Nicholas Street Turns One as Ipswich Marks Storm Clean-up, Sports Gains and Art Awards

Ipswich Mayor Teresa Harding says the city has swung from storm recovery straight into celebration, with free green-waste drop-offs heavily used, the Nicholas Street Precinct marking its first birthday, strong sports participation, and the Ipswich Art Awards crowning this year’s winners.

Storm clean-up:
Council’s two consecutive free green-waste weekends drew strong demand, with around 2,000 loads dropped off over the past fortnight, on top of about 1,200 loads accepted during an earlier post-storm free week. “It’s great to see residents using it and getting storm debris sorted,” Cr Harding said.

Nicholas Street Precinct—one year on:
The CBD’s renewed heart celebrated its first anniversary with DJs, stilt walkers, jugglers, karaoke and basketball activations. The precinct logged more than 2 million visits in the past 12 months, while the Venue building (Hoyts, General Public, Vapiano and Mini Bounce) recorded 521,000+ visits. A decade ago, the former mall drew roughly 22,000 visits a year.

Sport report card:
Ipswich now counts 160+ sport and recreation clubs across 40+ sports, with a 12% rise in use of council community centres for sport activities. Recent upgrades include the Silver Jubilee Clubhouse (Spring Mountain), Blue Gum Reserve canteen and changerooms, the Redbank Plains Bears facilities, and the restoration of the Goodna Community Centre on Brisbane Terrace, which now hosts “Active & Healthy” classes. Local stars also shone: Ash Barty will be inducted into the Queensland Sport Hall of Fame, while Mollie O’Callaghan and Gout Gout are finalists for Queensland athlete honours.

Ipswich Art Awards—25th year:
Marking its silver jubilee, the Awards drew ~295 artists and 400+ works across nine categories. Anne Chivvy won Best in Show for Crescent Vessel Passage. The free exhibition runs 10am–4pm daily until 15 November on Level 1 of the council administration building, with more than 50 works already sold.

Christmas countdown:
Festivities begin with the city tree lighting on Thursday 27 November, followed by Brassall Christmas in the Park on Friday 28 November, and a full program of carols and events through December.