D. M. Christie & Sons’ sawmill was located from Roghan Road back to the general area around what is now Oxford Place. It was in operation by 10 November 1952 or earlier, as evidenced by a Christie’s advertisement in The Brisbane Telegraph that day.
On 20 October 1955 Harold Thomas Arthur Stickler (born in Bristol in 1907; died in 1991) purchased the land on which the sawmill was located. His family had arrived in Brisbane from England in 1909. Harold worked as a carpenter before taking over the sawmill. The 1959 electoral roll lists him as a builder residing on Roghan Road, and he owned the sawmill until around 1963 or later. His wife was Alice Margaret Stickler (married in 1945), and they had seven children, at least some of whom attended Zillmere North State School.1
Subdivisions 1 and 2 of Portion 94 were later leased to Oregon Sales Pty. Ltd., which works in the timber and forestry industry, for five years from 1 July 1974 and then a further five years from 1 July 1979. On 24 March 1982 this company became the owner of these two subdivisions.
Today this location can be identified by the row of casuarina trees along Roghan Road between the Hidden World playground and Cambridge Crescent.
- Wakabayashi 2025: 104 ↩︎