Jubilee Singers visit Ipswich
The Fisk Jubilee Singers were an African-American capella ensemble, meaning that they sang in a group or solo without accompanying instruments. Members were either emancipated slaves or the children of such. The original group began in 1871 singing slave songs and plantation melodies to audiences as a...
Olympic Torch Relay
Did you know that back in the year 2000, when Sydney hosted the Summer Olympic Games, Ipswich was included as one of the destinations for the Olympic Torch relay? In June 2000, 27 Ipswich community members were among those selected to have the honour of carrying the torch into...
Read all about it!
In recent months the Ipswich Libraries has added several books to the Local History collection on topics ranging from World War One Soliders to the history of the Ripley Valley. In her book, In the Shadow of Mount Flinders : Stories of Ripley Valley , Pamela Lamb provides...
Gunner Norman George of Bundamba
Recently Picture Ipswich digitised a collection of war photographs, postcards and memorabilia belonging to the late Norman George of Bundamba. Norman was a gunner during the First World War and was just 18 years old when he enlisted for active service on the 9th of October 1915. At the...
McMahon’s SoftDrinks
McMahon’s Fruit Drinks was started by Frank McMahon in 1934 in a small rented building in West Street, Ipswich. With eight pounds in the bank and four pounds needed to connect electricity to the premises, Frank began his business with outdated machines and a large amount of...
150 Years of Rail in Queensland
This year marks 150 years since the first section of the Queensland railway line was opened and travelled upon. This small yet much anticipated train journey took place in July 1865 on a section of track constructed between Ipswich and Bigges Camp (now known as Grandchester). This was a...
Hotel Grande
Commissioned by George Thorn in 1864, the Grand Hotel was originally built as a small terrace facing East Street which housed three two storey shops on the corner of East and Brisbane Streets. Each shop had its own internal staircase which led to an upper floor living...
Frederick George Springall – Ipswich Mayor
This guest post is courtesy of Irma Deas and Claire Juler from the Ipswich Genealogical Society. Frederick George Springall was 76 years old and had been in Australia almost 50 years when he became Mayor of Ipswich after the death of Mr A.J. Stephenson in December 1914. Born in...
“From Selection to Discovery” – A State Library of Queensland Grant Project
In March 2015 Ipswich Libraries was awarded a grant of $5,000 by the State Library of Queensland for use with the Picture Ipswich digitisation and accessibility process. The ‘From Selection to Discovery’ grant project was established by the State Library of Queensland in order to provide funds...