Ipswich Town Wharves facts for kids

Ipswich Town Wharves are the old remains of important river docks located next to the Bremer River in North Ipswich, Queensland, Australia. These wharves were built between 1847 and about 1927. They were also known by names like Australasian Steam Navigation Wharf, William Collins and Son Wharf, J & G Harris Wharf, and Walter Gray and Co Wharf. These historical remains were added to the Queensland Heritage Register on 31 July 2006, meaning they are protected for their importance to history.

A Look Back: The Story of the Wharves

An Ipswich paddlesteamer at the Ipswich wharves in 1870.

The Ipswich Town Wharves are an archaeological site. This means they hold hidden clues about the past. You can still see parts of two old wharves here. Some wooden beams sticking out from the riverbank, along with a stone wall, are likely what's left of the Australasian Steam Navigation Wharf, built around 1867. Further downstream, some wooden poles sticking out of the river are probably from the J and G Harris landing, built around 1862.

This spot was also home to a wharf owned by Walter Gray & Co. from 1847 to about 1862. Later, William Collins and Son used it in the early 1900s. Under the riverbed, there are also historical items from these wharves.

Ipswich's Early Days

Ipswich started as a convict camp called "Limestone" in 1827. After free settlers arrived in 1842, the town grew quickly. It was a key trading spot because it was at the end of the Brisbane and Bremer Rivers where boats could travel. It was also where roads to the Brisbane Valley and the Darling Downs met. Goods from these areas passed through Ipswich on their way to the coast. This trade helped Ipswich become rich and grow fast.

Many people in Ipswich, along with farmers from the Darling Downs, wanted Ipswich to be the capital city of the colony instead of Brisbane. They argued that Ipswich was a better inland port. Goods could be sent directly from Ipswich to Moreton Bay by boat, avoiding Brisbane.

Why River Trade Was Important

It made sense to use the river for transport. Roads were in bad condition, so it was easier for farmers to move large amounts of goods from Ipswich to the coast using riverboats. Even though goods had to be moved from riverboats to bigger ocean ships in Moreton Bay, this was necessary even for goods from Brisbane. Large ships couldn't enter the Brisbane River due to a sandbar.

In 1846, a farmer named James Pearce started the first steamboat service from Ipswich. By 1848, local people formed a group to improve the "landing place" into a proper wharf with better road access. By the 1860s, a busy wharf area had grown between the railway bridge and "The Basin." The Basin was a wide part of the Bremer River where steamboats could turn around.

River trade was busiest in the 1860s and 1870s, especially after Ipswich got a railway line. In 1860, the Port of Moreton Bay was extended to include Ipswich. At least six wharves lined the south bank of the Bremer River. These wharves were connected to large warehouses along Bremer Street. Bales of wool and cotton were slid down ramps into smaller sheds by the wharves. The wharf remains you see today were once among the biggest and most important in this area.

Key Wharves and Their Owners

Walter Gray's Wharf

Walter Gray's wharf was one of the first in the area. In 1847, Gray, an immigrant from Scotland, bought land that went from Bremer Street down to the river. He started a business as a general storekeeper and agent, trading in wool and other farm products. He used boats to send these goods to Brisbane. His business became one of the largest in the area, with huge stores that could hold hundreds of bales of wool.

Gray was an important person in Ipswich. He helped build the Ipswich town wharf in 1848. He also supported making Cleveland the main port for the colony. In the 1850s, he and other Ipswich business people bought land there to build jetties for loading and unloading goods. Gray also promoted growing cotton and was a director of the Ipswich Cotton Company. In 1860, when Ipswich became part of the Port of Moreton Bay, his facilities were used as a special storage place for goods that needed customs duty paid.

In 1856, a surveyor described Gray's wharf as "not a properly built wharf, but more of an earth bank." It had a shed by the river, a wool store higher up the bank, and a wooden slide from the store to the wharf. There was also a road "cut into the bank and made with stone." By 1861, wool presses, some powered by steam, were near the stores. A steam-powered cotton gin was added in 1862.

Walter Gray died in 1862. By 1865, John and George Harris, who were merchants from Brisbane, took over the wharf site. The Harris brothers built a large brick store on Bremer Street, across from the wharf. They likely also improved the wharf, making it a stronger timber landing with a new shed in the early 1860s. This new shed had a "v" shape on its upstream side to help it withstand floods. In 1867, J & G Harris paid rent for a river frontage of about 40 metres. They stopped operating at the site around 1878.

Australasian Steam Navigation Company (ASN) Wharf

The Australasian Steam Navigation Company (ASN) wharf was built next to Gray's wharf between 1856 and 1861. ASN was interested in the Ipswich shipping trade early on, with Gray acting as their agent in 1856. In 1860, they launched a steamboat called Ipswich just for trade between Brisbane and Ipswich. By July 1861, the company had bought the land next to Gray's and made improvements.

ASN started in Sydney in 1839/40 and became the main shipping company for Australia's coastal trade by the 1850s. They began regular services to Moreton Bay when it opened for free settlement in 1842. In 1844, they built their first wharf in Brisbane. ASN's work greatly helped Queensland grow.

