Long before Brookfield became one of Brisbane’s most picturesque semi-rural suburbs, it was a place of timber-cutting camps, bullock teams and pioneering families carving out new lives in the wild scrub west of the river. Among these early settlers was the Brimblecombe family—respected pioneers whose contribution to the district helped shape the community still thriving there today.
Read: Kenmore, Brookfield, and Moggill Named Queensland’s Best Suburbs for Families
One member of that family, Lucinda Brimblecombe (née Logan), is often credited with giving the area its name. The story goes that it was she who suggested “Brookfield” in the late 1860s, a nod perhaps to the lush creeks and rolling pastures that defined the landscape.
Her husband, James Brimblecombe, had purchased land in the district while still living in Maitland in the Hunter Valley, New South Wales. Upon relocating to Brisbane with his young family in 1869, he built a simple slab hut roofed with timber shingles. He called their home “Bannerfield”, and by August that year, Lucinda and their children had joined him.
They were among the first European families in the area, and the Brimblecombes quickly became known for their success in dairying and agriculture, selling butter and eggs to neighbours and passing trade. But their contribution went beyond the land—they played a key role in laying the foundations of Brookfield’s civic life. James was instrumental in the establishment of the first church and helped bring the first school to the fledgling community.
The name “Brookfield” began appearing in newspaper reports by 1871, when the area was praised for its fertility and settlement potential. That same year saw the opening of Brookfield State School. Just three years later, a teacher’s residence was built—further proof that the district was quickly evolving into a close-knit community.
Lucinda and James would spend the remainder of their lives in the area, living at Fairview, their second home, until Lucinda’s death in 1912. James followed three years later. They were laid to rest side-by-side under a prominent headstone in Brookfield Cemetery—a lasting symbol of their place in the district’s history.
Even after their passing, the Brimblecombe legacy endured. The land on which one of their early properties stood remained in family hands for an extraordinary 122 years. While the original slab home is long gone, a newer house built in 1932 for newlyweds George Harpur Jones Junior and Stella Dalrymple (née Walker) now stands on the site.
Read: Centenarian Reflects on Rich Life at Brookfield Aged Care
Brookfield’s story, like its name, flows from the resilience and vision of people like Lucinda Brimblecombe—a woman whose quiet contribution left a name, and a legacy, that still echoes through the valley today.
Published 20-June-2025
