Lost landmarks of Ipswich remembered in pictures
They are the once familiar sites of town that now only live on in our memories, and in pictures that can bring back raw emotions and happy memories.
Ipswich
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IPSWICH has been known over the decades as the Heritage City, with its surviving 19th century buildings giving us a picture into our colonial past.
There are still remnants of our pioneering days — if you look closely enough — even though the face of the city is changing more rapidly than before amid unprecedented population growth.
As we ponder the changing nature of our town, it is nice every now and then to reflect on the familiar sites around the city and suburbs that, for better or worse, are no longer with us.
Sometimes these images can conjure up fond childhood memories, and trigger conversations with family and old friends.
In some cases, there are tragic tales behind some of these old landmarks. Sometimes the story of how they came to disappear and be replaced still affects us to this day.
1. Reids Department Store
Few stories epitomise the story of Ipswich’s CBD and its ups and downs than the story of the Reids Department Store.
This once thriving retail centre of town made headlines for all the wrong reasons when it went up in flames on August 17, 1985.
Talk to people old enough to remember those times and they will still tell you a bit of Ipswich’s heart died with the Reids building that night.
It seems appropriate that now, 36 years on, we are still talking about how we are going to revive the CBD, having seen another version of our city centre live and die in that relatively short space of time.
2. Ipswich railway workshops
The workshops are synonymous with Ipswich, with thousands of people employed at the former hub of manufacturing over the decades.
Lifelong friendships were formed among workers, evident in the reunions that continue to this day among groups like the Ipswich Trimmers.
Remnants of that great time in our history live on through the Ipswich Railway Workshops Museum, now a major tourism drawcard for the city.
3. Jim Gardiner Pool
Some say that if you don’t have childhood memories of popping your ears while trying to reach the deep end at Jim Gardiner Pool, you haven’t lived.
Opened in 1964, the pool was named after swimming teacher Jim Gardiner in 1981.
More than just a place for serious swimmers to hone their skills and stamina, Jim Gardiner became a popular summer escape for kids of all ages.
Its positioning at the top of Limestone Park was almost perfect, aside from the fact that it was the terrible loss of water that eventually spelled a sad end for this once great public facility.
The pool and facilities were demolished in the early 2000s, making way for an extension to Limestone Park which now accommodates a memorial to our coal miners.
4. Coles Ipswich
Coles of course still occupies that familiar spot bordered by Limestone, Gordon and Brisbane St, but prior to the 2011 floods, it looked a lot different to how it does today.
The new facility certainly is bigger, more modern, with more shops, and of course safely above the flood line, but the old Coles certainly wasn’t without its charm.
It was a great tragedy when the 2011 floods destroyed that familiar old site rolling down Limestone St and into town.
Big open bitumen car parks are certainly becoming a thing of the past, but there is a lot to be said for the simplicity of them.
5. Ipswich velodrome
It was never going to host an Olympic cycling event, but the old velodrome at the top of Salisbury Rd in Limestone Park is another of those old familiar sites that we miss about Ipswich.
Built in 1968, the velodrome did host several big state and national competitions in its heyday.
It was positioned a few hundred metres away from the Jim Gardiner Pool and ultimately went the same way as the pool, with repairs deemed not worth the cost in the end.
It was demolished in 2010 and left as open space.
6. Jimmy Wah’s Hamburgers
Jimmy Wah’s history in Ipswich goes back to the time before the 1974 floods.
After losing his old shop in the middle of town, in the area now occupied by Coles, Jimmy moved to North Ipswich, where his burgers gained widespread popularity.
Jimmy may not longer be with us but his name lives on as an Ipswich legend.
7. Racehorse Hotel
A famous hotel with a lot of different memories for a lot of different people, the ‘Horse of course lives on in its current modern format.
Before it had a facelift about a decade ago, the Horse was of course not the prettiest pub in the world, but it did have loads of character.
Many relationships have been forged over beers at this beloved meeting place for horse trainers, punters, poker machine enthusiasts and beer guzzlers.
Perhaps the biggest change has been in the live music scene. Whereas the Racehorse used to host underground local bands up in the old front bar facing Stafford St, it is now a drawcard for major national and even international acts.
8. Pizza Hut
This could be a general memory about any of the old Pizza Hut all-you-can-eat restaurants that went the way of the dinosaurs.
Many of us probably had one that was our go-to back in the days where you could go and eat pizza and garlic bread until your jeans were about to explode, and all for less than the cost of a hot dog at the footy nowadays.
There was something about that unique roof design that seemed to trigger heavy bouts of pre-feast salivation.
For many of us, Booval was the Pizza Hut of choice. Of course, there was also one at North Ipswich that was later repurposed as the home for a law firm.
There was a time not so long ago that Pizza Hut was so popular that schools took kids on excursions there.
Could you imagine the horror among the dietitians today if that was still going on?
9. Springfield
You don’t have to stretch the imagination too far to imagine what Springfield looked like before it was developed into what it is today.
Before the mid 90s, Springfield was, well, not Springfield. It was just some bush out past Camira and Redbank Plains, where wild horses and other critters roamed free.
Maha Sinnathamby had big plans in mind, and he has steadily made those plans come to fruition over the past quarter of a century.
What used to be bushland is now part of the changing face of Ipswich, and part of the reason why our population is exploding.
10. Honourable mentions
Raceview Drive-In Cinema
As with many old Ipswich landmarks that were bulldozed before the onset of the digital age, it is hard to find quality images of the old Raceview drive-in theatre.
The old drive-in on the corner of Whitehill Rd and Cascade St was knocked over in 1997 and is now home to a retirement village.
Bodega Restaurant
Who could forget the old wine bottle fountain out the front, just up from Suicide Bend!
The Bodega name is a bit of a legend in Ipswich and still remembered fondly.
The site is now home to the Casa Mia restaurant but was also a Pancake Manor for many years.
Familiar elements of the old restaurant design survive to this day.
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