iPlay Australia is
intent on building their warehouse-sized play centre in North Lakes, as
previously announced in mid-2017.
Hopes were high for a 2018 opening which did not materialise but a company spokesperson said that work may start within 2019.
The mega centre will be built on the 1.5-hectare parcel of land owned by the entertainment firm at 10 North Lakes Drive, opposite the Westfield North Lakes Shopping Centre. It will be the biggest iPlay games centre that North Lakes or even the Gold Coast has ever seen, even bigger than Bunnings.
The games and activities venue will include dodgem cars, laser tag, tenpin bowling alleys, wall climbing, classic arcade games, trampolines, and modern technology activities.
There will also be dining options for
families as well as facilities and space for those who plan to hold amazingly
active birthday parties.
Photo credit: iPlay Australia/Facebook
iPlay Australia is known for its chain of arcades located throughout the country. The firm’s name has always been equated with fun, awesome and exciting activities.
In Queensland, iPlay has centres at the Gold Coast, Brisbane, Cairns, Toowoomba and Redbank, with another planned for Ipswich.
Family Interaction at an iPlay centre (Photo credit: iPlay Australia/Facebook)
As locals would attest, North Lakes has a young demographic and is an accessible destination for people from different directions. This makes it the perfect location to set up the big centre.
The mega centre hopes to have a constructive effect on the interaction of families and a positive impact on the local economy as many families will be flocking to North Lakes.
With its completion, North Lakes will soon become the new destination for family fun and celebrations.
North Lakes attracted the most house buyers during the 12 months leading to October 2018, according to the Greater Brisbane’s top Suburbs for Sales Volume report.
The top 10 suburbs in terms of sales volume for houses and units, as reported by Domain Group, saw Brisbane City taking the top spot with sales volumes of 508 units and 27 houses over the past 12 months. North Lakes, however, was the top suburb for houses sold with a total of 450 houses changing hands, at the same time selling a total of 35 units.
As of May 2018, homesales.com.au reports the median price for houses in North Lakes at $494,135 whilst the median unit price is $359,314. House prices grew by 9.65 percent in the past three years and 1.93 percent last year. Unit prices growth is just as impressive with a 9.82 percent increase in the past three years. North Lakes’ total population is at 15,045, and the average income is at $936.
Other suburbs with outstanding house sales volume include Caboolture with 400, Morayfield with 394, Kallangur with 369, and Deception Bay with 308 houses sold. As for total units sold, South Brisbane came in second with 428 unit sales volume.
There is a renewed interest on blue-chip Coorparoo as well, as it sold 180 houses and 213 units for the same period. These numbers are indicative of a surge in demand that the suburb has not enjoyed in the last couple of years.
Greater Brisbane’s top Suburbs for Sales Volume in the 12 months to October 2018, according to Domain Group.
Burger-lovers, rejoice! Two burger chains have opened shop side-by-side, simultaneously on the 13th of December 2018 at the new Rothwell Village development. The former Redcliffe Produce store site is now home to US-based franchise Carl’s Jr and Oporto.
Carl’s Jr
Carl’s Jr’s December opening came just a few days after it began serving to Hope Island residents. The Rothwell Village store is its sixth freestanding drive-thru location in Queensland and its first location on the northside of Brisbane.
The Bansal Group, Carl’s Jr. Queensland franchisor, announced that it will continue its expansion with 15 additional stores to open in QLD this 2019.
Carl’s Jr is now serving its handmade menu classics such as Original Thickburger (chargrilled ⅓-lb 100% Angus Beef patty, melted American cheese, tomatoes, red onions, pickles, lettuce, mustard, mayo, and ketchup); Famous Star with Cheese (Chargrilled 100% Beef patty, melted American cheese, tomato, onions, dill pickles, mayo, special sauce on a seeded bun); and Chargrilled BBQ Chicken Sandwhich (Chargrilled chicken breast, lettuce, tomato, and tangy BBQ sauce on a seeded bun).
Other equally popular choices are Hand-Scooped Ice Cream Shakes, premium coffee, and breakfast sandwiches.
