With an alarming 146 endangered koalas killed locally in a single year, a community in Mt Gravatt is demanding immediate road safety upgrades after a terrified marsupial was discovered boxed against a concrete barrier without an escape route.
Kelly, a local motorist, was exiting the Pacific Motorway onto Klumpp Road. A koala sat huddled against the stark concrete. How many drivers simply pass by without noticing? Completely trapped by the heavy infrastructure, the animal faced a deadly bottleneck.
Toohey Forest offers a leafy haven for native animals, yet it borders a dangerous maze of bitumen. Wandering marsupials frequently navigate toward the M3, only to find themselves stranded on exit ramps. Once their paws hit the road, steep walls and speeding traffic seal their fate. Twenty-two koalas lost their lives at this exact location last year alone.
Locals are refusing to wait for the next casualty. Advocates urge the installation of dedicated underpasses, smart artificial intelligence detection systems, and dynamic road signs that respond to animal movement. They also propose swapping solid walls for wildlife-friendly alternatives that allow trapped creatures to climb away from danger.
Until these upgrades happen, unpaid citizens shoulder the heavy lifting. Groups such as Koala Rescue Brisbane South Inc. rely entirely on volunteers who sacrifice their personal time, petrol, and supplies to handle animal protection.
The 42-hectare Griffith University Mount Gravatt campus, closed since last year after more than five decades of operation nestled in Toohey Forest, has been listed for sale with strict conditions protecting Yarranlea Primary School, the aquatic centre and the tennis facilities for ongoing community use.
Expressions of interest for the former Griffith University site, located nine kilometres south-east of the Brisbane CBD near the summit of Mount Gravatt Mountain, close on 13 March 2026. The sale requires any new owner to maintain the primary school and sporting precinct as operational, while the surrounding bushland will be retained separately and not form part of the sale.
Griffith University vacated the Mount Gravatt campus last year after consolidating resources at its larger Nathan campus and a new Brisbane City campus set to open in the historic Treasury Building in 2027. Nine buildings remain on the site, including deserted student dormitories, an auditorium and lecture halls, all in varying states of disrepair after standing empty.
What Stays and What Changes
The recreational precinct at the heart of the site includes a 25-metre pool and aquatic centre, a 12-court tennis centre, outdoor basketball and netball courts and a rugby field. Nearly 1,000 residents signed a petition calling for the aquatic centre’s future to be secured, recognising it as a vital community space used by local residents and school students throughout the year.
Photo Credit: Queensland authorities
Yarranlea Primary School Board Chair Adrienne Innes welcomed the certainty the sale conditions provide, saying the community loves the unique independent school and the multi-age education and wellbeing it provides children. She said the school looks forward to working with the future owner so it can grow and flourish for years to come.
The sale will be conducted as a freehold transaction for both the former university precinct and the recreational precinct, with the surrounding high-value bushland areas preserved separately for future generations. No public funding will be contributed to development of the site, with private investment expected to activate and redevelop the campus buildings.
A Unique and Challenging Site
The former Griffith University campus presents an unusual proposition for the property market. Located only nine kilometres from the Brisbane CBD with good public transport connections, the site offers genuine accessibility and community infrastructure. However, its position perched on Mount Gravatt Mountain and surrounded by Toohey Forest places it in a high bushfire danger zone, complicating any development ambitions.
Urban researcher and Griffith University adjunct professor Matthew Burke described the campus’ public transport links as making it an ideal location for a selective high school or education academy. He noted that the old buildings will need significant investment if they are to be retained, given their deteriorating condition following the university’s departure.
The site’s information memorandum describes it as offering exceptional connectivity, proximity to major transport corridors and access to a thriving community, making it an ideal location for education, innovation and community-focused development. Expressions of interest close March 13, with a sale approval expected in April 2026.
The 26-acre property adjacent to Toohey Forest in Upper Mount Gravatt is an unassuming patch of land. To the untrained eye, it’s just another overgrown lot dotted with relics of its farming heritage. But to environmental experts, it represents something far more significant – a rare opportunity to expand critical habitat for Brisbane’s native flora and fauna.
The potential sale of the parcel of land, located at 139 Klumpp Road in Upper Mount Gravatt, represents a unique chance to safeguard and grow the habitat for native plants and animals, according to Michael Fox, co-President of the Mt Gravatt Environment Group (MGEG).
Mr Fox notes that since 2007, the group has documented an impressive 280 different species of native plants thriving in the area. Living nearby, Mr Fox is intimately familiar with the forest’s wildlife, including two families of squirrel gliders and a population of koalas that call Toohey Forest their home.
Photo credit: Michael Fox/Mt Gravatt Environment Group
Dr Carla Catterall, Emeritus Professor of Environmental Sciences at Griffith University, noted in a letter to Brisbane City Council that securing the land comes with several benefits, including avoiding compromising the longer-term ecological integrity, flora and fauna of Toohey forest; and enabling preservation and enhancement of the riparian and aquatic habitats, and water quality, in Mimosa Creek.
Photo credit: Michael Fox/Mt Gravatt Environment Group
Dr Catterall and local environmental groups like MGEG are urging Council to seize this chance to purchase and restore the Klumpp Road site through an online petition, transforming it into a strategic wildlife corridor linking Toohey Forest to the nearby Roly Chapman Bushland Reserve.
Photo credit: realestate.com.au
“If the council purchases this land they could build a koala-safe fence. Volunteers from schools and community groups could assist with planting native plants and trees, including suitable koala food sources. The reserve is home to over a hundred species of birds as well as koalas, wallabies and echidnas. It is worth investing in,” the petition reads.
Photo credit: realestate.com.au
Their calls come amidst growing concerns over the relentless destruction of koala habitat across southeast Queensland, prompting the Australian government to recently reclassify the iconic marsupial as an endangered species.
The land is believed to have once been owned by the Williams family – among Brisbane’s pioneering settler families. The Williams are said to have introduced irrigation techniques to grow pineapples, lettuce and celery to the region, cementing their legacy as farming trailblazers.
Whilst the e-petition has already ended earlier this month, the race is still on for Council to submit an expression of interest for the coveted Klumpp Road property before 30 March 2024, securing the critical biodiversity corridor before developers potentially move in.
