Ipswich, Queensland

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to: navigation, search

This article is about the Suburb of Ipswich, Qld. For information about the local government area, see City of Ipswich. See Ipswich UK, for the English county town.

Ipswich
Queensland
Ipswich CBD.jpg
Ipswich CBD & Bremer River as seen from Riverlink
Population: 160,000
• Density: 119.3/km² (309.0/sq mi)
Postcode: 4305
Elevation: 40 m (131 ft)
Area: 1203.4 km² (464.6 sq mi)
Time zone: AEST (UTC+10)
Location: 40 km (25 mi) from Brisbane
LGA: City of Ipswich
State District: Ipswich
Federal Division: Blair, Oxley
Localities around Ipswich:
Woodend North Ipswich East Ipswich
West Ipswich Ipswich Newtown Eastern Heights
One Mile Churchill Raceview
St Mary's Catholic church, Ipswich, QLD.

Ipswich is a city situated on the Bremer River in Queensland, Australia.

Located approximately 40 kilometres south-west of the state capital. Due to it being part of a conurbation, in terms of population, Ipswich is part of the statistical division of Brisbane. However the city retains a heritage and an independent local government area - Ipswich City Council.

Ipswich was named in 1843 after the town of Ipswich in England. Ipswich began as a mining town and became a city in 1904.

Contents

[edit] History

The area was first explored by European colonists in 1826, when Captain Patrick Logan, Commandant of the Moreton Bay penal colony, sailed up the Brisbane River and discovered large deposits of limestone and other minerals. [1] In 1827, the first convicts and overseers arrived to mine the area. The town that built around this industry became known as Limestone, and is remembered by one of the main streets through the Ipswich city centre.[2]
In 1843, the settlement officially became known as Ipswich, making it the oldest provincial city in Queensland.[citation needed] The name change was proposed by surveyor Henry Wade and approved by Sir George Gipps, a soldier and Governor of New South Wales. [3] The town of Ipswich in England was once called Gipeswic [4], derived from the Old English for "workplace by water".

From the 1840's Ipswich was becoming an important river port for the growing local industries such as coal, and wool from the Darling Downs, so a regular paddlesteamer service from Brisbane Town, 'The Experiment', was established in 1846. [5] This, and other steamer services[6], remained the primary form of mass/bulk transport between the two cities until 1876, when the construction of the original Albert Bridge, spanning the Brisbane River at Indooroopilly, completed the railway line begun between Ipswich and Brisbane in 1873. [7]

Father William McGinty, a native of Northern Ireland, took charge of Ipswich Roman Catholic Parish in 1852 and had the first St Mary's Church built. This building was described as "a rude slab building of small dimensions, without glass windows, only shutters." This church was later demolished and replaced by a "beautiful stone edifice of Gothic design" as quoted from a member of the church community. This was the old St. Mary's and it cost £7,000. The year was 1862.

Ipswich was proclaimed as a municipality on 2 March 1860, and became a city in 1904.

Damaging flooding has occurred on numerous occasions, the largest being in 1893 peaking at 24.5 metres, and more recently during the 1974 Brisbane Flood, peaking in Ipswich at 20.7 metres. Collectively, 8500 houses were flooded in Ipswich and Brisbane.[8]

In the 1980s and 1990s, with land in nearby Brisbane becoming fully developed, and very expensive for housing, many new large scale housing estates became attractive for buyers in Ipswich with lower prices and bigger lots.[citation needed] Such new housing estates sprung up in Goodna, Springfield Lakes, Collingwood Park, Redbank Plains with acreage estates in Karalee, Barellan Point, and Chuwar.

[edit] Climate

According to the Köppen climate classification system, the Ipswich region falls into the description of a Humid Subtropical Climate.

