Blackstone, Queensland
Blackstone is a suburb of Ipswich in the City of Ipswich, Queensland, Australia. In the , Blackstone had a population of 1,024 people. History. The district was originally called Bundamba Creek but this caused confusion with nearby Bundamba, so the postmistress Mrs Orr proposed the name Blackstone, believed to be a place in Ireland. The area is renowned for its mining history and in 1866 Welshman Lewis Thomas established one of the first mines in the area. Blackstone has a rich Welsh history with Lewis Thomas having populated the community with Welsh miners and their families, who in turn  established their own Cambrian choir and church in 1886, a School of Arts in 1891, a Soccer club in 1890, and public school in 1887. After switching to mining at Dinmore in 1870, Thomas returned to open his first Aberdare Mine in 1876 and prospered thereafter. In 1881 the government granted him permission to build a private railway which developed by 1903 into a loop line connecting the mines from: Blackstone Congregational Church was established in 1879 and was designed by architect Will Haenke. The church originally faced Thomas Street, but circa 1900 a new church building was constructed to  face Mary Street with the original building being retained as a hall. In December 2007 the Samoan Methodist Church purchased the church with Samoan-language services being conducted from 27 January 2008. Blackstone State School opened on 17 January 1887 and closed on 31 December 2009. The school was at 14 Hill Street (). The school's website was archived. At some time after 1980, Bundamba Uniting Church and Blackstone Uniting Church joined Trinity Uniting Church in North Booval which was then renamed Trinity Ipswich Uniting Church. At the the suburb recorded a population of 1,017. Heritage listings. Blackstone has a  number of heritage-listed sites, including: Education. There are no schools in Blackstone. The nearest primary schools are in neighbouring Silkstone, Raceview and Bundamba. The nearest secondary schools are in Bundamba and Ipswich CBD (Bremer State High School). Amenities. Samoan Methodist Church is at 14 Mary Street (corner Thomas Street, ). The original church entrance can be seen from Thomas Street, while the later church entrance can be seen from Mary Street.