Carl’s Jr – Rothwell is open from 6 a.m. – 10 p.m. Sunday – Wednesday and 6 a.m. – 11 p.m. Thursday – Saturday.
Oporto
Oporto, is also a freestanding drive-thru restaurant at Rothwell Village. Owned by Craveable Brands, this Portuguese-style franchise announced its big expansion plans for Queensland last 2018, aiming to double the number of stores to more than 30 stores over the next three years. After Burleigh Heads and North Lakes, Oporto is now bringing its signature flamed grilled Portuguese chicken and traditional chilli sauce to the good people of Rothwell.
Locals will now get to enjoy its range of mouth-watering burgers such as Bondi Burger (three fresh-grilled 100% chicken breast fillets, crisp lettuce, cheese, creamy mayo, and Oporto’s Original Chilli sauce); Long Bondi (two fresh-grilled 100% chicken breast fillets, crisp lettuce, cheese, creamy mayo and Oporto’s Original Chilli sauce on a long soft roll); and Chicken BLT Burger (two fresh-grilled 100% chicken breast fillets, sizzling bacon, fresh tomato, fresco lettuce mix, cheese and creamy mayo).
Photo Credit: Oporto / Facebook
There are still other choices you would definitely need to try such as Portuguese Flame Grilled Chicken (flame-grilled flat and brush-basted with your choice of Chilli or Lemon and Herb sauce), Brekkie, and tasty desserts.
Oporto-Rothwell is open Monday to Sunday from 10 a.m. – 10 p.m. Rothwell Village is located at the corner of Deception Bay and Morris Road.
Taco Bell fans, the long wait is over as the fourth Australian restaurant of the popular chain is finally opening its doors, just in time for the Christmas crowd.
Taco Bell North Lakes will open at 9:00 a.m. on Saturday, 15 December 2018. As part of the opening day party, the first 62 customers through the doors will be receiving limited edition merchandise. That’s not all, one lucky customer will even win free Taco Bell food for a year!
Customers can expect the crowd-favourite taco hats, games, and prizes as well as a music playlist from CrowdDJ.
Taco Bell North Lakes will be open from 9:00 a.m. – 11:00 p.m. Sundays to Thursdays, and from 9:00 a.m. – 12:00 midnight on Fridays and Saturdays. The drive-thru will open the following week.
The US fast-food giant is certainly ready to shake up the Mexican food scene in Australia and New Zealand as it plans to open 60 new locations across NSW, the ACT, and New Zealand by 2024 under the franchise operator Restaurant Brands. This is on top of Collins Foods‘ plans to open 50 stores across Queensland, Western Australia and Victoria by 2021.
Compared to other existing Mexican chains in Australia, Taco Bell offers more affordable quality Mexican food as their menu includes a $6.95 burrito which is lower than that of its rival Mexican restaurants.
Third time is definitely the charm for Taco Bell since their third attempt to invade the Australian market proves to be a success.
Kangaroo Bus Lines is once again conducting their own 4KQ Christmas Lights tours this year.
The bus line’s 4KQ Christmas Lights tour dates will be on Friday, 21 December, Saturday, 22 December, and Sunday, 23 December 2018.
Kangaroo Bus Lines will be giving guests a tour of the north Brisbane suburbs’ amazing lights displays. Light supper and some Christmas treats will also be available onboard.
Pick-ups for the bus tours will be from Caboolture Station, Caboolture Sports Club, Pine Village, KBL Burpengary Lounge, Bindawalla Stop, Deception Bay, North Lakes, and Redcliffe Uniting Church.
Bookings for the bus tours are essential. Tickets cost $39 for adults, $29 for children under 13 years, $36 for concession, and $99 for a family with two adults and two children.
Tours will be from 6:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. on the given dates. Contact the Kangaroo Bus Lines on 1300 287 525 for further information, including the exact pick-up times, and to book.
Statistics show that Queensland ranks as the top Australian state with the highest number of reported magpie swooping attacks in 2018, including those reported by North Lakes locals.
