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On
the land
In the first years of European presence in the Ipswich region, the
establishment of the first farm “Plough Station” by the convicts
under Captain Logan was an urgent priority. Ipswich (or Limestone
Station as it was known then) was a frontier in terms of European
settlement and the provision of fresh vegetables would have been
essential. Plough Station was on the river flats beside Bundamba
Creek and was bordered by Cascade Street, Raceview Street and
Robertson Road.
As the convict era began to wane (1839 – 1842), surveyors were sent
to the area to map it out and then new settlers were allowed to
claim land from 1842 onwards. Dairy, pigs, sugar cane, corn and
grapes for wine production formed the back bone of early farming
in the region. Timber logging flourished while supplies lasted.
Cotton was profitable during the years of the American Civil War
in the early 1860s. With no production coming from the American
south, English spinning mills needed cotton from elsewhere and this
gave rise to an industry in the Ipswich area. The Ipswich Cotton
Company was formed in 1861 and 100 acres of cotton was planted
at Booval. The Chairman of the Board of Directors at the time, John
Panton, also planted cotton on his own small farm at Woodend.
Cotton gins were established along the Bremer River and the
Queensland government gave grants of land to farmers to support
the industry. However, with the end of the Civil War and the return
to cotton production in America, Ipswich industry suffered.
During the early 1880s, sugar cane was embraced as a highly
profitable crop. So much so that Thomas Lorimer Smith built a
steam-powered sugar mill in 1882 and employed around 60 to 70
workers. He later built a rum distillery that eventually closed due
to the levels of effluent polluting Black Snake Creek. Mr Thomas
also engaged a young English architect, George Brockwell Gill,
to design his new home,
Woodlands
.
With the cropping of sugar cane proving to be a disappointment
and the drought and depression of the mid-1890s biting hard, most
farmers returned to dairying and growing maize. There was renewed
interest in sugar cane again in the early 1900s as good rains produced
bumper crops. But by the end of World War I in 1918, it was clear
that the sugar industry was not viable and the mill closed.
Cotton, pineapples and dairying were some of the crops that
continued into the twentieth century and today the farmlands
west of Ipswich stretching out to Gatton and Warwick form the
salad bowl of the region. As one of the most fertile year-round
production regions in the world, farming still contributes
significantly to the economy of Ipswich and the surrounding region.
•
Chinese market gardens were established in the very early
years of Ipswich. They were scattered along the Bremer River
including in Devils Gully, Wharf Street, North Ipswich and
West Ipswich.
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The Chinese market gardeners often sold their produce
door to door with the gardens continuing to the 1950s.
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Timbergetting and sawmilling were early industries in Ipswich
with hoop pine taken from Pine Mountain and hardwood
from surrounding districts.
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Hancock’s Mill was established at North Ipswich in 1872 and
is still in operation today.
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Timber milling brought with it cabinetry and joinery businesses.
George Dowden was best known as an excellent cedar
craftsman as well as an undertaker. Arthur Foote and
Deanmans made furniture and joinery.
•
Today, Ipswich still boasts furniture and joinery manufacturing
businesses including H. Thorne and Co., Kingston and Wallace,
Duce Joinery and Acme-Jordan.
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The cotton mill established by the Joyce brothers in 1900 was
later converted to a woollen mill before closing in the 1970s.
15
The Machine Shop. Image courtesy of QR and Railway Workshops Museum