Ipswich Crest and Arms

One of the topics discussed at the Ipswich Municipal Council meeting on 21 June 1860 was the need for a "seal". Alderman Gorry proposed that "a seal be provided for the use of the Ipswich Municipality." At the Council meeting on Thursday, 19 September 1861 was the design of a seal for the Town was once again discussed. They resolved that the Mayor, Alderman Thompson and Alderman Bethune form a committee to consider the matter further.

The North Australian, Ipswich and General Advertiser of 20 September 1861 informed the readers of the following: 

A letter from Mr. Thomas Ham, of Brisbane, engraver, was read, in which he stated he was prepared to supply the corporation with a seal, according to a drawing which accompanied the letter, at a cost of £35; which would include - 1st, the original design; 2nd, engraved seal or die; 3rd, metalllic counterpart for paper or wafer seals; and 4th, a powerful screw press of the best manufacture; the whole to be delivered in good order at the Council Chamber, Ipswich. The letter enclosed a drawing of the impression of the seal. The following is a description of the design: - Crest: Kangaroo, with motto "passing away," and emblems of England, Ireland and Scotland, the "colonising nationalities." Shield: Quartered by the Red Cross of St George, centred by the British Crown, with four stars for southern cross, denoting, first, our British origin; second, loyalty to our Sovereign; third, the country we are inhabiting; shield surrounded with branches of cotton tree, the vine, and Indian corn, indicating climate and sources of wealth. First quarter, golden fleece, to represent the pastoral interests of the district; second, the agricultural interest as connected with the town (in the distance), and its manufactures, as shown by factory chimneys; third, pick, shovel, and coal basket, denoting the carboniferous resources of the district in the coal-fields near Ipswich; fourth, steam-boat, denoting commerce and the municipality being at the head of navigation; the railway or tramway indicative of internal trade, the ranges carefully drawn from an outline of the of the dividing ranges at Cunningham's Gap, to denote traffic with the interior from the town of Ipswich.

At the Council meeting held on 3 October 1861 the sub-committee advised that they had altered Mr Ham's design slightly by not including the kangaroo crest and by moving the crown from the centre to the top of the shield. The motto was changed to: "Confide recte agens." Mr. Ham showed his seal to the Council on 27 November 1861 and The Courier of 21 December 1861 informed readers that the Corporation Seal had been fitted with a bench and it had a wooden case as a cover.

The Jubilee History of Ipswich: A Record of Municipal, Industrial and Social Progress written in 1910 states that the seal was created by the Reverend Lacey H. Rumsey who was the Rector of St Paul's Church in 1861.

Rev. Lacy Henry Rumsey was the incumbent at St Paul's Church, he was in Ipswich for six years before leaving in 1864.