Ipswich starts A$818k Soldiers Memorial Hall restoration

The outlet attributes to the mayor the view that the hall has long been central to Remembrance Day and ANZAC Day commemorations. Paul Rogers, president of the Ipswich RSL Sub-Branch, is reported as saying the restoration preserves both the history of the building and a place of support for veterans, serving personnel and their families.

For the local building sector, the job is being delivered by H&G Contractors, a local company, in partnership with the council, per the report.

The numbers

Inside Local Government lists two funding sources. Ipswich City Council is putting in A$589,909, and the Queensland Government is contributing A$228,475 through its Honouring Our Veterans Grants Program.

Jon Krause, Member for Scenic Rim, is reported as saying the grant sits under Queensland’s first Veterans strategy and that the investment gives the sub-branch a home for years to come, supporting veterans across the region including Scenic Rim.

The report says works run to March 2027. Preliminary works have begun, including vibration monitoring equipment to record movement in the building and locate stress points.

The problems being addressed, according to the outlet, include a slumping floor, damaged drains and rising damp.

What’s next

On the building itself, the outlet describes a design by Ipswich architect George Brockwell Gill, a variation of Edwardian Baroque, with a front portico, rusticated render carrying the Australian Army’s rising sun insignia on the pediment, geometric brickwork and stained-glass windows on the side elevations. Inside are honour boards for local service personnel and a stained-glass window depicting those who fought in World War I.

The report adds that Gill also designed the adjoining Queen Victoria Silver Jubilee Memorial Technical College, the original building of Ipswich Girls’ Grammar School, the City View Hotel and the old Cribb & Foote department store.