Happy birthday Ipswich! The city that was almost Queensland capital turns 165
03 March 2025
What do Queensland’s first coal mine, defence force, secondary school and railway have in common?
They were all established in Ipswich.
So prosperous was Ipswich when it was declared a municipality on 3 March 1860, it had been strongly considered a candidate for capital city of Queensland.
Ipswich Mayor Teresa Harding said as Ipswich celebrates its 165th birthday, reflecting on the city’s rich and storied history opens a window to understanding how it has become a thriving city with a bright future.
“Traditionally known as Tulmur, our city’s lands and waters have been home to the Jagera, Yuggera and Ugarapul Peoples of the Yugara/Yagara language group for millennia, with the traditional customs, traditions, and cultural practices proudly continuing through to younger generations today,” Mayor Harding said.
“In more recent times, the European history of what is now known as Ipswich began when Moreton Bay penal colony commander Captain Patrick Logan set up a lime burning operation in 1827.
“The pioneering spirit was well and truly awakened in Ipswich in the years following, with the first coal mine in Queensland opening in Redbank in 1843.
“Ipswich was declared a municipality in 1860 and the same year, the Ipswich Troop of the Queensland Mounted Rifles became the first defence force in Queensland, while Ipswich Grammar School opened as the state’s first secondary school three years later.
“The Ipswich to Grandchester railway – also a first for Queensland – was then completed in 1865.
“Ipswich was clearly leading the way for nation-building in Queensland, so it was a prime choice to be the colony’s capital.
“It came down to Ipswich and Brisbane, and leaders of the two settlements battled hard for the honour.”
Mayor Harding said Ipswich had mounted a very strong case – it was a fledgling settlement with productive coal and limestone industries, also providing a gateway to the interior pastoral areas such as the Darling Downs, including through the nexus of the Bremer and Brisbane rivers.
“Brisbane, however, was already established as a commercial and administrative hub of the area and was supported in the race by leaders in Sydney,” Mayor Harding said.
Ipswich’s credentials were strengthened when statesman John Dunmore Lang, a famous advocate for Australian federalism, wrote in 1847 of an idea for the region’s port to be built at Cleveland, where “wool and other produce from the interior would unquestionably be all shipped direct for that port from Ipswich, without being landed at Brisbane at all”.
Newspapers Ipswich Herald (later titled Queensland Times) and North Australian openly advocated for Ipswich to be the capital, with a port to be built on the Bremer River, and decried their opponents.
The latter publication excoriated regional police magistrate Captain John Clements Wickham for his strong pro-Brisbane views, writing, “in his public capacity he seemed quite incapable of taking enlarged views, and extending his mental vision beyond the limits of Newstead”.
Mayor Harding said the NSW Government chose Brisbane as the location for an immigration depot and gaol, and denied Ipswich’s bid to build its own.
“Calls for Richmond Valley and Clarence Valley to be included in the new colony of Queensland, placing Ipswich in a more central geographical location, were also rejected by the government, further hampering our case,” Mayor Harding said.
“A proposal to build a railway line between Ipswich and the Darling Downs, opposed by an early iteration of The Courier Mail, was also shot down, effectively sealing the deal for Brisbane to be declared the capital.
“The history is clear – Ipswich was robbed of its rightful title as capital of our great state, and I have no doubt our city would have made a fantastic capital of Queensland.
“While ultimately it wasn’t to be, Ipswich has flourished over the past 165 years as a cohesive, vibrant and family-orientated city of more than 260,000 people.
“Our location, lifestyle and amenity attracts people from all over the world, with our population set to double in the next two decades.
“Ipswich residents come from more than 160 countries and speak more than 152 languages, with more than a fifth of the population born overseas.
“Young families in particular are finding a home in Ipswich and they make up almost half of the city’s 80,000 households. We have a youthful population with the median age of 33 – five years lower than the state and national median.
“The local economy is also booming, having grown by 6.81 per cent in the 2023-24 financial year to a Gross Regional Product of $13.73 billion.”
Mayor Harding said the future of Ipswich is incredibly bright, calling on the State and Federal governments to support the city during this incredible period of growth.
“We invite our leaders at the State and Federal levels to join us for the next 165 years of our city’s incredible journey,” Mayor Harding said.
“Now is not the time for the leaders in Brisbane and down south to turn on us again.
“As Ipswich grows another year older, the need for investment in our city’s future becomes ever more apparent and council will continue to advocate for major projects to take Ipswich forward.
“Our birthday wish-list includes infrastructure projects we have long called for, such as an Ipswich-to-Springfield Public Transport Corridor, a better bus network, a second river crossing in Ipswich Central, upgrades to the Cunningham, Centenary and Warrego highways, catalyst infrastructure to unlock the Ebenezer Regional Industrial Area and investment to progress the North Ipswich Sport and Entertainment Precinct.
“Happy birthday, Ipswich. Here’s to the next 165 years.”