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Argyle Homestead is a heritage-listed farm at New England Highway, Geham, Queensland, Australia. It was built from to 1930s. It was added to the Queensland Heritage Register on 21 October 1992. == History == Argyle Homestead was erected probably in the 1870s for Duncan Munro, a timber merchant and prominent Toowoomba businessman who established the Argyle Saw Mills at Geham in the Highfields area north of Toowoomba. Munro was granted several parcels of land around Geham Creek; in 1868 he acquired the land on which Argyle stands. He is first recorded as living at Argyle Farm, Highfields, in 1874. It is likely that Argyle was named after Munro's birthplace, Argylshire in Scotland.〔 Extensive stands of timber in the Highfields area stimulated the timber industry and provided the impetus for the establishment of saw mills from the late 1850s. The population of the area grew rapidly as a result of settlement during the late 1860s/early 1870s. As land was cleared of timber, a thriving dairy industry developed, which was assisted by the opening of the former Highfields (later Spring Bluff) Railway Station.〔 Munro and his brother Archibald established the Argyle Saw Mills near Geham Creek and opened a timber yard in Toowoomba during the 1870s. Munro was also responsible for the expansion of the timber industry in the Perseverance, Ravensbourne and Cooyar areas. Although Munro's partnership with his brother was dissolved in 1887, he carried on the business under the name of A&D Munro. Munro was chairman of the Highfields Divisional Board from 1888 to 1913, and of the Highfields Shire Council from 1915 to 1917.〔 In 1897 the Governor visited Munro's new saw mills at Ravensbourne and Perseverance Creek, staying at Argyle Homestead. At this time, Munro was also constructing a tramway which would connect the timber country with the Crows Nest branch line at Hampton and enable the area to be further opened up for timber milling. Munro travelled to the United States , where he acquired a locomotive for use on his tramway. It is possible because of his interest in the timber industry, that he acquired some of the exotic tree species planted around the homestead while in the United States.〔 Munro moved to Toowoomba early in the 1900s, and remained there until his death in 1926. From 1903, Argyle was leased to a number of people until Munro sold the property to Johann J Kahler in 1920. The Kahler family had been among the early European settlers in the Geham district, and members of the Kahler family worked at Munro's mill on Geham Creek. During the late 1930s, Argyle Homestead also served as the Geham Post Office. Kahler died in 1942, and the property was transferred to David John Kahler.〔 David Kahler died in 1983, bequeathing an area of 4 acres, including Argyle Homestead, to the National Trust of Queensland, which subsequently sold the property at public auction. Argyle Homestead was renovated in the late 1980s to provide guesthouse accommodation, and was acquired by the present owners in 1993.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Argyle Homestead」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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