Richmond, TAS: An Old and Beautiful Stone Arch Bridge

The Tasmanian town of Richmond sits beside the Coal River, 25 km north-east of Hobart, set in an area surrounded by green fields and tree-studded hills.

Merrimeneer Aboriginal People

Until about 12,000 years ago, sea levels were much lower, and Tasmania was joined to the Australian mainland by a land bridge. When sea levels rose, Tasmania became isolated from the mainland, and the rest of the world, until Abel Janszoon Tasman arrived in 1642 and became the first European to discover the island.

The Oyster Bay/Big River or Merrimeneer people lived a hunter-gatherer lifestyle across central Tasmania for thousands of years before the arrival of Europeans. The Richmond area, in particular, provided fresh water, sheltering hills and plenty of animal life and other food sources. 

Tasmanian Aboriginal people would often refer to themselves as "Palawa", meaning the "first man", believed to be created from the kangaroo by a creation spirit.

At ningina tunapri Tasmanian Aboriginal gallery

When the British explorers, Matthew Flinders and George Bass circumnavigated Tasmania by ship in 1798-99, they saw shelters and deserted fires along the Jordan River, belonging to the Aboriginal people. As did the French naturalist, François Auguste Péron, in 1802.

From 1824-1831 was a period called the “The Black Wars”: clashes between Tasmanian Aboriginals and European settlers.

Beginning in 1829, George Augustus Robinson set out from Hobart Town with a number of Trouwunnan Aboriginal people on a walk called the Friendly Missions to stop the hostility and persuade Aboriginal people to move to settlements.

It is said that on the 5th of January 1832, the last of the Big River and Oyster Bay people performed a corroboree in front of Bothwell’s Castle Hotel and then, they were taken to Flinders Island.

First Settlements

French explorers arrived in 1772, following Abel Janszoon Tasman's 1642 arrival. The first English settlement was established in 1803.

The two first settlements of Tasmania began at Risdon in 1803 and at Sullivan’s Cove in 1804. By 1806, there was significant conflict between the Aboriginal people and Europeans; especially, as the settler population grew and cleared land and interfered with Aboriginal hunting and food sources. 

The kidnapping of Aboriginal children for labour was so prevalent in the Oyster Bay area that, in 1819, Governor Sorell spoke out against the “cruelty ... of depriving the natives of their children”.

In 1803, an exploration party led by Lieutenant John Bowen crossed the hills from the Derwent Valley in search of suitable land for a settlement. The area of Richmond was described by these explorers as "a rich and fertile land where, in many places, the plough may be used immediately".

When Governor Lachlan Macquarie visited Van Diemen's Land in 1811, squatters were already growing crops, and grazing sheep and cattle, in the Richmond area.

By 1820, there were around 8000 sheep in the Coal River Valley.

The successful farming of wheat around Richmond motivated Lieutenant William Sorrell to establish a township at the Richmond Park Estate in 1824. 

 Colonel Sorell, Australasian (Melbourne, Vic. : 1864 - 1946), Saturday 20 June 1931

The Richmond Bridge was completed in 1825, built of sandstone quarried from Butchers Hill, and transported by convicts using hand carts.

Richmond Bridge, TAS, Sydney Morning Herald (NSW : 1842 - 1954), Wednesday 2 August 1933

The Convict Era 

Between 1803 to 1853, more than 73,500 convicts were transported to Tasmania. The Richmond Gaol, which began construction in 1825, predates the establishment of the penal colony at Port Arthur in 1833. 

George Gunning was a soldier who went to Van Diemen's Land from Sydney in 1810. In 1812, he was appointed inspector of public works and in the following year, he was granted forty-four acres (18 ha) at the Coal River (Richmond). The magistrate, J.H. Butcher, was notedly anti-convict and vehemently anti-Catholic. James Lord was also an overseer and Henry Buscombe, a builder. 

The construction of Richmond Gaol, which is the oldest intact gaol in Australia, began in 1825. The gaol included chain gang sleeping rooms, a flogging yard, a cookhouse and holding rooms and a female solitary confinement cell. Hangings, however, did not occur at Richmond Gaol, though flagellations (whippings) on wooden pyramid did.

Not only did the forced labour of these convicts provide the manpower to build the gaol, but the convicts as virtual slaves, also toiled at farming, cutting sandstone and brick making.

Bill Thompson (Tasmanian convict). State Library of Tasmania

The Town Develops

The courthouse was built in 1825-26.

The Richmond Arms Hotel was established in 1827. However, the hotel was destroyed by fire in 1888 and the Commercial Hotel was built in its place. The hotel was renamed as The Richmond Arms in 1972.

James Buscombe was assigned a number of convicts to assist with the construction of Prospect House in 1830.
 
