IPSWICH Ipswich is a delightful satellite city of Brisbane; and Ipswich is also independent in mind. Citizens of Ipswich are proud of the historic past and as a consequence are residents who relate to that past. People from Ipswich are from Ipswich and are not Brisbanites. Ipswich is the oldest town in Qld after Brisbane. In the very early days Ipswich was all set to become the capitol of Qld, but with Brisbane being closer to the coast and shipping and ports determined a by default alternative. A stroll around Ipswich quickly reveals lots of old buildings, delightful gardens and a nice balance of the modern era. The area was first explored by European colonists in 1826, which sailed up the Brisbane River and discovered large deposits of limestone and other minerals. In 1827, the first convicts and overseers arrived to mine the area. The town that built around this industry became known as Limestone, and is remembered by one of the main streets. In 1843, the settlement officially became known as Ipswich, making it the oldest provincial city in Queensland From the 1840's Ipswich was becoming an important river port for the growing local industries such as coal and wool from the Darling Downs Ipswich is the site of RAAF Base Amberley, the Royal Australian Air Force's largest operational base. D'Arcy Doyle the painter, is renown and famous historic Ipswich citizen, whose Australian landscape paintings are widely sought. The Anglican and Catholic churches in Ipswich, like wise the other traditional denominations.. The Ipswich War Memorial is located in the downtown area. The memorial is a city and locality representative location. Many Ipswich Hotels are old and are representative an earlier transport and accommodation era. Ipswich does not have a Museum per se’, but the Art Gallery does touch on the past. When visiting Brisbane, to get the complete historic feel for the early years in the region a two day visit to Ipswich is needed and is a must.