Queensland’s Indian community has reached a landmark moment, with the official foundation stone laying for the House of India taking place at the project site in Augustine Heights, marking the beginning of construction on what will be the first dedicated Indian cultural and community centre in Queensland.
The ceremony brought together community and faith leaders, who offered prayers and blessed the foundation stone before it was laid. A commemorative plaque was unveiled to mark the occasion.
Local representatives joined Julian Hill, the Assistant Minister for Multicultural Affairs, to mark the occasion. They stood alongside members of the Springfield City Group and the local Indian community to witness the blessing of the site.
The project is backed by $5.5 million in funding, and is being delivered in partnership with the Federation of Indian Communities of Queensland (FICQ), the peak umbrella body representing more than 33 Indian organisations across the state.
The FICQ has championed the House of India concept for decades, and the foundation stone ceremony represents the moment a community’s long-held vision has finally moved from aspiration to ground.
A Home in Springfield
The choice of Greater Springfield as the location for Queensland’s first House of India reflects both the demographics of the region and a deeper thread of connection that runs through its history.
Around 10,000 people of Indian heritage now live in Ipswich and Greater Springfield, one of Australia’s fastest-growing urban corridors. The region’s very existence owes much to the vision of a man of Indian descent. Dr Maha Sinnathamby AM, Chairman and Founder of Springfield City Group, was born in Malaysia of Sri Lankan Tamil heritage and came to Australia in the 1970s.
In 1992, alongside business partner Bob Sharpless, he purchased nearly 3,000 hectares of economically depressed scrubland southwest of Brisbane for $7.9 million. The plan to turn it into a master-planned city required an Act of Parliament, which Queensland’s Parliament passed unanimously in 1997.
What grew from that purchase is now home to more than 53,000 residents, 12 schools, a hospital, a university and a rail connection to the broader South East Queensland network.
Greater Springfield has been recognised as the world’s best master-planned community by the International Real Estate Federation, and Sinnathamby has donated more than $200 million in land and funds to social infrastructure across the precinct. The House of India will become part of that legacy.
“I want to thank Springfield City Group and Chairman Dr Maha Sinnathamby for their vision,” said Mr Shayne Neumann at the ceremony.
A Decades-Long Dream Taking Shape
The FICQ was founded in 1998 as a non-profit umbrella body to give Queensland’s Indian diaspora a unified voice at every level of public life. It represents organisations whose members trace their heritage to mainland India, Fiji, South Africa, Malaysia and other communities of Indian origin.
FICQ President Dr Preethi Suraj has been a driving force behind the House of India project as it has moved through planning, funding and community consultation over the years.
“This project represents a shared dream to create a space where culture brings people together and diversity is celebrated,” Dr Suraj said.
The centre is designed to be much more than a venue for Indian cultural events, though it will certainly serve that function well. The House of India will provide dedicated meeting spaces for Indian community associations, host celebrations and festivals, and welcome multicultural and faith groups from across the region.
At the same time, it is designed to serve the broader Ipswich and Greater Springfield community with practical support services including crisis accommodation, community education programmes, language schools, sporting facilities and a commercial kitchen to support food relief efforts.
That dual purpose, deeply rooted in Indian cultural identity while genuinely open to the whole community, reflects how Queensland’s Indian diaspora has always operated: engaged, contributing and inclusive.
Built on Years of Contribution
The Indian community in Ipswich and Greater Springfield is one of the most highly educated and employed in Queensland. Its members work across medicine, engineering, information technology, education, small business and beyond, and have been part of the social and economic fabric of the western corridor for generations.
It was noted that the community has already contributed significantly to the region, and that the House of India provides a place that reflects that contribution back to them.
“With around 10,000 people of Indian heritage now living in Ipswich and Greater Springfield, this community makes a huge contribution to the region, and it’s time they had a place to call their own,” Mr Neumann said.
The Next Chapter
Construction is now underway following the foundation stone ceremony. For more information about the House of India project or to follow its progress, contact the Federation of Indian Communities of Queensland at ficq.org.au.
Published 26-April-2026
