Northgate is a suburb in the City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. In the 2021 census, Northgate had a population of 4,876 people.
The suburb's railway station was originally called North Coast Junction, as it was the junction where the North Coast railway line branched from the Sandgate railway line (later the Shorncliffe railway line). In 1890, the Queensland Railways Department renamed the station Northgate, being a coined word combining North from North Coast and gate from Sandgate. The suburb is named after the railway station.
The Northgate-Virginia School of Arts was opened on 20 January 1922 by Matthew Nathan, the Queensland Governor. It consisted of a public hall and a library. It was taken over by the Brisbane City Council circa 1960 and became the Northgate-Virginia Municipal Library and held over 10,000 books. It ceased to be a library and returned to its former role as a public hall under the name Northgate Hall.
Northgate Methodist Church opened in 1928. In 1977, it participated in the amalgamation to create the Uniting Church in Australia and was then known as Northgate Uniting Church. It was subsequently closed, sold, and converted into a house. It was at 116 Peary Street (27°23′25″S 153°03′54″E / 27.3902°S 153.0650°E).
Golden Circle was established as a growers' co-operative in the 1940s. It opened a pineapple cannery in Northgate in 1947.
St Peter's Mission Anglican Church opened on 13 September 1947. It closed in August 1991. It was at 194 Toombul Road, Northgate East (27°23′35″S 153°04′23″E / 27.3930°S 153.0730°E); the church building no longer exists.
In February 1949, it was announced that the name of the new railway station on the Sandgate line built to service the cannery would be Bindha, an Aboriginal word meaning food.
On 8 April 1951, the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Brisbane, James Duhig, laid the foundation stone for St John's School on the corner of Nudgee Road and Fraser Road (27°23′52″S 153°04′29″E / 27.3979°S 153.0747°E). The school opened on 29 January 1952 and was operated by the Presentation Sisters. Declining enrolments caused the school to close at the end of 1995 school year.
Northgate State School opened on 27 January 1959.
St John's Catholic Church was built beside St John's School. Archbishop Duhig laid the foundation stone on 13 May 1962. The completed church was opened on Sunday 5 August 1962 by Archbishop Patrick O'Donnell who dedicated the church as a war memorial for the Royal Australian Navy.
In the 2011 census, Northgate had a population of 4,304 people; 49.7% female and 50.3% male. The median age of the Northgate population was 34 years of age, 3 years below the Australian median. Children under 15 years made up 16.9% of the population and people aged 65 years and over made up 9.6% of the population. 72.1% of people living in Northgate were born in Australia, compared to the national average of 69.8%; the next most common countries of birth were New Zealand 4.8%, England 3.1%, India 3%, Philippines 1.1%, China 1.1%. 82.9% of people spoke only English at home; the next most popular languages were 2% Punjabi, 0.8% Hindi, 0.7% Cantonese, 0.7% Mandarin, 0.6% Tagalog.
In the 2016 census, Northgate had a population of 4,568 people.
In the 2021 census, Northgate had a population of 4,876 people.
History info courtesy of Wikipedia
