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Famous Ranches and Stations

Jimbour Station: The Darling Downs Run That Became a Showpiece

Jimbour began in the early 1840s as one of the first fully stocked runs on the Darling Downs and is still worked by the Russell family.

What is Jimbour Station?

Jimbour is a pastoral property on the Darling Downs in southern Queensland, remembered for a grand sandstone homestead and for being among the first fully stocked stations on the Downs. The Barungam Aboriginal people called the place Gimba, a name whose meaning, perhaps white clouds or good pastures, is still debated, according to the Jimbour house history page.

It began as a sheep run on a very large scale and has narrowed over time to a working farm, with beef cattle, grain, events and tourism all on one property.

When was Jimbour Station founded?

Sources differ on the date. The Jimbour history page says Henry Dennis took up the run in 1841 for Richard Scougall, a Scot who had come to Australia in 1832. The Wikipedia article on Jimbour Homestead says it was first claimed in 1842 by Dennis on behalf of Scougall.

In 1844 the station was bought for 3,200 pounds by Thomas Bell, who stocked it with about 11,000 sheep and 700 cattle. The history page calls it the first fully stocked station on the Darling Downs. Dennis managed it and built the first building, a slab hut, where explorer Ludwig Leichhardt stayed in 1844 before his expedition toward Port Essington.

How big was Jimbour and what did it run?

At its original scale Jimbour covered about 311,000 acres and was stocked with 250,000 sheep. Today it covers about 11,200 acres. That drop reflects the Crown's repurchase and division of the run: in 1893 Joshua Thomas Bell, then Minister for Lands, oversaw the buying back of Jimbour and its division for closer settlement.

Cattle were present from the start, with 700 in the 1844 stocking, but sheep dominated the early run. Today the property carries about 700 breeding cattle and produces around 30 commercial Charolais bulls a year, as the Wikipedia article reports.

The Bell and Russell families

Thomas Bell built a two-storey blue stone and cedar residence in 1870, and after his death in 1874 his son Joshua Peter Bell managed the property. Joshua Peter Bell became a prominent politician and later a knight and acting Governor of Queensland. The present homestead was built between 1875 and 1877 at a cost of 30,000 pounds, using about 200 workers. Architects Richard George Suter and Annesley Wesley Voysey designed the two-floor sandstone house, and Joshua Peter Bell was the main contractor.

In 1881 Joshua Peter Bell separated the house from the station and merged the pastoral interests into the Darling Downs and Western Lands Company, which the history page says led to the Bell family's decline. After the remaining run and house were sold in 1912, the house declined until 1923, when Wilfred and Millicent Russell bought it. Restoration took two years and the house reopened in 1925. The Russell Pastoral Company owns it today.

What Made It Work

Jimbour has changed hands only a few times, and its record shows the difference between a business and a monument: the Bells built a magnificent house but lost the station, while the Russells rebuilt around a smaller working farm.

The sources do not discuss the effects on Aboriginal people of the 1840s settlement, though the original name Gimba is recorded.

  • First-mover stocking: in 1844 the station was among the first fully stocked on the Darling Downs, with 11,000 sheep and 700 cattle.
  • Investing in a home base: the 30,000 pound homestead of 1875 to 1877 anchored the family's standing.
  • A cautionary lesson: separating the house from the station in 1881 and merging into a company preceded the Bell family's decline.
  • Rebuilding smaller: the Russells restored the house in 1923 to 1925 and turned the property into a grain, sheep and cattle business.
  • Diversifying: weddings, tours, filming and a vineyard added in 2000 sit alongside beef.

Visit Jimbour

Jimbour offers garden and house tours, events, weddings, filming and produce including beef. The home was listed on the Queensland Heritage Register in 1992, as noted in the Queensland Heritage Register entry. The Jimbour history page says the house will undergo renovations from December 2026, with no weddings, events or guided tours during that time, so check before you go.

For more cattle country reading, see the ranching section of farm.FM and a farm.FM story about Darling Downs cattle.

Timeline

  1. 1841Henry Dennis takes up the Jimbour run for Richard Scougall, per the Jimbour history page
  2. 1844Thomas Bell buys the station for 3,200 pounds; Leichhardt stays at the hut
  3. 1870Thomas Bell builds a two-storey blue stone and cedar residence
  4. 1874Joshua Peter Bell takes over management
  5. 1877Current sandstone homestead completed at a cost of 30,000 pounds
  6. 1881House separated from the station; Darling Downs and Western Lands Company formed
  7. 1893Crown repurchases Jimbour for closer settlement
  8. 1923Wilfred and Millicent Russell buy the house
  9. 1925House reopens after restoration

Frequently asked questions

Who owns Jimbour Station today?

The Russell Pastoral Company owns Jimbour. The Russell family bought the house in 1923, and it reopened in 1925 after two years of restoration. It is a working farm and tourism venue.

When was Jimbour founded?

Sources differ. The Jimbour history page says 1841; the Wikipedia article says it was first claimed in 1842 by Henry Dennis for Richard Scougall.

What cattle does Jimbour run today?

About 700 breeding cattle, and the property produces around 30 commercial Charolais bulls a year, according to the Wikipedia article on Jimbour Homestead.

Sources and further reading

Profiles are compiled from public sources and reviewed against them. See our editorial policy to suggest a correction.

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