According to Quaker missionary James Backhouse, Richmond had a courthouse, a gaol, a windmill and about thirty houses by 1832.

Richmond Post Office opened on 1 June 1832.

Richmond Post Office, TAS, Australasian (Melbourne, Vic. : 1864 - 1946), Saturday 5 May 1923

St Luke’s was built in 1834-1836 and is the oldest Anglican Church in Australia.

St John's Catholic Church, built in 1836, is the oldest Roman Catholic church in Australia.

Georgian Architecture 

By 1836 Richmond was Tasmania’s third-largest town, with an important military outpost and convict station.

The Richmond district was dotted with solid buildings of Georgian architecture and had two churches built in the style of Gothic revival: St. Luke’s and St. John’s. The town had flour grain mills and the wheat farms of Richmond supplied Tasmania's wheat needs and also shipped wheat as far afield as New South Wales. 

Late in 1839, the French explorer Jules-Sébastien-César Dumont, visited Tasmania, just before his second Antarctic expedition. During this visit, eighteen French crewmen were hospitalised with dysentery (though many erroneously believed they had typhus). Some of these men were hospitalised at Richmond. 

Riviere Derwent pres de Richemont Design by L. Le Breton; Lithograph by Jacques Guiaud. Tasmanian Archives and Heritage Office. French Expedition visit to Van Diemen's Land circa 1837-1840

Convict transportation to Tasmania ended in 1853, and without the convict labour, the labour-intensive wheat industry began to struggle. However, despite this, Richmond was still a vibrant town in 1860, with Bridge Street, the Main Street boasting seventeen shops, three pubs, two blacksmiths, a brickyard and a woodyard. 

Settlers Came

Joseph William Nichols was born in Middlesex, England, in 1812 and transported to Tasmania on the "Enchantress," arriving in 1833, for receiving stolen goods. He married Mary Jane Jacobs in 1841 and in 1855, he was granted 45 acres of land on the west side of Napolean Street. By 1857, J.W. Nichols was operating a general store in Richmond. His son, William Henry Nichols, later operated a stagecoach service to Hobart.

Other early settler families include the Kellys, Andersons, and Ross. While Mr Gordon was the Police Magistrate of the extensive district of Richmond.

In 1866, the Presentation Sisters arrived from Ireland and they were stationed at the Richmond Catholic school for two years, before moving to Hobart.

In the early days, Richmond had been an important military staging post and convict station linking Hobart with Port Arthur. However, with the completion of the Sorell Causeway in 1874, the main road now bypassed Richmond, leading to the decline of the town. And as the causeway had a swinging section to allow vessels to pass through to Richmond, it also caused the mouth of the Coal River to silt up, so water transport from Richmond petered out. 

1900s

Daniel Pitt was a successful fellmonger (a dealer in hides or skins) who bought the first rabbit skins in the district around 1900. Pitt bought large amounts of rabbit, possum, wallaby, sheep and other skins, as well as wool and poultry and he had a small farm, was treasurer of the Road Trust and he was a member of the Richmond Racing Club.

According to a tale that is still told in Richmond today, during the building of the Richmond Bridge, by convict labourers, a brutal overseer known as the Wicked Flagellator, George Grover, was beaten, and his body was thrown onto the rocks below the bridge. Some claim that Grover's ghost still appears occasionally on the bridge today. (see more ghost stories of Richmond here).

Richmond ( shows Roman Catholic church and river), Tasmania (c1900s). Tasmanian Archive and Heritage Office

COMMERCIAL HOTEL, RICHMOND, TASMANIA - 1910
A.E. Jack, Proprietor Aussie Mobs

WWI

Birth Place Australia: Tasmania, Richmond. Death Date 26 June 1916 Death Place Australia: Tasmania. Final Rank Private. Service Australian Imperial Force. Unit Depot. Places • Tasmania. Richmond. Conflict/Operation First World War, 1914-1918

Mr Winston Churchill Simmons (1827–1916) was a relative of Britain's Prime Minister (Sir Winston Churchill), built "Churchill" located 5 kms from Richmond on the banks of the Coal River, TAS, in 1845.

