AN historic Brisbane destination is dying a slow death and could soon be consigned to history.
The Moorooka ‘Magic Mile’ has been a destination for car buyers for decades and it arguably put the suburb, 7km south of Brisbane, on the map.
It was, also for many interstate and country visitors travelling north along the Cunningham Highway, the first recognisable Brisbane landmark, with car dealerships flanking Ipswich Rd at Moorooka.
But times have changed.
The ‘Magic Mile’ is in the process of becoming a victim of rising real estate prices and the digital age.
One of the few caryards still in operation is Salters Used Cars on Ipswich Rd.
Salters has been selling vehicles for more than 40 years and it occupies two lots that straddle Forest St.
The caryard next door to Salters has relocated while several others along Ipswich Rd are abandoned and sit idle.
Manager Stephen Perera fears the ‘Magic Mile’ will one day disappear in a puff of smoke.
“They’ve relocated because the real estate has gotten very expensive compared to the heyday, so they have moved to cheaper premises,” Mr Perera told The Courier-Mail.
“A lot of people are just selling cars out of warehouses and don’t need the exposure because they are selling online.
“I think this (the Magic Mile) will go and become high-density living because you have two train stations nearby, Moorooka and Yeerongpilly.”
Mr Perera has been managing the Salters caryard for six years and said it’s a shame the Magic Mile is losing dealerships but you have to move with the times.
Almost a fifth of their sales are either over the phone or off their website and it’s a growing trend affecting all dealerships.
“This was well known because it was the first stop for the country people and their grandfathers and grandmothers still talk about this place,” he said.
“The first set of lights when you hit Brisbane were just down the road there, so if you came from interstate or Toowoomba or Warwick… you hit the set of lights (and) you thought you were in the city and they’d stop here.
“But you have to change with the times. Customers are very price orientated and so they don’t care too much where it is, it’s all about price and we get 20 per cent these days and it’s internet and phone sales.”
The Magic Mile may have put Moorooka on the map but there’s more to the suburb than just rows of dealerships.
The suburb was also home to the Golden Hands massage parlour which gained some notoriety in Brisbane during the early 1980s.
During a debate of State Parliament in 1983, Kevin Hooper (Opposition spokesman for police in prisons) questioned the government about the premises on Ipswich Rd, “operating with impunity” and from which “VD had definitely been traced”.
The Golden Hands may be long gone but controversy surrounded the same building this year when it went up in flames in January. A 74-year-old man was later charged with arson.
Besides its link to seedier times, Moorooka is home to almost 10,000 residents.
Annerley-based Remax Colonial Real Estate agent Kerry Parkes said Moorooka can be defined by having three distinct precincts including one which has million dollar views of the surrounding suburbs and the city.
Mr Parkes said there is the higher density precinct between Ipswich Rd and Beaudesert Rd, the Beaudesert Rd to Toohey Forest area, which is predominantly houses, and Clifton Hill.
“The area between Beaudesert Rd and Toohey Forest is a mainly houses area where older folk are selling out to younger generations,” Mr Parkes said.
“Clifton Hill is very much known as its own area and it used to have its own postcode and be its own suburb.
“There are ridges in Clifton Hill… like Bracken St… which have magnificent city views and you have homes that are worth well over $1 million.”
Even though the suburb has million dollar homes and is as close to the CBD as Kedron is on Brisbane’s northside, there are still areas where houses can be snapped-up for less than $550,000.
Mr Parkes said Moorooka house prices had increased by 23 per cent over the past five years but was still quite an affordable suburb given its proximity to the CBD and that it is serviced by a railway line.
“Between Ipswich Rd and Beaudesert Rd it’s low medium density so we’re getting a lot of 800sqm blocks which are being developed into, say, four townhouses,” he said .
“The town plan for high density ends before Moorooka and in the last 12 months we’ve seen four per cent growth and the median house price is $600,000.
“A lot of people who buy houses in Moorooka are first and second time home buyers.”
The main shopping strip in Moorooka is on Beaudesert Rd and it’s focussed around the Woolworths supermarket.
The strip shopping area is also where you can get great Ethiopian or Sudanese food and two of the better known eateries are Yeshi Buna Ethio and Made In African, said Mr Parkes.
“It still has a thriving strip shopping centre with doctors, dentists and lawyer but there’s an African influence in Moorooka as well,” he said.
“You have a couple of crackin’ Ethiopian restaurants and people have no idea how good the food is there.
“They do curries and marinades and they are drawing people from surrounding suburbs.”
Mr Parkes said it won’t be long before the suburb moves out of the reach of first homebuyers.
“There is short supply of houses here and as soon as they go on the market there are four or five offers in the first weekend and prices are going to continue to edge upwards,” he said.
Originally Published: http://www.couriermail.com.au/