Photo Credit: Toby Hudson/Wikimedia Commons
For 2018, Magpie Alert!—a social website dedicated to tracking magpie swooping attacks against cyclists, runners, and walkers across Australia—has so far recorded a total of 3,599 reported attacks and 500 of which have resulted in injuries. Data and graphs are updated automatically to reflect the latest reports of magpie swooping attacks.
Photo Credit: Magpie Alert/magpiealert.com
Among Australian states, Queensland makes up 28.1 per cent of reported attacks followed by Victoria with 22.3% and New South Wales with 22.1 per cent.
Photo Credit: Magpie Alert/magpiealert.com
More than half of the swooping attack happen to victims while riding their bikes at 66.9 per cent and 23.2 per cent while walking. Of those who reported the attacks, 13.9 per cent said that they were injured.
Photo Credit: Magpie Alert/magpiealert.com
Magpie swooping attacks can result in skin injuries, eye injuries, and on rare instances, result in fatal outcome. However, many injuries are indirect results, such tripping over or falling off a bike. Magpie swooping attacks usually happen during the mating season, mostly from male birds trying to protect their young.
Magpie Alert! advises residents to be alert and pay attention to any magpie nesting sites, wear sunglasses and hat/helmet, and not to provoke these territorial magpies. Magpies are thought to have good memories. So, when you have already been attacked before, it is advisable to change route and not return to the same location.
Photo Credit: Toby Hudson/Wikimedia Commons
Some actions you can take to discourage magpies from nesting in your yard, according to the Brisbane City Council:
do not feed magpies, ensure no scraps of food or rubbish are left lying around
remove unnecessary sources of water from the backyard (if magpies are causing nuisance)
do not remove nests or eggs and never touch a young bird. If you are concerned for the safety of the young, phone Council’s Nativa Animal Ambulance on 1300 ANIMAL (1300 264 625)
do not disturb the birds when there are fledglings in the nest
do not throw objects at the bird or destroy the nest as this will increase their defence efforts
expect an elevated level of swooping activity during the breeding season between June and December.
Construction works on the $250 million Laguna North Lakes will have to be moved to the middle of 2019 from the originally planned commencement of late 2018.
Project developers, The George Group and Pointcorp, will utilise this time to continue the search for the project’s tenants and contractors. According to them, the leasing phase is going well and the selection process that’s in place ensures a tenant mix that will provide a unique retail experience.
Photo credit: Laguna North Lakes/lagunanorthlakes.com.au
Take a look at the future beating heart of North Lakes… Laguna. Video credit: Pointcorp/YouTube/span>
Approved by the Moreton Bay Regional Council last December 2017, the development project located just 25 kilometres from Brisbane will transform the 1.7-hectare site to a mixed-used precinct.
The development features:
138-room hotel
10,500 sqm A-grade office space
2,000 sqm health and wellness facilities
2,500 sqm function and event centre
3,000 sqm “resort -style” restaurant and bar
5,000 sqm fashion, food, and beverage, as well as a restaurant precinct
publicly accessible aquatic centre with a lagoon-style pool
On-street and underground parking that can accommodate over 900 cars
Pointcorp Laguna North Lakes Fly Through
Video credit: Metropolis/Vimeo
Photo credit: Laguna North Lakes/lagunanorthlakes.com.au
“The Laguna North Lakes project, will be creating a vibrant new retail precinct for Northern Brisbane, centred around a tree-lined, pedestrian-orientated high street. The innovative outdoor retail precinct will form the central spine of the 1.7-hectare project. Leasing of retail space has commenced and Mr George added that the project is already seeing a wealth of interest from locally-based and national retailers who are seeing the benefit of opening operations in the growing region,” the Laguna North Lakes website said.
Slated to be completed by late 2020, the Laguna North Lakes project is set to deliver an extraordinary mixed-use precinct to this fast growing suburb that has been attracting residents, students, and commercial businesses over the past decade.
North Lakes appeared as one of the most searched suburbs by overseas home buyers of QLD properties such as coming from New Zealand, US, & the UK, according to realestate.com.au report.
