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INSIDER #050 - Super Swanbank and a Dinner Club idea


When was the last time you even thought about Swanbank? This week we're doing the full lap of Ipswich's most forgotten suburb — on the ground and in the air — then I need your vote on a Dinner Club idea I've been cooking up. All the details below. Catch ya round.

💪 Swanbank: It's Not What You Think

When's the last time you drove around Swanbank?

Here's what you're missing. Here's what you should know.

  • A $400m Suntory mega-plant pumping out 180,000 cans an hour
  • A $330m grid-scale battery built from 138 Tesla Megapacks — each one worth $1.5m — on the old Swanbank B power station site
  • 5 industrial precincts running or in the pipeline
  • A green steel mill in the works — Queensland's first
  • A waste precinct turning food scraps into farm soil, demolition rubble into road base, and landfill gas into electricity for 4,800 homes
  • Over $2 billion in committed and planned investment into a suburb with zero residents

Check out the guided drone tour, read the full breakdown, or both.

Discover Swanbank →

$4M+ Warrill View: 61-acre country resort on Cunningham Hwy with 10-bed, 6-bath home, private motocross/go-kart track, floodlit tennis court, plunge pool, big sheds, paddocks, sweeping mountain views. See Full Listing →

New Ipswich drone videos every week. Quick flyovers of new builds, major projects, and what’s changing across the city, from Springfield and Ripley to Rosewood and the creek corridors. Free. Subscribe on YouTube here →

NEW: 16 Ipswich Peculiarties. Stuff you didn't know you wanted to know. See all 16 peculiarties →

193 Acres in Ballandean Wine Country, Granite Belt

193 acres of vacant residential land in the heart of wine country. Cleared house pad at 871m — the highest in the area. Your own gorge, seasonal stream, and dead silence near Queensland's best wineries and Girrawean National Park. Don't miss it.

See Full Listing →

🗳️ Vote

🗳️ Last Week's Poll Results

Ipswich Hilton Garden Inn announced for 2028. Thoughts?

  • 52% Love it: Finally! The CBD needs a proper hotel
  • 25% We'll talk when it's done
  • 24% Hate it: Fix the roads and parking first

187 participants

🤔 Trivia

🧩 Scramble

Unscramble your GuessWhere hint

📍 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 →

🚨 Bellbird Park Death Now Treated As Homicide

Police say 42-year-old Katherine Sanowski was found dead in a Bellbird Park house on 19 Feb 2026, and the case is now a homicide investigation after a post-mortem found suspicious injuries. Detectives want any CCTV or witness reports from the Beryl Court area since early February. ABC News →

🎶 Ed Sheeran Signs Ipswich CBD Mural

Ed Sheeran popped into the Ipswich CBD on Friday 20 Feb 2026 and signed his mural at the Hotel Commonwealth during the city’s ‘Ed Watch’ campaign. It’s already drawing locals and visitors to the CBD for selfies and a quick look at the signed artwork. Watch →

🏛️ Mayor Teresa Harding Meets Ed Sheeran Backstage In Brisbane

Ipswich Mayor Teresa Harding attended Ed Sheeran’s Brisbane concert on Sunday 22 Feb 2026 and presented him with the mayoral chains, naming him an honorary co-Mayor of Ipswich. The moment kept Ipswich in the national spotlight and sent more attention back to the signed CBD mural. See Pics →

🏃 Ipswich-Born Sprinter Gout Gout Runs Record-Equalling 10.00s 100m

Ipswich-born sprinter Gout Gout ran 10.00 (+0.9) for 100m at Brisbane’s Dane Bird-Smith Shield Meet on 21 Feb 2026, setting a new Australian under-20 record. It’s a rare national-level performance with a direct Ipswich link, putting local athletics back in the spotlight. Watch →

The Final Event at Tivoli Drive-In. This Friday 27 Feb, 4:30pm. Cars, food trucks, live DJs, mystery international guest, plus a drive-in screening of Takeover starring Quavo. Tickets from $35. Get your ticket →

