The Municipality _

Proclaiming Ipswich A Municipal Government

The movements and agitation to establish municipalities kickstarted in New South Wales following the 1858 Municipalities Act’s passing. The first emphasis was in pronouncing Ipswich into a municipality, as against a town that it currently was.

This will offer the town more significance, and that goes a long way in development. For some, adopting the municipality tag would affect the separation that was impending. However, the police magistrate of then, Charles Gray, stated clearly that the municipality tag would not stop the separation from happening. This went to show that if the separation were going to happen, nothing would stop it.

An important figure during the municipality movement was Charles Frederick. He also admitted that the municipality feature would not affect the separation. He also noted that residents’ payment might become compromised as a due to management’s costs. Irrespective, he argued that Ipswich met the qualifications for getting the tag.

Ipswich had the population of people needed and was also a growing economy with a track-record to show for it. He was one of the major persons at the forefront of the struggle and offered various arguments to support Ipswich’s qualification for being a municipality.

Following his several arguments, he devised a petition and posted it for the signatures of those in support of the movement. A petition offers a stronger outlook and also positions the agitators in a serious light. More so, with the numerous signatures, the petition carries weight as it shows that many people are in support of the movement. This was a key strategy that marked the period, and it led to actions and reactions.

The petition went wide and got the attention of the then Governor, George Ferguson, who read the letter and had it published in the gazette. This gave the letter more credence, and offered the people of Ipswich much more support and validation for their movement. The petition stated that Ipswich met the criteria required for being a municipal government that rules itself, and that the people are in full support of this decision.

In a sharp response to this, the opposition wrote against the petition arguing that granting the municipality is a wrong move, as it will be injurious to the inhabitants’ interests. This was also complemented by arguing for the need to delay signing the petition till the moment when the Queensland government had been appropriately inaugurated.

All of these arguments were merely ways of discouraging the signing of the town unto becoming a municipality.

Proclaiming Ipswich

Ipswich was proclaimed a municipal government on the 2nd March, 1860. This set out the necessary offices that a municipality should have. The municipality was going to have a mayor who would be in charge of the administration.

Also, the boundaries of the municipality were set out and clearly delineated. Electoral districts were also approved accordingly. This marked a turnaround for the city, as it had now become more popular and also validated for its legitimacy.