Archerfield was the name of a 14,000 acre property nearby at Darra. It was further south of the present Archerfield airfield, near
Blunder Creek. One of its earliest owners was a solicitor called William Edward Murphy. It is thought that a Henry Farley may have lived at Archerfield in the 1870's. Farley and Murphy were joint owners of two nearby properties purchased in 1877 and 1878. When Murphy died in 1881 the property was passed on to his sister Miss Murphy. The property was purchased on 6 June 1882 by Michael Durack of
Thylungra.
In July 1929 part of the Oxley Ward was renamed Archerfield by the
Brisbane City Council.
The land upon which Archerfield airfield is now situated was originally purchased in 1855 by Thomas Grenier, publican of the
Brisbane Hotel in Russell St., South
Brisbane. He purchased 640 acres of lightly timbered alluvial soil, some of the best grazing land in the district, for a price of £1,920.
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The first freehold land in the area was sold as Country Lots in the 1850's with more being sold through the 1860's and 1870's. Some of the families who bought these early lots and lived in the Archerfield area were Boyland, Freney, Grenier, Grimes, Moody, Mortimer & Whitfield
Thomas Grenier called his property "Oomoropilly". By April 1862 the property was almost established with most of the fences erected and a cottage with outbuildings and a stable erected. By 1865 the property had been subdivided into three farms. Thomas's son George Alexander Grenier and his wife Sarah Greenwood lived on the middle farm where they had been since 1863. The lived in the
homestead called "Willows" which fronted onto Mortimer Road.
Franklin Grenier occupied the farm which fronted onto Mortimer and Beatty Roads, and William Leichhardt Grenier ran the farm called "Stoneleigh" which had a long frontage onto Oxley
Creek.
Thomas Grenier died in 1877 and was buried at the
cemetery on his property. It was known as Oxley
Cemetery at that time. This is now known as Grenier's
Cemetery or "God's Little Acre" and it is located at the main entrance to Archerfield aerodrome.
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In 1927 Captain Lester Brain, chief flying instructor for Qantas Airways, landed his DH-61 on
Franklin's Farm which was located at the western side of the present aerodrome. His mission was to see if the site was suitable to become an airfield.
A Civic Survey was carried out in 1928 by the
Brisbane City Council and then in July 1929, part of the Oxley Ward was zoned for noxious trade as recommended in the Civic Survey and it was renamed Archerfield by the
Brisbane City Council to distinguish it from the surrounding residential and farming areas.
The Government finally acquired about 300 acres of land in 1929. More land was purchased in 1930, 1936, 1942 and finally the
cemetery (God's Acre) in 1946 resulting in a total area of 825 acres.
Two light gravel strips 5,000 feet x 500 feet were built and the aerodrome started operations.
In the 1930's Qantas moved their operations from Eagle Farm to Archerfield after the first hangars were erected at Archerfield. Ansett ANA and TAA both used Archerfield during the 1930's. The Queensland Aero Club, which was established in 1919, moved from Eagle Farm to Archerfield in 1931.
The Control Tower and many buildings at Archerfield were built during these busy years when Archerfield was the main airport in
Brisbane. Although designed in 1936, it was not until 1941 that the Administrative building and Control Tower was finally erected at a cost of £15,000. The Control Tower on top of the Administrative building has since been dismantled.
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During World War II, Archerfield became an important military airfield for the Royal Australian Air Force,
United States Army Air Forces (USAAF), Royal Netherlands Air Force and Royal Navy Fleet Air Arm. The airport was home to RAAF Station Archerfield from 1939 to 1956. Plaques commemorating the RAAF, USAAF and Royal Navy personnel who served in the Pacific theatre can be viewed in the old administration building.
With the Japanese conquests in the Philippines and much of the Southwest Pacific in 1941 and 1942,
Brisbane became both the headquarters of the USAAF Fifth Air Force, as
well as a major logistics and maintenance center. Personnel transports and cargo shipping from the
United States arrived at
Brisbane's port facilities, with aircraft being unloaded and transported to Archerfield. The Air Technical Service Command 44th Depot Repair Squadron's mission was to uncrate and prepare these aircraft for combat units assigned to Australia. In addition, the squadron was tasked to perform depot-level repair on aircraft in service throughout Australia. Aircraft processed though the depot consisted of P-38, P-39, P-40, P-47, P-70, B-25, B-26, A-20, B-18, and B-24s. The
United States Army 1622d Ordnance and Supply Company (Aviation) was the main organization coordinating warehousing of spare parts, receiving cargo and shipping supplies from
Brisbane.
In addition to the maintenance and logistics, during 1942 the flight echelons of USAAF groups and squadrons assigned to Australia received their aircraft at
Brisbane. After a short organizational stay, they were reassigned to their operational airfields around the country. Known USAAF units assigned were.
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7th Bombardment Group (Heavy), (22 December 1941 – February 1942)
B-17C/D Flying Fortress; Aircraft survivors from Philippines Campaign. Reassigned to Karachi, India.
3rd Bombardment Group (Light), (25 February – 10 March 1942)
A-20 Havoc; Reassigned to Charters Towers Airfield, Qld.
22nd Bombardment Group (Medium), (25 February – 7 March 1942)
B-26 Marauder; Reassigned to
Ipswich Afld (RAAF Station Amberly), Qld.
38th Bombardment Group (Medium), (25 February – 8 March 1942; 10 June – 7 August 1942)
B-25
Mitchell; Reassigned to Doomben (Eagle Farm) Airport, Qld.
16th & 17th Bombardment Squadrons (Light) (27th Bombardment Group (Light)), (10–25 March 1942)
A-24 Dauntless; Air echelon of 27th Bomb Group originally assigned to Luzon but airfield overrun prior to aircraft arrival in Southwest Pacific. Received aircraft at
Brisbane, unit reformed and reassigned to
Batchelor Airfield, NT.
8th Reconnaissance Squadron (24 April – 2 May 1942)
P-38/F-4 Lightning. Unit reassigned from
Melbourne to Archerfeld, then moved north to
Townsville Airport, Qld. for operational service.
374th Troop Carrier Group, (12 November–December 1942)
Used various (B-18, C-39, C-49, C-56, C-60, DC-3, DC-5) aircraft providing logistics and transport duties. Reassigned to Port Moresby Airport, New Guinea.
6th Reconnaissance Group, (27 November-10 December 1943)
P-38/F-4 Lightning, F-7/B-24 Liberator; Unit reassigned from
Sydney to Archerfeld. Reassigned to Port Moresby Airport, New Guinea.
58th Fighter Group, (21 November – 28 December 1943)
P-47 Thunderbolt; Unit reassigned from
Sydney to Archerfeld. Reassigned to Dobodura, New Guinea.
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American B-17 Flying Fortresses, Kittyhawks, Dakotas and Dutch
Mitchell bombers became common sights at Archerfield. Many large hangars were built on both sides of Beatty Road. Many of those on the eastern side of Beatty Road still stand today along Kerry Road. They were used by the big earth-moving companies Thiess Brothers and Hastings Deering after the war.
After World War II, Ansett ANA and Trans Australia Airlines moved their operations to Eagle Farm Airport. The improvements to Archerfield allowed it to assume its role of secondary and civil aviation airport.
In 1998, the airport was leased by the Federal Airports Corporation to the Archerfield Airport Corporation. Today, Archerfield is used mainly for civil aviation. It is home to the Department of Emergency
Services rescue helicopter flights, No 219 Squadron of the Australian Air Force Cadets and still in their original hangar, the Royal Queensland Aero Club.
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