Ipswich, Queensland

Ipswich Ipswich, Queensland
Ipswich aerial shot including CBD and surrounds; Old Bremer Tafe; Orion Lagoon
Population	190,000 (2015; Local Government Area)
Established	1846
Postcode(s)	4305
Elevation	50 m (164 ft)
Time zone	AEST (UTC+10)
Location	40 km (25 mi) from Brisbane CBD
LGA(s)	City of Ipswich
Region	South East Queensland
State electorate(s)	Ipswich, Ipswich West, Bundamba, Part of Lockyer
Federal Division(s)	Blair, Oxley, Wright
Suburbs around Ipswich: Woodend North Ipswich East Ipswich West Ipswich Ipswich Tivoli One Mile Churchill Raceview

Ipswich is an urban region in south-east Queensland, Australia, which is located in the south-west of the Brisbane metropolitan area. Situated on the Bremer River, it is approximately 40 kilometres (25 mi) west of the Brisbane CBD. A local government area, the City of Ipswich has a population of 190,000 (projected to grow to 435,000 residents by 2031). The city is renowned for its architectural, natural and cultural heritage. Ipswich preserves and operates from many of its historical buildings, with more than 6000 heritage-listed sites and over 500 parks.

Ipswich began in the 1820s as a mining settlement and was originally intended to be the Queensland capital but Brisbane was instead chosen because of its geographical accessibility for ships.

Prior to the arrival of European settlers, what is now called Ipswich was home to many indigenous language groups, including the Warpai tribe, Yuggera and Ugarapul Indigenous Australian groups. 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.

The town began as a limestone mining settlement and grew rapidly as a major inland port. Ipswich was initially named "The Limestone Hills" and later shortened to "Limestone", however in 1843 it was renamed after the town of Ipswich in England. The population was 932 in 1851 and had risen to 2459 by 1856. It became a municipality in 1858. Ipswich was a prime candidate for becoming the capital of Queensland, but Brisbane was instead chosen in 1859. It was proclaimed a city in 1904.

The city became a major coal-mining area in the early 19th Century, contributing to the development of railways in the region as a means of transport. The first recorded coal mines in the central Ipswich area started at Woodend in 1848.

From the 1840s onward, Ipswich was becoming an important river port for growing local industries such as coal and wool from the Darling Downs and 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.