Petrie is a suburb in the City of Moreton Bay, Queensland, Australia. In the 2021 census, Petrie had a population of 8,722 people.
Petrie is situated in the Yugarabul traditional Indigenous Australian country.
Thomas Petrie established his homestead Murrumba on a bend on the Pine River in 1858. Tom Petrie was part of the Petrie family, who were the first free settlers in Queensland and who established their prominent construction business in 1840. Murrumba was an important stopping point on the route to the goldfields in Gympie. Tom Petrie subdivided a portion of his land to create the town, initially known as North Pine.
On Sunday 6 July 1873, North Pine Presbyterian Church was officially opened by Reverend M. McGavin.
North Pine River Crossing Provisional School opened on 22 April 1874. As the students were located on both sides of the Pine River, the teacher would teach the students on the south side of the river in the morning and then row across the river to teach the students on the north side of the river in the afternoon. This arrangement continued until 1877, when a bridge was established at Sweeney's Reserve, allowing all students to attend on the north side of the river. In 1879, it was renamed Pine River North State School. In 1896, it was renamed North Pine State School. In 1956, it became Petrie State School. The original school building was renovated in 2010 and was heritage-listed in 2014.
Harrison's Pocket Provisional School opened on 31 January 1876. On 18 February 1884 it became Harrison's Pocket State School. It closed in 1937.
North Pine School of Arts was built in 1889 and was officially opened on 28 January 1890 by Charles Powers, the Queensland Minister for Education. A special train was provided to bring visitors from Brisbane to attend the opening. The School of Arts has been used by the community over the years for many social and cultural activities purposes, including meetings, concerts, dances, movies, and as a library.
The Phoenix Masonic Lodge founded in 1894. Since 1929, the Phoenix Lodge has been meeting at the Petrie Masonic Centre in Whites Road.
In July 1911 (after Tom Petrie's death) the North Pine railway station was renamed Petrie railway station. The suburb takes its name from the railway station. Tom Petrie was a highly regarded individual in the area through his community work and his cooperation with the local Indigenous Australian inhabitants. Tom Petrie had written significant information about his research in South-East Queensland regarding Indigenous Australian culture, travels and work. On Saturday 15 July 1911, a freestone monument to Thomas Petrie was unveiled by Sir William MacGregor, the Queensland Governor. It is outside the North Pine School of Arts in Petrie Place Park, 1014-1030 Anzac Avenue (27°16′10″S 152°58′43″E / 27.2694°S 152.9786°E).
St John the Baptist Anglican Church was built in 1953. That church building was demolished and replaced in 1987 by another church building designed by John Deshon. In 1995, the current church building was built from rendered brick with the 1987 church building becoming the church hall.
In 1957, Australian Paper Manufacturers (now Amcor) established their Petrie paper mill on a 250-hectare (620-acre) site, formerly two dairy farms. It was officially opened on 6 December 1957 by the Prime Minister, Robert Menzies. It was the largest industrial development in southern Queensland at the time. It created an economic stimulus that transformed Petrie from a small farming town into a growing residential area. The mill closed in 2013. Moreton Bay Regional Council purchased the site for tertiary education as part of an innovation and knowledge precinct and, in 2015, entered into a partnership with the University of the Sunshine Coast to develop the site, with construction commencing in June 2018. On 9 March 2020, the foundation building was opened by Peter Dutton, the local member for the Australian House of Representatives for Dickson.
Our Lady of the Way Catholic School opened on 3 February 1964 on the site of Tom Petrie's former homestead. It opened with two teachers from the Sisters of the Holy Spirit and a lay teacher with 55 students in a temporary building, with the school's first building opened on 20 September 1964, serving both as a school and the parish church, also known as Our Lady of the Way. A separate church building was opened on 15 November 1970.
In 1965, St Peter's Lutheran Church was built from brick at 8 Young Street (27°16′07″S 152°58′42″E / 27.268581°S 152.978449°E). In 2001, it was closed and sold to the Samoan Methodist Church.
Kurwongbah State School opened on 28 January 1986.
Kolbe College was established in 1987 by the Daughters of Charity. It was later renamed Mt Maria College Petrie.
In the 2011 census, Petrie had a population of 8,499 people, 50.3% female and 49.7% male. The median age of the Petrie population was 34 years, 3 years below the national median of 37. 78.6% of people living in Petrie were born in Australia. The other top responses for country of birth were England 5.9%, New Zealand 4.6%, South Africa 1%, Scotland 0.6%, Philippines 0.6%. 92.8% of people spoke only English at home; the next most common languages were 0.5% Afrikaans, 0.3% Dutch, 0.3% Italian, 0.3% Samoan, 0.3% Spanish.
In the 2016 census, Petrie had a population of 8,674 people.
In the 2021 census, Petrie had a population of 8,722 people.
History info courtesy of Wikipedia