1920s

Australasian (Melbourne, Vic. : 1864 - 1946), Saturday 5 May 1923

The new police dwelling at Richmond which has been taken over by Trooper C. Williams, who has charge of the district. Mercury (Hobart, Tas. : 1860 - 1954), Friday 24 June 1927

1930s

Camp site- For the period of a week detachments of field artillery and ambulance brigades from the 6th Military District will conduct a series of manoeuvres on Captain T B McCloud's Richmond Park Estate, where the camp is located. On February 11 and 13 artillery shooting practice will be carried out. Mercury (Hobart, Tas. : 1860 - 1954), Saturday 11 February 1933

Mr John Oakley, of Richmond (Tas), is a well-known sheep breeder, nearly 96 years of age. Weekly Times (Melbourne, Vic. : 1869 - 1954), Saturday 20 November 1937

1940s and WWII

Militiamen of the 12th Mixed Brigade this week carried out field exercises in the Richmond Tea Tree district, TAS. Mercury (Hobart, Tas. : 1860 - 1954), Saturday 13 April 1940

The Women s Land Army at their field day held at the property of Mr C T Jones Lowlands Richmond, TAS. T Mercury (Hobart, Tas. : 1860 - 1954), Monday 6 January 1941

Richmond, TAS, Mercury (Hobart, Tas. : 1860 - 1954), Thursday 15 June 1944

 Richmond Show, Tas, Mercury (Hobart, Tas. : 1860 - 1954), Monday 22 November 1948

1950s

View of Richmond, TAS,  Mercury (Hobart, Tas. : 1860 - 1954), Thursday 11 June 1953

Richmond's oldest resident, Miss Sarah Mary Jane Jacobs, who was 93 on March 29, with her "young" sister Maud, only a little over 70. Their father, Mr. P. Jacobs, drove the Richmond-Hobart coach service more than 100 years ago. Mercury (Hobart, Tas. : 1860 - 1954), Thursday 11 June 1953

Richmond today is one of the best preserved colonial towns in Tasmania, with many historic buildings, surrounded by forested hills.

Around Richmond

Richmond Bridge have spanned Tasmania's Coal River since 1825, TAS

The Richmond Bridge, TAS, was built by convict labour from 1825. The bridge was originally named Bigge's Bridge after Royal Commissioner, John Thomas Bigge, who recognised the need for the bridge in 1820.

The construction of Richmond Gaol commenced in 1825, TAS

Sandstone Cottage, Richmond, Tasmania Australia, Rexness

Richmond Tasmania. Old inn converted into a house and garden shop. denisbin

The Old Rectory with St Lukes Anglican Church. Andrew Matthews

Inside Richmond Gaol, Richmond, Tasmania. Nicholas Cull Building of the gaol commenced in 1825, and predates the establishment of the penal colony at Port Arthur in 1833

Old Richmond Courthouse, Tasmania. Regency style circa, 1825. Nicholas Cull

The Richmond Arms Hotel., Richmond, Tasmania, JERRYE & ROY KLOTZ MD built in 1888 as the Commercial Hotel, replaced the Lennox Arms Hotel, built in 1827 and destroyed by fire

Richmond, Tasmania

House in Richmond, Tasmania

Ashmore Tea Rooms, Richmond, Tasmania, built circa 1850s as a general store by William Ashmore. Later operated by Miss Bentley and Miss Jacobs

The Sergeant’s Cottage, Richmond Tasmania

Model village of early Hobart, Richmond, Tasmania

Mill House, Richmond, Tasmania, circa 1853, flour steam mill, built by George Burn in 1850

Main Street of Richmond, Tasmania

St Luke Anglican Church, Richmond Tasmania, 1825, Land donated by Mr Butcher

The Granary (left), built in 1829 was used to store grain before it was shipped to Hobart and Sydney by barge, along the Coal River. The post office (right) built as a single-storey building in 1826. James Buscombe added second-storey in the 1830s

The Old Schoolhouse, Richmond, Tasmania, built in 1834, the oldest government school in Australia

Congregational Church, Richmond, Tasmania, commenced services in 1875

St John the Evangelist Catholic Church, Richmond, Tasmania. Bishop Polding blessed the foundation stone for the new church in September 1835

Saddler's Court was a saddlery and later, a general store, Richmond, Tasmania

Things To Do and Places To Go

Richmond Heritage Walk 

A Social History of Richmond 

Old Hobart Town 

Oak Lodge, Richmond 

Richmond Gaol

Ipswich, QLD: The Rich Historical Past of Queensland's Oldest Provincial City

Ipswich, Queensland, Australia, is located in South East Queensland, approximately 40 kilometres (25 miles) west of the Brisbane CBD.

The Jagera Aboriginal People

The Jagera Aboriginal people inhabited the land around Ipswich and many Aboriginal sites can be found in this area of South East Queensland.

There are 200 Bora (ceremonial rings) sites recorded, significant cave etchings and paintings, scarred trees, fish traps, burial sites, Aboriginal quarries, grinding grooves, hearth sites, multiple dreaming sites, deity sites and storylines, dispute rings, massacre sites, old mission sites, camping sites and large concentrated areas of stone tools within manufacturing sites. jageradaran.com.au). 

Also, interestingly, the Australian English word "yakka'" (often meaning 'work', as in 'hard yakka') came from the Jagera language (yaga, "strenuous work").

