From Devonshire Cottage to Toronto: 160 Years on Quarry Street

In 1863 banker’s widow Elizabeth Lloyd paid £45 for a Quarry Street block and built the nine-room timber Devonshire Cottage. Two decades later Canadian entrepreneur James Jackes painted it dusty pink, fitted steep Gothic gables and, yearning for home, renamed it Toronto — the name it proudly carries today.

• 1863 – Lloyd completes two-storey Devonshire Cottage.
• 1882–1909 – Jackes renames it Toronto, adds iron roof and town water.
• 1914–39 – Josephine Rowlands packs Red Cross parcels from the parlour.
• 1970s – Follett family re-stumps, rewires and revives the pink façade.
• 1992 – Listed on the Queensland Heritage Register (Place 600595).
• 2017 – 1,600 visitors queue to tour this rare Carpenter-Gothic gem.
• 2025 – Toronto turns 162 and stars in this Ipswich Insider heritage deep-dive.

Read more here →

🚆 Ipswich-Springfield Rail Spur Simplified

In this week’s spotlight we hop on board and demystify the Ipswich–Springfield rail line.

Ipswich, the secret’s out: a 24.62-kilometre steel spine is poised to whisk us to Springfield Central in just 19 minutes. Picture 9 new stations, 4.9 km of flood-proof bridges, a single 475 m tunnel, 3 950 park-and-ride bays and room for 6-car electric trains from day one. The corridor is already in State hands, the ruling grade is a gentle 2 %, and south of Yamanto trains will top 120 km/h.

A $7.5 million Detailed Business Case is grinding through Treasury to lock down staging and firm the price tag—$2.3 billion+ in 2025 dollars, or roughly $94 million per kilometre. With a benefit–cost ratio of 1.35, the three-stage civil build could break ground in 2029 and carry its first passengers by 2034.

What’s in it for us? A forecast 275 000 residents in the catchment get a real alternative to Cunningham/Centenary Highway traffic and Bremer flood closures. Transit-oriented town centres at Yamanto and Ripley finally have the backbone they need, while Swanbank’s emerging industrial hub gains a 1 000-bay worker car park and a direct rail link to both CBDs.

Yet most locals have only caught scattered headlines—funding disputes and blame-shifting—while the definitive 2008 Environmental Impact Study sits quietly on the record, a 20-volume trove of drawings, flood models and cost tables.

We’ve mined that treasure, uprated the dollars to 2025, added today’s ridership forecasts and business-case milestones, and laid it all out in plain English.

Check it out here →

My sister’s a professional cleaner. Her new time-saving weapon? An electric spin scrubber. I hunted for the closest Aussie version and found this:

🌀 Introducing the Leebein Electric Spin Scrubber

Cut the chore, spare your back.

• Tired of crouching over grout?
• Done with toothbrush-sized scrubbing?
• Need shower glass so clear it vanishes?

Let the brush spin while you steer. Tiles, tubs, BBQ lids—grime lifts in seconds.

Most users wrap up a full bathroom in under 20 minutes, upright the whole time. The handle extends; eight brush heads snap on for every surface. A single charge runs 60–90 minutes—plenty for two bathrooms and your kitchen. 

No hype, just a sturdy motor doing the elbow work for you.

$65 from Amazon →

Bannockbrae.com.au →

This is where I have ordered my paddock-to-plate meats for the last 11.5 years. No sponsor, no spin—just great people.

🗳️ Vote

🧩 Scramble

📍 GuessWhere

How to play: Look close at the photo, guess where it was taken from in Ipswich. Click the link and drop your pin to see how close you can get.

GuessWhere →

🤔 Trivia

🏛️ Council OKs $678 M Budget, Rates Up 4.98 %

Ipswich City Council adopted a $678 million 2025-26 budget on 1 July, pledging $165 million for capital works while keeping an $8 million surplus. Average household rates rise 4.98 % and a new $55 infrastructure levy will raise about $5.4 million to address a projected $1 b infrastructure gap Full details →

💰 Ripley & Goodna Police Stations Score $53 M

Queensland’s 2025-26 budget allocates $38 million for a new Ripley police facility and $15 million to upgrade Goodna station. Design and procurement will begin this financial year, creating about 120 construction jobs. Qld Budget 2025-26 Ipswich Snapshot →

🏗️ $10 M Springfield Fire Station Breaks Ground

Construction has begun on Greater Springfield’s first permanent Fire and Rescue Station, a $10 million build beside Gateway Drive’s emergency-services hub. The 24-hour facility will house 19 firefighters and five station officers when it opens in late 2026. Announcement →

