[1] The suburb is bounded to the west by Bulimba Creek, a tributary of the Brisbane River.

It may be derived from an Aboriginal expression referring to a fat kangaroo,[5] or named after Tingalpa Creek, which lies 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) east,[6] or be derived from the Turrubal words tangul (meaning 'plant for stupefying fish') and pa (meaning 'place').

[citation needed] In 1867, a local architect, Richard Suter designed the Gothic Anglican Christ Church, which was built in 1868.

[10]On 1 August 1870, the Board of Education received a letter from Mr. W. Wood, a local farmer in the Tingalpa Shire about the necessity of having a school for the district.

Funds were raised by the community to buy the original 2 acres and also to build a temporary school located at 1546 Wynnum Road.

The primary reason for enrolling in the early years was to learn to speak English, as the most commonly use language was the local Aboriginal dialect.

The boundaries of this area were "south-east from the intersection of the Pacific Highway and the Mount Gravatt-Capalaba Road, crossing the Tingalpa Creek and ending at Redland Bay.

In the 1949 Queensland Post Office Directory there were eight poultry farms and there are fewer dairymen.

[17] 72.1% of people living in Tingalpa were born in Australia, with the next most common countries of birth being New Zealand (6.9%), England (3.8%), the Philippines (1.4%), Fiji (0.9%), and India (0.8%).

84.5% of people spoke English as their first language, while the other most common responses were Hindi (1%), Greek (0.9%), Tagalog (0.7%), Cantonese (0.7%), and Spanish (0.6%).

The nearest government secondary school is Brisbane Bayside State College in neighbouring Wynnum West to the north-east.

[citation needed] Moreton Bay Sports Club is also located at Carmichael Park next to the creek.

[citation needed] Also nearby is the Murarrie railway station that runs west to the city and east to Manly and the bay.