Ipswich (pop. 229,208) is an industrial center in southeastern Queensland, Australia. It stands on the Bremer River, about 25 miles (40 kilometers) southwest of Brisbane, in a rich coal-mining area. Ipswich is Queensland’s oldest provincial city. It is the state’s most important industrial area outside Brisbane.
Many important industries operate in Ipswich. The Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) is one of Ipswich’s major employers. The RAAF’s largest base, RAAF Base Amberley, lies on the outskirts of the city. The Ipswich Railway Workshops are the country’s oldest functioning rail yards. The area west and northwest of Ipswich—particularly the Lockyer, Fassifern, and Brisbane valleys—is rich in agricultural and dairy produce.
The University of Queensland has a campus in Ipswich. The Workshops Rail Museum tells the history of the Railway Workshops and features displays that emphasize the importance of trains in Australia’s history. The Ipswich Art Gallery, in addition to its collections of local artworks, has a dedicated gallery for children.
In the 1820’s, British explorers from the nearby penal (prison) settlement at Brisbane discovered limestone and coal deposits near what is now Ipswich. In 1827, Brisbane commandant Captain Patrick Logan sent several convicts and an overseer to the area to cut limestone and ship it to Brisbane. The small mining settlement eventually grew into a town known as Limestone. In 1843, the town’s name was changed to Ipswich in reference to a town in Suffolk, England. Ipswich became a city in 1904.
