Queensland’s first railway line, completed in 1865, ran between Ipswich and Grandchester, and was extended to Toowoomba in 1867.  Freight, including wool from the Darling Downs, could be transported from Ipswich to Brisbane on barges down the Bremer and Brisbane Rivers.  It was not until 1876 that the railway line was extended to Brisbane.

With its strategic importance as a port, and its robust coal mining and manufacturing industries, Ipswich was a prosperous town in the mid to late nineteenth century.  This prosperity shines through the images of Ipswich heritage houses in the Ipswich Art Gallery’s current exhibition “The Ipswich House“, which features the works of contemporary artists.

Highlights include Bruce Buchanan’s watercolours of the Georgian stone villa Claremont, beautifully capturing the penetrating quality of Australian sunlight, and Richard Stringer’s silver gelatin photographs of the Denmark Hill mansion Gooloowan, which inspire imaginings of grand evening parties, and clandestine conversations on the spacious upper balcony.

Ipswich clearly has had some glorious days, and no doubt it will continue to have them into the future.  With Ipswich City expected to grow from 160,000 people today to around 435,000 in 2031, the city may be set for a new wave of prosperity (see the Qld Govt population projections).