The Curlew Street tip in Sandgate had reached capacity by 1981 and was scheduled to close. In preparation for this closure, Brisbane City Council’s purchase of land between Telegraph Road and the unmade Roghan Road for use as a refuse tip was approved in November 1979. On 14 January 1980 46.3535 hectares were acquired for this purpose. Council sought Town Planning permission from the state government to rezone the land for disposal of household refuse (only dry waste products, not liquid or noxious substances). This required widening of Telegraph Road, additional drainage works and tree plantings, and building a barrier between the tip and the road. A chain wire fence was also erected on each side of the entrance.
A considerable amount of preparation was required for the Telegraph Road site – beautification of the frontage with trees, recovery of top soil and construction of perimeter to hide the tip face and to stop papers blowing about.
Construction of site fencing, provision of water and power services and drainage works were also necessary.
Alderman [Ken] Leese had received assurances that, on completion of tipping operations, the area would be top-dressed, turfed and developed as a recreational area. … After three years, it was planned that the entrance would be changed to Roghan Road (Sandgate and District Historical Society and Museum 2001: 76).
Even before the tip opened, people started dumping rubbish there, despite being liable to prosecution and a hefty fine. In February 1980 Council had to spend over $2,000 to send in a clean-up crew and equipment to restore the area and erect “No dumping” signs.1
The tip shown at the top of the photo above opened on 1 December 1981 and was in operation until 14 January 1985.
- “Dumpers Premature.” The Echo, 27 February 1980: 10. ↩︎