PLACES

Rosewood History

John Street, Rosewood

Rosewood is a rural town in the City of Ipswich. It’s a short drive to Ipswich but it’s far enough away to enable a laid-back rural lifestyle. The town looks and feels like a country town and offers many of the facilities of a large town, the latest addition in 2020 being its own public library. A railway station services the town.

A walk around the streets provides glimpses of the historic character and charm that still remains in some of the buildings in the main street and in the old Queenslander and pre-war styles of timber homes with their corrugated iron roofs. Some have stood steadfastly for over a hundred years on their own block of land.

Local landmarks such as historic trees, houses and churches can be found and the residents are proud of their local farming, mining and railway history. The views out to the surrounding hinterland and mountain ranges, along with the sunsets, can be stunning.

Rosewood is a place that has potential and the capacity to develop successfully into the future. With the ever encroaching urban sprawl and newly constructed housing estates, the population is growing. It will require some adjustments for new and old residents. Small towns often have a strong sense of community, which can be both a blessing and a curse to all concerned when changes happen. Rosewood will likely experience both positive and negative changes into the future.

One hopes that any challenges are met with open minds, welcoming hearts, clever strategies and strong resilience, and they will not diminish the overall community character that has always been touted as a feature of the town.

These two entries in the “Best Rosewood Poem” category at the second Rosewood Show held on 19 July 1879, deserve a place here.

The Rosewood is a stirring place,
Though not a town as yet.
’Tis pleasant when the weather’s dry,
But horrid when it’s wet.

The people here are short or tall,
As in any other place:
But in their tempers and their ways
A most peculiar race.

For all would rule, and none would serve;
Each man the “boss” would be;
And while they keep this state of mind
They never will agree.

Now, sir, I hope these verses will
Find favour in your eyes;
If modesty and merit win,
I’m sure to get the prize.

by William Pitt Vance aged 11

Come who wish to breathe pure air,
Or good health to gain a share,
Just take a trip to Rosewood.
There you may sit and take your ease;
Or lounge about beneath the trees
So shady is Rosewood.

by Lawrence Smallbone aged 12