6. The magnificent Fig tree that
now stands on land leased by the Pony Club once shared the site
with a Roman Catholic church. An early settler, John Magee,
donated an acre of his land for the church, a chapel forty feet by
twenty feet. Services began on a monthly basis at the end of 1873
and later became weekly. The church was used until the early
1920's. It was used as a refuge during the severe floods in the
early months of 1893. Following the floods was an epidemic of
influenza. Many families, including the Morans, Kellies and
McMullens, moved away from the area.
Henry Clarkson recalls his mother's
telling him how she used to climb the Fig tree to look into the
church. In those days the tree was still quite small.
Unfortunately, it sustained a degree of damage on the western side
during a storm late in 1987.
It is interesting to note that in
the early days Presbyterians in Fig Tree Pocket would row across
to Seventeen Mile Rocks, where services were held in private
homes. Also, many settlers owned land on both sides of the river
and often kept punts on each bank. Later, young people would put a
buggy into two boats, one wheel in each, swim the horse across,
then harness horse and buggy to continue on their way.
There is evidence that the
religious animosities common in the settlers' homelands were far
less intense in Fig Tree Pocket. For example, when the Catholic
priest was visiting parishioners in the area he knew he would be
made welcome for lunch at "Spinkbrae", a Protestant
household referred to later in these notes. (Tell the Next
Generation, pp. 37-8)
7. The land between the Pony Club
and Mactier St is to become an educational precinct occupied
eventually by the Montessori school and the Gan Gani kindergarten.
The building for the latter is now in place; the first stage of
the Montessori master plan will probably have just been started by
the time this document is published.
The Brisbane Montessori School is a
pre-school, primary and high school for children aged between 3
and 15. The school is fully accredited by the Dep't of Education
and the teachers are trained by the Association Montessori
Internationale. The programme is similar to that in State schools
but with an emphasis on individualization and communication. One
of the main goals of the school is also to keep children in close
contact with nature, so the school will include a farm, a dam and
a native forest. The school aims to involve the local community in
its planning for a challenging environment for the "adult of
the future".
Stage I of the school's
construction programme will comprise eight classrooms, an
administration area and toilets. The school will eventually expand
to occupy 7 hectares of land to be leased from the Council on a 40
year lease. The accompanying master plan shows the overall
proposal.
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