Visitors can explore the City of Ipswich’s history with a suite of heritage trails and tours. These free self-guided trails can be found online thanks to the hard work of Picture Ipswich.
To enjoy the trails simply bookmark this page and click the links when you’re in town to access the trails.
Then & Now Heritage Trails
Whether you are interested in cemeteries and churches, heritage pubs or the history of towns you can find this information thanks to Then and Now Heritage Trails.
There’s 12 trails in total including the City Centre Then and Now Heritage Trail.
The City Centre walking trail takes about 35 minutes to complete around the Ipswich CBD and includes sites like the RSL Memorial Hall, 88 Limestone St, the oldest Anglican Church in Queensland and the Old Flour Mill.
Castle Hill Walking Trails
There’s also walking trails like the Castle Hill Walking Trails Guide which showcases the Lewis Thomas Historical Trail. This trail meanders from one piece of history to the next, highlights include open mine tunnels, hand-dug shafts and ground cracks that emit heat from underground coal fires. There’s also the original brick stairs and a rendered brick dome-shaped water tank which hark back to the time of Brynhyfryd castle. This three-storey mansion was built in 1889 by the Coal King, Lewis Thomas (1832-1913).
Coal mining at Castle Hill Blackstone Reserve took place from 1866 to the mid 1940s. The early mining was done by means of shafts and tunnels which were dug using hand tools by candle light. It was back-breaking work in very tough conditions. The majority of miners in Blackstone were Welsh migrants, and many of their descendants still live in the area.
George Brockwell Gill Self Guided Tour
Picture Ipswich also hosts an online George Brockwell Gill self-guided tour. He was an architect in Ipswich and many of the buildings he designed are heritage listed.
For 55 years from 1887 to 1943 he designed and supervised the construction of some of the city’s most iconic buildings.
The trail takes you past beautiful homes like Dorrington and Rockton, as well as Ipswich Girls’ Grammar School, the Ipswich Club (now home to Grays Bar and Restaurant) and the Congregational Sunday School (now home to Ipswich Antique Centre).
Find more online trails here.
Queens Park Audio Trail
You can explore Queens Park, one of the oldest designated parks in Queensland with a self-guided audio tour. Allow one-and-a-half hours to two hours for a leisurely walk around the whole park visiting all 20 stops.
Highlights include Lions Lookout, the Glass House and Greenhouse, bush chapel, the old incinerator and Nature Centre.
Find the tour here.
Hardings Paddock Cultural Connections
Hardings paddock is located in the Flinders-Goolman Conservation Estate and has a signposted Bush Tucker Garden, Totems, Kup Murri and a yarning circle.
You can view the site thanks to Picture Ipswich here. And learn about Ipswich’s First Nations history here.
