Brisbane Archives - Wavell Heights News

Nook Coffee Brings Together Coffee, Community and Craft in Northgate

Nook Coffee has quickly found its place in the morning routines of Northgate locals, offering specialty coffee, house-made jaffles and a space lined with handmade goods from local artisans, all pulled together by owner Suzanne and her daughter Bijoux.

The café sources its coffee from Tim Adams Specialty Coffee, a Sunshine Coast roaster known for quality single origins and blends, and its pastries from Danny’s Bread, keeping the food offering as local as the rest of the fit-out.

House-made jaffles are made fresh each day, bringing a nostalgic and satisfying edge to the menu that slots naturally alongside the morning coffee crowd.

A café that fills a particular gap

Northgate has long had limited options for a true neighbourhood café, often sitting in the shadow of nearby Nundah’s busier dining and coffee scene. Nook gives locals exactly the kind of venue many residents appreciate: somewhere that remembers your order, supports local makers and gives people a reason to walk rather than drive.

*Photo Credit: Yvonne Clark/Google Maps*

What sets Nook apart from a typical neighbourhood café is its support for local artisans. The shelves showcase ceramics, candles, books and fresh flowers alongside a rotating collection of handmade goods.

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Jewellery, soft furnishings, artworks and children’s toys all feature in the display, turning the café into a small marketplace as much as a place to enjoy a flat white.

Community connection and local craft

The combination of specialty coffee and artisan goods is not new to Brisbane, but Nook delivers it with a genuine sense of warmth rather than as a carefully curated concept.

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Much of that comes from Suzanne’s vision for the café and the involvement of her daughter Bijoux, whose presence helps create a welcoming family atmosphere.

Suzanne sees the café as a place for community connection as much as a coffee destination. The shelves provide local artisans with a permanent space to showcase their work, giving makers an audience beyond the occasional weekend market and helping strengthen connections within the local community.

A stop worth making if you’re in the area

Nook Coffee is at 135 Northgate Road, Northgate. Follow along at nookcoffee.com.au or on their Instagram page for updates on new artisan stock and café news.

Published 16-June-2026

Norths Rugby Club Reels After Alleged String of Ten Break-Ins in 18 Months

Australian Sports Foundation

The Norths Eagles rugby club is facing a mounting financial and emotional toll following a series of alleged break-ins at their Hugh Courtney Oval clubhouse. “The Nest” has been hit at least ten times in the last 18 months, with the most recent blow involving three consecutive nights of alleged thefts and property damage that have left club volunteers struggling to keep up with repairs.

CCTV footage from the clubhouse shows groups of young people inside the facility on multiple occasions, taking soft drinks, packaged goods, and bottled water. The most recent run of three consecutive night break-ins has added to a financial toll that club president Shaun McKinnon estimates included $1,300 in goods lost in a single incident alone.

Beyond the stolen stock, the alleged offenders have set the club’s wooden outdoor tables alight on multiple occasions, destroying custom-made property that cannot simply be replaced off a shelf.

The club, known to members and supporters as The Nest, is one of Brisbane’s most historically significant rugby union clubs. Tracing its origins to the Teachers Training College Football Club in 1933, Norths has spent more than 90 years developing players at every level, from juniors through to Wallabies, with alumni including Will Genia, Greg Cornelsen and Michael O’Connor. It competes in the Queensland Premier Rugby competition, the highest level of club rugby in the state below Super Rugby.

The Pattern the Club Keeps Seeing

What frustrates club officials is not just the frequency but the consistency of the method. McKinnon says the alleged intruders access the clubhouse the same way each time, finding the same entry point regardless of security improvements. Each repair and upgrade is followed by another break-in using the same approach, creating a cycle that drains both money and morale.

One incident about a month ago unfolded differently. A community member arrived at the club at around 7:00 pm to drop off supplies and spotted a group of young people on the roof of the clubhouse. Police responded quickly, but as officers arrived, the alleged offenders fled on e-bikes, heading onto the Kedron Brook Bikeway and disappearing before police could locate them.

That detail connects to a broader pattern in the area. Police have been conducting targeted operations along the Kedron Brook Bikeway in recent years in response to complaints about the use of non-compliant and unregistered electric bikes, including enforcement action involving young people. The bikeway, which runs almost 20 kilometres from Mitchelton to Nundah and passes close to Hugh Courtney Oval, provides rapid movement through the northern suburbs and has featured in incidents extending well beyond the Wavell Heights area.

