Lota, Queensland
Lota is an eastern outer coastal suburb in the City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. In the , Lota had a population of 3,256 people. Geography. Lota is by road east of the Brisbane CBD. The south and east of the suburb is dominated by the mudflats and mangrove wetlands of Lota Creek and Waterloo Bay. To the west and north, the land rises towards the heights of Manly and Manly West. The suburb is of primarily post-war residential make-up but is gradually being developed with modern beachside properties. History. This part of Moreton Bay was originally occupied  by the semi-nomadic Mipirimm subclan of the Quandamooka people. Lota and neighbouring suburb Manly were and continue to be known as "Narlung" to the Quandamooka people, likely meaning 'the place of long shadows'. The name "ningi ningi" (meaning 'oysters') may also have been used in relation to the area of Lota near the creek. Major Quandamooka campsites in the area in the mid-1800s were in Manly and Wynnum. Lota was acquired by Irish-born politician and pastoralist William Duckett White in 1860, following sub-division of the lands from Lytton to Fig Tree Point. The first Queensland Premier, Robert  Herbert, entered into a partnership with Duckett White for some of the land. The suburb is named after Duckett White's residence, Lota House, built in 1863. Lota House was the heart of a productive estate, with sugar cane and fodder grown on the flats near the creek and orchards planted on higher ground near Macdonald Street. Aboriginal and South Sea Islander people worked the property, camping to the west of Lota House. Duckett White's land was first subdivided in 1911 to the east of the present railway line. The Lota Park Estate, west of the line, was sold  in 1918. In February 1918, a Presbyterian Sunday School was established by Mrs Alice Rix, who purchased a piece of land with a cottage and altered it to be suited to a Sunday School. As churches services were also held in the building, a larger building was needed and the congregation was unsure whether to enlarge the existing building or construct a new church at greater expense. In September 1928, the existing building re-opened following an enlargement. However, the death Mrs Elizabeth Annie Farmer of Macdonald Street, Lota, on 16 June 1930 resulted in a bequest of £300  to the church. The congregation was also able to borrow £200 from the Presbyterian Extension Fund (an initiative of Presbyterian benefactor William Robert Black to assist fledgling Presbyterian churches). These sources of funding enabled the congregation build a new church. Impressed by the Cannon Hill Presbyterian Church built in 1930, the congregation engaged its architect George Trotter to build them a similar church. On Saturday 8 August 1931, Lord Mayor John William Greene presided over a stump-capping ceremony for the new church. The Rix-Farmer Memorial Presbyterian Church was officially opened on Saturday 24 October 1931 by Miss  Annie Leighton Young, a niece of Mrs Alice Rix. The dedication was performed by Reverend Robert Millar. On Saturday 16 September 1933, the church hall (the original extended building on the site) burned down; a new hall was opened on Saturday 2 June 1934 by Miss Annie Leighton Young. In 1921, Lota Methodist Church opened at 29 Ambool Street (). It was sold in 1982 as part of rationalising the portfolio of church properties resulting from the amalgamation of Methodist, Presbyterian and Congregational Churches into the Uniting Church in Australia. The church building is still extant but is used as a  house. Lota School of Arts opened on the corner of Alexander and MacDonald Streets in 1927, and played host to dance evenings, film screenings and classes. In 1931, Great Depression 'relief work' led to the reclamation of land along the Esplanade, and the building of Lota's seawall. Lota State School opened on 29 January 1952. The former St Agnes' Anglican Church on The Esplanade (near Orallo Street, approx ) was dedicated on 16 May 1957 by Archbishop Halse. Its closure was approved on 21 January 1994 by Assistant Bishop Ron Williams. The building was moved to Alexandra Hills Parish. Bayside  Uniting Church was established in 1990 in Wondall Road, Manly West, combining four Uniting Churches located at: Due to earlier or later closures, the Bayside Uniting Church also incorporated congregations from: In the , Lota recorded a population of 3,255 people. In the , Lota had a population of 3,256 people. The median age of the Lota population was 41 years of age, three years above the Australian median. 74.3% of people living in Lota were born in Australia, compared to the national average of 66.7%; the next most common countries of birth were England 7.3%, New Zealand 6.0%, South Africa 1.7 %, Scotland 1.3%, Ireland 0.7%. 92.9% of people spoke only English at home; the next most common languages were 0.7% German, 0.4% Mandarin, 0.3% French, 0.3% Dutch and 0.3% Japanese. Heritage listings. Lota has a number of heritage-listed sites, including: Education. Lota State School is a government primary (Prep-6) school for boys and girls at 26 Richard Street (). In 2018, the school had an enrolment of 200 students with 16 teachers (12 full-time equivalent) and 13 non-teaching staff (7 full-time equivalent). It includes a special education program. Amenities. Lota is home to several key amenities, including Bayside  PCYC, Bayside United Soccer Club, Lota State School and Melaleuca Environmental Park. The Lota Foreshore Park (formerly the Lota Camping Reserve) is a large bay-front park that stretches along the eastern edge of the suburb, with playgrounds, barbecuing facilities, boat ramps and a sculpture park. A boardwalk crosses Lota Creek from Whites Road to Chelsea Road in Ransome. Manly-Lota Presbyterian Church is at 137 Oceana Terrace (). It is part of the Presbyterian Church of Queensland. Transport. Lota railway station provides access to regular Queensland Rail City network services to Brisbane and Cleveland. The first line was opened in  1889 through Lota to Cleveland. In 1960, the railway line between Lota and Cleveland was closed, leaving Lota as the terminus until the re-opening of the line in stages between 1983 and 1987. Governance. At the local level, Lota is in the Wynnum-Manly ward of the Brisbane City Council, represented by Cr Peter Cumming since March 1994. At the state level, Lota is within the Lytton electorate, a traditionally safe Labor seat, held by Joan Pease. LNP MP Ross Vasta has held the Federal electorate of Bonner since 2010.