This is Not Our First Rodeo…

Epidemics have been unwelcome visitors to Ipswich since colonial days. The names of the diseases may have changed but public health measures are remarkably familiar, with Ipswich General Hospital at the heart of care and treatment in our town. The hospital opened at the beginning of March 1860...

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Hudson’s Eumenthol Jujubes

You have probably heard of Hudson’s Eumenthol Jujubes, or even consumed them for a sore throat. These cough drops or throat lozenges are internationally known however they were first known in Ipswich and developed here by George Inglis Hudson. Hudson – Chemist & Druggist kept premises in Brisbane...

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Red Arcade

A predecessor of present day discount variety stores was Royal Red Arcade originally located in Nicholas Street, Ipswich. It opened on Saturday 1st December 1894 offering a large variety of household goods for sale including toys, basketware, books, stationery and fancy goods. Because it was nearly Christmas, seasonal...

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North Ipswich Ice Works

Next time you go to the fridge to get out the butter or meat, spare a thought for early Ipswich residents who had no refrigeration and minimal access to ice. In the late 19th century Ipswich consumers were dependent on ice shipped from Brisbane. This was both expensive...

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Empire Day

May 24 was Queen Victoria’s birthday. After she died in 1901 it was proposed that the date become a formal celebration of the British Empire and all that it stood for. Loyalty to the Empire, patriotism and the duties of citizenship were paramount. Empire Day was to have...

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Oyster Saloons in Ipswich

Fish and chips shops are found everywhere in Australia. A forerunner to these familiar businesses was the Oyster Saloon, common from the 1880s until well into the twentieth century. It seems that every town in Queensland (no matter how far from the coast) had an Oyster Saloon. Brisbane,...

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Little Ipswich Tannery

West Ipswich was once known as “Little Ipswich”.  John Germain lived there with his family in Moore Lane, now known as Hooper Street. He was a pioneer and very early resident of the West Moreton district, arriving in 1849 from Yorkshire via NSW at about 26 years of...

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Itchy Park, Ipswich 4305

In the mid twentieth century in Queensland, Itchy Park was a fairly common nickname for public parks that attracted unsavory characters and bad behavior. Usually one park in every town (eg Brisbane, Maryborough & Tweed Heads) had the dubious honor of attracting “loafers”, drunks that needed somewhere to...

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E. Greenway, Sculptor

Ernest Greenway was 21 when he arrived in Ipswich in 1882 from England. His occupation prior to emigration was listed in the 1881 England and Wales Census as “Engraver on Stone (Mason)”. In other documents his trade is also described as sculptor, monumental mason and stonemason. The convict...

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