It was the base for Eldridge's experimental farming when the Moreton Bay region was struggling to establish itself, and later for John Frederick McDougall's considerable pastoral holdings in the area.

He was a prominent member of St John's Anglican Church, and an active participant in the Brisbane School of Arts and Sciences and the Moreton Bay Musical Society.

[1] Eldridge was a well-respected townsman with a clear commitment to the development of Brisbane at political, civic, economic and social levels, but he was also something of a visionary.

Like the indomitable Dr John Dunmore Lang, who envisioned a Moreton Bay populated by yeomen farmers, Eldridge was determined to prove that agriculture in the Northern Districts of New South Wales was economically viable.

[1] In the second half of 1851, Eldridge, who had little knowledge of farming, purchased Western Suburban Allotments 4 to 11, totalling over 30 acres (12 ha), along the northern bank of the Brisbane River, just beyond the town boundary.

Here, at what he named Milton Farm, Eldridge experimented with cotton growing, hoping to prove that agriculture at Moreton Bay could be sustained and profitable.

By late 1854 this land had been cleared, and in March 1855, Eldridge announced his intention of removing to Eagle Farm, and selling the Milton Estate.

The Eldridges resided at Milton through the remainder of 1855, but the property, including a mansion house was sold and transferred to pastoralist John Frederick McDougall in January 1856, for £2,300.

[1] John Frederick McDougall, a member of the first Queensland Legislative Council, farmed the Milton Estate, adding large western suburbs leaseholds to his holding, and enlarging the house considerably.

Tenants included Arthur Manning, the Colonial Under-Secretary; Henry Walsh, MLC and speaker of the Legislative Assembly; and James Crombie.

The building subsequently became part of the Kings Row Corporate Park development, at which time it was refurbished to resemble its outward appearance of the 1860s.

[1] The hip-roofed house is Colonial Georgian in style and plan, having a typical front doorway with segmented sidelights and an arched fanlight, and a symmetrical arrangement of rooms about a central hallway on each floor.

The present garden and lawns to the front and sides of the house were planted at the time of the building's refurbishment but include mature poinciana and jacaranda trees.