Full text of "Tom Petrie's reminiscences of early Queensland (dating from 1837)"

Aboriginal Mystic Bora Ceremony, ca. 1900-1927

Finding Limestone Hill: 1824

John Oxley, Allan Cunningham and Lieutenant Butler noticed the mouth of the Bremer River while on their way in a rowboat from Redcliffe to explore the Brisbane River in September 1824, where a convict settlement had been established.

Oxley wrote in his diary how they had seen a "considerable creek or stream" branching off the Brisbane River. On the way back from their exploration a short time later, Oxley and his companions decided to camp near the creek they had seen; and Oxley referred to it as the Bremer River, named in honour of the British naval officer, Admiral Sir John Bremer.

The three explorers also saw a group of Aboriginal people eating "long worms", which they had found in some rotting timber. The family ran away upon seeing the explorers, and so the explorers examined the belongings of the Aboriginal people: stone hatchets, spears and baskets, but took nothing as they wished to show their "good intentions towards them".

It was not until 1827 that Captain Logan, the Commandant of Brisbane, explored the locality now called Ipswich. 

Logan first sent an overseer and five convicts to the place he called Limestone Hills, now Ipswich, to quarry Limestone, which was burnt at the quarries and sent down to Brisbane by the river. Buildings such as the old Brisbane Treasury, then used as military barracks, were built from this stone. Logan also established agriculture on land now occupied by the Ipswich Racecourse, growing maize, oats, and potatoes.

Captain Patrick Logan (1791 – 1830)

Convicts at Limestone Hill

The convicts had a hard time at Limestone Hill, as the Aboriginal people, wanting to drive them out, stole their tools. So Logan ordered soldiers to be stationed at the new settlement to protect the quarry works, which would later produce up to 400 baskets of lime each week.

The trip to get to Limestone from the Morton Bay settlement (Brisbane) took 11 hours by boat.

Allan Cunningham then visited Ipswich for five days in August 1828, with convict servants and two bullocks. He camped under a fig tree, now known as Cunningham’s Knoll on Queen Victoria Parade and went on to discover a pass through the Great Dividing Range, named Cunningham’s Gap, which allowed access from Brisbane and Moreton Bay and the Darling Downs. However, it would be another twelve years until there would be settlers on the Darling Downs. 

As the Queensland colony grew, there was a greater need for food, and so, Logan sent sheep to Limestone Station, where a sheep and cattle station was established on Bamdamba Creek. Later, a farm called Plough Station (a suburb of Raceview) operated in the area, within Cascade Street, Riverview Street and Roberton Road. 

The first brick cottage was built in 1829. The earliest water came from a natural spring in the Old Pump Yard (now RSL Memorial Hall).

The First Park In Queensland: 1840s

In the first survey of Limestone in 1842, Henry Wade set aside a "reserve for public recreation and botanic gardens" at Woodend of 80 acres. This was the first park to be developed in Queensland. On these original plans, above the words, "Proposed Plan of the Town of Limestone, by Henry Wade Surveyor", added in smaller writing, "to be called IPSWICH".

Governor Gipps, however, decided that Wade had made the plan for the streets too narrow and that a town square was not needed. He also decided to change the name of the settlement from Limestone to Ipswich. Perhaps, because Ipswich in England was at one time spelt, "Gippeswic", which is very similar to Gipps own name.

Travelling To Ipswich

The best way to get to Ipswich from Brisbane was by the river, but it was an arduous and time-consuming process. The botanist named Fraser, who once travelled with Captain Logan to Ipswich, said that the trip took 11 hours on the way up and 13 hours on the return trip. In the early days, punts, which were flat-bottomed boats, were used to carry people and the quarried limestone.

In 1843 Governor Gipps changed the name of the township from Limestone to Ipswich.  

In 1846, steam engines that could drive the two paddle wheels of a paddle steamer were introduced. The paddle steamer trip, called "The Experiment", would shorten the trip to Brisbane to seven hours. After a time, other paddle steamers began to operate, and the travel time reduced further still.

The End of The Convict Era

In 1847, the first courthouse and lockup were built at Ipswich. In 1848, the convict era at Ipswich came to an end.

The Ipswich Literary Institution was formed on 31 July 1850 at a public meeting. Six days later another public meeting established a School of Arts and the two institutions merged, providing a newsroom and library.

One notable Ipswich pioneer who was transported to Australia as a convict on the Bengal Merchant in 1838 was Patrick O'Sullivan, who was born in Castlemaine, Ireland. O' Sullivan became a "storekeeper and later, invested in property.

"O'Sullivan's buildings" in Brisbane street and O'Sullivan's residence at Woodend are prominent landmarks. He later became a member of the Queensland Legislative Assembly.

