Articulous was part of the opening of the James Ivory Bridge in Providence last week, celebrating a major piece of infrastructure for the region and recognising the area’s rich farming history and its future as a vibrant new community.
The James Ivory Bridge provides vital access to Providence, a new masterplanned community in the Ripley Valley near Ipswich which is owned by family run business Amex Corporation. Providence will one day be home to up to 20,000 people and provide affordable new housing for families close to Brisbane.
The bridge was named after James Ivory, an early settler from Scotland who became an influential grazier, cotton, tobacco and sugar cane farmer in the area. He began acquiring land in and around Ipswich and by 1879 he held over 18,000 acres of land.
James Ivory kept extensive diary records from 1863 to 1883 that are now held in libraries in Ipswich and Sydney and which provide a valuable source of information about pioneering conditions and other early settlers.
The Bridge was officially opened by the Hon. Jo-Ann Miller MP, Minister for Police, Fire and Emergency Services and Minister for Corrective Services who spoke about the benefits of new infrastructure and Providence. It was also great honour to welcome two of James Ivory’s great grandsons to the event.
The opening was a great success, and it was apparent that James Ivory’s legacy and the presence of his two great grandsons was truly unique and memorable. They were proud to represent their great grandfather who laid the foundations of what would become a future home to so many.
The event provided realisation that change is an important step in society, particularly change that impacts positively on future generations. In this case, disused farming land will become new homes to young families who will contribute to society and build a thriving community of their own. It will be their haven and somewhere they are proud to call home, just as James Ivory would have felt when he stepped foot on his land.
Importantly, everyone who crosses the bridge from now on will know who James Ivory was and the legacy he built in Queensland farming communities.
