Student Resources

Mary Fenwick and William Grigor were both Scottish immigrants. They both came across on the same ship, the William Miles on January 19, 1855. They met and fell in love, but it was sometime before they were in any position to be married. Mary worked as a governess for Captain Wickham’s children in Newstead, Brisbane. In 1859 she went to England with the Wickhams. When they chose not to return to Australia, Mary Fenwick worked her way back and became the governess to the McConnell children on Durundur Station (near the present town of Woodford).

While Mary was away doing this, William had a variety of jobs trying to establish himself. Some of his work included farming, timber cutting and shingle splitting, skills that would serve him later. He and James Low (another Scottish immigrant) became good friends. This friendship was to have a strong influence in the direction of William Grigor’s future.

When the time was right Mary Fenwick and William Grigor were married at the Presbyterian Church in Eagle Farm, in August, 1863. Their first house was at the mouth of the Mooloolah River (now Alexandra Headlands). Here William was cutting and hauling timber and made a business of it with James Low and a fellow Scottish immigrant, William Pettigrew. They each had their own jobs to do; Grigor was in charge of the timber; Low watched over the transportation of the timber on his sailing ship the Gneering and Pettigrew was in charge of organising milling at his Brisbane sawmill. In 1864 and 1869 the Grigors had their first two children.

In 1860, the land between Brisbane and Gympie was opened up for settlement. To settle here meant a commitment of labour and money by those willing to give it. The land was rough and the only way north from Brisbane was via Durundur Station and over the mountains to Conondale and then to follow the Mary River to Gympie. If the mountains were too intimidating the only other option was by ship to Maryborough and then overland to Gympie.

At the end of 1868, Bankfoot House was complete. The purpose of Bankfoot House changes throughout its history. First, William Grigor built the house to provide a stop for the Cobb & Co coaches travelling between Brisbane and Gympie. In time it became the post office servicing the Glasshouse region; Mary Grigor was a well known mid-wife. Women would often go to Bankfoot House to give birth and men would also leave their wives with Mary Grigor when they went on to Gympie in the search for gold; it became a local grocery store, supplying meat and condiments; the family ran their own dairy; after the coaches had stopped running, it became an accommodation house for visitors to the region. From 1868 until 1879 the Grigors were the only European settlers in the region, for part of this time their closest neighbour, Issac Burgess lived eight miles away. Later Clementina Grigor married William Smith Burgess and it is through this line that Bankfoot House was passed down.