Mayes Cottage

Mayes Cottage is a heritage house in Kingston with four main rooms, broad verandahs, and a steep pyramid roof showing early Australian building methods. The property also includes a separate kitchen building with exposed wooden framing, typical of rural construction from that era.

John and Emily Mayes came from England in 1871 and settled on land near Scrubby Creek in 1872, building their first slab hut there. The property later became an important example of early European settlement in this Queensland region.

The house shows how early settlers lived in Queensland, with old farming tools and household items from the 1880s still visible today. The rooms and garden tell the story of daily work and family life across many decades.

The property is open to visitors most days and offers guided tours to help understand the rooms and historical context better. It helps to check opening times in advance since these may vary seasonally.

The property still keeps the original mango trees from the 1800s that the family tended across generations. Today visitors can rest under the same trees and enjoy the view that early settlers saw daily.