Cunninghams Knoll, opposite Queens Park on the main entrance to Ipswich, pays homage to the region’s early European explorers as well as its convict history. Ipswich was once established as a convict station to mine Limestone to make mortar for the buildings being constructed in Moreton Bay Penal Colony (which would eventually become Brisbane). This history is recognised at Cunninghams Knoll with the display of a dis-used limestone kiln and a pyramid of limestone that was constructed as depression work during the 1930s.
On top of the pyramid is said to be where Allan Cunningham – the noted botanist, explorer and the park’s namesake – spotted the route over the Great Dividing Range which would eventually also be named after him, Cunninghams Gap.
