A rare opportunity to own a grand, old homestead

A piece of Queensland history is up for sale.

Bellevue Homestead, Brisbane Valley, ca. 1914. Picture: State Library of Queensland

A PIECE of Queensland's history that sits on Ipswich's doorstep is up for sale.

The historic Bellevue Homestead at Coominya has been put up on the market offering a rare opportunity to own one of the state's oldest homesteads.

Bellevue was established in the early 1840s as part of the Wivenhoe run and by the early 1900s was the social centre of the district.

Queensland history up for sale

VIEW GALLERY

The property changed hands a couple of times before it was bought by William North Snr who established a 2,000 hectare section of the Wivenhoe run as the separate Bellevue Station.

None of the original buildings have survived.

It the early days, sheep grazing was the main industry but in the 1870s sheep gave way to cattle and the Taylor family took over Bellevue Homestead.

During the Taylors' time the Brisbane River flooded, in 1893, destroying parts of the timber-framed house which was later restored.

In 1899 the owner George Taylor died but his widow remained at the station and in 1901 re-married a man named Charles Lumley Hill.

The pair extended the homestead, adding a new dining room, a guest suite and servants quarters, as well as renovating the earlier sections of the home.

In the early decades of the twentieth century, Bellevue was the social centre of the district.

A newspaper article printed in the Sunday Mail on September 1940 describes a charity event attended by 300 people including visitors from Brisbane, Ipswich, Lowood, Toogoolawah, Gatton and Toowoomba.

"The sum of £165 will benefit the Esk branches of the Red Cross and Comforts Fund as the result of a garden fair held yesterday at Bellevue...," the article reads.

Today the homestead has three separate buildings.

The original slab hut was built in 1840 and still has the original kitchen landowners used. The second building is Victorian design and has six bedrooms. The third building, the Federation style guest house, was built in 1903 and contains the enormous dining room, smoking room, guest suite.

The owners use the property as their private home and parts of the homestead have been set up for a business with an approved commercial kitchen to cater for weddings, private functions, bed and breakfast, wine tasting, home-style dining and 'Devonshire Tea'.

There is also additional space on the property for any potential buyers looking to expand.

The property is being sold through Ray White Ipswich.