Ferrari Estates Building

This building was erected in 1890-91 as the Bank of North Queensland branch and manager’s residence. The bank was one of three Queensland banking companies formed in the 19th century and was actively supported by Robert Philp, the businessman, politician and separatist. The Cooktown branch was established in 1888, at the height of the town’s prosperity supported by the rich regional mining industry. The Bank of New South Wales and the Queensland National Bank had already established branches here. Townsville architects, Eyre and Munro, were commissioned to design the new Bank of North Queensland, which was completed in mid-1891. The fortunes of the mining industry had begun to wane by this time and the devastation to Cooktown by the 1907 cyclone led to further decline in the town. The bank closed in 1908. It remained bank property, and was rented as a residence, until a number of bank mergers in the early 1920s finally led to its sale in 1924. It continued to be used as a residence, including occupation and ownership by the Ferrari family from 1963.