Meet Garowie: The Cribb Family’s Hill-Top Crib

If Garowie hit the market… Would it break the
$4 million mark?

Everyday I walk past Garowie — usually heading to Limestone Park — and wonder:

“If I won the lotto… how much would I have to offer June Frank to get my hands on this ultimate heritage treasure?”

So I started digging.

I ran the numbers.

Asked around.

Even hit up a few local real estate mates — just for fun.

The verdict?

$4+ million.

Yep, that’s the ballpark.

Sounds wild, right?

But when you break it down… it actually makes a lot of sense.

Let’s take a look:

📍 Location:

Prime Eastern Heights spot, perched on the highest point in Ipswich’s inner suburbs — 79 m elevation (even the Denmark Hill and Karragaroo Hill water tanks site just below). On Whitehill Road with 360° views — including the Brisbane skyline.

🏠 House:

Built in 1888. Two-storey Victorian mansion with imported Italian fireplaces, Helidon sandstone, and a ballroom. Painstakingly renovated and in pristine condition.

📐 Size:

Around 1.25 acres of grounds. Over 1,000 m2 of living space, including those sweeping verandahs.

🏛 Heritage:

Designed by Ipswich’s first mayor. Built for the Cribb family. Lovingly restored by June Frank and family — chandeliers, gardens, cedar and all.

And that’s just scratching the surface…

…Let’s dig deeper:

🧱 Construction and Early Days (c. 1888)

• Owner: James Clarke Cribb — son of department store pioneer Benjamin Cribb — set out to build a home that rivalled anything in Queensland.
• Architect: Samuel Shenton, Ipswich’s first mayor and most respected architect, brought that vision to life.
• Builder: Robert Wilson & Co, the same team behind Gooloowan (Benjamin Cribb’s mansion), handled the construction.
• Inspiration: Garowie was a spiritual sequel to Gooloowan — but with more elevation, more refinement, and more show-stopping features.
• Name: “Garowie” is believed to mean “Fig Tree Camp” in the local Aboriginal language — a nod to the Moreton Bay figs that still guard the front.
• Materials: Think imported Italian marble fireplaces, locally sourced sandstone (Helidon), and extensive cedar joinery. Nothing cheap. Nothing standard.

📍 Part of Ipswich’s Prestigious Ridgeline

 The once pristine Garowie verandah views.

• Elite Lineage: Garowie stands shoulder to shoulder with Fairy Knoll and Karragaroo House, forming a row of Ipswich’s most iconic heritage mansions — all built on the same elevated ridgeline through Eastern Heights.
• The So-Called “Golden Triangle”: While not a triangle in shape, these homes represented the triangle of wealth, influence, and architecture in Ipswich’s golden era.
• Elevation Advantage: This ridgeline is one of the highest residential stretches in Ipswich, offering uninterrupted views, cool breezes, and commanding street presence.
• Clear View: From Garowie’s verandahs, you can see Brisbane to the east, and on a clear day, all the way to the D’Aguilar Range to the north, the Great Dividing Range to the west, and the Scenic Rim to the south — a full sweep of Southeast Queensland’s natural skyline.
• Legacy Address: Whitehill Road has always been a mark of success — where Ipswich’s most prominent families built homes that still make jaws drop today.

🧬 The Cribb Family Influence

• Founding Father: The Cribb legacy began with Benjamin Cribb, who arrived in Ipswich in the 1840s and built Cribb & Foote into one of Queensland’s most successful department stores — a business empire that bankrolled multiple family mansions.
• Power: His son, James Clarke Cribb, continued that influence as a community leader and served 19 years in Queensland Parliament, representing Rosewood, Bundamba, and Bremer.
• Civic Legacy: James also sat on the boards of the Ipswich Hospital, Queensland Woollen Mills, and the Gas & Coke Company, and championed both education and Sunday schools.
• Flood Witness: In 1893, as floodwaters engulfed Moore’s Pocket, James stood on Garowie’s verandah and watched the flood unfold — a dramatic reminder of the home’s elevated power.
• Local Hero: After one election victory, locals unhitched his horses and pulled his carriage home by hand — the 19th-century version of crowd-surfing.
• Family Dynasty: The Cribbs also built Gooloowan (1864), with cedar, marble, and a hand-cranked lift. Garowie was its elevated successor — built to be seen, and remembered.

