We met for Haughty's birthday run on land that was once part of the old Paddington cemetery - in the Baptist section (it was important not to be buried with the Catholics back then!) You'll find part of the history of the cemetery - in use from 1844 to 1875 - in this post from the Queensland Archives. Of course the cemetery extended beneath what became Lang Park. As the Archives post notes, "Many of the bodies remain on the site today, truly dwarfed by the massive structure above, and making Suncorp Stadium truly hallowed ground."
You can make out some of the territory we traversed in this old photo. In the back you can see Old Bishopsbourne, and in the centre left Christ Church, Milton. The brewery that we circled now occupies much of the ground between these points:
Enough of history. People had been spooked by getting parking tickets on our last venture into the city, but there weren't any events on at the stadium, and we're pretty certain that no-one was penalised this time in this quiet bit of the inner west. It's a hilly area in general, but our route avoided the truly punishing bits, ending up with an absolutely flat on-home past the stadium. And apart from the historical sites, there was plenty of upgraded real estate to gawp at en route.
Here are some pics, courtesy of Floater, Banger, Culture and Cash Converta.
Runners in front of the Old Bishopsbourne chapel:
Hallowed ground:
When: Sunday 31st August
Where: John Scott Park, Samford Village
Hares: M. Promptu will set the trail; Potluck will cater (please bring something to share).
On, on!
