Mansfield, one of a group of three residential suburbs around Mount Gravatt named after Queensland public figures, is 11 km south-east of central Brisbane. Named in 1967, it remembers Sir Alan Mansfield (1902-80), who was Chief Justice (1956-66) and Governor of Queensland (1966-72).
Mansfield lay between Mount Gravatt East and Bulimba Creek, and its eastern boundary was later extended in part beyond the creek to the Gateway motorway (1986). At one time Sir Alan Mansfield had lived in the area near the Mount Gravatt East primary school, south-east of the corner of Newnham and Wecker Roads. During the interwar years most of the land was subdivided for seven to ten acre farms. Mount Gravatt was an early postwar suburb and Mount Gravatt East followed in the 1950s; its primary school was opened in 1955 and within ten years much of the modern street layout in Mansfield was defined. Land was reserved for education, which opened with Mansfield primary (1970) and Mansfield high (1974). Further away, on the east side of Bulimba Creek, the Christian Outreach College was opened in 1978.
The mid-1960s street layout included Cresthaven Drive and several adjoining streets with Aboriginal names. The Cresthaven estate was built by the State Housing Commission. In the early 1980s the private-sector Green Meadows estate was built, reputedly the place where the new-rich set up house. Gretna Green estate in the north of Mansfield was developed by a Bruce Small company.
Mansfield has linear parklands along Bulimba Creek, including Cresthaven Park. There is a shopping centre in Aminya Street and regional facilities in Upper Mount Gravatt. In addition to the schools already mentioned there is the Brisbane Adventist College (1966). There is a large industrial estate on Mansfield's western boundary and extensive parklands along Bulimba Creek.
Mansfield's census populations have been:
Census Date | Population |
---|---|
1971 | 4824 |
1976 | 7311 |
1991 | 8105 |
2001 | 9410 |
2006 | 8349 |
2011 | 8473 |