🏛 Architectural Highlights & Features

• Structure: A two-storey Victorian villa — built with solid brick and later finished in smooth cement render post-1919.
• Verandahs: Wide wraparound verandahs on both levels. Lower: paired columns and scalloped timber battens. Upper: delicate cast iron lace balustrades still intact.
• Roofline: Classic hipped corrugated iron roof, stepped and slightly convex — a soft curve that frames the upper verandah elegantly.
• Entry: A gabled portico with fretwork detailing, inspired by nearby Lakemba, giving a grand welcome on arrival.
• Stairs: Two grand cedar staircases — one formal for guests, the other private for the family.
• Fireplaces: Imported Italian marble mantels, matched with handcrafted cedar surrounds — serious luxury for 1888.
• Ballroom: Features that now-iconic cigar mantel carving — a cheeky glimpse into Cribb’s character.
• Dining Room: Skylit, oversized, and anchored by a massive cedar dining table — designed to impress.
• Music Spaces: Originally fitted to hold two pianos and a harp — entertainment was built into the bones.
• Grounds: Once featured a tennis court, carriage house, horse yards, orchard, and formal rose garden.
• Gates & Fencing: The entire property was bordered by stone masonry fences and towering red cedar gates — announcing wealth from the street. Recently, the gates have been replaced with cast iron heritage-style balustrade gates, in keeping with the home’s character.

🎾 Harry Cribb’s Era (1926–1944)

Harry turned the tennis court into a bowling green.

• Inheritance: When James Cribb passed in 1926, Garowie was passed down to his brother Harry Cribb — an aristocrat in lifestyle, if not in title.
• Sporting Life: A state tennis champion and avid polo rider, Harry brought an air of athletic prestige to the estate.
• Lifestyle Upgrade: Harry transformed the original tennis court into a private bowling green, reflecting his evolving tastes.
• Breeding & Judging: He bred trotters (harness horses) on the grounds and judged fox terriers at national competitions.
• Social Scene: Harry founded the Queensland Hunt Club, establishing Garowie as a hub for Ipswich’s equestrian and hunting set.
• Recreation Wing: He even built a separate billiard room — a gentleman’s retreat tucked into the estate.
• Legacy: By the time of his death in 1944, Garowie had become a private country club in miniature — reflecting wealth, freedom, and elite hobbies of the interwar years.

⛓ Challenges and Changes (1944–1970)

• Post-Harry: After Harry Cribb passed in 1944, the estate was sold to Duncan Robson, who converted it into seven self-contained flats — a common wartime housing solution.
• Subdivision: In 1951, K.V. McDonnell took things further, carving up the once 3.5-acre estate into nine suburban blocks.
• Loss: Gone were the tennis court, carriage house, rose garden, orchard, and horse yards — sold off, bit by bit.
• Modifications: The grand ballroom was shrunk, fire escapes were added, and original cedar joinery was painted over to meet rental codes.
• Survival: Yet despite the wear and tear, some tenants kept the gardens blooming, and the house — though scarred — never lost its bones.
• Bottom Line: This was Garowie’s darkest chapter, but it makes her restoration story even more remarkable — and valuable.

🛠 Restoration and Recognition (1970–Today)

• Rescue Mission: In 1970, Dr. John & Robyn Thomas bought Garowie and returned it to a single-family home — beginning the long road back from disrepair.
• Authentic Details: They tracked down original-style fretwork from Lakemba, one of Garowie’s Ipswich mates, to restore the front facade.
• Official Recognition: In 1992, Garowie was added to the Queensland Heritage Register (Place ID 600599) — cementing its cultural and architectural significance.
• A New Era: In 2003, June Frank, local real estate agent and heritage warrior, stepped in as Garowie’s next caretaker.
• The Condition: What she bought was bare bones — no carpets, no curtains, no chandeliers, and signs of serious neglect.
• Purchase Price: Official figures say the sale price was $1.4 million (June 2003), but some argue the price was likely lower $700K–$800K — a bargain by today’s standards, but a massive fixer-upper.
• Restoration Works: June rebuilt entire verandahs, replaced white ant-damaged walls, restored every inch of cedar woodwork, and brought the mansion back to life.
• Lighting: She sourced and installed chandeliers from the 1800s to match the home’s original grandeur.
• Gardens: Over the years, June has planted 700+ pink flowers and shaped heart-shaped hedges, which she personally trims — usually before sunrise.
• Community: Garowie is no longer just a house. Thanks to June, it’s a place where charity events, garden tours, and heritage conversations happen.
• Bottom Line: You can’t put a price on love — but if you could, June added millions in value through sweat, soul, and scissors.

🌟 Why Garowie Still Matters Today

• Timeless Design: Garowie remains one of Queensland’s finest examples of late-Victorian architecture, complete with iron lace, Italian marble, Helidon stone, and rich cedar details.
• Foundational Family: Built by the Cribbs, who didn’t just shape Ipswich — they built it: in politics, business, education, and civic life.
• Built to Endure: The house has lived through natural disasters, war-era flat conversions, subdivision, and neglect — and still stands proud.
• Elevated Beauty: Its hilltop views stretch to Brisbane, a reminder that its position — physically and historically — is unmatched.
• Living Landmark: Today, it’s more than a heritage listing. Thanks to June Frank’s care, Garowie is alive, loved, and still hosting life — from garden tours to charity nights.
• True Value: In a city where history is often knocked down and rebuilt, Garowie is the rare survivor that’s been restored, not replaced — and that alone makes it priceless.