Ipswich City Council

Ipswich Heritage Study

One of the first steps identified (and indeed one of the most crucial) in the overall heritage program involved the need to undertake a comprehensive inventory of the City's heritage assets.

The resulting Ipswich Heritage Study had two principal aims:

To identify, document and analyse places of cultural significance within the City of Ipswich.
To make practical recommendations for the conservation and management of such places.

The University of Queensland was selected to undertake the study. A multidisciplinary team of 35 people, including practitioners with a wide range of expertise in the fields of history, architecture, town planning, archaeology, anthropology and engineering, undertook the study.

The study was undertaken in a comprehensive manner. Each of the 27 000 rateable properties comprising the 122 km² area of the former City of Ipswich were inspected in the field. The study was also comprehensive in its approach in that not only traditional sites of European cultural significance were studied but also indigenoussites and places of industrial significance.

Industrial heritage was particularly targeted from the outset of the study due to the City's prominence as an early coal mining and manufacturing centre.

Public Consultation

Extensive public consultation was undertaken, in both a formal and informal manner, as part of the Ipswich Heritage Study. From the outset submissions were sought from members of the public through the media and this was repeated on a number of occasions.

Specific community groups were targeted for individual attention. These groups included the Ipswich Branch of the National Trust of Queensland, the Ipswich Historical Society and the Ipswich City Council Heritage Consultative Committee. In addition, members of the study team also came into daily contact with Ipswich residents in the course of surveying the City and documenting places of potential significance.

As a consequence, the study team was able to discuss aspects of the study directly with several hundred people. Probably the most productive consultation occurred after the visual survey of the City had been completed and a draft list of heritage items had been prepared. A daylong workshop was held with members of the Study Steering Committee and representatives of other key community groups. The entire draft list of heritage items was reviewed during the day. Although several revisions to the list resulted from this exercise, the study team was encouraged by the extent to which their assessment matched those of the community members present.

Indigenous Heritage

Identification of sites relating to aboriginal cultural heritage was an important part of the study. Documentary sources concerning aboriginal sites were few and dispersed, and the aboriginal history of the City had not received much attention. Extensive consultation took place with knowledgeable members of the aboriginal community. There is a continuity of cultural tradition within the aboriginal community and a vital oral tradition relating to places in and around the City. A significant outcome of this process was that as a result of the assistance of members of the aboriginal community, the study team was able to link oral tradition with archaeological evidence of sites.

Industrial Heritage

Well endowed with natural resources (particularly coal, clay and limestone) and ideally situated with respect to the coast, hinterland and navigable rivers, Ipswich developed in the mid to late nineteenth century as a major hub of transport and industry. The development of Ipswich as a major centre for transport and industry extended through to the post Second World War era. Ipswich performed a pivotal role, as a major industrial centre, in the overall development of the colony and subsequent State of Queensland. In recognition of its industrial heritage, considerable emphasis was placed in the Ipswich Heritage Study on identifying and researching the City's industrial past.

Last Updated 16 Oct 2007 |

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