An old Ipswich manse resurrected
Chance leads a couple of history buffs through the creaky front door of a heritage-listed manse in Ipswich… and so begins a new chapter for a crumbling but glorious 19th Century relic.
Andrea and Peter Ferrando never know who might knock on their front door. Their home has stood since 1883, built as a manse for the Central Congregational Church during the pioneering days of Ipswich.
It has sheltered scores of people its time, some who can’t help opening the rustic front gate to take a trip down memory lane.
“We had a man in his 90s visit us, and he had lived in the home in the 1930s as a young boy,” says Andrea.
“He even remembered the camellia bushes and told us how he and his brother used to pull the buds off and throw them at each other.”
The manse, which has undergone a beautiful restoration in the hands of the Ferrando family, features in a story by Tamara Simoneau in the March/April issue of Australian Country magazine, from which the above excerpt was taken.
To see the whole nine-page spread, with stunning photography by Anastasia Kariofyllidis, grab a copy from your local newsagent.
The old manse is one of countless examples of 19th Century architecture across Ipswich. The city is home to 7000 heritage listed sites and on May 12, three of the city’s privately owned heritage homes will be opened to the public for a weekend through the National Trust event, Great Houses of Ipswich.