1850s

On the 11th of March 1855 Ipswich's first Congregational Church, Ipswich QLD, was opened in Brisbane Street, facing adjacent to Wharf Street. Queensland Times (Ipswich, Qld. : 1909 - 1954), Wednesday 4 July 1934

Coal and Business

The first recorded coal mines were started at Woodend, Ipswich, in 1848. These mines were simple openings on the riverbank and the coal was carried out by wheelbarrow. By the 1890s, there were several coal mines operating. In 1861, the first strike in Queensland was ignited by the miners at the Redbank Mine.

In 1849 Benjamin Cribb established the shop London Stores in Bell Street. This firm developed into Cribb & Foote Ltd, Ipswich’s leading department store for over 125 years. In 1949, Cribb & Foote celebrated 100 years of business at Ipswich. Sadly, the firm was sold in the 1970s and became Reids Department Store, which was destroyed by fire in 1985. A wonderful article about this department store can be found here

In 1859 the Ipswich Hospital at Denmark Hill was built.

On 6 June 1859 Queensland separated from New South Wales.

1860s

The old town hall at Ipswich was originally the Ipswich School of Arts; included a library and meeting rooms. The façade of the building fronting Brisbane Street dates from 1864.

A same-day return coach service between Brisbane and Ipswich commenced 12th February 1860.

The telegraph line between Ipswich and Brisbane was in service in 1861 enabling long-distance communication.

Ipswich developed as a river port for pastoralists on the Darling Downs. 

Construction of the Southern and Western Railway commenced with a ceremony in North Ipswich on 25 February 1864.

In 1867 the first train from Ipswich arrived in Toowoomba.

Court House in Ipswich, Queensland, about 1860. State Library of Queensland.

View of Ipswich from Limestone Hill - circa 1862Painted by an unknown artist this painting is in the Ipswich City Council Regional Art Gallery. The home with all of the chimneys on the far right is 'Claremont' which was built in the 1850s. Aussie~mobs

Waterfield, an early West Ipswich residence, QLD, circa 1868.

1860s panorama of Ipswich, Queensland with "Claremont" on the left. Kaye

1870s

Large paddlesteamer docked at the Ipswich wharves, circa 1870

View of Ipswich from the Ipswich Grammar School around 1870. State Library of QLD

The first experiments with telephones were conducted in Brisbane on Saturday 26 January 1878. Later in that year, the first successful telephone call was made to Ipswich.

1880s

Wimbuhn, an early Ipswich residence, ca. 1883. Wimbuhn was built in Thorn Street. 

Floodwaters rise in the heart of Ipswich, January 1887. State Library of Queensland

1870s

Queensland Ambulance Transport Brigade Hospital at Ispwich, The Brisbane Courier Wed 3 Jan 1872, 

In 1875, the railway line between Ipswich and Brisbane opened and soon afterwards, the Cobb and Co service came to an end. 

Queensland woollen factory opened in 1877.

In August 1878 the Water Works opened and Ipswich had the first pumped water in Queensland.

1880s

Henry Smart Harry Cribb and family at Keiraville, Ipswich. Keiraville is a heritage-listed house at 20 Roderick Street, Ipswich, QLD, was built c. 1880s.

1890s

The Hunt at "Claremont" Ipswich, Queensland - 1890, Aussie~mobs

The Ipswich Technical College began classes in 1891.

Deebing Creek Mission was an area of land gazetted for Aboriginal purposes from 1892 to 1948.

Unidentified residence in Ipswich, QLD, ca. 1894, State Library of Queensland

The Queenslander of 3 June 1898 reported that the Booval Brewery Company had been in business for six weeks, Queensland Times, Ipswich Herald and General Advertiser (Qld. : 1861 - 1908), Saturday 29 October 1898

 Aboriginal Cricket Team at Ipswich, QLD, North Queensland Register (Townsville, Qld. : 1892 - 1905), Wednesday 11 May 1898

View of Ipswich from Denmark Hill, QLD, 1898, Queensland State Archives

Ipswich, QLD, Queensland State Archives

In 1899 a telephone exchange opened in Ipswich, and trunk calls to Brisbane were soon possible.