A Community Club Absorbing Costs It Was Never Built to Carry

Norths Eagles operates, like most community rugby clubs, on tight margins that depend heavily on match-day income, bar and canteen takings, memberships and sponsorships. The Australian Sports Foundation has noted that the club’s infrastructure and facilities depend significantly on grant funding, given the difficulty of funding capital upgrades through operating revenue alone. Against that backdrop, repeated losses to theft and property damage are not a minor inconvenience. They represent a direct hit to the resources the club uses to run junior programmes, maintain fields and support its players.

McKinnon has called on the Wavell Heights and broader northern suburbs community to back the club in a practical way: come out to home games at Hugh Courtney Oval during the Queensland Premier Rugby season, and support the bar and canteen while there. For a club that has been running in this community for over nine decades, the ask is a reminder that local sporting clubs survive on local support, and that support matters most when things are difficult.

How to Back the Eagles

Norths Eagles play their home games at Hugh Courtney Oval, 128-150 Shaw Road, Wavell Heights. The 2026 Queensland Premier Rugby season is currently underway. Fixture information, news and sponsorship enquiries are available via the club’s website at northsrugbyclub.com or through their Facebook page. Anyone with information about the alleged break-ins can contact Policelink on 131 444 or report anonymously through Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.

Published 17-April-2026

Hamilton Road Intersection Upgrade Set to Improve Safety at Wavell Heights Crossing

BCC

Traffic lights are coming to the Hamilton Road and Spence Road intersection in Wavell Heights, with plans lodged to overhaul one of the suburb’s busiest and most hazardous daily crossing points.

The Hamilton Road and Spence Road intersection carries heavy traffic throughout the day, with long wait times and limited visibility making it difficult for drivers to safely enter and exit Spence Road. The planned upgrade will install traffic signals at the intersection, along with a series of improvements designed to make the crossing safer and more reliable for drivers, pedestrians and bus passengers alike.

The project is currently in progress, with the construction timeline still being finalised pending funding confirmation.

What the Upgrade Involves

The centrepiece of the works is a full set of traffic signals at the intersection, including signalised pedestrian crossings. The right-turn lane on Hamilton Road into Spence Road will be extended, and both corners of Spence Road at Hamilton Road will be widened to formalise two westbound traffic lanes on approach to and through the intersection.

Bus stops will shift as part of the works. The westbound stop on Hamilton Road (stop 43) moves 30 metres west, and the northbound stop on Spence Road (stop 42) moves 30 metres south. Footpaths will be upgraded, new kerb ramps installed, and stormwater infrastructure on both roads within the project area will be renewed. New road pavement, signage, line marking and landscaping complete the scope.

One change will be permanent from the outset: access from Frankit Street onto Hamilton Road will become left-in, left-out only. A new pedestrian refuge on Frankit Street at Hamilton Road will also be installed. Residents who currently turn right out of Frankit Street will need to adjust their routes once construction begins, and the project team is available to discuss alternative travel options.

A Corridor with a History of Safety Concerns

Hamilton Road has been a focus of road safety investment for several years. The intersection with Bilsen Road was upgraded under the Black Spot Program after recording nine crashes between 2015 and 2021, all of which required medical treatment or hospitalisation. That project delivered dedicated right-turn pockets, updated signal phasing and relocated bus stops, and is now complete.

The Spence Road intersection presents a similar set of challenges. High traffic volumes, extended wait times and limited sightlines have made it difficult for drivers to safely navigate the crossing, mirroring the conditions that prompted action at Bilsen Road.

A Safer Street for the People Who Use It Every Day

For residents living near the intersection, this upgrade addresses a problem that has been part of their daily routine for years. Hamilton Road serves as one of the key east-west connectors through Wavell Heights’ inner north, and the Spence Road junction has long added unnecessary time and uncertainty to morning and afternoon trips.

The inclusion of signalised pedestrian crossings is a meaningful addition for those who travel the area on foot, where crossing Hamilton Road currently requires careful judgement and a degree of patience.

Broader traffic studies have pointed to ongoing pressure across Wavell Heights roads, with congestion on surrounding arterials including Sandgate Road and Gympie Road continuing to push traffic onto local streets. Intersection-level upgrades like this one address safety at specific points, and combined with previous works along the corridor, represent a sustained effort to improve conditions for the community.

How to Stay Across the Project

The construction program is still being finalised, and more detail on timing will be shared once that process is complete. Residents can register for project update emails through this link.

