Archerfield Airport

Archerfield Airport Brisbane/Archerfield Airport
Archerfield air traffic control tower
IATA: none ICAO: YBAF
Summary
Airport type	Public
Owner	Leased Federal Airport
Operator	Archerfield Airports Corporation
Serves	Brisbane
Location	Archerfield
Elevation AMSL	63 ft / 19 m
Coordinates	27°34′13″S 153°00′29″E / 27.57028°S 153.00806°E / -27.57028; 153.00806Coordinates: 27°34′13″S 153°00′29″E / 27.57028°S 153.00806°E / -27.57028; 153.00806
Map
YBAF Location in Queensland
Runways
Direction Length Surface m ft 10R/28L 1,100 3,609 Gravel/Asphalt 10L/28R 1,471 4,826 Asphalt 04L/22R 1,245 4,085 Natural 04R/22L 1,100 3,609 Natural
Statistics (2011)
Movements 122,522
Sources: Australian AIP and aerodrome chart

Archerfield Airport is a Leased Federal Airport located in Archerfield, 12 km (7.5 mi) to the south of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. For some time it was the primary airport in Brisbane. During World War II it was used as a Royal Australian Air Force station. Airport traffic peaked in the 1980s. In December 2010, a development plan was released for public comment which included a new parallel runway.

The land upon which Archerfield airfield is now situated (Portion 18, Parish of Yeerongpilly) was originally purchased in 1855 by Thomas Grenier, publican of the Brisbane Hotel in Russell Street, South Brisbane. He purchased 640 acres (2.6 km²) of lightly timbered alluvial soil, some of the best grazing land in the district, for a price of £1,920.

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. Tom and his wife Mary Ann 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 Acre Cemetery and it is located at the main entrance to Archerfield Aerodrome. Franklin Grenier died in 1889 and his farm was bought by the Beatty family in the early 1890s. The other two farms were also sold in the early 20th century.

In 1927, Captain Lester Brain, chief flying instructor for Qantas Airways, landed his de Havilland Giant Moth (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.