At first, the ASN wharf was a small timber wharf or an "earth bank," similar to Gray's. It had a shed right next to the wharf and a store facing Bremer Street. A slide connected the wharf shed to the store.

ASN rebuilt most of their wharf buildings in 1867 after a flood destroyed the old ones. A new shed, about 27 metres long, was built next to the wharf. About 15 metres of this shed was set aside for customs use. The walls were 3 metres high, and the main beam was 5 metres high. The building was held together with iron ties and braces and had a galvanised iron roof. Like Harris's shed, its upstream wall was "v" shaped to push away floodwaters. A new wharf was also built then. In 1867, ASN paid rent for a river frontage of about 50 metres, which was the largest in the area. ASN likely stopped using the Ipswich wharf by 1874.

The End of an Era

After 1875, when the railway line to Brisbane opened, the busy time for riverboats ended. There was a small return of river trade in the 1890s. This was probably because the railway link to Brisbane was broken after the Albert Bridge at Indooroopilly was destroyed in the 1893 flood. However, the reasons that made river trade so important in the 1860s and 1870s were gone. It became hard to justify spending money to keep the river route open.

Still, two commercial river services operated from the site in the early 1900s. In 1903, William Collins & Son used a wharf next to the remains of Harris's wharf. Collins ran several boats between Brisbane and Ipswich. They used a "stiff legged" timber crane to unload goods at the wharf. As road transport became more popular, Collins stopped their river service around 1927.

In 1932, Percy Manders started trading using a 12-metre cargo boat called MV Eclipse. Manders made three trips a week, carrying 18 to 20 tonnes of goods. He first used the old Collins wharf and crane.

Almost no new building happened at the site from Manders' time until 2006. That's when the area was redeveloped as part of the River Terraces project. Before this, in January 2006, archaeologists surveyed the sites. They mapped the wharf remains and found many historical items.

What Remains Today

The wharf remains are part of the River Terraces development in Ipswich. They are located between the railway bridge and the David Trumpy road bridge.

Site 1

This site is located at about 27°36′40″S 152°45′39″E / 27.61111°S 152.76083°E / -27.61111; 152.76083 (Ipswich Town Wharves, Site 1). You can see two wooden poles sticking out of the water at low tide. They are about 3.8 metres apart and each is about 16 centimetres wide. They stand about 1.27 metres tall from the riverbed. They are made from a dark red wood, possibly iron bark.

On the riverbed around these poles, there are many historical items. This area stretches about 18 metres downstream from the poles and connects with items found at Site 2 upstream. It also extends about 12 metres into the river.

Site 2

This site is located at about 27°36′39″S 152°45′37″E / 27.61083°S 152.76028°E / -27.61083; 152.76028 (Ipswich Town Wharves, Site 2). Here, three wooden beams, about 30 centimetres wide, stick out horizontally from the riverbank for up to 2.9 metres. Their outer ends are shaped to fit onto piles or a wharf head. The wood might be turpentine. Underneath these beams, a stone wall is built into the riverbank. This wall is covered by water at high tide.

An area with historical items extends upstream from this site. Downstream, it connects with items found at Site 1. This area stretches about 17 metres into the river.

Why These Wharves Are Important

The remains of Ipswich Town Wharves were listed on the Queensland Heritage Register on 31 July 2006. This means they meet certain important standards.

Showing Queensland's History

These wharf remains show how Queensland's history developed. They are proof of the important early river trade between Ipswich and the coast. Ipswich was one of the first river ports in the colony. It was a major port for the Darling Downs and West Moreton regions until the railway to Brisbane opened in 1875. During that time, the Bremer and Brisbane Rivers below Ipswich were one of the most important trade routes. The wharf remains show this trade and Ipswich's key role in it.

The wharves also show an important part of the historical competition between Ipswich and Brisbane. The river trade, where the wharves were vital, helped Ipswich grow quickly and become rich. It was key to Ipswich being a possible alternative export port to Brisbane. This river trade was a big reason why Ipswich tried to become the colony's capital.

Rare and Special Remains

These remains are rare because they are some of the only physical signs left of the early trade between Ipswich and the coast along the Bremer and Brisbane Rivers. There are no other known remains of this important old trade route. The wharf remains are also special because they are a mostly untouched archaeological site in a city area. This site was a busy wharf area from the 1840s until at least the 1930s. From then until 2006, no major building work happened on the riverbank or in the river.

Learning from the Past

As an archaeological site, the wharf remains can give us information that helps us understand the historical river trade along the Bremer and Brisbane Rivers, and Ipswich's role in it. They can also help us learn more about trade to and from the Darling Downs and West Moreton regions, which were very important to Queensland's development. Most goods going to or from these areas before 1875 passed through the Ipswich wharves. The site can also teach us about the Australasian Steam Navigation Company (ASN). An ASN wharf was at this site from about 1861 to 1874. ASN was the main shipping company in Australia's coastal trade by the 1850s. Their work greatly helped Queensland grow.