Student Resources

When gold was found in Gympie, about 2 hours north of Brisbane, in 1867, William Grigor and his good friend James Low decided to use this discovery to their benefit. As the traffic heading to Gympie would be much heavier, a shorter route needed to be found. The new road was decided upon; it would go through the Glasshouse Mountains through to Gympie. Grigor knew that the company providing the main source of transportation to Gympie would need various places to stop, re-supply and change horses. Grigor made a wise decision, and built in the Glasshouse Mountains. The house became known as Bankfoot House after the Scottish village William’s wife, Mary, came from. Bankfoot House from then on was the first stop along the road to Gympie.

William Grigor chose the land to build his house on carefully. It is situated in the middle of the Glasshouse Mountains. These recognisable landmarks can be seen from great distances, helping to locate Bankfoot House quiet easily. To the south of the house is Coonowrin Creek. This was the readily available water supply for the house. The land is also on a flat-topped rise making it easier for horses and carts to pull up in front of the house. This clever thinking by Grigor provided a strong economic basis for the longevity of Bankfoot House.

The purpose of Bankfoot House was to provide accommodation, meals, supplies, stables and watering facilities for Cobb & Co and for the travellers. Cobb & Co coaches started travelling from Brisbane to Gympie on the 12th of November, 1868. This was less than a month after Bankfoot House was purchased. The official documents state that the land came into William Grigor’s possession on the 16th of October, 1868. This means the house must have been built in a little less than a month. There is some architectural evidence to verify that Bankfoot House was built in a hurry. Instead of building the original house on stumps off the ground, logs were laid directly upon the ground. It is thought that placing the logs upon the ground was done to save time. This technique failed them in the end as moisture and termites eventually destroyed the floor.

The house was built by a ship’s carpenter named Mewitt, using local timber. The hardwood used for the framing and weatherboards was obtained locally and the beech wood used for the internal walls and the cedar used for the doors and window frames came from Peachester. This wood was only available after Queensland became independent of New South Wales. Before this time, the land around the Glasshouse Mountains had been protected because the fruit from the Bunya Pines was an important cultural and food source to the local Aboriginal communities.

Bankfoot House has seen two extensions. In 1878 it had become so busy that another building was built behind the original. This extension housed the expanding Grigor family and the kitchen servicing the accommodation. The second extension was built in 1930 as termites had infested the building. This time the house had to be knocked down and rebuilt and the serviceable timber was reused to build the walls of the new house. When the house was rebuilt the old dairy became a storage area and laundry. A second shed was built for a stable and workshop, and when automobiles came into existence, it became a garage. In 1952 electricity was added to the house, but unlike houses today the lines throughout the house are external not internal.