Tingalpa is a suburb in the City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. In the 2021 census, Tingalpa had a population of 8,461 people.
Tingalpa Creek was surveyed in 1841 and named Tingulpa. The origin of Tingalpa's name is uncertain. It may be derived from an Aboriginal expression referring to a fat kangaroo, or named after Tingalpa Creek, which lies 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) east, or be derived from the Turrubal words tangul (meaning 'plant for stupefying fish') and pa (meaning 'place').
In 1863, a township site was surveyed on the west side of Tingalpa Creek, where Old Cleveland Road crossed the creek. It was never built on and was known as Old Tingalpa. In 1943, this location was formally abolished. In 1860s a new site was settled called New Tingalpa, away to the north-west.
In 1867, a post office was opened.
In 1867, a local architect, Richard Suter designed the Gothic Anglican Christ Church, which was built in 1868. The church and burial ground located on 1341 Wynnum Road, east of Bulimba Creek (27°28′23″S 153°06′42″E / 27.473°S 153.1117°E).
The Royal Mail Hotel was licensed in 1870. It was a stopping place for Cobb & Co stagecoaches. The Tingalpa Hotel now occupies the site at 1564 Wynnum Road (27°28′30″S 153°07′40″E / 27.4749°S 153.1277°E).
On 1 August 1870, the Board of Education received a letter from Mr. W. Wood, a local farmer in the Tingalpa Shire about the necessity of having a school for the district. Funds were raised by the community to buy the original 2 acres and also to build a temporary school located at 1546 Wynnum Road. On 1 August 1873, the Tingalpa school was opened. Bernard McGouran was the first head teacher. The school started with 50 pupils on the roll, by June 1874 there were 99 students. The primary reason for enrolling in the early years was to learn to speak English, as the most commonly use language was the local Aboriginal dialect. In 1923, a new school was built.
Tingalpa Cemetery had its first burial in 1875. In 1913 it was renamed Hemmant Cemetery. Lawn cemeteries were added from 1952. In 2001 a crematorium opened at the cemetery. Despite the name change, as at 2020, it is within the boundaries of Tingalpa and not Hemmant (27°28′05″S 153°08′04″E / 27.4680°S 153.1344°E).
In 1880, a local government division was established for the Tingalpa area. The boundaries of this area were "south-east from the intersection of the Pacific Highway and the Mount Gravatt-Capalaba Road, crossing the Tingalpa Creek and ending at Redland Bay." The headquarters of the local government were located at Mount Cotton.
The Wynnum and Manly Road are where the above facilities are roughly located. In 1919, the diggers's war memorial was erected, making this location more prominent. In 1925, the west part of the Shire of Tingalpa become part of the Greater City of Brisbane. In 1949 the rest of the shire was joined with the Shire of Cleveland, becoming Shire of Redland (now City of Redland). In the 1949 Queensland Post Office Directory there were eight poultry farms and there are fewer dairymen. There was also two motor garages and the Pacific Cafe on Wynnum Road.
In 2011, one of the first Masters Home Improvement retail outlets in Queensland opened in Tingalpa and was located at the intersection of Wynnym Road and New Cleveland Road up until its closure in December 2016.
By 1980 the population of Tingalpa had nearly tripled from 1400 people in 1954.
The 2011 census recorded 8,539 residents in Tingalpa, of whom 50.5% were female and 49.5% were male. The median age of the population was 35; 2 years younger than the Australian average. 72.1% of people living in Tingalpa were born in Australia, with the next most common countries of birth being New Zealand (6.9%), England (3.8%), the Philippines (1.4%), Fiji (0.9%), and India (0.8%). 84.5% of people spoke English as their first language, while the other most common responses were Hindi (1%), Greek (0.9%), Tagalog (0.7%), Cantonese (0.7%), and Spanish (0.6%).
In the 2016 census, Tingalpa had a population of 8,290 people.
In the 2021 census, Tingalpa had a population of 8,461 people.
History info courtesy of Wikipedia
