additional landscaping is provided along the Chapel Street frontage, as well as throughout the communal open space.
The retention of the Local Heritage building has been further considered with the design now providing for consideration and retention of both the ground and upper storey, and a more significant extent of the depth of the building also, with the tower above set back by up to 7m from Sandgate Road.
Photo Credit: Brisbane City Council / pdonline.brisbane.qld.gov.au
Photo Credit: Brisbane City Council / pdonline.brisbane.qld.gov.au
Despite the changes in the plan, Councillor Adam Allan still has concerns about the project including the micro apartment —which he considers very small — that was added to the proposal, and the inadequate number of parking and common areas. Overall, he thinks that the proposal is not the kind of development that is right for Nundah.
Find the updates on the development application DA004831430 here.
From the category with the most participants, Kallangur and Banyo homes win the top spot of the 2018 4KQ Christmas Lights North Category.
This year, John and Kaye Baker’s home was Best North winner of the 2018 4KQ Christmas Lights Competition. Located at 12 Elm Drive, Kallangur, the Baker’s residence impressed the judges with their fantastic Christmas lights display.
The winning home embraced the Christmas spirit as it features various displays of Santa with his reindeers and so much more. Check out the following photos to see why the Kallangur home was the best in the North.
Named as this year’s Runner-Up in the 4KQ Christmas Lights’ North Category is Jeanette Meyer’s Grandma’s Christmas Garden. Located at 4 Huron Street, Banyo, Meyer was able to transform her house into a joyful Christmas garden featuring a Nativity scene, storytime with Santa, and more holiday vignettes.
Take a look at the Banyo home’s Christmas lights display below.
Photo credit: 4KQ 693AM/Facebook
Proving that the North category is amongst the most competitive ones, six more houses impressed the judges. This year’s recipients of the Judges Commendation are the following:
Barwick Family, 27 Minimine Street, Stafford
Carolyn and Troy Ebsworth, 81 Froude Street, Banyo
Lights on Daisy, 48 Daisy Street, Grange
Lights on Long St, 1 Long Street, Clontarf
Michael and Vanessa Saccasan, 26 Cockatiel Court, Deception Bay
St Gerard Majella Catholic Church, 146 Maundrell Terrace, Chermside West
Seeing these beautifully lit home is surely much better when viewed in person. Why not go on a trip around town with your family and friends and experience these magical lights yourself?
The Council’s Christmas lights bus tours will still be running until the evening of Friday, 21 December 2018. Just remember that each tour leaves at 6:45 p.m. sharp and will go for approximately three hours. Refreshment stops also included.
