1 June 2011 - Ipswich Showgrounds, Queensland

Relaxing after a slow day in this city of Ipswich.

Actually Wikipedia defines Ipswich so:

“a suburb and a major urban centre of metropolitan Brisbane Queensland, Australia approximately 40 kilometres south-west of the Brisbane CBD.The city including surrounding suburbs has an estimated population of 162,383.

Once a large independent city, Ipswich and its suburbs were absorbed by Brisbane's south west urban sprawl along the railway and freeway corridors during the mid 20th century. However the city has retained its municipal status and along with it an independent history and culture. The city is situated on the Bremer River and the urban area extends along the river's hilly valley. Ipswich is a major commercial and industrial area, with the Ipswich CBD one of the largest activity centres outside of central Brisbane. It is currently undergoing major transit oriented urban renewal which was first planned in the Ipswich Regional Centre Strategy.

Ipswich was named in 1843 after the town of Ipswich, England. It was first settled in 1827 after limestone was mined there, proclaimed a municipality in 1858 and a city in 1904.

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.

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. In 1843, the settlement officially became known as Ipswich, making it the oldest provincial city in Queensland.

From the 1840s 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. This, and other steamer services, 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.

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

Ipswich was a major mining centre, particularly coal mining. The city is the 'cradle of coal mining in Queensland'. Other secondary manufacturing industries included earthenware works, sawmills, abattoirs and foundries, while the region is also rich agriculturally.

Ipswich is the site of RAAF Base Amberley, the Royal Australian Air Force's largest operational base, this being the city’s biggest single employer. It is also home to a campus of the University of Queensland, the annual Ipswich Cup horse races one of the biggest race meets in Queensland where over 24,000 attend, and The Workshops Railway Museum to commemorate the first trainline in Queensland from Ipswich to Grandchester (Bigges Camp ), approximately 25 km to the west. The present Ipswich Station is a major transport interchange.

I have to say that I was quite surprised to find all this out about Ipswich. When we were here last year in November, purchasing the caravan and land cruiser, we took time out to drive out to tiny Minden which is further west of here on the Warrego Highway. We were investigating an ex-Britz camper at the time, and while the trip turned out to be a wild goose chase, we enjoyed a picnic lunch at a magical lagoon at Minden and were entertained by flocks of cattle egrets in the trees all around. This was my first encounter with Australian wild-life and was to be dwarfed by those that came after. We had taken a wrong turning and ended up skirting Ipswich, the city unseen and apparently insignificant. How wrong I was.

This morning we found our way to a laundrette close to the CBD. It was slap bang in the middle of a light industrial area; not pretty. The laundrette was good and we took our wet washing back to camp and hung it up under cover, not trusting the threatening clouds.

After lunch we headed in the opposite direction, passing through yet another unattractive commercial area, to deposit the cruiser at the Toyota service agent. Again we were not impressed with the city from an aesthetic point of view, however the service we received and the shopping we did while wandering up to the Boovil Shopping Centre was excellent. Perhaps the next couple of days when we spend time enjoying the tourist attractions will change our mind.

It would seem at this point that the city is well positioned, with a reasonable climate (even if we do have the heater on tonight), offers all one needs; it simply does not have the wow factor.