City of Ipswich

This article is about the local government area. For the suburb, see Ipswich (suburb), Queensland. For the metropolitan area, see Ipswich, Queensland. For the county town in Suffolk, England, see Ipswich.

"Ipswich City" redirects here. For the Brisbane football club, see Ipswich City FC.

"Ipswich Council" redirects here. For the council in England, see Ipswich Borough Council.

The City of Ipswich is a local government area in Queensland, Australia, located within the southwest of the Brisbane metropolitan area, including the urban area surrounding the city of Ipswich and surrounding rural areas.

City of Ipswich Queensland
Location within South East Queensland
City of Ipswich Coat of Arms
Coordinates	Coordinates: 27°36′40.37″S 152°45′41.95″E / 27.6112139°S 152.7616528°E / -27.6112139; 152.7616528
Population	213,638 (2018) (26th)
• Density	195.28/km^2 (505.78/sq mi)
Established	1860
Area	1,094 km^2 (422.4 sq mi)^[1]
Mayor	Teresa Harding
Council seat	Ipswich
Region	South East Queensland
State electorate(s)	Ipswich West Ipswich Bundamba
Federal division(s)	Oxley Blair
Website	City of Ipswich
LGAs around City of Ipswich: Somerset Somerset City of Brisbane Lockyer Valley City of Ipswich City of Logan Southern Downs Scenic Rim City of Logan

Geography

The City of Ipswich is centrally located in the South East Queensland region of Australia. Ipswich governs the outer western portion of the Brisbane Metropolitan Area, Queensland, Australia. It covers an area of 1,094 square kilometres (422.4 sq mi) along the coast about 40 kilometres (25 mi) southwest of Brisbane CBD. To the east is the City of Brisbane local government area, and to the west are the rural and agricultural areas of the Brisbane, Lockyer and Fassifern Valleys.

History

 

Ipswich Post Office, c. 1890

 

Ipswich in flood, 1893

Ipswich is the second-oldest local government area in Queensland, after Brisbane. On 16 November 1859, after the enactment of the Municipalities Act of 1858 in New South Wales,^[2] a petition containing 91 signatures was received by the Governor of New South Wales seeking to have Ipswich, which at the time had 3,000 people, granted municipal town status. The petition was gazetted the following day, and no counter-petition was received.^[3][4][5]

On 29 November, the letters patent authorised by Queen Victoria which were to make Queensland a separate colony were published in New South Wales, and the petition was forwarded to the new Queensland governor, Sir George Ferguson Bowen. On 10 December 1859, the same day that the letters patent were published in Queensland, the petition was regazetted. On 3 March 1860 the Borough of Ipswich was proclaimed, and its first elections were held on 19 April 1860, where John Murphy became its first Mayor. The Municipality's corporate logo was designed by Reverend Lacey H. Rumsey, the rector of St Paul's Church in Ipswich in 1861.^[3][4][5]

Ipswich applied on 22 November 1904 to become a City, the status being conferred by the Government of Queensland on 1 December 1904 and its first mayor was Hugh Reilly.^[5] On its declaration, the City of Ipswich covered only the central area of Ipswich itself – even what are today considered inner suburbs were parts of different entities.

Beginning in 1994 Ipswich adopted an innovative, community-based, information technology project which aimed to make the city a technology hub at the forefront of the growing move towards the information superhighway.^[6] The most prominent feature of the initiative, which was called Global Info-Links, was the development of a new library with free public internet access and the development of a wide area network to which people could subscribe.

