Sandgate

Sandgate, a bayside suburb, is 17 km north of central Brisbane. It adjoins Shorncliffe, and both place names reflect their coastal position. Sandgate was named by the surveyor James Burnett after the seaside district of the same name in Kent, England; and Shorn Cliff, also named by Burnett, referred to the cliff face overlooking Moreton Bay.
Sandgate is bordered by an inlet, Bramble Bay, on the north and by Cabbage Tree Creek on the south. The heritage-listed town hall in Brighton Road is in the historic precinct north of the railway station. Other heritage-listed sites include the war-memorial park in Seymour Grove, the post office and the former Baptist church.
The North East Wetlands are located in the city's north-eastern suburbs and are an amalgamation of seven areas of parkland totalling 170 hectares. Dowse, Einbunpin and Sandgate Third and Fourth Lagoons are categorised as permanent freshwater lagoons. Naturally formed lagoons of this size are rare in Brisbane. Sandgate Third Lagoon has been described as one of the most extensive reed beds within the city. Rainbow parakeet, Cockatoos and numbers of 'Bin Chickens' (black-headed ibis') can be found at Einbunpin lagoon at various times throughout the day. We have now seen 3 of the 4 lagoons in Sandgate.
There are three main type of typical houses to this area - a Bushman, a Colonial and a Queenslander and then a Federation which is bigger still. When settlers first arrived here they found things like termites, snakes, swamps and floods so building their houses on stilts or stacks above the ground made sense. The house developed from being a one bedrooms small bungalow hut style, to a 2 bedroom house raised on stilts and then 3 - 4 bedrooms houses with rooms underneath. These can develop into mansions on stilts! When extending a house here people often lift their house and build underneath, rarely above.Read more