Loudon House, John Moffat’s residence. Irvinebank, North Queensland, circa 1885.

Albumen print photograph, 190 x 245 mm; verso with pencilled inscription by the photographer: ‘Mr. Moffat’s residence, Irvinebank. / H. G. Livery, Photo.’; a strong print with superb tonal range, in very good condition (unmounted).

A rare photograph of a highly significant North Queensland heritage-listed building in its early years, with the owner himself, John Moffat, posing outside.

No other example traced.

‘Originally known as Gibb’s Camp, the name was changed to Irvinebank by North Queensland mining legend John Moffat to remind him of his birth place of Newmilns on the river Irvine, Ayrshire, Scotland. John Moffat purchased the original claims from Gibb’s and party in 1883.
By 1884 Moffat had erected a battery and smelter which was to become the largest smelter in Australia for a number of years. As the town developed, mail and coach services were established, followed by a school, police station, post and telegraph office and a school of arts.
The town was gazetted for land sales in 1886. As mining operations expanded and became profitable, Irvinebank developed into a thriving community …

Loudon House. This former home of John Moffat, is now a living museum with a remarkable historical collection. The house is built of red cedar and is the oldest high-set timber and corrugated iron house in North Queensland. It was from this house that John Moffat controlled his vast mining empire. John Moffat retired from Irvinebank in 1912. His Irvinebank Mining Company was eventually sold to the Queensland State Government in 1919. In 1984, Loudoun House was made a museum reserve in trusted to the people of Irvinebank. Loudoun House is listed on the Queensland Heritage Register and the Australian Heritage Register of the National Estate. Loudoun House Museum is a non profit organisation.‘ (Irvinebank.org)