 

Council plaque at the Central Congregational Church Manse, 2015

In October 2000, the council began erecting cast brass plaques at significant heritage sites.^[7]

The Greater Ipswich Scheme of 1916

On 13 October 1916, a rationalisation of the local government areas in and around Ipswich was implemented. It involved the abolition of five shires:^[8][9]

• Brassall
• Bundanba
• Lowood
• Purga
• Walloon

resulting in:

• an enlarged City of Ipswich by including part of the Shire of Brassall and part of the Shire of Bundanba^[10]
• a new Shire of Ipswich by amalgamating part of the Shire of Brassall, part of the Shire of Bundanba, part of the Shire of Walloon and all of the Shire of Purga^[11]
• an enlarged Shire of Rosewood by including part of the Shire of Walloon
• an enlarged Shire of Esk by including all of the Shire of Lowood^[12]

Greater Ipswich Scheme of 1949

On 29 January 1949, a new Local Government Act was enacted to further amalgamate local government in the Ipswich area, abolishing the Shire of Normanby and the Shire of Rosewood. The City of Ipswich was enlarged (from 12¼ square miles to 30 square miles) to include the more urban parts of the Shire of Moreton (formerly known as the Shire of Ipswich). The Shire of Moreton was then enlarged by the inclusion of the northern part of the Shire of Normanby and all the Shire of Rosewood. The southern part of the Shire of Normanby was transferred to an enlarged Shire of Boonah.^[13][14][15]

Further enlargement

The Shire of Moreton was amalgamated into the City of Ipswich on 11 March 1995.^[16]

Loss of rural areas

In March 2000, Ipswich ceded some rural territory in Mount Walker, Mutdapilly, Rosevale and Warrill View to the neighbouring Shire of Boonah. Following the major reforms of local government in Queensland, on 15 March 2008, Ipswich lost the largely rural areas of Harrisville and Peak Crossing in its southeast to the new Scenic Rim Region.

On 31 October 2012, a groundbreaking ceremony for the Ecco Ripley housing development project was conducted by then Ipswich mayor Paul Pisasale and Sekisui House.^[17]

Divisions

The local government has 10 Councillors each representing one division (or ward). Each Councillor serves a four-year term. The Mayor is directly elected by the people every 4 years. Elected mayor of 2016, Paul Pisasale,^[18] resigned on 6 June 2017 citing health concerns (specifically multiple sclerosis).^[19][20]

Division 7 Councillor Andrew Antoniolli and Deputy Mayor Paul Tully both contested the 2017 Ipswich Mayoral By-Election, held on 19 August 2017. Councillor Antoniolli was elected Mayor with 34.57% of the primary vote and 54.44% after preferences, with Paul Tully winning 30.83% of the primary vote and 45.56% after preferences.^[21]

After Andrew Antoniolli's election as Mayor, a By-Election for the vacant Division 7 was held on 7 October 2017. David Martin was elected with 23.65% of the vote. Antoniolli won the 2017 Ipswich City Council Mayoral By-Election, triggered by the resignation of former mayor, Paul Pisasale who was charged with multiple counts of corruption. In May 2018 Andrew Antoniolli was charged with seven counts of corruption forcing him to stand down and administrators to take over Ipswich City Council.^[19][22]

In August 2018, the Queensland Government passed legislation to dismiss all of the councillors and replace them with an administrator.^[23]

At the time of the dismissal, the divisional Councillors were:^[24][25]

Councillor	Declared political membership	Term	Constituency
Former Mayor Andrew Antoniolli	ALP	2017–2018	Mayor
Cr. David Morrison	Independent	2000– 2018	Division 1
Cr. Paul Tully	ALP	1979– 2018	Division 2
Cr. Kerry Silver	ALP	2016– 2018	Division 3
Cr. Kylie Stoneman	ALP	2016– 2018	Division 4
Cr. Wayne Wendt	ALP	2016– 2018	Division 5
Cr. Cheryl Bromage	ALP	2004– 2018	Division 6
Cr. David Martin	Independent	2017– 2018	Division 7
Cr. Charlie Pisasale	Independent	1995– 2018	Division 8
Cr. Sheila Ireland	Independent	2004– 2018	Division 9
Cr. David Pahlke	Independent	1995– 2018	Division 10

Following by a reviewer by the administrator Greg Chemello, a new system of having four divisions each with two councillors was introduced and was used in the local government elections on 28 March 2020.^[26][27]

