The eastern boundary of Parkinson is marked by the Mount Lindesay Highway. The western boundary is aligned with the Sydney–Brisbane rail corridor. The Logan Motorway bisects the suburb. The northern half is mostly residential in nature with some parkland. The south remains uncleared with some industrial development emerging in the southeast corner. This corner of Parkinson is the southernmost part of the City of Brisbane.[citation needed]
The suburb was predominantly bushland for many years, with urban development beginning in the mid 1990s.[3] By 2003, most of the northern areas of the suburb were developed into low density residential with further developments continuing in the western portion of the suburb. These final residential developments were completed in 2008. An industrial estate was developed in the south eastern corner of the suburb in 2009.[citation needed]
On 13 October 2011, Parkinson experienced an intense local thunderstorm with damaging winds, large hail and heavy rainfall. This thunderstorm was unusual compared to other storms which commonly occur in the area, due to the significant amount of hail accumulation which occurred throughout the suburb. This storm caused local flash flooding, roofs and ceilings to collapse, damaged cars and power outages. Some accumulations of ice from the storm had not melted 24 hours after the event.[5]
Demographics
In the 2011 census, Parkinson had a population of 9,539 people, 50.2% female and 49.8% male. The median age of the Parkinson population was 34 years, 3 years below the Australian median. 62.5% of people living in Parkinson were born in Australia, compared to the national average of 69.8%; the next most common countries of birth were New Zealand 5.5%, England 4.4%, South Africa 2.6%, China 2%, India 1.9%. 74.1% of people spoke only English at home; the next most common languages were 3.7% Mandarin, 3% Cantonese, 1.4% Hindi, 1.3% Spanish, 1.2% Punjabi.[6]>
In the 2016 census, Parkinson had a population of 10,878 people.[7]
In the 2021 census, Parkinson had a population of 11,148 people.[1]
There are no government schools in Parkinson. The nearest government primary schools are to the north Algester State School in Algester, Calamvale Community College in Calamvale to the north-east, Stretton State College in Stretton to the east and Browns Plains State School in Browns Plains to the south-west. The nearest government secondary schools are Calamvale Community College in Calamvale to the north-east, Stretton State College in Stretton to the east and Browns Plains High State School to the south-west.[12]
^"Parkinson". Queensland Places. Centre for the Government of Queensland, University of Queensland. Archived from the original on 21 March 2015. Retrieved 17 May 2015.