Faced with the high cost of importing sugar from overseas, the Colony wanted to find a way to encourage people to invest in sugarcane growing.

The Sugar and Coffee Regulations Act 1864, was introduced into the Queensland Legislative Assembly by Charles Coxen, member for the Northern Downs.

[2] The introduction of the Act brought about a renewed interest in sugar cane growing and people raced to accumulate land up and down the coast of Queensland.

Working under the Act the brothers divided up a central section of their property into three blocks, Jamaica, Barbados and Mauritius and experimented with the growing of sugarcane.

These subdivided sections later became known as Fairymead, after a friend of the family visited the plantation and described the place as being like a "fairy mead" on a misty morning.

[1] Arthur and Horace Young, with their younger brother Ernest, began to transform Fairymead into a profitable, state of the art, sugar plantation.

In 1902 the Young brothers established an irrigation system to help combat the effects of long periods of drought in the region and began working towards the mechanisation of the cane harvesting industry.

The rest of the district also benefited from Fairymead's reduced demand for cane cutters, who were made more available to service other sugar plantations in the region.

The extremely high ceilings are a feature of the house and were incorporated in the design to provide some relief against the Queensland summer heat.

Architect, John Shedden Adam, introduced a number of special inclusions in his design to accommodate requests made by his sister, Margaret Young.

One request was to design the front stairs with a landing a couple of feet from the ground so that she could alight from her carriage without soiling her shoes.

The adaptive re-use of the property from a residence to a museum involved utilising the space underneath the house, which was subsequently bricked in to provide room for a theatrette and Life Education Centre.

Most rooms contain a series of static displays illustrating the lifestyle of a plantation owner in the late 19th century and the social aspects of the development of the sugar industry.

[1] Built in the Indian Bungalow Style, Fairymead House is an impressive two-storey timber and masonry residence with a large hipped corrugated iron roof.

Although relocated in 1989 to the Bundaberg Botanic Gardens, the house is a rare example of the grandeur of plantation style accommodation of the late 19th and early 20th century and attests to the development of north Queensland's sugar industry.

Although relocated in 1989 to the Bundaberg Botanic Gardens, the house is a rare example of the grandeur of plantation-style accommodation of the late 19th and early 20th century and attests to the development of north Queensland's sugar industry.

In particular, the Indian Bungalow style home features 16-foot (4.9 m) ceilings, wide verandahs and extended eves, designed to provide shade and natural cooling against the Queensland summer heat.

Although relocated in 1989 to the Bundaberg Botanic Gardens, the house is a rare example of the grandeur of plantation-style accommodation of the late 19th and early 20th century and attests to the development of north Queensland's sugar industry.

Fairymead House also reflects the life and work of the Young brothers, Henry, Horace and Ernest, who established one of Bundaberg's earliest and most successful sugar plantations.