Highfields Hotel

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 on 22 August 1865. The building contained “three sitting rooms and six bedrooms, exclusive of those required for the use of my family”. The article suggests it was "at the Sawmills", but appears to be a few hundred metres away: 

On 17th October the sawmills burnt down, "for the purpose of preparing for a dinner-party at four o'clock, to be given by Mr. Perkins, on the occasion of his opening the Highfields Hotel, a spark is supposed to have caught the roof of the mills, which were covered with bark. On its first being discovered by one of the workmen it had just been fanned into a flames by the wind, which was very high at the time". ...He ran as speedily as possible to the spot, and though only distant about 200 yards, by the time he arrived, it was one mass of flames, which had spread all over the roof. The roofs of three adjoining workshops, the office, the single men's hut, and two or three other buildings, almost immediately took fire, ..... Tho whole of the houses covered with bark have been destroyed, while all those covered with shingles — a dozen or more in number— in the immediate vicinity, remain uninjured. (TC 19/10/1865)

A “grand dinner and ball” was held for St Patricks Day in 1866 at the hotel. 

There was reference to the Hotel in the Dalby Herald in 1867. There was a lot 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. 

In Feb 1867 there was a meeting at the Hotel to discuss the leasehold land in the area (DDG 20/02/1867 p 2)

Perkins reapplied for the licence in March 1867 and stated that he had held a licence for about two years.

On 19th June 1867 there was another meeting at the Hotel with 40 electors listening to Mr Robinson, as a potential representative, but the meeting rejected Mr Robinson in favour of Mr Groom (DDG 19/06/1867 p 3).

William Taylor Perkins had the licence from September 1866 to 1868. He transferred the licence to the Terminus Hotel on the Mort estate in October 1867 [2] 

In Dec 1867 Perkins property was for sale and included a 289 acre farm and "late the Highfields Hotel and farm" (note the three Bank of NSW properties + Perkins = 289 acres: see map; por 147 & 149 had the name "Lease WT Perkins on it under the name of the Bank) (DDG 26/12/1867 p 2)

In 1880 the BNSW sued Perkins for over 2000 pounds of debt for the Hotel and property and was declared insolvent [3].

On 31 May 1880 it was reported that £50 was spent on repairs to the road between Geham School and Perkins Hotel (DDG 31/05/1880). 

The building was destroyed by fire in Sept 1894. At that time, it was owned by Mr Garvey. 

There may have been remains of this hotel as in 1898 (DDG 02/04/1898 p 4) there is a mention of "reforming the road above Perkin's old hotel, Geham".