James Warner Park, 33 Annie Street, Kangaroo Point
James Warner Park is a small riverside park adjoining C.T. White Park and the Brisbane Jazz Club. It was named in honour of James Warner, pioneer surveyor who built the first European residence in Kangaroo Point in 1844 in an area where the park is now. He was a highly respected resident and surveyor who made a major contribution to the mapping of Brisbane and other areas of Queensland.
James Alexander Warner (1814-1891) was born in London on 12 March 1814, son of James Warner, master mariner. He joined the navy and came to Sydney in 1835 where he became a surveyor. In 1839 he and two other surveyors, Dixon and Staplyton were sent by Governor Gipps to Moreton Bay, the original name for Brisbane until separation from NSW on 10 December 1859. Their task was to make a coastal survey and then to survey and set out the streets of Brisbane prior to free settlement.
He worked as a surveyor in the Lands Department until 1884 when he was appointed Sergeant-at-Arms to the Legislative Assembly, a position he held until his death on 6 May 1891.
A quote from his obituary in the Sat 9 May 1891 – Logan Witness (Beenleigh, Qld.),
“A better man never left us, full of genial fun and jokes. He could read aloud the Bible to youthful hearers with a pathos and heart felt intonation which some Archbishop might envy. He learned to sail a boat in early life on dark stormy nights in the English Channel, and could handle one with anybody in Moreton Bay. For fifty years he was connected with the Survey Office here, and got through an incredible amount of field and office work in connection with his profession. “
In 1839 he married Clara Lindo, widow of Captain Lindo, with three children. In 1844 he built the first European home in Kangaroo Point, a residence which became well known for popular social events and ‘a dance at Warner’s’ was considered to be the best in Brisbane. He died on 6 May 1891 at Runnymede, a house named after the first merchant navy ship in England.