Jimbour House
Jimbour House - an exquisite sandstone jewel framed by majestic Moreton Bay figs is a 25 minute drive from Dalby, Queensland.
This segment from Jimbour House’s website sums it up beautifully:
“A vision sprung from the plains in 1875 - ornate French doors, Tuscan columns, those wide Queensland verandahs and a roof forged from Welsh slate. Everything about Jimbour’s main residence surprises, delights and intrigues. The construction draws you in, but the stories of these walls keep you captivated with every step.”
Prior to the arrival of Europeans, the land was known as Gimba and inhabited by people of the Barungam language group. Gimba means ‘little white clouds’. The Barungam people hadn’t experienced sheep before and the view of sheep grazing across the grasslands reminded them of little white clouds. How fluffy and soft that image is! The name ‘Jimbour’ was inspired from the original language word of ‘Gimba’.
Jimbour was quite an establishment - 200 people lived and worked on the property and 45 shepherds cared for 300,000 sheep. That’s A LOT of cute clouds.
In 1844, the famous explorer Ludwig Leichhardt stayed at Jimbour Station in the slab hut before his exploration of western Queensland and the Northern Territory.
The dreamiest pavilion overlooking the rose garden and pool
Jimbour was sold in 1912 after a financial downturn. The house unfortunately fell into disrepair. Ceilings collapsed into empty rooms. The once spectacular garden was now a wilderness. Thankfully, the Russell family rescued Queensland’s jewel and reopened the house with a fundraising ceremony for Dalby hospital in 1925.
Located in the drawing room is a bedside table that was owned by Florence Nightingale. The book lying on the table reveals an inscription to her godchild, who was Mrs Russell’s mother.
Jimbour has a delicious connection with aviation. Charles Russell returned from the United States and brought with him a Beechcraft F17D Staggerwing. The Russells owned Tiger Moths, Miles Geminis and various Beechcrafts from the 1930’s onwards. Charles was determined to conquer the obstacle of distance and modernised Jimbour by introducing flight. An innovative step, which helped him oversee the numerous pastoral properties he had.
One challenge the graziers experienced was being trapped by rising floodwaters. In 1936, Charles found himself in such a situation and telephoned his agent to send a plane to rescue him. He was put through to the pilot to obtain landing instructions and upon hearing a female voice, Charles exclaimed ‘My God! It’s a woman!’ Nancy Bird-Walton, a pioneering aviator, rescued him, much to his surprise. His comment became the title of her autobiography.
The private airstrip can be used today for incoming guests, or even wedding photos, as I recently saw on Jimbour House’s Instagram page. SO COOL!
The aviation connection was a delightful surprise for my Dad, who is passionate for all things with wings. He starting flying at age 14. Now he keeps his feet on the ground and face pointed skyward. The fact that Jimbour has its own airstrip and hangar was super exciting to him. He peeked into the hangar and subsequently declared ‘there’s nothing in there!’ Of course, I then had to peek too and saw there was, in fact, a car in there. He only has eyes for planes!
This is the photo I colour-picked my branding colour green from. I love green! It’s the Australian bush, it evokes a nostalgic eucalyptus scent in my brain and makes me think of family driving holidays out in the middle of nowhere. The best sort of memories.
Jimbour House has always been a centre for the community. Today they welcome visitors to tour the house and gardens, host functions and music festivals, celebrate weddings and even invite film crews to shoot there.
Come and savour this European beauty in Queensland’s western downs while oversees travel is but a distant memory. The captivating stories will stay with you for a long time to come. Be careful what you say though- it might be immortalised in someone’s autobiography!
Kate x
Visit Jimbour House’s website to find out more and plan your visit.
https://jimbour.com/