West End Area Guide
West End is an inner-city riverside suburb south of the CBD, home to a large apartment-dominated housing stock and the Kurilpa Sustainable Growth Precinct.
Local Context
West End sits on a bend of the Brisbane River just south of the CBD, adjoining South Brisbane. We could not find an official source giving an exact distance or direction from the CBD, so we have left that detail out.
Housing & Property Character
West End is a strongly apartment-dominated suburb. Australian Bureau of Statistics 2021 Census figures show flats or apartments at 75.7% of occupied private dwellings, separate houses at 19.6%, and semi-detached, row, terrace or townhouse dwellings at 4.3%. Zoning includes high density residential and mixed use categories, and part of West End sits within the Kurilpa Sustainable Growth Precinct, a Queensland Government planning instrument permitting building heights of up to 30 storeys in that specific area. A Traditional Building Character overlay also applies to older residential pockets, so any specific street should be checked individually.
Getting Around
West End has no train station of its own, with South Brisbane and South Bank stations sitting just outside the suburb boundary. The West End ferry terminal, on Orleigh Street, is served by the F1 CityCat route. Bus route 199 also runs through the area, though it is worth checking Translink’s current timetable before relying on this route number.
Schools & Education
West End State School operates under an equidistant catchment area, with a maximum enrolment capacity of 1,730 students. Brisbane State High School is located nearby in South Brisbane and operates under a negotiated catchment area, so it should not be assumed that a given West End address is automatically in its catchment without checking the Queensland Government’s EdMap tool.
Shopping & Everyday Services
Boundary Street is West End’s well known retail and dining strip, and the Boundary Street Markets run on Fridays and weekends at the corner of Boundary and Mollison Streets, on the site of the former Peter’s Ice Cream factory.
Parks & Recreation
Davies Park, at the corner of Jane Street, Montague Road and Riverside Drive, is a heritage-listed park with a community garden, multi-use games space, sports fields and walking and cycling trails.
Planning & Development
West End sits within the West End and Woolloongabba district neighbourhood plan under Brisbane City Plan 2014, with the Kurilpa Sustainable Growth Precinct overlaying part of the same area. Anyone assessing development potential should treat this precinct as a distinct, higher-density planning layer rather than assuming it applies suburb-wide.
Things to Verify Before Making a Decision
- Whether a specific address sits within the Kurilpa Sustainable Growth Precinct or carries a heritage or character overlay, using Brisbane City Council’s City Plan online mapping tool.
- The current state school catchment for a specific address, using the Queensland Government’s EdMap tool.
- Current Translink ferry and bus timetables, since services can change over time.
Thinking About a Property in West End?
Tell Narevella what you are looking for, or ask us to research a specific property or address for you.