The current councillors elected during the 2020 Local Government elections are:^[28][25][29]

Councillor	Declared political membership	Term	Constituency
Mayor Teresa Jane Harding	LNP	2020–present	Mayor
Cr. Sheila Ireland	Independent	2004– 2018, 2020–present	Division 1
Cr. Jacob Madsen	ALP	2020–present	Division 1
Cr. Paul Tully	ALP	1979– 2018, 2020–present	Division 2
Cr. Nicole Jonic	Independent	2020–present	Division 2
Cr. Marnie Doyle	Independent	2020–present	Division 3
Cr. Andrew Fechner	Independent	2020–present	Division 3
Cr. Kate Kunzelmann	ALP	2020–present	Division 4
Cr. Russell Milligan	Independent	2020–present	Division 4

Mayors

Main article: List of Mayors of City of Ipswich

Suburbs

The City of Ipswich includes the following settlements:

Cameron Park at Booval, 2015 Urban: Augustine Heights Barellan Point Basin Pocket Bellbird Park Blacksoil Blackstone Booval Brassall Brookwater Bundamba Carole Park Camira Churchill Chuwar Coalfalls Collingwood Park Dinmore East Ipswich Eastern Heights Ebenezer Ebbw Vale Flinders View Gailes Goodna Haigslea Ipswich Karalee

The Brisbane River at Riverview, 2013 Karrabin Leichhardt Moores Pocket Muirlea New Chum Newtown North Booval North Ipswich North Tivoli One Mile Raceview Redbank Redbank Plains Ripley Riverview Rosewood Sadliers Crossing Silkstone Springfield Springfield Central Springfield Lakes Swanbank Tivoli West Ipswich Woodend Wulkuraka Yamanto

Picnic facilities at Goolman, 2015 Rural: Amberley Ashwell Calvert Deebing Heights Ebenezer Goolman Grandchester Haigslea Ironbark Jeebropilly Lanefield Limestone Ridges^1 Marburg Mount Forbes^1

Churchbank Weir at Peak Crossing, 2015 Mount Marrow Mutdapilly^1 Peak Crossing^1 Pine Mountain Purga Rosewood South Ripley Spring Mountain Tallegalla Thagoona The Bluff Walloon White Rock^2 Willowbank Woolshed

¹ - split with Scenic Rim Region
² - not to be confused with White Rock in Cairns Region

Services

Ipswich City Council operates four public libraries at Ipswich Central, Redbank, Redbank Plains and Springfield Central.^[30] It also operates a mobile library service to Booval, Brassall, Camira, Flinders View (Winston Glades) Goodna, Grandchester, Karalee, Marburg, Rosewood, South Ripley, Walloon, and Willowbank.^[31]

Sister cities

•   Nerima City, Japan (from 1994)^[32]
•   Hyderabad, India (from 2010)^[33]

