Completed areas
Leichhardt
Community Renewal in Leichhardt
Community Renewal began in Leichhardt in December 1998. A Community Action Plan was developed by residents, government and other agencies as a blueprint for Community Renewal activities. The key themes in the plan included safety; education, training and employment; transport; community identity and image; community services and facilities; parks and environmental protection; and activities and facilities for young people.
Community Renewal activities were completed in Leichhardt on 30 June 2004. During the program’s presence in Leichhardt, Community Renewal funded about 50 projects valued at $4.2 million. More than 70 percent of these funds were allocated to physical infrastructure development. Partners in Community Renewal initiatives invested approximately $1 million over the same period, bringing the combined investment in renewal activities to about $5 million.
Achievements
Some of the many Community Renewal projects delivered in Leichhardt include:
- Construction of the Leichhardt Community Centre which offers residents a range of training, recreation and information services and includes a childcare facility.
- The Leichhardt Community Access to Technology project in which the Leichhardt Community Centre bought computers, software, a projector, screen and laminator, and provided desktop publishing training for 10 community members, ensuring the community received maximum benefit from the new equipment.
- The Tool Lending Library which operates from the Leichhardt Community Centre. People can borrow a range of power tools and garden machinery as well as picture framing equipment.
About Leichhardt
It is suggested that the Leichhardt area was used by the Indigenous Jaggera and Yuggerabul language groups. Located 2km west of the centre of Ipswich, Leichhardt is one of Queensland’s oldest European settlements. It was originally named One Mile, indicating its distance from Ipswich. By the early 1900s the area became known as Toongarra and in the 1930s it was officially named Leichhardt after Friedrich Wilhelm Ludwig Leichhardt, a Prussian explorer who travelled through the area in the 1840s researching native flora and fauna.
Australian Bureau of Statistics 2001 Census figures show the Leichhardt renewal area has a population of 4,381 with 1,216 families. Over one quarter (27.3 percent) are aged under 15 and 11.1 percent were born overseas. About 3.2 percent speak languages other than English and the Indigenous population is 5.2 percent.
Last updated 21 July 2005
Other languages