1900s

Brisbane Street Ipswich, QLD, looking towards Limestone Hill, early 1900s

Engine House at the Ipswich Railway Workshops, c 1900, Queensland State Archives

How the employees get to work at Ipswich Workshops, QLD, Jim Johnson, one of the oldest and best-known drivers in Queensland, on the box. Sydney Mail and New South Wales Advertiser (NSW : 1871 - 1912), Wednesday 28 October 1903

 Ipswich Workshops, QLD, Sydney Mail and New South Wales Advertiser (NSW : 1871 - 1912), Wednesday 28 October 1903

 Brisbane Street, Ipswich, QLD, Sydney Mail and New South Wales Advertiser (NSW : 1871 - 1912), Wednesday 17 June 1903,

Ipswich Railway Station, QLD, Sydney Mail and New South Wales Advertiser (NSW : 1871 - 1912), Wednesday 17 June 1903

Deebing Creek Aboriginal Mission, Queensland - 1903, Aussie~mobs

Cotton Mills at Ipswich, QLD, Australian Town and Country Journal (Sydney, NSW : 1870 - 1919), Wednesday 30 March 1904

Brisbane Street, Ipswich, Qld - 28 July 1905, Aussie~mobs

Workers posing on a hill at the Rhondda Colliery, Ipswich, 1905.

Ipswich which had started out being called Limestone Hills progressed rapidly and became a municipality in 1860 and a city in 1904.

Out driving in an early Linon motor car in Ipswich, QLD, about 1902

 Aboriginal people swimming at Deebing Creek, QLD, Sydney Mail and New South Wales Advertiser (NSW : 1871 - 1912), Wednesday 2 December 1903

House in Ipswich, Queensland - circa 1907 Written on back: "This is where Jim Lister lives in Ipswich"
I found James Lister on several census returns from 1903 to 1913 in the Herbert region. He was a miner at Mount Garnet, Chillagoe and Collgarra. Kaye

Nicholas Street, Ipswich, Qld - circa 1908, Aussie~mobs

Looking towards Denmark Hill in Ipswich, Qld - circa 1908, Aussie~mobs

Wilson family and friends at "Claremont" in Ipswich, Queensland - 1910. Aussie~mobs   L - R: Mary Norma Wilson, John Cecil Norman Wilson, Harriett Louisa Wilson, Cecil Murray Wilson, Enid Maud Murray Wilson, Charles Morris (Police Magistrate of Ipswich) and Harriet Meta Murray Wilson and Bussy the dog. The two boys were students from Ipswich Grammar School. 

Cricket match at Deebing Creek Aboriginal Reserve, Ipswich, QLD - 1910

Brisbane Street, Ipswich looking west - 1910, Kaye

Cribb & Foote, a department store in Ipswich, Queensland, existed from 1849 until 1985, Queensland Times (Ipswich, Qld. : 1909 - 1954), Tuesday 23 December 1913

"Cornubia", an early Ipswich residence, QLD, ca. 1914 was at 13 Murphy Street, Ipswich and was the home of William Hancock, who built the residence about 1880. 

Dr. Eleanor Constance Greenham, first Queensland born woman to take a degree in medicine, ca. 1915, State Library of Queensland

WWI

CPL R. J. CAREW, D.C.M. Word has just been received (writes a correspondent) that the Distinguished Conduct Medal has been awarded to an Ipswich lad. Cpl R. J. Carew, Queensland Times (Ipswich, Qld. : 1909 - 1954), Saturday 7 October 1916

Major Percival Savage, DSO, 3rd Field Company, AIF, 1916. Percival Savage was was a World War I veteran who served as an ANZAC in Gallipoli, the Somme, Pozières, Passchendaele and Amiens. He was born in Ipswich, Queensland, Australia, on 22 October 1894.After the war, Savage farmed a property near Brisbane and he was chairman of the board of the Committee of Direction of Fruit Marketing in Queensland for 30 years. In1964, Savage was involved in the establishment of the Golden Circle cannery.

Ambulance and ambulance officers at Ipswich, Queensland, ca. 1917. State Library of QLD

Goodna Hospital for the Insane, Queensland, 1919 Hospital for the Insane was establishment at Goodna in 1865 on an isolated site between Brisbane and Ipswich. The facility is now known as Wolston Park Hospital, and originally known as Woogaroo Asylum. The original terrain was heavily wooded but then cleared as shown in this photograph, ca. 1919. SLQ

Electric Light Company, Limited, to supply electricity within the city of Ipswich and the shire of Ipswich 1919.

1920s

Brisbane Street, Ipswich, QLD, Australia - circa 1920. Kaye

Ipswich Past Brothers Rugby League Club, QLD, 1922, State Library of Queensland

Crossley cars used for the 1927 Royal Visit refuelling in Ipswich, Queensland, State Library of Queensland

"Queensland Woollen Manufacturing Co Mill, Ipswich, c 1927" by Queensland State Archives is licensed under CC PDM 1.0

Queensland Woollen Manufacturing Co Mill, Ipswich, c 1927, Queensland State Archives

1930s

Brisbane Street, looking west, Ipswich, Qld - 1930s perhaps. Aussie~mobs 

Nicholas Street, Ipswich, Qld - 1930s, Aussie~mobs

Brisbane Street in Ipswich, Qld - 1930s, Aussie~mobs

Former Trades Hall, Ipswich, QLD,  Queensland Times (Ipswich, Qld. : 1909 - 1954), Wednesday 4 July 1934

Brynhyfryd (which is Welsh for 'pleasant hill') was was one of the most imposing buildings in Ipswich and built in 1891, a mansion for coal mining magnate Lewis Thomas Courier-Mail (Brisbane, Qld. : 1933 - 1954), Wednesday 24 February 1937

 Ipswich Ambulance Cars, QLD, Telegraph (Brisbane, Qld. : 1872 - 1947), Tuesday 28 September 1937

An army camp was set up at Redbank in 1939.

