Jim Finimore – Ipswich Mayor and Dentist
The life of Mr J.T. Finimore former, Mayor and local Dentist in the Ipswich region, is one of great interest. James Thomas Finimore was born in North Ipswich in 1906 and was educated at the local North Ipswich State School and the Ipswich Grammar School. In 1928 at the age of...
The Ipswich Railway Workshops Dining Room
The Ipswich Railway Workshops was the centre of rail construction, maintenance and technology in Queensland for decades. Over 200 steam locomotives were constructed there and during its peak over 3,000 people worked on the site. Timber buildings were purposely built to house the timekeepers, administrative and drafting offices...
In Search of Ancient Queensland: a Queensland Museum Guide
This beautifully illustrated book, recently published by the Queensland Museum, looks at life and major geological events in Queensland over the past 250 million years. The oldest record of dinosaurs in Australia are footprints of theropod (carnivorous) dinosaurs discovered in a coal mine at Ipswich during the 1950s...
The Fateful Voyage of the ‘Nerita’
The disappearance of the motor launch ‘Nerita’ in Moreton Bay is known as one of Ipswich’s worst civil disasters . For those of you who are not familiar with this tragic event in Ipswich’s history, the fateful voyage of the 45 foot motor boat ‘Nerita’ at 2pm on...
Henry and Pearl Bates
Henry Bates was born in Bromsgrove, Worcestershire, England in 1895, to parents Henry and Sarah Bates. He immigrated to Australia and lived in Harcourt, Victoria, working as a labourer. He enlisted into the Australian Imperial Army on 20 June, 1916 at the age of 22, and embarked for...
Miss Gordon – Ipswich Missionary and Martyr
One of the many interesting aspects of our work here at Ipswich Libraries, is the unexpected directions in which our endeavours take us. While researching information about Australian quilts, one of our colleagues came across an entry on the National Museum of Australia’s website which mentions a rare autograph quilt. In the...
Blodwyn Gwladys Whitehead, OAM
Blodwyn Gwladys Whitehead, a well-known and much-loved past Ipswich resident, sadly passed away on 22 December, aged 81 years. A funeral service was held for Blodwyn at the Burleigh Heads Uniting church on Wednesday 6 January, 2016 and a musical tribute will also be held for her...
Thank You to Our Text Detectives!
This year, Ipswich Libraries launched a new program called “Become a Text Detective” and invited members of the community to assist with the text correction of Trove’s digitised newspapers. The response from the public was incredible with over 50 people participating in the program since February. Throughout the year,...
The Ritz Theatre
In 1939 Queensland Theatres Pty Ltd decided to build a new Theatre in Ipswich. The architects chosen to design the building were Messrs. Guy Crick and Bruce Furse, Sydney; the building constructed by Messrs. J Hutchinson and Sons, Brisbane. Based on an art deco style in colours...