Our projects

Members of the Annerley-Stephens History Group are engaged in a number of projects to further the first objective of the group, which is: 

  • To research the history of the geographical area and the communities and people covered by the former Shire of Stephens and to make the information available to its members, other associations and the general public in electronic or printed form.

Our current projects are summarised below.

Streets of Stephens

We want to create street histories of our local area. You can help us by researching and writing about your street, and then ideally presenting this information at one of our monthly meetings. Some questions to get you started on your work are:

  • Has the street name any significance?
  • Has the street always had the same name?
  • How has the street changed over time?
  • What is the oldest or a significant house in the street?
  • Who has lived in the street – one interesting character?

Our members can assist you with preparing your presentation, and then liaise with you in publishing your history here. For more information, download the flyer or click here to have a look at what we have published so far.

Local history walks

Conducting a guided walk exploring the heritage of specific locations in the old Stephens Shire is a great way to share our local history knowledge. We often find that members of the walking party have a strong connection with the area we explore, so it also a good way to build knowledge together.

ASHG has been conducting local history walks since our inception. The Covid 19 pandemic caused a hiatus in this program but it resumed with our People Who Left Their Mark tour of South Brisbane Cemetery and The Heart of Stephens Walk.

Click here for more information. To request a group walk please email us at: [email protected]

Frank and Eunice Corley House Photos

Frank Corley was a commercial photographer who photographed almost every house in Brisbane as he drove past in his Cadillac in the early 1970’s.  Before Frank passed away he bequeathed the remaining photos in the collection to the John Oxley Library, State Library of Queensland. In 2014 ASHG began the project of identifying the houses featured in the around 50 000 photos in this collection.

Click here for more information on the project, as well as the information which has been identified to date.

A Bird’s Eye View of Fairfield

Written by Denis Peel, this article has an innovative approach to reporting on the history of the suburb of Fairfield.

History is normally reported from the point of view of humankind – that is, how the passage of time has affected the human population. This article aims to look at the changes that have occurred in the inner Brisbane city suburb of Fairfield in the last 200 years and speculate how those changes may have affected the population of birds.