1940s and WWII

Various air raid shelters were built around Ipswich during WWII. Some were built behind the railway workshops and trenches were dug in parks and schools. 

RAAF Base Amberley commenced operations in 1940.

Telegraph (Brisbane, Qld. : 1872 - 1947), Thursday 29 February 1940

The special recruiting train which will start a tour of Queensland for the Royal Australian Air Force next week at Ipswich yesterday. The special recruiting train which will start a tour of Queensland for the Royal Australian Air Force next week at Ipswich yesterday. Courier-Mail (Brisbane, Qld. : 1933 - 1954), Saturday 3 August 1940

Telegraph (Brisbane, Qld. : 1872 - 1947), Monday 26 August 1940

 Ipswich Workshops, QLD, The largest machine tool made in Australia until 1943 was made at Ipswich Workshops during WW 2. The 36” lathe is being tested in the Erecting Shop before being crated and dispatched, Queensland State Archives

Cpl. Pat Kendall, Ipswich, is ready for action with the waist gun of a R.A.A.F. Liberator bomber.
Pilot of the bomber instructs the W.A.A.F. when to load guns, when to fire and when to cease. Tests usually occupy two hours, and W.A.A.F's do complete job, relieving R.A.A.F. ground staff fortheir duties. Courier-Mail (Brisbane, Qld. : 1933 - 1954), Wednesday 4 October 1944

By 1947 the railways workshops in North Ipswich employed almost 3000 people.

Main entrance, Queens Park, Ipswich, circa 1940s

Shoe department in Cribb & Foote's Ipswich store, QLD, April 1949. State Library of Queensland

Brisbane Street, Ipswich, QLD. with QCWA Hostel in foreground, 1940s?

Brisbane Street, Ipswich, QLD, Brisbane Telegraph (Qld. : 1948 - 1954), Wednesday 6 April 1949

There are four railway stations in Ipswich named "Ipswich"—"Old Ipswich," "New Ipswich," "East Ipswich," and "Little Ipswich." This is Little Ipswich railway station on the Boonah line and about a mile from the Ipswich Post Office. Historically it is of great interest but practically it is not what is called a busy station. Queensland Times (Ipswich, Qld. : 1909 - 1954), Tuesday 4 October 1949

1950s

Harold Blair AM (13 September 1924 – 21 May 1976) was an Australian Aborignal tenor who was born at the Cherbourg Aboriginal Reserve and raised in Ipswich, QLD, Courier-Mail (Brisbane, Qld. : 1933 - 1954), Friday 4 May 1951

Brisbane Street, Ipswich, QLD - circa 1950s. Aussie~mobs

Mr Stewart, who topped the batting averages one year stated yesterday that crowds flocked to the Din-more ground in hundreds whenever the aboriginal team from Deebing Creek played the local side. He said they were really spectacular and fine cricketers, and always amused the spectators by performing cartwheels and somersaults when a wicket was captured. Among the cricketers Mr. Stewart played against was Henry, the great aboriginal fast bowler, who is credited with having broken stumps with his fastest balls. Other members of that team were Curtis and Billy Brown. "And couldn't they bowl!"
added Mr. Stewart with a grin. Queensland Times (Ipswich, Qld. : 1909 - 1954), Tuesday 7 July 1953

Maternal and Child Welfare - Ipswich, circa 1955, Queensland State Archives

Main street of Ipswich taken from Limestone Hill, November 1957, Queensland State Archives

1960s

Ipswich Central Girls and Infants State School, taken circa 1960, Queensland State Archives

Brisbane Street, Ipswich, April 1965, Queensland State Archives

1970s

The Box Flat mine disaster occurred on 31st of July in 1972; 17 men died, eight of whom were part of the Rescue Team.

"Apprentice hairdresser, Ipswich, 1975" by Queensland State Archives is licensed under CC PDM 1.0

"Court House, Ipswich, May 1975" by Queensland State Archives is licensed under CC PDM 1.0

1980s

Reid’s Department Store (formerly Cribb and Foote) was destroyed by fire in 1985.

