Inverness

On the highest point in the town of Toogoolawah, is this private home. It was built in 1917 for the manager of the Nestlé and Anglo Swiss Condensed Milk Company, Archibald C Munro. The process of condensing milk had been initiated in Queensland by his father, Colin Munro, on his Lower- Burdekin property in 1886. Colin Munro was a pioneer of the Queensland sugar industry, famous for the 1860s horse-driven mill on the Albert River. Munro’s Burdekin condensed milk enterprise provisioned the northern gold miners. He then went into partnership with J H McConnel, establishing the Toogoolawah condensed milk plant. Munro managed the factory until his retirement. His son William became manager, before and after the sale to Nestlé in 1907. In 1909 William moved to manage Nestlé’s Warrnambool factory and his younger brother Archibald Munro managed Toogoolawah. The house, occupied by Archibald and his family, was designed by Brisbane architect John Henry Burley, influenced by the ‘arts and crafts’ style and built by D A Menzies. Burley’s use of asbestos cement roofing tiles and interior wall sheeting was amongst the earliest uses of these products in Queensland. The family named the house ‘Inverness’ after Colin Munro’s Scottish home. Please note - This is a private residence and not publicly accessible.