Convicts & Colonials (1827-1859)

In 1823, John Oxley explored the Brisbane River travelling as far as Goodna. The following year Oxley returned, accompanied by Allan Cunningham and Lieutenant Butler travelled in two boats to explore the Brisbane River further. Oxley and Cunningham both noted a creek or stream that branched off the Brisbane River which Oxley referred to as Bremer River. The site had a number of advantages, including the fact that moderate sixed boats could travel up the Bremer as far as the limestone deposits, and near the lime deposits there was a large natural basin in the river where boats could turn or anchor. Another important fact, was that beds of coal had been noticed along the nearby river banks. Cunningham saw the potential of the site, possibly as an inland port that could handle produce from the interior and he predicted: "It is therefore highly probable that upon the site of these Limestone Hills, a town will one day be raised." 

It was not until either late 1826 or early 1827, that Patrick Logan set out to explore the Bremer River, reaching the white hummocks (limestone hills) on the riverbank. After returning to Brisbane he sent an overseer and five convicts to start an out-station to quarry the limestone. Not long after the Limestone Station was established, Logan had a farm, sheep and cattle station set up. The Plough Station was located within the current boundaries of Cascade Street, Raceview Street and Robertson Road.

When you look at the city area today, it is hard to imagine that Ipswich must have been like a country village. If you could go back in time, a number of things would strike you as different or unusual. Early European and non-European people began to arrive in 1842 and for the first few years, there were few residents and fewer officials. Many ticket-of leave convicts settled in Moreton Bay and in Ipswich. 

In the 1850s, almost everyone in Ipswich used water from the Bremer River for drinking, cooking and washing. Some people probably collected their own supply but most relied on the water carriers or "water joeys" who took water from the river in carts and sold it around the streets. The inner city is now strictly a place for shopping and business but back in the 1840s, 50s and 60s, many people lived there. Transport was difficult and slow so it made sense to live close to where you worked. Some people had a small house attached to the side or back of their shop while others had two-storey buildings with the shop on the ground floor and a residence above it. People other than shopkeepers also lived in the city area for convenience. 

Many animals could be in seen in the streets of Ipswich. Horses were probably the most common, either being ridden or pulling carts and sulkies. There were also many teams of bullocks which were used to pull heavy loads, usually on two-wheel wagons. The streets were dirt, not bitumen, and clouds of dust drifted into shops, particularly as the dust would have contained particles of manure left on the streets. Water carts pulled by horses were used to wet the streets and try to reduce the dust problem. People also kept animals at homes. Horses again were common. If horses were going to be used for transport, they had to be kept close by and that usually meant in the back yard or adjacent block of land.

Dr. Henry Challinor lived on the corner of Nicholas and Limestone streets, where the Civic Centre is today, and he kept dairy cows and even a bull. On one famous occasion, the water carrier King John (William Burr) was striding about in the Pump Yard opposite the doctor's house when the bull got loose and charged him. The water pump was wrecked, King John ended up in the waterhole and the doctor got a large bill for damages.

On Limestone Hill, goats were common, they became such a nuisance as they wandered around that most of them were rounded up by the local police in the 1850s and slaughtered. Ipswich people remembered eating the meat which they jokingly called 'venison'. The busiest area was near the wharves at the end of Nicholas, East and Wharf streets where paddle steamers pulled up to unload passengers and goods.