Queensland Places - Congregational Church Sunday School, Ipswich

The Congregational Church of Ipswich was formed on 2 June 1854 as a means of combining the Baptist and other independent faiths that only had limited numbers in the then small Ipswich. This was the first Congregational parish to be formed in what was to become Queensland, with the Congregation’s first church originally located in Brisbane Street and opening in March 1855. The Church was to play a significant role in the lives of many Ipswich residents, including some of its leading families.

In 1871, this first church building was converted into a Sunday School with a new chapel being constructed. These buildings, close to Gordon Street, were later to be destroyed in the floods of 1893, with these floods causing widespread devastation here, as well as elsewhere in Queensland.

Flooded intersection at Ipswich, 1893

Faced with this loss, the Congregational Church purchased a new site in East Street, which was on higher ground and therefore less prone to flooding.  Plans for the new Congregational Church and Sunday School were drawn up in December 1894 by the well known architect George Brockwell Gill, assisted by the Sunday School Superintendent, James Cribb. The foundation stone was laid on 26 April 1895 with the building being completed by the end of that year. The total cost of construction was approximately ₤4,000, which was raised progressively by the church community.

Congregational Church Sunday School, Ipswich ca 1905. John Oxley Library, State Library of Queensland Neg 241199

Brian Randall -  Senior Librarian, State Library of Queensland