About Vernor

Vernor is situated between the townships of Lowood and Fernvale, and is bordered by hills to the south-east and Brisbane River to the north-west.

Settlers Arrived From 1868
The district now known as Vernor was once part of Fernie Lawn, one of the earliest pastoral runs in the Brisbane Valley, that was established after the NSW Colonial Government's embargo on settlement within 50 miles of Brisbane was dropped in May 1842.

Fernie Lawn was settled by the Uhr brothers, then sold to the North family in 1843. In 1868 the original Government leases were opened up for closer settlement, and the first European immigrants settled in the Vernor district. The following year Vernor's first white child was born - Charles Litzow, son of Wilhelm and Johanna Litzow. 

Surnames of the area's first settlers reflected the large number of Germans and Prussians who settled here and elsewhere in the district - Adermann, Bick, Bischoff, Bulow, Damrow, Falkenhagen, Feldhahn, Fritz, Gozegorek, Heers, Imhoff, Lancaster, Lindemann, Litzow, Michel, Muckert, Otto, Pieper, Rick, Schmidt, Schroder, Spann, Stumer, Weise, Youles, Zuegling.

Settlement Gets Underway

By 1877 all the land had been selected and the clearing of scrub, erecting of buildings and other improvements continued. Cotton was an early crop in those days, which was processed at Cribb and Foote's cotton gin at Fernvale.

Railway Opens

In June 1884 the first section of the Brisbane Valley Branch Line opened from Wulkuraka to Lowood. A small platform was built between Fernvale and Lowood, which the Rail Department named Verner's Siding. The misspelt name came from the Vernors of Wivenhoe Pocket.

The Vernors

Captain Robert Vernor and his wife-to-be Sarah Harlin met in 1866, while travelling from England to Queensland on the ship ‘Southern Ocean'. They married in 1868 and established a property of about 1000 acres on prime agricultural land at the western end of Wivenhoe Pocket, and named the farm "Cluen".

In 1879 Robert Vernor recommended the route for the railway line through Lowood to Esk that was subsequently adopted by the government. Rail authorities named the siding after him, which was on the other side of the river opposite Cluen. Soon the name Vernor was adopted - correctly spelt - for the surrounding settlement (a similar pattern of adopting station names for settlements happened at Lowood, Clarenden and Coominya).
 

Vernor Starts To Develop

As markets fluctuated, farming changed to dairying and raising pigs. There were several creameries in the district and dairy farming would continue at Vernor for the next 100 years.  

In 1869 the first German Baptist services began and a church was built, but today only the historic cemetery remains. In June 1886 the Church of Christ (below) began local services, while other religions were catered for at churches in Lowood and Fernvale.

By the 1930s Vernor had a local dipping company, the Vernor Progress Association held regular meetings and cricket was played against neighbouring towns. Vernor farmers regularly entered produce in the annual Lowood Show, winning many awards.  

Today, this hidden gem called Vernor is still there, but doesn't even have a sign to show visitors it exists.

Help Uncover Our History

Historic items, photos and family histories are being collected on Vernor and the district. 
If you can help please contact Aaron Heck: (07) 5426 7359 or email: heckaaron@gmail.com