Above: Toombul Shire Council, 1924. F W Bradbury (Chairman) is front row, fourth across.
Photo courtesy of State Archives of QLD.
Frederick William Bradbury, a carpenter by trade, arrived in Brisbane aboard the Hampshire in 1883. He married Annie Elizabeth Shaw on 24 October 1883. They lived in Nundah for 52 years.
The Bradbury home in Toombul Terrace was built by E. Proctor & Son, Timber Merchants and Joiners, and cost the large sum of £250 ($500 at the beginning of the twentieth century). Proctor’s Mill was situated in Union Street, Nundah where the Lutheran Aged Person’s Complex now stands.
Frederick was to have a long and very distinguished career as a member of the Toombul Shire Council and the Nundah Shire Council. In March 1923, the first pole for electric light and power was erected in Nundah and, in December of that year, Councillor F.W. Bradbury officially switched on the electric light and power to the Shire of Toombul.
He was chairman of the Toombul Shire Council from 1920 to 1924 and was the last councillor to hold this position. When the greater Brisbane City Council came into being in 1925, local shire councils were replaced by the ward system, and Frederick became the first alderman to represent the ward of Nundah. Bradbury Park, Kedron and Bradbury Street, Nundah are named in his honour.
Frederick and his wife Annie had four children. Their three sons were to die tragically. George Frederick, their 8-month old son, died in 1890, Arnold, aged 7 years, was drowned in Kedron Brook in 1911, and George Douglas, who was a chief inspector of hospitals, was lost when the launch Nerita disappeared in Moreton Bay during a long weekend in 1939. He was 43 years of age.
Frederick died on 19 May 1941, aged 80 years while holidaying at Stanthorpe with Annie and their daughter. On the 2 June 1948, Annie passed away, aged 86. Their family grave is in the Nundah Historic Cemetery.
The legacy of Frederick Bradbury will continue to live on, with the latest upgrades to Bradbury Park in Kedron. Already home to an off-leash dog park, scooter track, basketball court and magic forest, the new upgrades at Bradbury Park include a large playscape, new picnic shelters and seating, barbecues and a new car park. The one-of-a-kind playscape, which is being called a ‘miniature theme park’ is set to open in the coming months.
Above: Construction underway for the new ‘miniature theme park’ to open in Bradbury Park.
Photo courtesy of Brisbane City Council.
Above: An artists impression of Bradbury Park, set to be completed in early 2023.
Photo courtesy of Brisbane City Council.
Nundah & Districts Historical Society Inc. | Ph: 0472 733 630
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