The area of Ipswich is home to many primary and secondary schools, with several new establishments recently opening in the wider suburbs to accommodate this growing population. However, it is important to remember those schools with long and eventful histories, such as St Joseph’s Primary School in North Ipswich. St Joseph’s was opened in September 1913 after a need was recognised by the Catholic Church in the Ipswich area of the time for the establishment of a new parish and church to the north of Ipswich and the Bremer River.
By 1915 the Catholic church had established churches in Redbank Plains, Pine Mountain, Dinmore and Goodna and with the growing population in the Ipswich area there was a great need for continued development of such religious groups. In Ipswich in the late 1800s to the early 1900s the major parish and catholic school was St Mary’s Church, and many people from across the river attended this church for mass and school, however with growing employment opportunities in North Ipswich the new St Joseph’s Primary School and church became a popular proposal for the community. So, with the help of Father Andrew Horan, who was an integral part of Ipswich’s Catholic community, a portion of 7 acres of land was transferred to Father Horan, James Duhig and Patrick Brady who became the Trustees.
In order to raise funds for the construction of the church and school several fundraising efforts were made including such things as fetes, sports days and luncheons. After sufficient money was raised to begin the development process a committee was established to oversee the process. By this point in February 1913 the name St Joseph’s had been chosen for the church and school. After several local architects were chosen to to design both the church and school in April of 1913, construction was quickly underway. When both the school and church were finally completed in July 1913 the building had 20 foot ceilings, wide verandahs and music rooms and was constructed from corrugated iron, weatherboard and Oregon pine for the louvered ventilation system.
Postcard of St Joseph’s Catholic Church and School, North Ipswich 1939 – Image courtesy of Picture Ipswich
Although construction was completed in July of 1913 the school itself did not open until September 1913. The school was operated by four teachers from the Sisters of Mercy Convent of St Mary’s in Ipswich and the first Principal was Sister Mary Wolfe (a position she held until the 1920s). According to a report in the local newspaper approximately 50 students attended the school on its opening many of whom were driven to school on horse and buggy. In the beginning St Joseph’s School struggled to stay afloat and there were many crises over the years owing to a lack of funds. However, the Sisters continued to show remarkable strength by teaching reading, religion, writing and arithmetic to their young pupils everyday.
In the 1920s and 1930s music became an important part of life at St Joseph’s School and this was reflected when an extra room was assigned to teaching music to the students. It was not until the early 1930s that St Joseph’s School pupils began to wear an assigned uniform, which in the first instance was a navy blue tunic and white shirt for girls and navy blue shorts and white shirt for boys. Due to rapid growth of the North Ipswich area in the 1930s there was a greater need for a bigger parish and church, and as such further land was purchased on Raymond’s Hill to accommodate a bigger presbytery and a church hall which was to be moved from Tarampa and later used as the school. There were many grand plans for this land on which the new church stood including the development of a bigger St Joseph’s School for the community. However, this did not come to fruition until after World War 2, which put a stop to any future Ipswich developments of that time.
In 1947 after the war had ended the old St Joseph’s Church was moved to the new land in Raymond’s Hill. The Church Hall, however at this point was still being used as the main school building and remained so until the 1960’s when all 200 children at the school had finally outgrown the building. As such a new building was constructed out of besser blocks at a cost of 10,000 pounds which had several wings added to over the years to accommodate for the growing school community. Over the years St Joseph’s Primary School has seen many Ipswich pupils travel through their doors and today after more than 100 years of education it is still a close-knit school community.
Information taken from “From inkwell to iPad: 100 years of education at St Joseph’s Primary School North Ipswich 1913-2013” by Margaret Cook ; Queensland Times 28 December 2010 “History of St Joseph’s”
St Josephs Church, being moved to Raymond’s Hill 1947 – Image courtesy of Picture Ipswich