Dreaming of Tomorrow: Infrastructure & Utilities

Robyn Buchanan wrote that the City rejects the "pipe dream" in her publication Ipswich in the 20th Century. She wrote that the Council 'decided to stick to basics' as there was a lot to be done.

Work had already started on the Eastern Suburbs sewerage scheme. Houses in Jacaranda Street were being connected in late 1949 and the first phase was completed by the end of 1953, when a total of 7200 homes had been connected.

The new eastern suburbs of Ipswich had to be sewered. Other work also had to be carried out throughout the whole city including water reticulation for Blackstone in 1950 and suburban roadworks.

This was all complicated by the fact that Council had still not paid for the first round of sewerage construction from the late 1930s. A loan had been obtained but the interest, instead of being paid off, had been added to the principal. In 1950, Council decided to send a deputation to the State Treasurer to ask for some relief from the sewerage loan. It also decided to ask for exemption from a compulsory contribution to the new concrete road at Booval which it considered a state responsibility; the contribution was reducing the amount that could be spent in the suburbs.

In talking about these sewerage problems, it should be remembered that Ipswich was not alone. While some provincial cities were well advanced, less than 38% of Brisbane properties were sewered in the early 1960s and it took the drive of its Lord Mayor Clem Jones to finally complete the task.

Many other works in Ipswich also lagged behind at this time and the general appearance of the city remained shabby throughout the 1950s and 60s. And in 1970, there were still some un-sewered homes.

The first traffic lights
A major change at this time was the introduction of one-way streets and traffic lights. The main streets - Brisbane and Limestone – were converted to a one-way system in June 1961. The first sets of traffic lights were installed at intersections in the CBD in August. The intersections were: Brisbane & Nicholas, Brisbane & East, Limestone & Nicholas and Limestone & East. 

Eastern Suburbs Sewerage Scheme
Constructed in the early 1950s, the Eastern Suburbs Sewerage Scheme provided sewerage services to the suburbs of Booval, Basin Pocket, Newtown, and Eastern Heights.  Wastewater from these areas was pumped across the river to the Tivoli Treatment Plant, which had been commissioned in the late 1930s. Source: Ipswich Yearbook, Volume 1, 1977-1978, p.23