Woolloongabba

Woolloongabba Brisbane, Queensland
Former post office on Stanley Street in Woolloongabba.
Woolloongabba
Coordinates	27°29′28″S 153°02′18″E / 27.49111°S 153.03833°E / -27.49111; 153.03833Coordinates: 27°29′28″S 153°02′18″E / 27.49111°S 153.03833°E / -27.49111; 153.03833
Population	4,789 (2011 census)
• Density	2,000/km2 (5,170/sq mi)
Postcode(s)	4102
Area	2.4 km2 (0.9 sq mi)
Location	2 km (1 mi) SE of CBD
LGA(s)	City of Brisbane (The Gabba Ward)
State electorate(s)	South Brisbane
Federal Division(s)	Griffith
Suburbs around Woolloongabba: South Brisbane Kangaroo Point East Brisbane Dutton Park Woolloongabba Coorparoo Fairfield Annerley Greenslopes

Woolloongabba is a suburb of Brisbane, Australia. It is located 2 kilometres (1.2 mi) south-east of the CBD, and contains the Brisbane Cricket Ground ('the Gabba') and the Princess Alexandra Hospital. It is crossed by several major roads including the Pacific Motorway. The suburb was once home to a large tram depot.

Experts are divided regarding the Aboriginal meaning of the name, preferring either 'whirling waters' (woolloon and capemm) or 'fight talk place' (woolloon and gabba).

Because the area was low-lying and swampy, it was known as the One Mile Swamp. Although this name appears to be unofficial, it was in common use until the early 1890s.

The suburb has a significant link to the history of transport in Brisbane. Between 1884 and 1969 the main railway locomotive depot for lines south of the Brisbane River was beside Stanley St. It was reached via a line that ran beside Stanley St, then crossing it, Logan Road and Ipswich Road to the main line at Dutton Park. By the 1960s services from the depot were causing significant delays to traffic as they crossed these three major roads.

The suburb was served by horse-drawn trams from 1885 to 1897, which were replaced by electric trams, which in turn ceased operation on 13 April 1969. All but one of Brisbane's trolleybus routes traversed the suburb, from 1953 to 1969. The Woolloongabba Fiveways (the intersection of Stanley Street, Main Street, Logan Road and Ipswich Road) was a complex junction with tram and railway lines, and tram and trolleybus overhead. Trams were controlled by a signalman, who operated the points (or switches) from a signal cabin near the eastern side of the junction. Trains were escorted across the junction by a flagman. Curiously, Queensland Railways always referred to the branch line as the Wooloongabba Branch, spelt with only one 'l'.