The Queensland Government has listed a prime piece of riverfront land at Highgate Hill for sale after bulldozing a community garden run on the site for six years.
The garden occupied part of the green space left of the riverfront building site (centre) before it was cleared. IMAGE EDQ
‘Kurilpa Commons’, at 1-3 Dudley St Highgate Hill, was started as a guerilla garden (not formally approved) during the COVID pandemic by Growing Forward, ‘a grass roots initiative for community resilience’ which has over 3000 followers.
The garden appeared on a Gardening Australia story on guerilla gardening in 2022.
Founder Ruby Thorburn told the ABC: ‘What we decided to do was to try and create something that would give people hope.’
She and other founders started Growing Forward, as ‘a community organisation dedicated to setting up guerilla community gardens in under-utilised public space.’
The market-style permaculture garden hosted weekly volunteer gardening days and supplied free produce to the local community.
IMAGE: Growing Foward
In a statement on their Facebook page, Growing Forward said they knew the garden was under threat when developer McNab Group demolished the affordable Riviera apartments next door to the garden.
The garden beside the now-demolished Riviera apartments. IMAGE: Growing Forward
The developer is now building eight large luxury apartments with a starting price of $5 million each.
Artist’s impression of Lucia Riverfront Apartments: McNab Group
In February this year, McNab Group asked the state government to clear the community garden so builders could use it as a machinery lot but the gardeners protested and occupied the site, winning a stay of execution.
However, in June, after protests, meetings and tree-sitting occupations, the Queensland Government sent in police, private security and bulldozers to demolish the garden, cut down the fruit trees and evict the gardeners.
Growing Forward said: ‘For over six years, we have been working on this land, growing food, growing community and building a sense of belonging and connection. It’s impossible to describe just how important and loved this place was to so many of us.
IMAGE: Growing Forward
‘We made that place and we can make it again.’
A spokesman for Economic Development Queensland (EDQ), said: ‘The site was identified through the Queensland Government’s Land Activation Program as underutilised government land suitable for delivering more housing for Queenslanders.
‘The property has now been released to market through an open, competitive sales process.
‘Consistent with the conditions of the Land Activation Program, any sale will require the site to be developed for housing.
‘The Queensland taxpayer-owned site is being prepared to fulfil a community need – more housing.’
The EDQ ad listing the land for sale says the 1,126m² riverfront land with uninterrupted views towards St Lucia has development potential for up to four storeys.
IMAGE of demolished garden at top of story: Growing Forward
