The earliest hotel in the district may have been at Geham ("15 miles from Toowoomba"). William Taylor Perkins applied for a publican's general license in 1865. The article suggests the building there before 1865. It was at the Geham Sawmills. There was reference to it in the Dalby Herald in 1867 - lots of land sold just beyond Mr Perkin’s Highfields Hotel on Geham Rd. The Governor Bowen visited Toowoomba in 1867 and the Perkins Hotel (Highfields) hosted a luncheon for about 60 guests. William Taylor Perkins had the licence from 1866/68. It was destroyed by fire in Sept 1894. At that time, it was owned by Mr Garvey.