The Killarney area was one of the last portions of Vancouver to be developed, and was mostly
second-growth forest until after
World War II. Farms had been cut out of the forest since 1868, when William Rowling, a
surveyor in the
British military, was given a
land grant that eventually consisted of much of southern Killarney, including all of its
riverfront land. George Wales was the first to settle in northern Killarney in 1878, and eventually development began to move from the more populated areas to the west as the interurban
streetcar line was constructed north of Kingsway. After World War II, development accelerated with a growing need for housing, and the street grid moved south towards Southeast Marine Drive. In the 1970s,
Champlain Heights was developed as a comprehensive residential development. As a later developing neighbourhood, Killarney does not have the same level of heritage properties as other areas in Vancouver, though it does boast a number of examples of 1920s farmhouses and is well known for long-standing trees and natural heritage. In the 1990s, the land along the Fraser River was a hotbed of development. Known as the Fraserlands, this area now boasts hundreds of townhome units and a number of residential highrise buildings in a new high density neighbourhood called the River District, with more presently under construction. The city of Vancouver has recently begun consultations on the possible development of a former log yard at the eastern end of the Fraserlands, with the intention of developing it into a sustainable community of its own. ==Demographics==