Garowie, a grand two-storey residence, was one of several mansions built on the
Limestone Hill ridge. It was built by Mesrs Robt. Wilson and Co for
James Clarke Cribb, the son of
Benjamin Cribb who founded the
Cribb and Foote business, and his wife Alice née Browne. The house was designed by
Ipswich builder and architect, Samuel Shenton, and was completed in 1888. It is said to have been modelled on the
Denmark Hill home of Benjamin Cribb,
Gooloowan. The architect Samuel Shenton, arrived in Ipswich in March 1851 and began work as a carpenter and building contractor. Among his early contracts were Dr Challinor's house and shop in Brisbane Street and
fitting out the first Presbyterian Church (1853). Shenton made some significant improvements to central Ipswich in the 1860s with the School of Arts and the Lands Office. During this time he was preparing plans, specifications and quantities and in 1879 his contracting business was taken over by Worley and Whitehead. Shenton practised as an architect from 1879 until 1889 when his practice was taken over by employee
George Brockwell Gill. Shenton subsequently became heavily involved in community and business ventures as well as local politics. He was an alderman for many years and the
Mayor of Ipswich from 1871 to 1872 and 1889. He died in Ipswich on 3 July 1893. Some of his other more notable and extant works are the
Central Congregational Church Manse (1882–83) in Quarry Street, and Faerieknowe (
Fairy Knoll) for E.W. Hargraves. James Cribb served the family company until 1904, when he was elected to the
Bundamba Shire Council. He was a
Member of the Queensland Legislative Assembly for
Rosewood and
Bundamba (which later became the seat of
Bremer), serving a total of 19 years as a state parliamentarian. Cribb was also a member of the board of the
Ipswich Hospital, a director of the
Ipswich Gas and Coke Company and the
Queensland Woollen Mills, a trustee of the Ipswich and superintendent of the
Congregational Sunday School. After James Cribb died in May 1926, his brother Harry bought the house. Harry Cribb was a state level champion tennis player. Garowie once had a tennis court in the grounds on the southern side of the house which was converted into a bowling green during the mid 1920s. This portion of the grounds as well as the portion to the north of the house were subdivided and separate residences were built. The original fence was replaced by a stone masonry fence at around this time. Large gates of red cedar were installed. Henry Cribb died in July 1944, and the house was sold to Duncan Robson. He converted the house into 7 flats, one being the detached billiard room. Garowie was then resold three times and purchased by K V McDonnell in 1951. He subdivided the original 3.5 acre property into 9 separate blocks and built a home on what had been the bowling green, incorporating the original bowls pavilion. A tennis court with fluorescent lighting was built on what had been the orchard, the rose garden to the north of the house became two blocks and were sold together, as was the carriage house. The horse yards, fronting Tower Street, were eventually sold as four housing blocks. Subsequent maintenance at Garowie included removal, stripping, repainting and replacement of the cast iron balustrading from the upper verandah, with stripping of the multiple coats of lead paint and recoating with lead free paint. The remainder of the building was repainted inside and out, a fire escape added from the upper floor and a row of carports built behind the main building. The rendered brick front fence, which was leaning outwards, was anchored to buried concrete logs and has moved no further. In 1970 the house was bought by Dr and Mrs J Thomas, who began restoring it back to a single dwelling. In the 1980s the home was bought by Edwin & Loretta Stoyle where they raised their three children. In December 2003, the home was bought by the Frank family. On arrival, the property had been stripped of all floor coverings, drapes and all lighting—only light bulbs remained. Since purchase, the property has been extensively restored including underpinning, all verandahs replaced, complete replacement of the back wall which had been eaten-out by white ants, gutters replaced, all new antique 1800s lights/chandeliers installed, painted, cedar restored, and grounds landscaped. The residence was originally brick, and was rendered after 1919. The billiard room, on the southern side, has been relocated. The original fretwork on the front portico is missing, the current fretwork being copied from another residence,
Lakemba, at 14 Chelmsford Avenue, Ipswich. The name
Garowie is supposedly an Aboriginal word for
Fig Tree Camp. There are several very large Moreton Bay Fig trees on the original property. == Description ==