References

1. "3218.0 – Regional Population Growth, Australia, 2017-18: Population Estimates by Local Government Area (ASGS 2018), 2017 to 2018". Australian Bureau of Statistics. Australian Bureau of Statistics. 27 March 2019. from the original on 27 March 2019. Retrieved 25 October 2019. Estimated resident population, 30 June 2018.
2. 22 Vic No. 13 (Imp), assented 27 October 1858
3. Larcombe, F.A. (Frederick) (1973). The Origin of Local Government in New South Wales 1831–58. Sydney University Press. pp. 273–274. ISBN 0-424-06610-6.
4. National Archives of Australia (2005). . Archived from the original on 22 July 2008. Retrieved 14 March 2008.
5. Ipswich City Council (17 October 2007). "Council History". from the original on 10 April 2008. Retrieved 14 March 2008.
6. Mal, Bryce (2010). Australia's First Online Community Ipswich Queensland. Xlibris Corporation. p. 75. ISBN 9781456813314. Retrieved 9 January 2014.
7. "Heritage Trails and Historical Markers". Ipswich City Council. from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 26 October 2015.
8. "Greater Ipswich Scheme". The Brisbane Courier. National Library of Australia. 14 October 1916. p. 4. from the original on 27 April 2020. Retrieved 12 September 2013.
9. "Local Authorities Act 1902 – Order in Council". Queensland Government Gazette. 13 October 1916. p. 1916:1093.
10. "Agency ID 992, Ipswich City Council". Queensland State Archives. Retrieved 12 September 2013.
11. "Agency ID 995, Ipswich Shire Council". Queensland State Archives. Retrieved 12 September 2013.
12. "Agency ID 11326, Lowood Shire Council". Queensland State Archives. Retrieved 12 September 2013.
13. "Local Government Acts 1936–1948 – Order in Council". Queensland Government Gazette. 29 January 1949. p. 1949:343.
14. "GREATER IPSWICH AREA BY MAY". Queensland Times (DAILY ed.). Ipswich, Queensland: National Library of Australia. 28 January 1949. p. 1. from the original on 27 April 2020. Retrieved 13 September 2013.
15. "BIGGER SHIRES OPERATE SOON". The Courier-Mail. Brisbane: National Library of Australia. 15 January 1949. p. 4. from the original on 27 April 2020. Retrieved 13 September 2013.
16. "Local Government Act 1993 – Order in Council". Queensland Government Gazette. 11 March 1995. p. 1995:1381.
17. Geoff Egan (1 November 2012). "Massive housing project launches". Queensland Times. from the original on 4 November 2012. Retrieved 17 July 2013.
18. "2016 Ipswich City Council - Mayoral Election - Election Summary". Electoral Commission of Queensland. 19 April 2016. from the original on 22 April 2016. Retrieved 3 November 2016.
19. "Pisasale steps down as Ipswich Mayor in hospital gown amid CCC investigation". ABC News. 6 June 2017. from the original on 6 June 2017. Retrieved 6 June 2017.
20. "Subscribe to The Courier-Mail". www.couriermail.com.au. Retrieved 6 June 2017.
21. "Results - 2017 Ipswich Mayoral By-Election". Electoral Commission of Queensland. from the original on 5 April 2018.
22. "Results - Division 7 By-Election". Electoral Commission of Queensland. from the original on 14 March 2018. Retrieved 14 March 2018.
23. Johnson, Hayden (21 August 2018). "UPDATE: MPs sack Ipswich council, appoint administrator". The Queensland Times. from the original on 2 September 2018. Retrieved 2 September 2018.
24. "2016 Ipswich City Council - Councillor Election - Election Summary". Electoral Commission of Queensland. 19 April 2016. from the original on 25 May 2016. Retrieved 3 November 2016.
25. "Ipswich City Council - Mayor and Councillors". City of Ipswich. from the original on 13 March 2018. Retrieved 14 March 2018.
26. "Multi-councillor divisions 'best for Ipswich'". Ipswich First. 29 April 2019. from the original on 5 April 2020. Retrieved 1 April 2020.
27. "Ipswich City Local Government Area". Electoral Commission of Queensland. 18 October 2019. from the original on 11 March 2020. Retrieved 1 April 2020.
28. "2020 Ipswich City Council - Election Summary". Electoral Commission of Queensland. 11 May 2020. from the original on 23 December 2020. Retrieved 11 May 2020.
29. . Electoral Commission of Queensland. 2020. Archived from the original on 16 June 2020. Retrieved 16 June 2020.
30. "Ipswich Libraries: Hours/Locations". Ipswich City Council. from the original on 30 January 2018. Retrieved 30 January 2018.
31. (PDF). Ipswich City Council. Archived from the original (PDF) on 30 January 2018. Retrieved 30 January 2018.
32. "Sister Cities : Ipswich City Council". www.ipswich.qld.gov.au. from the original on 16 March 2015. Retrieved 11 June 2015.
33. "Brisbane, Ipswich to become sister cities with Hyderabad, India". Retrieved 6 March 2017.

External links

• Ipswich City Council – Official site