In December 1850, he purchased approximately 12 acres (4.9 ha) of land along the southern bank of the Brisbane River at what was then referred to as Kangaroo Point, downstream from Rev.

[1] In a report presented to the full Council on 14 December 1903, the advantages of the site for a public park were enumerated:[1] "Mowbray's property is in every way suitable for a public Park or garden having suitable soil, and undulating land reaching to the water's edge, and in addition it will also provide the necessary accommodation for bowling greens, Tennis Courts, and Croquet lawns.

The property has a North Easterly aspect, and has an extended view of two reaches of the river, is above flood level, and is situated on the East Brisbane Tramway route.

[1] The land was acquired by the City Council at the same time as a site at Highgate Hill, and the initiative for these purchases has been attributed to the Mayor of South Brisbane in 1903, Alderman George Blocksidge, who promoted the expansion of public gardens and parks in the rapidly developing municipality.

At the Council's request, the Engineer for Harbours and Rivers prepared a plan for a random stone wall early in 1904, but this was not implemented immediately.

The Queensland Government agreed to assist in the financing, but construction was delayed while the Council enquired as to the most favourable terms under which this work could be carried out.

Finally in August 1907, the Council instructed the Queensland Government to proceed with the retaining wall (not including baths or jetty), and construction had commenced by mid-February 1908.

[1] Late in 1909, the South Brisbane City Council called tenders for the construction of a kiosk and attached cottage in Mowbray Park.

The South Brisbane City Council agreed to subsidise a bandstand to cost approximately £150, provided the Citizens Committee prepared plans and estimates.

[1] The need for a landing stage or jetty at Mowbray park was reconsidered in late 1910, and expressions of interest were called from ferry/tug boat companies.

The playground is not indicated on the 1922 South Brisbane City Council Sewerage Detail Plan of the area, nor on a 1949 contour survey of the park.

A public subscription was raised by the East Brisbane Cadet Committee, and the tender of £187/10/- from W Batstone & Sons, monumental masons of Annerley Road, was accepted in March 1916.

[5][6] It was flanked by two cannons, reputedly part of Thursday Island's 19th century defences, and was surrounded by a garden in the shape of a cross.

[1] The question of providing swimming baths at Mowbray Park was raised with the South Brisbane City Council several times during the 1910s, both by public committees and individual aldermen, but little was achieved until the end of the decade.

The swimming enclosure was removed at an earlier period, but the stone retaining walls and steps associated with the baths remain, and have been included in this entry in the Heritage Register.

Mowbray Park comprises 3.2 hectares (7.9 acres) of treed paths and lawns on a site which slopes gently down to the edge of the Brisbane River from Lytton Road.

[1] The former swimming baths comprise two porphyry retaining walls which are cut into the river's edge and form a shallow C shape.

[1] The boat house is a large, modestly detailed, single-storeyed timber shed with a gabled terracotta tiled roof and a skillion to the rear.

The pedestal is painted sandstone, and has four large marble plaques attached with five hundred and twenty names inscribed in lead.

[1] Mowbray Park and East Brisbane War Memorial were listed on the Queensland Heritage Register on 21 October 1992 having satisfied the following criteria.

[1] In a broader context, the stone retaining wall and steps are an important illustration of the evolution of recreational activity along the Brisbane River.

[1] The memorial has cultural heritage significance as evidence of a widespread social movement expressing Australian patriotism and nationalism of the period, and belongs to a class of commemorative structures erected as a record of the local impact of a major historical event and intended to endure.

[1] Mowbray Park is a richly planted picturesque enclave which contributes to the local townscape, and contains a finely crafted War Memorial.

[1] The boat house, and the retaining wall and steps associated with the former baths, are evidence of the park's riverside community recreation role.

Mowbray Park is significant for its close association with the development of East Brisbane, both in its early connection with the Mowbray family and their substantial land holdings in the suburb, and as an initiative of the former South Brisbane City Council in preserving urban public open space during a population and housing boom.