Newtown, a residential suburb, is two km east of central Ipswich, adjoining Limestone Park and Ipswich Girls' Grammar School. Its name came from John Rankin's Newtown Estate, subdivided and sold c1865.
The western boundary is Chermside Road, an elevated thoroughfare running north of Limestone Hill. 'Gwennap', c1874, was built at 68 Chermside Road, a two-storey brick homestead later converted to a nursing home. A short distance away, one of Ipswich's oldest surviving buildings is at 4 Rockton Street. A single-storey brick house, it was named Rockton and set in large grounds with an orchard and gardens. Both properties are on the Queensland heritage register. A third notable house, 'Rosemount' c1906, is at 3 Tregair Street.
Most of Chermside Road has notable and heritage houses opposite Queens Park, situated on a ridge with views. Some distance to the east, in Queen Street, the Newtown primary school was opened in 1882. It was closed in 1915 when the Silkstone primary was opened, and the space was kept as a neighbourhood park. The park has several mature palm trees.
Until about 1990 Newtown's northern boundary was Glebe Street, but it is now Brisbane Road. The northern side of Glebe Street, between King and Wilson Streets, has a row of interwar houses more representative of Newtown's housing stock.
Newtown recorded census populations of:
| Census Date | Population |
|---|---|
| 1911 | 527 |
| 2006 | 1374 |
| 2011 | 1454 |