🚧 $85 M Bremer River Bridge Rehab Moves Ahead

Transport and Main Roads outlined an $85 million plan to re-deck and strengthen the 1958 westbound Bremer River Bridge on the Warrego Highway, which carries 30,000 vehicles daily. Design is underway and works are expected to start in late 2025, with speed and load limits remaining until the refurbished span reopens. Project details →

🏃‍♂️ Gout Gout Smashes Aussie 200 m Record In 20.02 s

Ipswich Grammar 17-year-old Gout Gout blitzed the Golden Spike meet in Ostrava on 25 June, winning the 200 m in 20.02 seconds for a new Australian record. The European-debut victory sliced 0.02 s off his mark and signals the home-grown sprinter’s rapid rise before September’s world championships. Watch →

🏉 Jets Topple Tigers 28-16 In Hostplus Cup

Ipswich Jets ran in six tries to upset Brisbane Tigers 28-16 at Cbus Super Stadium on 29 June, reclaiming fifth spot on the Hostplus Cup ladder. Winger Ken Maumalo and forward Arama Hau crossed in a 28-0 opening burst before the Jets defended their lead. Results →

Events Labels:

🆓 Free entry

🍻🍽️ Free, buy food/drink

💵 Ticketed

Wednesday (2 July)

🆓 Ipswich Art Gallery — Kids Clay & exhibits 10 AM-5 PM details

💵 NY Dance Studio — Dance & Dazzle Kids Workshop 9 AM-3 PM ($89) tickets

🆓 Yamanto Central — Kids’ dance 11 AM-1 PM info

🍻🍽️ Monte Lane Wine Bar — Quiz night 6:30 PM book

🍻🍽️ General Public — Trivia 6:30 PM info

💵 Brothers Leagues Club — Poker $25 reg 6 PM, play 7 PM

🆓 Booval Freemasons — Heartfulness meditation 7 PM info

🍻🍽️ Banshees Bar — Open-mic 7 PM info

🍻🍽️ Hotel Commonwealth — Music Trivia 7 PM info

Thursday (3 July)

🆓 St Lukes Rosewood — Family Fun Day: laser tag, crafts, sausage sizzle 9 AM-noon details

💵 NY Dance Studio — Kids’ crafts & dance 9-10:30 AM ($45) tickets

💵 Ipswich Turf Club — Race Day noon details

🍻🍽️ Studio 188 — Open-mic 6 PM details

🍻🍽️ Club Services Ipswich — Trivia 6:30 PM info

🍻🍽️ Banshees Bar — Karaoke 7 PM-late details

💵 Racehorse Hotel — Live metal music: Thy Art Is Murder 7:30 PM ($53-70) tickets

Friday (4 July)

🆓 Queens Park Enviro Centre — Eco art race 9:45-11 AM waitlist

💵 Bakehouse Steakhouse — Bottomless Wine & Dine ($69) book

🍻🍽️ Stony Creek Brewing — Live music: Santo Rae 6-9 PM info

🍻🍽️ Falvey's Nightclub — USA Honky Tonk 7 PM details

Saturday (5 July)

🆓 Queens Park Enviro Centre — Kids’ watercolour 9-10:30 AM waitlist

💵 Marburg Showgrounds — Christmas in July markets 8 AM-2 PM schedule

💵 Orion Hotel — 70s-00s hits 3 PM info

🍻🍽️ Providence Cafe — 80s/90s Trivia 4:30 PM info

💵 Ipswich Knights FC — Dancing with the Queens 6 PM tickets

💵 Banshees Bar — Fundraiser gig 6:30 PM ($10) tickets

Sunday (6 July)

💵 Ipswich Showgrounds — Thrifty Threads market 7 AM-noon ($2) info

🆓 Springfield Markets — Robelle Domain 8 AM-1 PM info

💵 Stony Creek Brewing — Jerky competition 10 AM details

🆓 Heritage Poultry — Take the ferry to Farm fun 10 AM details

💵 Creative Hearts Brookwater — Canvas art workshop 10 AM-1 PM ($25) tickets

💵 Swanbank Steam Train — 11 AM book

🆓 Marburg Races — Family day 12-5 PM

💵 Banshees Bar — Life drawing 4 PM ($20) tickets

Monday (7 July)

🆓 Nicholas St Precinct — Kids Fun Day 9:30-11:30 AM info

🆓 Quest Springfield — Sustainable gardening talk 7 PM info

Tuesday (8 July)

🆓 Nicholas St Precinct — NAIDOC (National Aboriginal and Islander Day Observance Committee) celebration with stalls, kids entertainment and food info

💵 Orion Minis, Big W — Gelato pom-pom craft 10 AM tickets

🆓 Brothers Leagues Club — Reptile show 4 PM details

🧩 This Week's Answers

📊 Last Week’s Results

—Jamey (Facebook · Instagram)
Eastern Heights, Ipswich, QLD 4305
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