Cribb House

The parcel of land opposite Ipswich Hospital on Chelmsford Avenue is now the home of the Renal Dialysis Unit and Cribb House.

Cribb House is named after the original owner of the house, Joseph Foote Cribb. Mr Cribb built the house and was the only owner. He was a great supporter and sponsor of Ipswich Hospital and sold the house and adjacent land to Ipswich Hospital for £1550 in 1916.

Joseph F. Cribb was born on July 17, 1855 at “Kingsholme” in Brisbane, the second child and eldest son of Clarissa and Benjamin Cribb.

He was a gentleman of retiring disposition and a senior partner in the family firm of Cribb and Foote.

He died quietly at his home on Denmark Hill, which he built after selling his previous property to Ipswich Hospital, on October 3, 1922, and was found sitting in his armchair when he did not respond to a call to tea.

The property was initially purchased from Mr Cribb for the purpose of building an Epidemic Hospital to treat scarlet fever patients. The house was used as quarters for the epidemic hospital staff.

Cribb House has had many purposes in the past including being a nurses’ quarters, a staff recreation area and a store room. It fell into disrepair but was restored to its former glory in 2013.

The building’s renovation received a Silver Award in the Ipswich City Council Awards for Excellence in 2015.

Cribb House is now used by West Moreton Health as a boardroom, training centre and a staff meeting area.

Its two largest meeting rooms have been named after and dedicated to two long serving Ipswich Hospital staff members, Dr Terrence Mulhearn and Miss Margaret McFarlane.