The suburbs present role as an up-market residential suburb belies its industrial past. Timber yards, asbestos works, wharves and woolstores once dominated the eastern side of the suburb. The tall iron structure of the No. 2 gasholder on Longland Street is a remnant of the Newstead Gasworks, which was established in 1887 as Brisbane\’s second gas works. The structure, however, was originally located at the Petrie Bight gasworks, where it was erected in 1873.

The suburb was served by first horse drawn trams from 1885. From 1897 electric trams ran along Commercial Road (until December 1962) and along Ann and Wickham Streets until April 1969. Light Street tram and bus depot was located in the suburb. It opened as a tram depot in 1885, saw its last trams in December 1968 and finally closed as a bus depot in the mid 1990s, making it one of Queenslands longest continually operating industrial sites. All traces of the depot and its heritage have been obliterated and the site redeveloped, although a remnant of its trackwork – a unique three way set of points – has been preserved at the Brisbane Tramway Museum.