McCowat's Farm

McCowart’s farm is a privately owned sugar farm on the outskirts of Garradunga, about 10km north of Innisfail. It typifies a family-operated sugar property, with a range of buildings including the house, cottage, barracks, implement shed and remnant rainforest. The original 49ha property has been reduced to around 9ha, including the farm buildings and the rainforest. Thomas McCowat came to Australia in 1904, initially working in the Presbyterian ministry in Toowoomba and Herberton. He married in 1909, but his wife died of tuberculosis in 1923, leaving him with two children. During her illness, Thomas had to leave the ministry to work as a railway fettler to fund her hospice. He remarried in 1924 and apparently worked on farms in the Johnstone district before purchasing this farm in two instalments in 1926 and 1927. The family lived in the cottage, before relocating the farmhouse to the site in 1936. The barracks were erected for the canecutters in 1930. The property was subdivided in 1961. McCowat continued to live here until his death in 1963, and the property remains in the family. The rainforest is significant for the number of rare or endangered floral species, and is a known cassowary habitat. Please note - This is a private residence and not publicly accessible.