Blackstone is a

suburb A suburb (more broadly suburban area) is an area within a metropolitan area, which may include commercial and mixed-use, that is primarily a residential area. A suburb can exist either as part of a larger city/urban area or as a separate ...

Ipswich Ipswich () is a port town and borough in Suffolk, England, of which it is the county town. The town is located in East Anglia about away from the mouth of the River Orwell and the North Sea. Ipswich is both on the Great Eastern Main Line r ...

in the

City of Ipswich The City of Ipswich is a local government area in Queensland, Australia, located within the southwest of the Brisbane metropolitan area, including the urban area surrounding the city of Ipswich and surrounding rural areas. Geography The Ci ...

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...

, Australia. In the , Blackstone had a population of 1,024 people.

History

The district was originally called Bundamba Creek but this caused confusion with nearby

Bundamba Bundamba is a suburb of Ipswich in the City of Ipswich, Queensland, Australia. In the Bundamba had a population of 6,514 people. Geography The Bremer River forms the western part of the suburb's northern boundary. The Warrego Highway enters ...

, so the postmistress Mrs Orr proposed the name Blackstone, believed to be a place in

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

. The area is renowned for its mining history and in 1866 Welshman

Lewis Thomas Lewis Thomas (November 25, 1913 – December 3, 1993) was an American physician, poet, etymologist, essayist, administrator, educator, policy advisor, and researcher. Thomas was born in Flushing, New York and attended Princeton University ...

established one of the first mines in the area. Blackstone has a rich Welsh history with

having populated the community with Welsh miners and their families, who in turn established their own Cambrian choir and church in 1886, a School of Arts in 1891, a Soccer club in 1890, and public school in 1887. After switching to mining at Dinmore in 1870, Thomas returned to open his first Aberdare Mine in 1876 and prospered thereafter. In 1881 the government granted him permission to build a private railway which developed by 1903 into a loop line connecting the mines from: * Bundamba to Redbank: * Blackheath * Box Flat * Fairbank * Aberdare * Bogside * No 2, Mafeking * Denham * Swanbank * Bonnie Dundee * Rhondda * Whitwood *New Chum. Blackstone Congregational Church was established in 1879 and was designed by architect Will Haenke. The church originally faced Thomas Street, but circa 1900 a new church building was constructed to face Mary Street with the original building being retained as a hall. In December 2007 the Samoan Methodist Church purchased the church with Samoan-language services being conducted from 27 January 2008. Blackstone State School opened on 17 January 1887 and closed on 31 December 2009. The school was at 14 Hill Street (). The school's website was archived. At some time after 1980, Bundamba Uniting Church and Blackstone Uniting Church joined Trinity Uniting Church in North Booval which was then renamed Trinity Ipswich Uniting Church. At the the suburb recorded a population of 1,017.

Heritage listings

Blackstone has a number of

heritage-listed This list is of heritage registers, inventories of cultural properties, natural and man-made, tangible and intangible, movable and immovable, that are deemed to be of sufficient heritage value to be separately identified and recorded. In many ...

sites, including: * 6 Thomas Street:

United Welsh Church, Blackstone United Welsh Church is a heritage-listed Union Church (Australia), union church at 6 Thomas Street, Blackstone, Queensland, Blackstone, City of Ipswich, Queensland, Australia. It was designed by Samuel Shenton (architect), Samuel Shenton and bu ...

* 14 Mary Street: Blackstone Congregational Church, Blackstone * 20 Thomas Street: Cambrian House, Blackstone * 16 Hill Street: Blackstone State School, Blackstone

Education

There are no schools in Blackstone. The nearest primary schools are in neighbouring

Silkstone Silkstone is a village and civil parish in the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley in South Yorkshire, England. It is situated in the foothills of the Pennines, between the towns of Barnsley and Penistone. The parish includes the village of Silk ...

, Raceview and

. The nearest secondary schools are in Bundamba and

Ipswich CBD Ipswich () is the central suburb and central business district of Ipswich in the City of Ipswich, Queensland, Australia. It is also known as Ipswich CBD (central business district). In the , the suburb had a population of 2,459 people. Geog ...

(

Bremer State High School , established = 1959 , principal = Ross Bailey , type = Public, co-educational, secondary, day school , city = Ipswich , state = Queensland , country = Australia , coordinat ...

Amenities

Samoan Methodist Church is at 14 Mary Street (corner Thomas Street, ). The original church entrance can be seen from Thomas Street, while the later church entrance can be seen from Mary Street.

References

External links