[1] The former Ipswich Baptist Church, first designed by eminent Queensland architect, Richard Gailey and erected in 1877 on Brisbane Street, was originally a simple gabled brick building in a classical idiom.

An Art Deco-influenced refurbishment of the church was completed in 1938 under the direction of prolific Ipswich architect, George Brockwell Gill.

From its inception as a free settlement in 1842, Ipswich was important as a port on the Bremer River located at the intersection of routes to the Darling Downs and Upper Brisbane Valley.

[3] Its people, together with many squatters, cherished the hope that the town might become the capital of the prospective Colony of Queensland, however, Brisbane assumed that role after separation from New South Wales in 1859.

They commenced meeting independently in June 1859 in a hired bowling alley, and in January the following year officially formed a Baptist church with 7 members.

Deacon's widow generously gifted the first chapel, and its site including the house, to the church trustees on the condition that they were used by them in Ipswich.

[16] The simplicity of the Ipswich church design — gable-roofed brick building with engaged piers, round-arched windows filled with stained, leadlight glass (red border and green lights) and gabled porch with decorative balustrade[17] - was typical of Gailey's early work for the Baptists, which otherwise tended to be in timber.

[18] A sealed bottle containing Ipswich newspapers and clippings, and a copy of a report read at the ceremony by the church secretary, Mr J. Fletcher, were put into a prepared place under the foundation stone.

[1] The new church was completed during a period of economic buoyancy and increased building activity in Ipswich, the colony's "second town" according to the 1876 edition of the Australian Handbook.

[1][27] After World War I and years of depression when congregation finances were limited, a scheme to substantially renovate the church was put forward in 1937 during the pastoral term of Rev.

[1][30][31] Born in London, Gill emigrated to the colonies in 1886 before settling in Ipswich, taking over an existing practice[Note 3] and establishing himself as an active member of the community for over 50 years before his retirement in 1943.

[14]: 81  Later, more outstanding works in Ipswich, include the City View Hotel (1908), the Cribb and Foote department store (1911) and the Soldiers' Memorial Hall in Nicholas Street (1921).

On 25 March, the Ipswich Mayor, Alderman J. T. Finimore, officially opened the park as the Central Baptist War Memorial Grounds.

[39] The memorial plaque bore the words "A tribute of remembrance to the men and women of this church who fought, suffered and died during the 1939-45 war" and was mounted on the front gable.

A sealed parking area was also established on the top terrace at this time (between the rear of the church and Baptist buildings on Limestone Street).

[1] In 2009, McDonald's demolished the hall and manse, and built a retaining wall between that site and the memorial ground and church, in order to construct a restaurant and car park on Limestone Street.

[1][42] The former Baptist Church and memorial gate stand at 188 Brisbane Street in an area of Ipswich called Top of the Town.

The sloping ground behind the gate and in front of the former church — cut through by the recently constructed interconnecting stair and ramp — is landscaped with beds of low shrubs and shaded by a number of trees.

A concrete retaining wall separating the former church site from that at the rear, which addresses Limestone Street, forms a striking backdrop.

A driveway providing access to premises on Limestone Street runs beside the south-western side of the church and is outside the heritage boundary for this place.

These are high-waisted with coloured leadlight windows set into each top panel, the design of which features a narrow border, green background lights and a central arrow and torch motif.

[1] The south-western elevation of the church, facing the driveway, has changed little from that designed by Gailey: 6 bays framed with shallow engaged piers connected top and bottom, the first 5 punctuated by tall, narrow windows with round-arches and sills, and that at the rear featuring both a narrow window, shorter than the others because of the sloping land, and a timber door with semicircular fanlight.

The rear elevation is again Gailey's design, rendered in a similar pattern with a rough cast face framed by smooth-rendered, engaged piers at each corner curving to the top plate connecting them under the gable end.

[1] The memorial gate stands on the alignment with the street and comprises a gable roof, framed in timber, lined on the ends with weatherboards, and clad in corrugated metal sheeting.

[1] A low concrete wall, styled to resemble the front elevation of the church, runs the length of the allotment boundary with the street and footpath.

It opens to allow access onto the site, with short piers at the entrance to the gate, the ramp, and the stairs leading to the former church (from north to south along Brisbane Street).

The former Ipswich Baptist Church is important as an example of the early work of Richard Gailey, Brisbane's longest practising and most prolific private architect of the colonial era.

[1] The church's 1938 Art Deco remodelling is important as an unusual example of the work of prominent Ipswich architect George Brockwell Gill.

[1] The memorial gate is important in demonstrating the principal characteristics of a commemorative structure located in a prominent place to act as a tangible and enduring reminder of those men and women from the church who fought, suffered and died during World War II.

The verticality of its Art Deco front elevation — set back and raised up from the street with the slope of the site, and standing against a backdrop of open space behind the memorial gate — is visually striking.