For questions, including advice on alternative routes around the Frankit Street access change, contact the project team on 07 3178 5413 (Monday to Friday, 8.30am to 4.30pm), or email cityprojects@brisbane.qld.gov.au with the subject line “Hamilton Road and Spence Road intersection upgrade.” Written enquiries can be directed to Infrastructure Services, GPO Box 1434, Brisbane QLD 4001. General enquiries can be made to 07 3403 8888, available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Published 31-March-2026

Wavell Heights Student Zahra Patel Named Runner-Up at 2026 WIMARQ Resources Awards for Women

Wavell State High School/Facebook

Wavell State High School Year 12 student Zahra Patel has been named runner-up in the Exceptional Female QMEA Student Award at the 2026 Women in Mining and Resources Queensland International Women’s Day Luncheon and Resources Awards for Women, recognising years of dedication to STEM pathways and the resources sector.

Zahra attended the Brisbane luncheon alongside fellow Wavell student and University of Queensland Science Ambassador Nia Benson and teacher Mr Drago, representing a school that has been part of the Queensland Minerals and Energy Academy since its founding in 2005. The event brought together industry leaders, keynote speakers and students from across Queensland to celebrate the contribution women are making to the resources and energy sector. Attendees heard from keynote speaker Claire Parkinson, a former mining executive and prison governor, who shared insights on leadership and career resilience.

The runner-up recognition in the Exceptional Female QMEA Student category reflects Zahra’s sustained involvement in STEM opportunities over many years, rather than a single standout achievement. She celebrated the result with her family, who were present at the luncheon. Zahra is also a participant in the WIMARQ Mentoring Program, which pairs female Year 12 students with women working in the resources sector, providing one-on-one guidance and professional support as they complete their final year of school and plan for what comes next.

What the QMEA Pathway Offers Students

The Queensland Minerals and Energy Academy is designed to encourage students to enter careers in the minerals and energy sector, providing clear pathways into one of the state’s most innovative and economically important industries. As Australia’s largest industry-led initiative, QMEA bridges education and industry, inspiring students to pursue pathways in the resources sector and STEM fields through innovative programmes that prepare students for future careers and support teachers in delivering engaging STEM education.

Wavell State High School has been a foundation partner school of the QMEA since the academy’s inception in 2005. That two-decade relationship has given Wavell students consistent access to mine site excursions, engineering camps, curriculum-linked forums, industry mentoring and nationally recognised qualifications in resource and infrastructure operations. QMEA Ambassadors, like Zahra, take on additional leadership responsibilities within the programme, representing their school at major industry events and promoting resources and STEM careers to younger students.

The results of the QMEA model are measurable. Female students at QMEA schools who entered a post-school apprenticeship or traineeship did so in the mining industry at almost five times the rate of students from non-QMEA schools. For young women in particular, the combination of industry exposure, mentoring and peer networks that QMEA and WIMARQ provide significantly changes the likelihood of pursuing a career in a sector that has historically underrepresented them.

WIMARQ and the Mentoring Programme

The Women in Mining and Resources Queensland organisation works to attract, retain and advance women across Queensland’s resources sector through advocacy, events and structured mentoring. The WIMARQ Mentoring Program that Zahra participates in pairs selected female Year 12 students with experienced women from the resources industry, creating a direct line of connection between school life and professional careers. For students navigating the transition from Year 12 into university, apprenticeships or employment, that kind of personal guidance from someone already working in the field carries practical value that no classroom programme can replicate.

The International Women’s Day Luncheon and Resources Awards for Women is the centrepiece event of WIMARQ’s annual calendar, drawing senior industry figures and student participants from across Queensland together to recognise excellence and build the networks that sustain women’s participation in the sector over the long term.

Why This Matters to the Wavell Heights Community

For families in Wavell Heights and the surrounding northern Brisbane suburbs, Zahra’s recognition is a reminder that Wavell State High School offers its students access to opportunities that extend well beyond the standard secondary curriculum. The school’s two-decade partnership with the QMEA has opened doors for hundreds of Wavell students into careers in engineering, resources, energy and related STEM fields, and Zahra’s runner-up award is one of the most visible expressions of what that partnership can produce.

For young women in the community who are weighing up their options beyond Year 12, the combination of QMEA membership, WIMARQ mentoring and industry events like the International Women’s Day Luncheon represents a genuine pathway into one of Queensland’s most economically significant sectors. Queensland’s resources sector contributed $116.8 billion to the state economy in the most recent financial year and supports the jobs of more than 532,000 Queenslanders, making the pipeline of skilled graduates into the sector a matter of real economic importance for the state.

Students at Wavell State High School interested in the QMEA programme can speak with their school’s QMEA coordinator, or find more information at qmea.org.au. Information about the WIMARQ Mentoring Program is available at wimarq.com.au.

Published 13-March-2026.