Kangaroo Point is a premier Brisbane location for tourists and locals alike. No other area of Brisbane can match Kangaroo Point for its location and natural beauty. Featuring unmatched river and city views, the beautiful Kangaroo Point cliffs and of course Brisbane's most recognisable icon, the famous Story Bridge. Kangaroo Point is home to the largest number of holiday and residential towers in Brisbane, and it's no surprise given the area's close proximity to the CBD and easy access to the highways leading to both the Gold Coast and Sunshine Coast.

Kangaroo Point Cliffs

The steepness of the cliffs was increased by quarrying operations which mined the volcanic rock or rhyolite lava flows which form the cliffs. Offering impressive early morning or evening views, extending across the river to the City and beyond to the mountains surrounding the city's outskirts, the Kangaroo Point Cliffs are a popular picnic spot. At the cliffs' base are well maintained gas barbecues and eating spots, interspersed between vibrant river's edge sculptures, walking and cycling tracks, and whimsical pavilions for the rest.

The Kangaroo Point cliffs are also well known for climbing, and are very popular with climbers from all over the country. Below the cliffs you will also find the award winning Riverlife adventure group. Riverlife offer a huge range of activities, from kayaking down the Brisbane River to climbing the famous Kangaroo Point cliffs.

Story Bridge

A soft adventure experience around a walk on top of the iconic Story Bridge. It's Brisbane's must do leisure experience and the most spectacular way to discover the city and surrounding areas. The Story Bridge Climb takes around two and a half hours to complete and is regarded as a safe and relatively comfortable adventure experience. Climbers are provided with a fully enclosed suit and must wear their own fully enclosed shoes with a suitable sole, such as runners or sneakers. The climb gives participants the opportunity to view Brisbane from a totally unique perspective which will create lasting memories of this great city. At its highest point the bridge towers 74 metres above the ground, which is equivalent to a 22 story building. The total span of the bridge is over one kilometre with a 282 metre river span. Ph 1300 254 627.

Riverlife Mirrabooka

Share in rich Aboriginal culture presented by the Yuggera Aboriginal Dancers-Riverlife Mirrabooka in the natural bushland of Kangaroo Point. Develop an awareness of the diverse aspects of contemporary Aboriginal culture by witnessing and participating in traditional song and dance passed down over many generations, primitive fire starting techniques, playing of Aboriginal musical instruments (such as didgeridoos) and listening to Indigenous educational talks that offer an insight into Aboriginal life and history of this ancient land.

Yungaba

Directly under the bridge, Yungaba is Brisbane's most unique and iconic landmarks. Originally constructed in 1887 as a place to welcome immigrants arriving in Australia, Yungaba House, as it was later named, has become a symbol of Brisbane's rich multicultural heritage. The centre operated as a temporary refuge for the destitute; a reception centre for troops returning from the Boer War; an assembly and departure point for Pacific Islanders being repatriated as a result of the White Australia Policy in the early 1900s; an accommodation centre for workers building the new Story Bridge during the 1930s; and as a hospital that focused on treating venereal diseases during World War II. Following World War II, it was used as a migrant reception and training centre for European migrants. The volume of post-war immigration was such that the hostel was unable to cope with all the new arrivals, and the bulk were re-directed to empty military camps around the Brisbane, especially Camp Columbia at Wacol. Yungaba has been redeveloped as luxury villas.

How to get there

Kangaroo Point is directly east across the Brisbane River from the Brisbane central business district. Kangaroo Point is located on a peninsula formed of harder rhyolite rock which the Brisbane River flows around. On the northern tip of the peninsula the Story Bridge connects it to the central business district and the suburb of Fortitude Valley. The suburb of Woolloongabba is located to the south. The six-lane Main Street runs from Story Bridge to Woolloongabba.

By bus the suburb is serviced by the South East Busway transit line and buses along Main Street and Shafstons Avenue. By road Kangaroo Point residents rely on the Story Bridge and Captain Cook Bridge for access to the north, and the South East Freeway for access to the south. Main Street connects the Story Bridge through the suburb to the South East Freeway. Bicycle paths run along the Brisbane River from South Bank to and over the Story Bridge. The bicycle paths are heavily used by cyclists, roller skaters and pedestrians.

CityFerry service from the Eagle Street Pier in the CBD and the Sydney Street Pier in New Farm to Holman Street near the peak of Kangaroo Point, Thornton Street on the west side of the point, or Dockside Pier on the east side. CityCat services do not directly service Kangaroo Point.



Kangaroo Point: Brief History

Before British settlement, Kangaroo Point was occupied by the Turrbal people. It is one of the earliest suburbs settled in Brisbane and subsequently, is one of Brisbane's oldest suburbs, rich in history and character. It had a reputation for violent and rowdy street gangs around the 1900s, with a number of street riots.

In 1823, explorer John Oxley described Kangaroo Point as a jungle, fringed with mangroves with the higher land open forest, covered with grass . During the time of the subsequent convict settlement (1825 41), Kangaroo Point was cleared and used for cultivation of crops. Subsequently, the area was opened up for free settlement, the first land sales taking place on 13 December 1843. Among the early purchasers was Captain J.C.Wickham, the Police Magistrate. Surveyor James Warner built the first house at Kangaroo Point in 1844.

Kangaroo Point's first school was opened in 1861 by the Church of England. It came under the control of the Board of Education in 1867 and consisted of a boys department and a girls department. A separate Girls and Infants school opened on 2 March 1874. This was replaced by the Kangaroo Point Girls School and the Kangaroo Point Infants School which both opened on 20 January 1890. In 1887, the Yungaba Immigration Centre was built on Main Street at Kangaroo Point to replace the poor facilities at the existing centre in William Street.


Evans Deakin shipyards, 1968

For many years the suburb was dominated by the factories of heavy engineering businesses, particularly those involved in the maritime industry, such as Buzzacott & Co, Evans Anderson & Phelan and shipbuilders Evans Deakin. Evans Deakin built the largest ship ever constructed on the Brisbane River, the 66,000 tonne oil tanker Robert Miller, which became adrift in the river during the 1974 Brisbane flood. The last vessel to be built by Evans Deakin was an oil rig called Southern Cross. The company vacated the site in 1976, with it later being redeveloped for high-rise accommodation. The now-flooded dry dock remains as a reminder of the area's former use and has been incorporated into the site's redevelopment.


The now-flooded Evans Deakin shipyards dry dock

Until the 1930s, Evans Anderson & Phelan built steam locomotives at their Kangaroo Point works for Queensland Railways, however their works were not located near a railway, so the completed locomotives were delivered along Main Street on temporary track. Until the federation of the Australian colonies in 1901, the Queensland Navy's main storage facility was located in the suburb. The first ship-based radio transmission in Australia was made between HMAS Gayundah and the buildings in 1903. The naval stores buildings were occupied by the Royal Australian Navy until 1959, and then by the Australian Army until 1984. The heritage-listed buildings are now used by an adventure company focusing on river activities and rock climbing.

The opening of the Story Bridge in July 1940 was the most significant development of the suburb. Trolleybuses operated by the Brisbane City Council linked the suburb with Fortitude Valley via the Story Bridge from 1953 to 1969, running along Main Street from Woolloongabba and other eastern suburbs.