Enchanting spot

“One of the most enchanting spots within the Brisbane area was an immense jungle in the western portion of South Brisbane. It began at about the spot where the Victoria Bridge now stands, and it followed the course of the river right away to Hill End, along the whole length of what is now the Montague-road. This jungle was a tangled mass of trees, vines, flowering creepers, staghorns, elkhorns, towering scrub palms, giant ferns, and hundreds of other varieties of the fern family, beautiful and rare orchids, and the wild passion flower. While along the river bank were the waterlily in thousands, and the convolvulus of gorgeous hue.” 

An Old Brisbaneite “The Brisbane River: 100 Years Ago” The Brisbane Courier March 22, 1930

Image: A view of Hill End from Toowong in 1885 before the construction of houses along the river bank. Courtesy: John Oxley Library, State Library of Queensland.