Moreton Bay Girls High School in 1901. Photos: Supplied.
CONTRIBUTED BY JILL GREENHILL, LIBRARIAN, WYNNUM MANLY HISTORICAL SOCIETY INC.
In 1875, carpenter John Green took his wife and seven children from the small hamlet of Bridgeport, on the southern coast of Dorset, England, to live in Cardiff. John wished to improve his skills to become a builder.
Cardiff, a noisy, dirty city, affected his lungs, so John and his daughter Mary sailed to Australia aboard the ship SS Tauba, arriving in 1889. They came to Wynnum where, in 1891, John purchased four subdivisions of land on the corner of Bay Terrace and Charlotte Street, in preparation for the arrival of his wife and five children.
In 1900, in front of the family dwelling in Bay Terrace, John and his two sons, Sam and John Junior, built a school building. Here, five daughters established Moreton Bay Girls High School. Initial enrolments in 1901 were six boarders and 20 day girls. (The ‘e’ appeared on their surname to distinguish their school from another Green School in Brisbane). Moreton Bay College continues today.
Elder son Sam, apprenticed to his father as a builder, became involved in local politics. He was the first Mayor in the new town of Wynnum in 1913, and again in 1917. In 1924, he bought the Star Theatre in Florence Street, and arranged many concerts, sing-a-longs, dances and activities, and gave away teddies to the children. Sam purchased the Moreton Bay Leader newspaper and installed a printing press in the room above his cinema foyer. When the cinema burnt down in 1959, this machine killed two firemen. Sam died in 1958 when his motor-bicycle collided with a bus.
Younger son, John Junior, also a builder, served in World War I. He was injured and recuperated in England before coming home. On recovery, John lived a full life in the community. He entered local politics, becoming Mayor of Wynnum from 1921 to 1925. After 1926, when Wynnum became part of Greater Brisbane, he was Lord Mayor of Brisbane from 1931 to 1934.
The renaming of Wynnum Reserve, adjacent to Wynnum Creek, to Greene Park in 1933 serves as a commemoration of the distinguished Green(e) family.
