The by-election was triggered by the death of Labor member and Attorney-General of Queensland David Gledson on 14 May 1949.
Gledson had held the seat since the 1915 election, with one brief interruption during the Great Depression.
It was the first electoral contest held since the Queensland People's Party became the Liberal Party's Queensland branch, along with the Kurilpa state by-election held on the same day.
Ivor Marsden retained the seat for the Labor Party.
Ivor Marsden held the seat and its successor, Ipswich West, until his retirement from politics at the 1966 election.