Ferny Hills, a suburb 14 km north-west of central Brisbane, is on the upper reaches of the Cabbage Tree Creek and Kedron Brook. It adjoins Arana Hills, which in turn adjoins Everton Hills (moving downstream), and the three suburbs constitute the Hills District in the south of the former Pine Rivers Shire (now in Moreton Bay Regional Council).
When settled in the 1860s, the three suburbs formed part of the Bunya and Kedron Brook districts. Kedron Brook became known as Ferny Flats, the name acknowledging the farming community on the river flats and the village of Ferny Grove on the south side of Kedron Brook.
In 1957 the first of hundreds of unserviced house lots were put up for sale in Arana Hills. When first offered by Willmore and Randell, the house lots were advertised as the Camden Estate. The change of name was a local initiative in 1962, it being thought that Arana was a word signifying welcome. Everton Hills, the eastern-most suburb, had its opening subdivision in 1959, and the place name was on firmer ground having regard to the historic Everton Lodge Homestead in neighbouring Everton Park (Brisbane council area).
Ferny Hills was a logical adaptation of Ferny Grove, and the area was at one stage referred to as Ferny Grove Development. Housing subdivisions started in 1960, a school was opened in 1970 and 'Ferny Hills' was gazetted in 1972. Gazettal more or less coincided with the completion of the sewering of the three suburbs in 1974, about six years after water was reticulated. Until completion of these services, the suburbs were pilloried as sub-standard. The suburbs are served by two state primary schools – Ferny Hills was opened in 1970 and the Patricks Road primary school was opened in 1977. Arana Hills has a local drive-in shopping centre (1977) with a discount department store and a supermarket. To their north and east there are Bunyaville and Samford State Forest Parks.
Telstra built communications towers atop a council-owned water reservoir in Caesar Road at Ferny Hills in 2007, despite residents' objections.
Census populations have been:
| 1971 | 1981 | 2001 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Arana Hills | 2950 | 4747 | n/s |
| Everton Hills | 2048 | 4707 | n/s |
| Ferny Hills | 3166 | 6916 | n/s |
| Total | 8164 | 16,370 | 20,014 |
From 2006 Ferny Hills' census population was no longer counted with Arana Hills and Everton Hills. Its census populations have been:
| census date | population |
|---|---|
| 2006 | 8657 |
| 2011 | 8721 |
Tracks and times: a history of the Pine Rivers district, Strathpine, Pine Rivers Shire Council, 1988