Notable                                 

The Thorn Family

In 1829, the first brick house was built at Limestone, on the east side of what is now Thorn Street. Thorn Street being named after the Thorn family, who were very early pioneers and the first free settlers of the district, arriving in 1839.

George Thorn, who arrived at Ipswich in July 1839 with his family, was the original superintendent of convicts at Limestone Hill, later a politician. 

George Thorn and his wife Jane, with their infant son, George Jnr, were rowed in a flat-bottomed boat up the Bremer River to their new home at Limestone Hill. Four of George and Jane's six sons went on to serve in the Queensland Parliament, following their father who served in the first Legislative Assembly of Queensland. (see here)

Later, the family operated the Queen's Arms Hotel in Ipswich in 1847. 

The Hunt at "Claremont" Ipswich, Queensland, circa 1890. Aussie~mobs. Claremont was purchased by George Thorn (senior), in 1862. Claremont, built by Alfred Lewis in 1856 for John Panton, is the oldest house in Ipswich, Queensland, Australia.

Bessie Gibson: An Artistic Life

Bessie Gibson (Australian painter) 1868 - 1961 Luxembourg Gardens, s.d. (double sided)
oil on wood panel, about 1905

Elizabeth Dickson (Bessie) Gibson (1868-1961) was born in 1868 at Ipswich, Queensland. She was the daughter of James Gibson, a bank manager, and his wife Anne. Bessie studied at Brisbane's Central Technical College under Godfrey Rivers, who made the suggestion that she submit a miniature of her father to the Royal Academy in London in 1905. That same year, she also travelled to London, and in 1906, she was living in the Montparnasse area of Paris, where she exhibited her paintings frequently in various salons. She lived in Paris and England until 1939, just before the German occupation. She returned to Australia in 1947.


Around Ipswich

Plantation-style mansion which was built in 1890 at Seminary Road, Marburg, City of Ipswich, Queensland

Queensland Country Women's Association Girls' Hostel, Ipswich

Ulster Hotel is a heritage-listed hotel at 25 Brisbane Street, Ipswich, City of Ipswich, Queensland, Australia. It was built in 1910. 2011 floods. GA.

Queensland National Bank at Ipswich, Queensland, Australia. Built from 1877–1935

William Johnston's Shops, Ipswich, were built from 1877 to 1880s.

Old Ipswich Town Hall was built from 1861 to 1879.

Bostock Chambers office building at Ipswich, Queensland, Australia, built in 1915.

The Flour Mill was built in 1901-1902 for the Ipswich Milling Company Ltd.

Hotel Metropole, West Ipswich, Queensland, Australia, built in 1906.

St Michaels Nursing Home, Ipswich, QLD, was built in 1874.

Ipswich Girls' Grammar School Buildings, built from 891 to 1968.

St Paul's Young Men's Club, Ipswich, QLD, was built in 1911.

Toronto is a two-storey timber residence, at Ipswich, erected in 1863 for Mrs Elizabeth Lloyd.

Keiraville built in the 1880s and bought soon afterwards by the Cribb family. Ipswich, QLD.

Gooloowan residence from Outridge Street, Ipswich, Queensland, built for Benjamin Cribb and family. Built from c. 1864 onwards .

Ozanam House, Ipswich, was built from c. 1886 to 1930s

North Ipswich Pharmacy, Ipswich QLD, drewish

Baptist Church is a heritage-listed former church, built in 1877, Ipswich, QLD flagondry

Hotel Cecil is a heritage-listed hotel at 15 Lowry Street, North Ipswich, QLD, opened in 1880

Photo of Ipswich & West Moreton Building Society at Ipswich, Queensland, built from 1888 to 1950s

Photo of the front of the Ipswich Club House and its gardens in Ipswich, QLD, built from c. 1915 to 1916

Brickstone, Murphy Street, Ipswich, Qld. Built c. 1864 by William Hancock. It is also known as Brixton

Keiraville, Ipswich, QLD, is a single storeyed rendered masonry house, the first stage of which was probably erected c. 1880s

Walter Burley Griffin Incinerator built from 1936 to 1940

Ginn Cottage , Ipswich, QLD, built in 1859 for William Ginn and his second wife Eliza Jane

The Old Ipswich Courthouse, QLD, built from 1859 to 1936

To-Me-Ree is a heritage-listed detached house at 7 Macalister Street, Ipswich, QLD, built c. 1910

Things To Do and Places To Go

Ipswich Heritage Trail booklets

Queens Park Heritage Trail

The Workshops Rail Museum 

The Cooneana Heritage Centre

Ipswich Hospital Museum

Ipswich Soldiers Memorial Hall Museum

Jessie’s Cottage

RAAF Amberley Aviation Heritage Centre