In May 2010 the name of the residential part of Carole Park changed to Ellen Grove. Historically, Carole Park still exists. It was developed in 3 distinct sections – small farms, residential and industrial.
Residential – The earliest known settler in the Carole Park area was Peter Noble, who established Spring Farm on the south side of Waterford Rd (now opposite the school) in 1874.
After World War II, “Spring Farm” sub-divisions became the residential core of Carole Park.
In the 1950s, some immigrant/ refugee families from the Wacol Migrant Camp – largely Russian and Polish – bought land in Carole Park.
In the late 1960s, the Queensland Housing Commission bought up Carole Park land and built cheap housing. In 1971, the first tenants moved in. Again many came from the Wacol Migrant Camp (this time mostly British) and many ultimately bought their homes from the Commission.
In 2015, residential Carole Park is a mix of public and private houses.
Small farms – The “farmlet” section of Carole Park was sub-divided in 1944. Three hundred (300) acres (the area bounded by Waterford Road, Progress Rd and Boundary Rd) was sub-divided into 4 acre blocks. In 2015 this entire area of land (except for the school and the pool) is part of the Wacol Industrial Precinct.
Industrial estate – The third division of Carole Park was the Carole Park Industrial Park (1973). However, this was not a private development but a State government project on government land – not in Brisbane, but in Ipswich City Council.
The Name
The name Carole Park was certainly in use by 1946 when the Carole Park Estate Progress Association was agitating for a school (see below). However, there are several stories of how the Carole Park name was chosen – and who Carole was.
THERE will be a Public General Meeting held on the Property of Mr. Caville, Block 32, Carole Park, Wacol, on 14th day December, 1946, at 3 p.m., in connection with the Progress Association of Carole Park Estate, for the establishment of a State School, situated central to Carole Park Estate, Wacol and Gailes. Please attend.
The Courier-Mail, 2 December 1946 p 7
In 2015, the suburb name “Carole Park” now occurs only in the municipality of Ipswich CC.
All of the Carole Park Industrial Park is now within Ipswich CC. All of residential Carole Park is now included in Ellen Grove, Brisbane City Council.
The rest of the original Carole Park – the farmlets north of Waterford Road – have become
part of the Wacol Industrial Precinct.