Friday catch up: Top stories from Ipswich this week

We are back on Facebook after a brief hiatus, but from our point of view, very little has changed

This week's top stories from across Ipswich.

IF YOU’VE been following the news you might have heard that Facebook’s very quickly enacted ban on Australian news sites has taken a long time to be lifted.

The Queensland Times was among the majority of news sites to remain out of action on Facebook for most of this week, despite an announcement several days ago that the ban had been lifted.

Finally, yesterday morning, we were given the good news that we were back in action.

That being said, it doesn’t change a great deal from our point of view.

As far as our newsroom is concerned, it has been business as usual with or without Facebook.

We are continuing to report on the same stories affecting Ipswich people every day and still publishing the same way we always have.

While we will return to posting stories on Facebook, those who have been paying close attention might notice that we will be taking a bit of a less is more approach from here on in.

Why? Because the feedback I was hearing during the hiatus was that people felt a sense of relief that there wasn’t quite as much news clogging up their feed.

The truth is, you don’t really need Facebook to keep abreast of what’s going on here, but it does help sometimes!

The best way to read the QT, as always, is at qt.com.au.

Turf club boss leaves a legacy

IPSWICH Turf Club general manager Brett Kitching bid farewell to the track this week after 17 great years of service.

Kitching’s legacy will no doubt be the transformation of the Ipswich Cup into the state’s biggest race day, and arguably the city’s most important social event.

And if that isn’t enough, he was also one of the key players in ensuring $20 million in upgrades to the Turf Club’s facilities went ahead after a lot of negotiations and battles along the way.

Ipswich Turf Club general manager Brett Kitching reflects on his final meeting in the role at the club. Picture: Claire Power

Kitching’s official farewell is on Sunday, when he will make way for new GM Tim Dunn, who has worked alongside Kitching in his previous role of commercial manager for Racing Queensland.

From everyone at the QT, we would like to wish Brett all the best in retirement, and thanks for all the work you’ve done for the city of Ipswich over the past 17 years.

Ipswich hosts major event

With the cancellation of so many big events that would have brought in the crowds, it was with excitement that we reported on the upcoming state BMX titles this week.

The event could bring as many as 10,000 people into town over a week in September.

Hundreds of riders of all age groups will compete at the Ipswich facility, which recently won the right to host elite level competitions.

For those interested in the sport, the Ipswich club is holding an open day on September 19, a week before the Queensland titles take centre stage.

Great news on music festival front

THERE was some good news from another major event set to come to Ipswich this year, with organisers of the much anticipated Trip the Switch Festival advising us of a revised date.

Forced to postpone due to COVID restrictions that have been enacted across different states, organisers have put the event back to July 3.

James Reyne will play at Trip the Switch music festival at Willowbank Raceway.

Although it is a long time to wait, it is no doubt a relief to the thousands who have purchased tickets to see some classic Aussie rock acts including Icehouse, James Reyne and Boom Crash Opera.

Here is hoping that we are blessed with some classic clear and sunny Ipswich weather, and also that this COVID headache has eased by then.

New jobs involved in setting up solar farm

Ipswich’s coal mining days are well and truly over, and the transition to renewable energy is already under way.

This week we were updated on the progress of plans for a large solar farm on the city’s western outskirts.

An $80 million solar farm has been approved by Ipswich City Council.

Energy company EIWA Queensland, which started operations in Australia in 2018, had a development application approved by Ipswich City Council for the $80 million facility last year.

Construction on the solar farm at Karrabin is expected to start at the end of this year, with more than 100,000 panels to go in.

The construction phase alone is set to create 100 jobs.

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