Twelve-month data from July 2017 reveal that overseas property searches in Queensland have New Zealand as the top property hunters. Brisbane City emerged as the most searched suburb with 13,951 searches followed by Broadbeach with 9,898.
REA Group said that overseas home buyers would often check Brisbane properties first then widen their search to nearby suburbs. Such is the case of one overseas buyer who found their dream home in Aspley which he said is a place with great weather and affordable properties.
The top ten most searched suburbs are Brisbane City, Surfers Paradise, Noosa Heads, Broadbeach, Mooloolaba, Burleigh Heads, Southport, North Lakes, Caloundra, and Hope Island. Whilst UK and USA follow New Zealand, where most overseas property searchers originate.
Photo credit: Michael Glass / Unsplash
The REA Group said that European, American, and Canadian buyers are mostly drawn to Queensland’s beach and lifestyle destinations. Brisbane properties are what they would often check first, primarily because they are seeing better value for their money in Brisbane.
Rounding up the ten countries accounting for the most number of searches of the Queensland properties are Hong Kong, Philippines, Canada, Singapore, China, Japan, and South Africa.
According to the Australian Property Market Report for October from realestate.com.au, Brisbane continues to hold up well, despite tough financial conditions. Buyer demand, and rental demand and pricing are all in the green. Offshore buyer demand has seen a big increase which they attribute to the education sector and relative housing affordability.
The report says that Brisbane is gaining the confidence of the market with its better economic outlook and because of that, premium suburbs are benefiting with the subsequent rise in demand. Inner-north’s Grange and the outer south-east suburb of Chandler appeared as the top two in demand suburbs, according to the report.
Among Brisbane metro regions, East enjoys the most increase in demand year-on-year with 9.1%, followed by Brisbane Inner-city (8.2%) and North (5.0%). South and West saw declines in demand, however, year-on-year with -6.1% and -1.6% respectively.
The price growth is seen to continue over the next 12 months as Queensland economic growth will continue to propel the market.
Deception Bay has several historic sites that tell the story of how the region developed over time. The Deception Bay Heritage Trail highlights these sites and narrates the evolution of the area from being the home of indigenous Australians to becoming a progressive region.
Exploring the Deception Bay Heritage Trail is a great way to learn more about the region. The 4-km heritage trail can be completed in a 90-minute stroll.
Deception Bay Heritage Trail
The heritage trail, consisting of 13 sites, starts at the northern end of Beach Road and ends at the southern end of Deception Bay’s Esplanade. The trail is highly accessible since it’s wheelchair- bike-, scooter-, and stroller-friendly.
The Pictures in the Rocks and the Bancroft Baths
Both baths are in the intertidal zone so they quickly fill with silt. Photo credit: Shiftchange/Wikimedia Commons
The first stop presents sandstone rocks with beautiful patterns. The heritage-listed baths, cut out of sandstone rocks, have a strong connection to the Bancroft family as well as their contributions to science. Joseph Bancroft was responsible for creating the baths that offer the health benefits of sea bathing.
Dr. Joseph Bancroft. Photo credit: John Oxley Library, State Library of Queensland. Image number: 57297
Dr Joseph Bancroft had many contributions in zoology, botany, and medicine. He discovered that the Wuchereria bancrofti parasitic worm causes elephantiasis. He is also the first in Australia to describe lockjaw (tetanus) and tick paralysis.
Flinders and John Oxley exploration
Chart of Terra Australis. Sheet II, East coast / by M. Flinders, Commr. of H.M. Sloop Investigator, 1799-1802. Photo credit: nla.gov.au
Flinders was able to sail through Deception Bay in 1799 although it wasn’t mentioned in his log.
By 1823, John Oxley did mention Deception Bay in his log during his travels whilst searching for a remote site for convict settlement.
Local Industry
At the time of European settlement, beekeeping, fishing, and tree-felling were introduced in the region. Some areas of land were also cleared for the dairy and beef cattle industry.
