RIVERS
    The most significant natural feature in the area is the South Pine River. Dr John Dunmore Lang wrote his thoughts on the Pine Rivers, “... both would be mighty torrents in seasons of rain, but they would be insignificant streams ... in periods of drought.”  Indeed during times of flood the river banks were often scoured away. The river beds have changed many times over the years due to floods and mans intervention.

    During the 1860s to 1870, there was no bridge, and the crossing was undertaken at the shallow point of the river. The southern approach to the original crossing, is named after the first settler, James Cash, and is now known as Cash’s Crossing.
 

Photo to come

Photo 1: Clearly shows the original southern approach to Cash’s Crossing. The present bridge can be seen to the left of the photo. Although the river appears to look deep and flowing with water, the depth would not exceed 45 cm.                            Photo: Allison Hale. July 1997.

    The original bridge was a low level structure and built in 1892, This was washed away in 1893, and rebuilt. During the floods of April 1908, both the north and south approaches to the bridge were washed away, leaving only the middle section of the bridge standing. This was not repaired until February 1912.
 In 1931 bridge was completely washed away, and newspaper reports stated “Heavy rain had fallen in the morning and water was over the North Pine Bridge.”  Sandy Creek and Albany creek also flooded in the low lying areas.Sandy Creek, is not far from Cash’s Crossing, although there is little of the creek left today, other than the deep ravine made by the former running waters.

    A photo taken in 1928, shows the southern side of the river near the bridge with flat land. This land today is now part of the river pattern. This is probably due to the extensive sand and gravel extraction that took place in 1936 to provide material to build the Story Bridge and Eagle Farm Airport. A gravel plant was established not far from the crossing at this time. There is no visible evidence of the gravel plant, but the river now trickles over many water courses provided by the large flat areas left by the sand and gravel extraction.

    A new higher bridge was built in 1934, and survived the 1972 floods only to have the northern approach washed away in 1974. One reason for the lack of damage to the bridge was perhaps the scarcity of debris upstream, and the wider and deeper course due to the sand and gravel extraction which allowed for the torrent to subside.

    Large army camps were established on northern banks of the river during World War One, and  a smaller camp during World War Two, and this can be seen today in the wide low flat area on the Brendale side of the river. This section of the river was once a popular fishing spot, and even with the increased run off due the residential development, it is hard to believe that this now shallow, almost stagnate section of the river could sustain any fish life. Photos in conjunction with physical reports and observations can give a good indication of the development of the land and the river system.

PARKS
    While walking around the Albany Creek area, one notices the large number of parks and nature tracks, although some are very overgrown, particularly along sections of the river banks. Many of the trees in these parks are those common to the area, but seem to have been planted rather than preserved. This has helped to decrease the pollution problem, and provided locals with recreation areas. Parkland has also been developed for horse riding, a popular pastime. Many parks in the Albany Creek area are named after early residents. Sadly a park in Eatons Hill seems destined to be names Pine Park, instead of after an early resident.

    To the east of Cash’s Crossing at Eatons Hill, is a new residential acreage subdivision, on what was formally a nature reserve. Bunya Park opened in 1968, for the preservation of native fauna and flora. It was a 10 hectare park that closed in 1994. It has now undergone a revamp and is opened again on a much smaller scale, 2 hectare, as parkland and an educational facility within the Bunya Pine Court housing estate. “The park is home to more than 80 different species of wildlife and there will be displays in the centre ...”

LANDSCAPE and DEVELOPMENT
    The area is predominantly hilly, and walking around the area it is obvious that the streets were built with the contours of the land in mind. This pattern of streets is often used as a traffic calming device, and the nature of the hills would not allow for a straight road system. Topography and technology play an important role in defining the present landscape. Even as early as 1859, Albany Creek Road was built along the contours of the land.

    It is hard to imagine what the area was like when the first Europeans arrived. It is known that clearing took place, and the timber was used to built local dwellings and structures. A 1958 aerial photo shows Eatons Hill as all timber, with the adjoining Albany Creek area obviously rural with the tell tale ‘patchwork’ pattern of the land. It is also known that a small amount of gold was found in shafts dug into Eatons Hill. There is no visible evidence of these today. 1972 saw the opening of the Eatons Hill estate and development was quick. This first section included a high level reservoir, and the second section was along the Bunya Park Drive. John Eaton had planted quite a number of fruit trees in the area, and today the only evidence is in a lone mango tree near the water tower.

    Any endeavour to explain the historical landscape must include the interaction between people and the landscape. The 1960s and the real estate boom led to many people owning or buying their own homes. This development has led to the destruction of many landscapes and today councils are endeavouring that this ‘sprawl’ no longer makes as much of an impact on the environment as previously. Nevertheless, the destruction of the environment by this residential development can be seen in aerial photos of the area. This original Eatons Hill development is today a well established, leafy area, with many local species of vegetation now in place along side the introduced palm trees.

    Development of residential areas in the 1960s and 70s led the council to put in place a policy containing the proposal for development. It saw the need for 4 primary schools and 1 high school. The area today has one high school, and three primary schools. The land for the most recent school had been put aside since the early 1970s and although sparsely vegetated this development has lead to the complete clearing of all vegetation.

    Further residential development is now taking place in Eatons Hill in the form of subdividing the present acreage sites. This has lead to large tracks of land being cleared with only the occasional tree remaining. No doubt this has also lead to the destruction of many native animal habitats, including the koala.

CONCLUSION
    Stephen Dovers describes environmental history as interwoven with other histories, social, economical and political.  He goes on further to say that there is a need to look at historical contexts for resource and environmental problems.  He also quotes Worster “environmental history has great potential for changing the way we conceive of the past.”  This is true. Evidence can be in the form of written, photographic and oral sources, but these are often representative of one point of view. One needs to examine all aspects to come to a conclusion about environmental history. One thing is clear though, there is no one aspect that is responsible for the present landscape. It is a combination of climate, floods, bushfires, and mans intervention and social history that determine the development of a locality.
 Charles Picket said “History surrounds us constantly in an endless variety of forms, in our built environment, our natural environment, in the way we think about the world.”  This is what the current landscape of the Albany Creek, Eatons Hill area portrays. The results of events and changes in the past, the transition from a rural area to that of an urban, residential area can be seen occurring at present.

Bibliography

    Applied Populations Research Unit, Department of Geographical Sciences, Population Profile Projections, Pine Rivers Shire Part 1, The University of Queensland, 1995.
    DOVERS, Stephen (ed) Australian Environmental History - Essays and Cases, Oxford University Press, Australia, 1994.
    JEANS, D. N. (ed) Australia - a Geography, Sydney University Press, Sydney, 1977.
    JEANS, D. N. (ed) Australian Historical Landscapes, Allen & Unwin, North Sydney, 1984.
   Pine Rivers Green Plan Volume 1 Parts A & B, Chenoweth & Associates, Brisbane, 1994.
   Pine Rivers Shire Council Community Information Booklet 1997-1998.
    TEAGUE, D. R. The History of Albany Creek, Bridgeman Downs and Eaton’s Hill, Colonial Press, Brisbane, 1980.
    UBD Brisbane Street Directory 27th Edition, Universal Press Pty Ltd, Brisbane, 1981.
   UBD Brisbane Refidex Street Directory, Universal Press Pty Ltd, Brisbane, 1996.