, 1893 Ipswich is the second-oldest local government area in Queensland, after Brisbane. On 16 November 1859, after the enactment of the Municipalities Act of 1858 in
New South Wales, a petition containing 91 signatures was received by the
Governor of New South Wales seeking to have Ipswich, which at the time had 3,000 people, granted municipal town status. The petition was gazetted the following day, and no counter-petition was received. On 29 November, the
letters patent authorised by
Queen Victoria which were to make
Queensland a separate colony were published in New South Wales, and the petition was forwarded to the new Queensland
governor, Sir
George Ferguson Bowen. On 10 December 1859, the same day that the letters patent were published in Queensland, the petition was regazetted. On 3 March 1860 the
Borough of Ipswich was proclaimed, and its first elections were held on 19 April 1860, where
John Murphy became its first Mayor. The Municipality's corporate logo was designed by Reverend Lacey H. Rumsey, the rector of
St Paul's Church in Ipswich in 1861. •
Brassall •
Bundanba •
Lowood •
Purga •
Walloon resulting in: • an enlarged City of Ipswich by including part of the Shire of Brassall and part of the Shire of Bundanba • a new
Shire of Ipswich by amalgamating part of the Shire of Brassall, part of the Shire of Bundanba, part of the Shire of Walloon and all of the Shire of Purga • an enlarged
Shire of Rosewood by including part of the
Shire of Walloon • an enlarged
Shire of Esk by including all of the Shire of Lowood
Greater Ipswich Scheme of 1949 On 29 January 1949, a new Local Government Act was enacted to further amalgamate local government in the Ipswich area, abolishing the
Shire of Normanby and the
Shire of Rosewood. The City of Ipswich was enlarged (from 12¼ square miles to 30 square miles) to include the more urban parts of the
Shire of Moreton (formerly known as the
Shire of Ipswich). The Shire of Moreton was then enlarged by the inclusion of the northern part of the Shire of Normanby and all the Shire of Rosewood. The southern part of the Shire of Normanby was transferred to an enlarged
Shire of Boonah.
Further enlargement The Shire of Moreton was amalgamated into the City of Ipswich on 11 March 1995.
Loss of rural areas In March 2000, Ipswich ceded some rural territory in
Mount Walker,
Mutdapilly,
Rosevale and
Warrill View to the neighbouring
Shire of Boonah. Following the major reforms of local government in Queensland, on 15 March 2008, Ipswich lost the largely rural areas of
Harrisville and
Peak Crossing in its southeast to the new
Scenic Rim Region. On 31 October 2012, a
groundbreaking ceremony for the
Ecco Ripley housing development project was conducted by then Ipswich mayor
Paul Pisasale and
Sekisui House. == Demographics ==