The Ipswich campus of the University of Southern Queensland began as the Sandy Gallop Asylum 1878 on the outskirts of Ipswich. It was later known as the Ipswich Hospital for the Insane, and then Ipswich Mental Hospital. When it became a training centre for intellectually disabled it was renamed the Challinor Centre. A number of substantial buildings were erected on the site and in 1996 it was entered on the Queensland Heritage Register.
The entry in the Register stated that it was significant
– as the most complete example in Queensland of an asylum based
on the principles of moral treatment
– for its pivotal role in the development of services for the
intellectually disabled in Queensland
– for the architectural qualities of the buildings, in particular those
erected in the period 1908-16
– for its landmark qualities within the Ipswich townscape.

The site was acquired by the University of Queensland in 1998 and in 2015 it was transferred to the University of Southern Queensland. This Conservation Management Plan was commissioned by the University of Southern Queensland and undertaken in conjunction with Conrad Gargett.