A ROW is brewing over Colbrae, an historic Brahman stud which sits at the heart of pastoral Stockleigh in Logan’s south-west.
Margaret Hawkins, 79, was born on the property and has lived there her whole life with the exception of the few years she attended the private girls school of St Hilda’s at Southport, on the Gold Coast.
She said Colbrae was the preferred site of the proposed Site B sewerage treatment plant that Logan City needs to build to service the south west.
“I don’t want to go. I intend to fight,” she said.
Logan says it has not chosen a site. Engineers, spokespeople and roads and water chair Cr Phil Pidgeon said so again on the weekend.
Colbrae is 60.7 hectares of grazing land and part of the selection made by Miss Hawkins grandparents, William and Maryanne Hawkins in 1865 next to River Oaks. The first deeded property sold in Logan Village is still home to three generations of descendants of the pioneer family.
Colbrae has three homesteads. The oldest – Sunnyside – is the home Miss Hawkins grandfather built for her grandmother. It is kept by Miss Hawkins as a time capsule of family history.
It is filled with photographs, newspapers, magazines, homewares and the estorica a family collects across lifetimes. Miss Hawkins said she still runs the occasional Sunday school there and gives tours to those who are interested by appointment.
Logan must build two sewerage plants to service the south west. One is at Cedar Grove. The other is the subject of public consultation. Three meetings have been held. More than 50 people attended the last on Saturday at Chambers Flat. Public submissions close on August 20.
Miss Hawkins has a copy of a 2016 state government study that identifies Colbrae as the prefered place for the Site B plant.
Cr Phil Pidgeon did not return a call on Monday, August 13 but has spoken about the report before. He said the study was commissioned by the State before the council took on the project, was available to read on the council’s website and had no bearing on current consultation.
Cr Pidgeon has also said there would be no resumptions. Friends and family of Miss Hawkins did not know if they could trust the council and have launched the petition Save Margaret’s Farm.
Leeroy Bobermein’s family has lived in the region for generations. He carried a placard to Saturday’s meet. It directed a few choice words at Cr Pidgeon and voiced support for Miss Hawkins.
“I’m not the sort of person who joins protests, but I felt I needed to say something. Sometimes you have to say what’s on your mind,” he said.
Miss Hawkins’ niece Susan Birmingham lives at Colbrae with her husband John and three children.
She said her aunt had received a steady stream of visitors who signed the petition and offered support since the Saturday meeting.
Logan Village Museum’s Coralyn Cowin said the museum held a copy of the original Colbrae deed.
“There’s such a lot of history there,” she said.
“That was the the first block of land sold in the area. It still has descendants of the original pioneering family living on it. It’s still a working farm.
“It would be such a shame if that ended up being a sewerage plant. It is a part of our history.”
