History of Bankfoot House

Bankfoot House History

William and Mary Grigor established the house in 1868. Cobb & Co coaches, travelling between Brisbane and the Gympie goldfields, used the property as a lunch stop and staging post. The house was named after Mary’s village in Scotland.

Independent travellers used Bankfoot House as an overnight stop, paying one shilling for dinner, one shilling for a bed and one shilling to feed and stable their horse. Bankfoot House had its own dairy herd and was also the Post Office.

When the railway came in the early 1890s, the mail contract transferred from coach to rail. This made the coach service unviable. The postal service was also relocated to Glasshouse Railway Station. William Grigor was officially recorded as the postmaster up until his death in 1907.

Following the end of the coach service, Bankfoot House continued as an accommodation house. Visitors came to the Glasshouse district to climb the mountains.

The property remained with the same family across three generations. The Grigor, Burgess and Ferris families occupied the house for over 130 years. Members of these families made a huge contribution to the district. They were involved in local industries, community life and local government.

The last resident of Bankfoot House, Jack Ferris, died in 2002 at the age of 101. The Caloundra City Council (as it was then known) purchased the house and contents from the Ferris family in 2004 with a commitment to establishing the property as a House Museum.

View the Bankfoot House brochure [2350KB].

View the Bankfoot House photo book [6709KB].

[Historical images from the Bankfoot House Collection.]