Vanessa Williams and Sally Hetherington from Ipswich Mini Crafters.
Mini models of iconic Ipswich buildings show a smaller side of the city at Ipswich Antique Centre. The 1:12 scale models have been created by members of Ipswich Mini Crafters.
You can have your King Kong moment – minus the destruction – at this week’s exhibition of hand-made models of past and present buildings from inner-city Ipswich.
Presented by Ipswich Mini Crafters, Ipswich in Miniature features iconic buildings as they appear in the 1910 book Jubilee History of Ipswich.
The display at Ipswich Antique Centre includes scale models of Saba’s Drapery, Ipswich Post Office, Ulster Hotel, Bank of Australasia, London Pharmacy and the Cribb and Foote stove department.
Mini Crafters member Vanessa Williams said the event would be presented as part of this year’s annual Ipswich Festival.
“I love the historical aspect of what we do and it’s an interesting way of preserving the heritage buildings of Ipswich,” she said.
“Being displayed in a heritage building like the antique centre is just perfect, it ties everything in together really nicely.”
Mrs Williams said the building process started with a simple photograph.
“Then we make the main frame with windows and doors cut out, a bit like you’d do with a full size building,” she said.
“We’re constantly problem solving and looking for solutions and that’s why I find this so rewarding and enjoyable.
“We mostly use timber and then you’ve got plastic for windows, old aluminium cans for galvanised iron roofing and some clever photoshopping for printed brickwork.”
GALLERY: Four featured buildings from Ipswich in Miniature
Fellow crafters member and Ipswich City Council library digital archivist Sally Hetherington said the exhibition provided an important link to the past.
“Our first batch of buildings was Saba’s, J Scurrah tailor, the Queensland ambulance building at North Ipswich and the Cribb and Foote stove department, which was part of what we now know as The Old Flour Mill,” she said.
“We have added more buildings along the way – the post office took the longest because it’s the biggest and most detailed.
“The art gallery, originally the town hall, was also quite time consuming because of the scroll work on the roof.
“Some of these buildings, it’s impossible to see them anymore unless it’s in this form or a photograph from Picture Ipswich.
“At least this way it’s something to hold on to and we can keep alive the memories of the old buildings.”
Ipswich in Miniature is on at Ipswich Antique Centre, 86 East Street, Ipswich this Thursday to Sunday from 10am to 5pm.
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