Heath Park, 48 Hilton Street, East Brisbane
Heath Park on the banks of Norman Creek is named after Captain George P0ynter Heath (1830-1921) highly respected naval captain, marine surveyor and the first Portmaster of Queensland.
George Poynter Heath was born on 19 June 1830 at Hanworth, Norfolk, England, son of the Rev. Charles Heath, vicar of Hanworth, and Mary Anne, née Poynter. At the age of fifteen he joined the navy as a cadet and from 1846-53 served on the H.M.S. Rattlesnake which was surveying the Queensland coast, the Fantome and the Calliope on the Australian station. He returned to England and worked at the Admiralty, drawing charts of areas that had been surveyed in the Rattlesnake. After reaching the rank of lieutenant he obtained a government position as marine surveyor in the new colony of Queensland. In February 1860 he married Elizabeth Jane Innes and then moved to Australia. They had six children, three sons and three daughters.
During his distinguished career as a naval commander he was responsible for supervising the opening of 13 new ports, establishing 33 lighthouses, 6 lightships and 150 small lights and marking 450 miles (724 km) of the inner route through the Barrier Reef. In 1862 he was appointed portmaster of Brisbane. He was also a highly regarded member of the Anglican Church and became a member of the Immigration Board and Marine Board.
In 1864 he built a large homestead covering several acres and leading down to the river. He used to watch sailing ships coming up the river through a telescope in a lookout in the attic. The elegant home was designed by Brisbane architect James Cowlishaw and was built of hand-made bricks. It was aptly named Hanworth and was the focal point of many lively social events popular at the time.
Due to ill health he retired from the public service in November 1887 and returned to England, living a quiet life in South Kensington, London. His wife died in 1893 and he died on 26 March 1921.
Real Park, 33 Heath Street, East Brisbane
The small park is named after Patrick Real an Irish immigrant who worked hard and became a Supreme Court judge.
He was born in Limerick in March 1847, the youngest of six children of a tenant farmer. When he was four his family migrated to Queensland, but unfortunately his father died when they were close to their destination. His mother settled in Ipswich and Patrick attended school he was twelve, when he was apprenticed to a carpenter and then worked at the Ipswich Railway workshops.
At the age of 21 he decided to become a barrister, gave up his trade and devoted himself to study. Apart from the help of the Rev. J.B. Breen, principal of St Mary’s Catholic School in Ipswich who tutored him in Latin and Greek, he was self-taught using standard legal texts.
His admission to the Queensland Bar in September 1874 at the age of 27 marked the start of a successful legal career. He was Crown Prosecutor for the Central District for a few years and on 8 July 1890 he became a Supreme Court Judge. He retired as a judge at the age of 76 and continued as a successful consulting barrister until his death on 10 June 1928 at the age of 81. (SLQ/Trove/)