Page 4 - BOL April 21 Edition

The Mill at Moreton Bay

Paving the Way in Education and Family Fun

If you’ve recently driven past The Mill 2016, before a Priority Development Area Adjacent to the university is a new
at Moreton Bay in Petrie you will have (PDA) was declared in September 2016. recreation space which is the perfect
noticed a hive of activity. The former The PDA meant the land was earmarked one-stop destination for Moreton Bay
site of the Petrie Paper Mill is now for specific accelerated development families. Features in this area include a
home to the University of Sunshine with economic growth being the main playground, with areas suitable for both
Coast (USC) Moreton Bay and a fun focus. toddlers and older children, a waterplay
recreation space for families. area, picnic and BBQ facilities and an oval,
With much excitement, work on which is ideal for kicking a ball or having
Those who have lived in the region for USC Moreton Bay, began in 2018 a hit of cricket.
a long time will have vivid memories of and was completed in time for the
the Petrie Paper Mill, which opened in commencement of Semester One in Getting to and from The Mill at Moreton
December 1957. The mill, which became 2020. The university was officially opened Bay is easy with direct access to local
the heart of Petrie, was a paper processing in March of the same year, before it had cycleways, plenty of bike racks, ample
and recycling plant and employed over to close to students due to the COVID-19 car parking spaces and the Petrie Train
500 staff during the 60’s. pandemic. Foundation facilities at USC station within walking distance.
include science and engineering labs, a
nursing simulation space, library, student Whilst there has already been considerable
services and a café. Enrolment numbers headway in the developments at The Mill
for 2021 are exceeding expectations, with at Moreton Bay, there is still plenty of
more than 3,000 students enrolled for room for expansion with plans for retail,
undergraduate degrees such as nursing, residential, commercial and community
business, education, engineering and infrastructure to come.
computer science.

As a result of the mills closure in 2013, the
huge site, located just off Gympie Road,
lay dormant for a few years before the
Moreton Bay Regional Council secured
it in 2015. The last remnants of the mill
(the smokestacks) were bulldozed in June