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Denmark Hill
Denmark Hill forms a dominant and aesthetic backdrop to the city. Its diverse, but visually consistent, range of domestic architecture represents many of the iconic architectural styles that Ipswich has become renowned for. The water towers provide panoramic views across the city and the area contains a mix of residential, medical, recreational, industrial, geological, and prehistoric zones.
Denmark Hill Park
The first park at Denmark Hill, bounded by Deebing Street, Chelmsford Avenue (then Grey Street), Outridge Street (then Quarry) and Quarry Street (then West Quarry), was reserved in the mid 1880s. Land to the south was subdivided for building allotments, with a creek to the south separating allotments in Park and Moffatt Streets.
The current Conservation Reserve was established in 1979.
City Colliery
In a 1905 report on the geology of the Ipswich coalfield, by government geologist W.E. Cameron, the beds of grit covering the Bundamba coal measure were also identified at Denmark Hill. Gympie mining agent William Thomas, in 1912, consulted with Cameron on behalf of the recently formed Ipswich and Rosewood Coal and Coke Company Limited, on exploitable sections of the Aberdare seam.
When a 9 meter test shaft was sunk in the gully to the south of Denmark Hill, a 2 meter thick seam, with 0.3 metre dirt bands, was found. A second test shaft nearby revealed a 4 meter seam.
Ipswich City Council, displeased that mining was to occur under the City, took the matter to the minister for mines, who pointed out that owners of freehold land would be able to agree their own royalty terms with the company. With opposition now suppressed, a short railway siding from West Ipswich station was laid by Queensland Rail to the new mine site.
By the middle of 1914, a tunnel, running in an easterly direction below Moffatt Street, was started, revealing the Aberdare Seam, with more than 6 metres of coal divided horizontally into two sections by a metre of shales, along with a 15% ash content. The ash content increased as tunnelling continued, causing some concern as to the potential quality of output from the mine.
By 1919, fifty men from the City Colliery were working the seam, when the mine's managing director, William Thomas, died. Henry Noble made the directors of the Ipswich and Rosewood Coal and Coke Company an offer and purchased the mine, renaming it Noblevale No. 6 (also known as Aberdare West).
Improvements to the mine were quickly made, with the Colliery entering an agreement with the Ipswich Electric Supply Company to power the site in 1921. A larger winding-engine was commissioned as well as new surface machinery.
The mine faced a number of issues in the mid 1920s. In January 1924, the mine was idle for three weeks as miners refused to work in poorly ventilated conditions. Following a fire in the Sunrise shaft, that section of the mine was closed in November 1924. In January the following year, a roof fall broke the barrier, enabling the fire to break into the main workings. The mine remained closed until October 1925, at the expense of 30 jobs.
In the late 1940s, after being abandoned for several years, and amid mining strikes, Rhondda Collieries undertook exploration work near the former City Collieries, cutting into the Bluff seam, although continued work here did not last long.
Although eventually abandoned, evidence of the works remain within the current Denmark Hill Conservation Reserve.
Fossil Remains
The coal seams were the source of important fossil beds.
Water Towers & Lookouts
The first of two water reservoirs on Denmark Hill was constructed in 1928. With a diameter of 96ft (approx. 30m) and a capacity of 1,700,000 gallons (7,728,353 liters), when the reservoir was built, it was the largest of its kind in the British Empire. During World War II, it was painted in camouflage colours to protect it.
The second water tower was erected c.1965 and for many years was a popular lookout, providing 360 degree views of the city.
"Cocky Jerry Jar"
A small cave on Denmark Hill was once the home of a Chinese man known as "Cocky Jerry Jar". According to local stories, his real name was Ti. He had been cheated out of his savings and came to live in the cave, making a living by selling firewood and doing odd jobs. He was often teased by the local boys.
Blackall Memorial
When Governor Samuel Wensley Blackall died in office in 1871, the people of Ipswich erected two monuments in his honour. One was the clock tower on the School of Arts building (now Ipswich Art Gallery), the second was the Blackall Memorial. Originally located at the intersection of Brisbane and Nicholas Streets, it was later relocated to Denmark Hill when it became a risk to increased traffic.
References (offline)Alan Murray, 'No Easy Field: Ipswich Coalmining 1920-2000', University of Queensland Press, St Lucia, 2010.
R.L. Whitmore, 'Coal in Queensland: from Federation to the twenties', University of Queensland Press, St Lucia, 1991.