THE THREE MILE SCRUB
Sandy Pollock,
Queensland Herbarium
The Three Mile Scrub was 80-100 hectares of rainforest unique and specific to Brisbane on Enoggera Creek at Newmarket. It was the greatest lowland vine forest scrub in Brisbane consisting of towering hoop pines (Araucaria cunninghamii) with the rainforest canopy underneath.
Three Mile Scrub was a cool haven with the creek and dense canopy and was much-loved for family picnics and overnight camping. It also had the advantage of being easily accessible by train, bicycle and later by tram.
The area was of particular interest to Frederick Manson (F.M.) Bailey, the second government botanist. From 1881 until his death in 1915, he, and a team of volunteer collectors conducted scientific exploration of Brisbane and SE Queensland. During this time, F.M. and his team recorded 190 species in the Three Mile Scrub including fungi and mosses which are housed in the Queensland Herbarium.
Sadly, by the 1920s, when F.M.’s grandson, Cyril Tenison (C.T.) White had taken up the tradition of recording the flora in the Three Mile Scrub, the infiltration of weeds such as lantana had made a significant impact. The area had also suffered from the felling of the tall, straight hoop pine for some time, the logs being used for ships’ masts and spars. In fact, the first export to England from Brisbane Town was logs thus sounding the death knell for the majestic stands of hoop pine along the Brisbane River and its tributaries. Market gardens along Enoggera Creek and subdivision for housing in the area was also taking its toll. An attempt to save it as a council reserve was unsuccessful. Some examples of the trees remain in the Bank Street Reserve but that is the only reminder of the unique area once known as the Three Mile Scrub.