Events Labels:

🆓 Free entry
🍻🍽️ Free, buy food/drink
💵 Ticketed

Wednesday (25 February)

🆓 Ipswich Turf Club - ABLE MEET 10am-12:15pm info

🍻🍽️ Banshees Bar and Artspace - Open Mic 6 PM info

🍻🍽️ General Public - Trivia 6:30 PM info

Thursday (26 February)

💵 miniBOUNCE, Nicholas St - First Birthday 2-for-1 info

💵 Brighton Homes Arena - Brisbane Lions vs. Gold Coast Suns 6:10pm ($20) tickets

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

🍻🍽️ Orion Hotel - Trivia 7-10 PM ($1) details

🍻🍽️ Banshees Bar and Artspace - Karaokee 8pm info

Friday (27 February)

🆓 Croquet Club Hall, Queens Park - Boardgame Club Night 4:45-8:45pm more info

🍻🍽️ Banshees Bar and Artspace - Milly & the Maths Show: roots music and rock 7pm ($9) info

Saturday (28 February)

Road Trip: Stanthorpe - Open Gardens - Apple & Grape Harvest Festival ALL WEEK ($20) more info

🆓 Ipswich Hockey, Raceview - Open Day 2026 2-7pm info

🍻🍽️ Stony Creek Brewing - Live music: Kayla Rose 6pm details

💵 The River House, 193 Brisbane Terrace, Goodna - Shamanic Drum Circle and Cacao Ceremony 7-9:30pm ($35-$38) tickets

💵 Ipswich Civic Centre - Meat Loaf Concert 7:30pm ($69) info

Sunday (1 March)

🆓 Springfield Markets - Robelle Domain Parklands 8am-1pm details

🆓 Heritage Poultry Moggill - Moggill Sunday Farm Day 10am-12:30pm info

Monday (2 March)

🆓 Colleges Crossing - Weekly Adventure Walk + coffee (BYO) with Kez and crew from @thingstodoIpswich 9-10am details

🆓 Providence Community Hub - Community Meeting 7pm info

Tuesday (3 March)

🆓 Springfield Lakes Community Centre - Ipswich Thriving Seniors Trivia 9:30-11 AM info

😎 Top 5 Upcoming Events:

7 Mar - Rockabilly and Retro Twilight Carnival, Ipswich Showgrounds details

7 Mar - Creators' Summit, Ipswich Civic Centre details

8 Mar - The Everything Markets, Ipswich Showgrounds info

11 Mar - Springfield City Bus tour, Brookwater Golf Club details

15 Mar - RAAF Amberley Sunday Open Day info

All upcoming events →

🧩 This Week's Answers

Scramble Answer: IPSWICH GRAMMAR

Ipswich Grammar School (IGS), founded 1863, is Queensland’s first secondary school and first grammar school. Independent boys’ Prep–12 day and boarding on Grammar School Hill, with heritage-listed buildings in Ipswich

GuessWhere Answer:

📍 Taken from Burnett St, Woodend looking at the Ipswich Grammar Dormitory Tower.

This Week's Trivia Answer:

c) PFAS — also known as 'forever chemicals' — were detected in the water. PFAS absorb through your skin, build up in your body, and are linked to liver damage, thyroid disease, and cancer.

📊 Last Week's Results

The Trivia:

Trivia #049

Ipswich just hit 270,000 population. At our current pace (~27+ people per day), when is the Ipswich LGA projected to hit 400,000?

A.) 2032 - 31% guessed wrong

B.) 2036 - 49% guessed right

C.) 2043 - 20% guessed wrong

148 participants

📍 GuessWhere:

GuessWhere #049

  • Players: 165
  • Average guess distance: 3,344m
  • Farthest guess: 13,590m
  • Closest guess: 95m (wow, a tough one!)
—Jamey (Back Jamey · Facebook · Instagram)
Eastern Heights, Ipswich, QLD 4305
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