Weather data for Ipswich
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Record high °C (°F) 43.4
(110)		 40.6
(105)		 38.3
(101)		 37.3
(99)		 32.5
(91)		 28.6
(83)		 27.8
(82)		 36.4
(98)		 36.4
(98)		 40.3
(105)		 43.9
(111)		 44.6
(112)		 44.6
(112)
Average high °C (°F) 32.0
(90)		 31.1
(88)		 29.9
(86)		 27.5
(82)		 24.1
(75)		 21.3
(70)		 21.1
(70)		 22.8
(73)		 25.9
(79)		 28.5
(83)		 30.8
(87)		 31.9
(89)		 27.3
(81)
Average low °C (°F) 20.0
(68)		 19.7
(67)		 18.3
(65)		 14.7
(58)		 11.0
(52)		 8.2
(47)		 7.0
(45)		 7.6
(46)		 10.7
(51)		 14.2
(58)		 16.9
(62)		 18.8
(66)		 13.9
(57)
Record low °C (°F) 14.0
(57)		 13.9
(57)		 10.1
(50)		 7.8
(46)		 1.3
(34)		 -3.0
(27)		 -0.4
(31)		 0.2
(32)		 4.4
(40)		 6.0
(43)		 9.4
(49)		 8.2
(47)		 -3.0
(27)
Precipitation mm (inches) 125.2
(4.93)		 119.4
(4.7)		 100.6
(3.96)		 63.6
(2.5)		 50.5
(1.99)		 51.1
(2.01)		 43.5
(1.71)		 33.6
(1.32)		 41.2
(1.62)		 65.7
(2.59)		 77.8
(3.06)		 105.6
(4.16)		 876.6
(34.51)
% Humidity 66 70 69 69 72 71 72 64 62 59 59 61 66
Avg. precipitation days 6.7 6.8 7.1 4.8 4.2 3.5 3.4 3.2 3.7 5.1 5.9 6.6 61.0
Source: http://www.bom.gov.au/climate/averages/tables/cw_040101.shtml {{{accessdate}}}

[edit] Economy

This is a rich agricultural region and a major industrial centre with coal mining, earthenware works, sawmills, abattoirs and foundries.

Ipswich is the site of RAAF Base Amberley, the Royal Australian Air Force's largest operational base. RAAF Amberley is currently home to No. 1 and No. 6 Squadrons flying F-111 strike aircraft. In addition a number of ground support units are located at Amberley. The airbase is currently being expanded and will eventually also house No. 33 Squadron (flying Airbus A330 MRTT tanker-transports) and No. 36 Squadron (flying C-17 Globemaster III transport aircraft) and several Army units.

Ipswich is also home to a campus of the University of Queensland, the annual Ipswich Cup horse races, and The Workshops Railway Museum to commemorate the first trainline in Queensland from Ipswich to Grandchester, approximately 25km to the west. The present Ipswich Station is a major transport interchange.

A large shopping complex is being developed in the eastern suburb of Springfield. Accompanying this is a satellite campus of the University of Southern Queensland, which has its primary campus in Toowoomba.

Redbank Plaza shopping mall has had 8 cinemas added as well as a fourth floor of shopping. Three clear retail and service hubs are developing outside Ipswich central and besides Springfield. Brassall and Karalee to the north, Yamanto to the South, and Booval in the central east.

[edit] Housing

Queensland style architecture, Ipswich, QLD

The traditional Ipswich dwelling has always been a detached home on land, however this is changing as housing demand and a desire to live closer to amenities increases. New estates and suburbs are currently under development in the south-eastern section of the city as well as Ripley Valley.

[edit] Transport

[edit] Local transport

There are three forms of public train transport servicing the Ipswich region.

  • Queensland Rail's Citytrain offers regular services to and from Ipswich CBD to Brisbane, Brisbane Airport, the eastern suburbs, and western suburbs (as far as Rosewood). A new rail line is currently under construction from Darra to Springfield and Springfield Lakes. Another rail line has been proposed to run from Ipswich to Yamanto, and the Ripley Valley.
  • Westside Buslines is the prominent bus company in Ipswich, linking all sides of town to Ipswich CBD; Redbank; Springfield; or Forest Lake (in Brisbane).
  • Southern Cross Citilink is a bus which operates between Ipswich and Indooroopilly via Riverlink, Karalee, Chuwar, Karana Downs, Anstead, and Kenmore.
  • Queensland Rail buses offer direct daily services to Gatton, Helidon, Fernvale, Lowood, Coominya, Esk, and Toogoolawah.
  • An Airport Express Bus operates from Ipswich to Brisbane Airport on a regular basis. Prior bookings are essential though.