Dr Thomas Bancroft’s House
Portrait of Doctor Thomas Bancroft. Photo credit: John Oxley Library, State Library of Queensland. Image number: 186791
Just like his father, Dr Thomas Bancroft earned a reputation for being an active scientist, botanist, doctor, and photographer. He expanded his father’s work about tropical diseases. He also provided evidence that Aedes aegypti mosquitoes cause dengue fever.
The Second World War
During the Second World War, Deception Bay became an army camp for around 3,000 soldiers. These include Australians recalled back from overseas after the Japanese entered the war in 1942.
A Special Place for Gubbi Gubbi People
Photo credit: www.mustdobrisbane.com
The Gubbi Gubbi people were the first inhabitants of the foreshore of the region. They lived off the natural bounty of the land and the ocean.
In 1897, however, most of the Gubbi Gubbi and other indigenous people of Queensland were forcibly removed from the area.
Campground
In 1905, William Wallin established a kiosk near the popular campground. His son, Oliver took over the kiosk and re-established the post office around 1928-1929. The kiosk has been an important landmark in the area.
Viola and George Turnbull continued to run the kiosk until its closing on October 2004, nearly a century after its establishment.
The 10th site in the heritage trail honours the early settlers that helped in shaping Deception Bay area to become what it is today.
Living Together
A few Gubbi Gubbi people continued to live in the area after the early European settlement. Joseph and Thomas Bancroft even observed the trading between the Gubbi Gubbi people and the Europeans.
Webster’s Boondar
People posing at the office of Brisbane Tug and Steamship Co. Limited in Brisbane, 1913. Photo credit: John Oxley Library, State Library of Queensland. Image number: 167710
Alexander Brand Webster is a businessman who had an interest in the Brisbane Tug & Steamship Company. He called his holiday house ‘Boondar’ which he believes is an indigenous name meaning kangaroo.
Although his home in the area is just a holiday house, Webster is active in the Deception Bay community. He was the one responsible for establishing the first live saving patrols at the Bay in 1924. He also built a bowling green and tennis court in the area in 1929 for public use.
A Place of Plentiful Food
Sunset over Deception Bay. Photo credit: CC-BY/John/Flickr
Indigenous people living in the area relied upon the abundance of food at the Bay. Collecting food is important for their community. Because of this, most of them spend much time mending nets, sharpening spears, and going out for fishing parties at night.
Today, Deception Bay is made up of diverse communities from the Pacific Islanders and Indigenous Australians to people from different nationalities including those from the British Isles, Europe, New Zealand, and Asia.
Heritage trails are valuable assets for Moreton Bay region. These sites help locals and visitors understand the culture and past influences of the area.
Students at Mango Hill State School will have better transport options in 2019 as a new dedicated bus service will be introduced to meet the growing needs of the community.
The Moreton Bay Regional Council and the State Government revealed the proposed bus service, which would pass through Napier Avenue, Campbell Drive and Caperstone Road before heading to the school.
State Member for Murrumba Steven Miles said the new service is in response to the request of parents for improved travel options for their children.
“Students will be able to walk out their front door in the morning, hop straight onto a bus and arrive safely at the school gate,” said Mr Miles.
Once the bus service is in place, there would eventually be fewer cars on the road. This should improve traffic congestion in the area during school drop-off and pick-up hours, according to Mr Miles.
To make the bus service a reality, some road widening and upgrades will have to be done first. The upgrades will include the Campbell Drive and Jepson Street roundabout.
Division 4 Councillor Julie Greer said the roadworks will ensure that the bus can safely drive through the dedicated route.
“In coming months, crews will get stuck into upgrading the roundabout, widening the intersection and replacing the existing curbs with more suitable painted lines and skirting,” Cr Greer said.
Mango Hill State School Principal Tracy Egan is happy to hear about the proposed for the bus route.
“When we surveyed our families on what they wanted in terms of getting to school, the overwhelming majority supported a dedicated bus route for their kids,” said school Principal Tracy Egan.
“Our student population has hit well over the 1,000-mark and will continue to grow, so a dedicated bus service is a much needed and much welcome outcome.”
The bus service is expected to start before Term 1, 2019.