Ipswich also has direct access to the Ipswich Motorway (linking to Brisbane); the Cunningham Highway (linking to Warwick); the Warrego Highway (linking to Toowoomba); and the Centenary Highway (linking Springfield and the Ripley Valley to Brisbane).

[edit] Long distance transport

[edit] Sport

[edit] Prominent locals

[edit] Sportspeople

[edit] Politicians

[edit] Musicians

[edit] Other

[edit] Education

[edit] Colleges and universities

[edit] Secondary schools

Ipswich has a considerable number of secondary schools including:

[edit] Primary schools

Ipswich has a number of primary schools including:

  • Goodna State School, established in 1870.
  • Ipswich State School
  • Silkstone State School
  • St Marys Primary school
  • St Josephs Primary School
  • Brassall State Primary School
  • North Ipswich State Primary School
  • East Ipswich State Primary School
  • West Ipswich State Primary School
  • Central State Primary School
  • Bundamba State Primary School
  • Blair State Primary School
  • Karalee State Primary School
  • Tivoli State Primary School
  • Churchill State Primary School

[edit] Events

[edit] Ipswich Show

The first Ipswich Annual Show was held on 2 April 1873, by the Queensland Pastoral and Agricultural Society. There had been shows staged by the Ipswich and West Moreton Horticultural and Agricultural Society as early as 1868. Originally held at the sale yards situated at Lobb St, Churchill, the show moved to its present home at the Ipswich Showgrounds in 1877.

Goodna Jacaranda Festival Sign

[edit] Goodna Jacaranda Festival

This festival has been held annually at Goodna (Evan Marginson Sportsground) since 1968, over 10,000 people attend this three day event.

[edit] References

  1. ^ Extract from Captain Patrick Logans' Journal - The Sydney Gazette and New South Wales Advertiser (NSW : 1803-1842)
  2. ^ Explore Australia, p.480, 2002, Viking
  3. ^ Place name details
  4. ^ England's Oldest Town
  5. ^ The Steamer "Experiment" - The Moreton Bay Courier - 20 June 1846
  6. ^ Ipswich City Council - Heitage Education Kit - Transport
  7. ^ Queensland Rail - Queensland’s First Railway
  8. ^ Flood Warning System for the Bremer River to Ipswich

[edit] External links

Search Wikimedia Commons Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Ipswich, Queensland

Coordinates: 27°37′S 152°46′E / 27.617°S 152.767°E / -27.617; 152.767

v • d • e
Cities of Queensland, Australia Flag of Queensland

Capital: Brisbane

Cities: Bundaberg · Cairns · Caloundra · Charters Towers · Gladstone · Gold Coast · Hervey Bay · Ipswich · Logan · Mackay · Maryborough · Mount Isa · Redcliffe · Rockhampton · Toowoomba · Townsville
v • d • e
Suburbs in the City of Ipswich | South East Queensland

Amberley · Ashwell · Augustine Heights · Barellan Point · Basin Pocket · Bellbird Park · Blacksoil · Blackstone · Booval · Brassall · Brookwater · Bundamba · Camira · Carole Park (Disputed) · Churchill · Chuwar (Disputed) · Coalfalls · Collingwood Park · Dinmore · East Ipswich · Eastern Heights · Ebenezer · Ebbw Vale · Flinders View · Gailes · Goodna · Grandchester · Haigslea · Ipswich · Ironbark · Jeebropilly · Karrabin · Karalee · Leichhardt · Marburg · Moores Pocket · Mount Marrow · Muirlea · New Chum · Newtown · North Booval · North Ipswich · North Tivoli · One Mile · Pine Mountain · Raceview · Redbank · Redbank Plains · Ripley · Riverview · Rosewood · Sadliers Crossing · Silkstone · Springfield · Springfield Lakes · Swanbank · Tallegalla · Thagoona · The Bluff · Tivoli · Walloon · West Ipswich · Willowbank · Woodend · Woolshed · Wulkuraka · Yamanto ·
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ipswich,_Queensland"