[1] The homestead is the main building of Taabinga Station, and now operates as a homestay, providing bed and breakfast accommodation to tourists, as well as regular farm tours.

[1] The explorations of Henry Stuart Russell in the Burnett district during the early 1840s mark a watershed in the pastoral history of Queensland.

Following the closure of Moreton Bay as a penal colony, Russell led the search for land north of Brisbane and the Darling Downs.

Russell's expeditions in the Burnett had opened a district of rich grazing and agricultural land, and in 1843 he took up Burrandowan run on the Borne River as a sheep station.

Shearing records indicate the Haly brothers had settled Taabinga station by 1846, at which time it was an established sheep property covering 305 square miles.

Despite their early occupation of the land, the Haly brothers did not apply for a lease over Taabinga until June 1850, which was granted on 10 February 1852 for a term of 14 years.

When William Haly returned to England in 1859, Charles became sole lessee of Taabinga and the following year was elected to the first Queensland Legislative Assembly as the member for the Burnett.

While documentary evidence for the physical development of Taabinga is non-existent, Hector Munro, who was the son of George Munro, onetime manager of Boondooma station, and who was a friend of the Haly family, described the first structure at Taabinga as a hut:[1]"built with bark, then perpendicular slabs with a ground floor and bark roof.

An article in The Queenslander in 1924 indicates the continued development of the homestead site in this period: "Sixty-seven years ago where now stands this beautiful, and complete home, was little better than wild, crude bush".

Its western wall is built from locally quarried sandstone and the cedar was obtained from the Bunya Mountains while the timber for the hardwood floors was taken from the property itself.

[1] On 27 March 1875, Charles Haly was preparing to sell his interests in Taabinga and the Brisbane Courier reported he had "received what is considered a good offer .

By October 1875, James Henderson, Boulton Molineaux and Thomas Littlejohn had acquired both the leasehold and freehold portions of Taabinga.

In 1883, Thomas was registered as the sole owner of the leasehold and freehold portions of Taabinga and moved there to live after his brother, Richard, relinquished the position as manager of the station.

An article on Youngman in the Queensland Trustees Quarterly Review in March 1951 noted that when "he first took possession of Taabinga he began to improve the property by a policy of ringbarking the heavily-timbered country, by the planting of artificial grasses .

These include a garage, store and meat house for which Brisbane architects HW Atkinson and Charles McLay called tenders in March 1909.

[1] While the homestead block remained unaffected, the increasing demand for land in the Burnett district had reduced the Taabinga run during Youngman's time there.

It consists of a main homestead building, a number of associated outbuildings, the remnants of an extensive, carefully tended garden, a tennis court, and a small cemetery.

The outbuildings include a kitchen, dairy, meat house, carpenter/blacksmith's workshop, and grain store, as well as garages, cottages, and stables.

Two sandstone chimneystacks project through the line where the roof changes pitch on the western side of the northern section of the house.

[1] A large proportion of the exterior walls to the northern section of the house are constructed of sandstone ashlar that is approximately 60 centimetres (24 in) deep.

The windows on the eastern facade are casements, except for a fixed pane of glass separating two double doors with upper lights.

Two large ones abut the eastern verandah, sit under the main gable, and are divided by a set of 6-panel timber bi-fold doors.

[1] It is believed that the stairs situated between the two parts of the house, lead to a corridor running under the main ridge to the upper storey lookout.

On the interior, the floors are covered with linoleum, the walls are lined with wide, single-beaded tongue-and-groove boards, and the ceiling is unlined, revealing the original shingles.

[1] This building was originally located on the other side of the stables, but was moved during the Second World War to accommodate women and children evacuees.

A part of the roof on the shorter wing has been extended to cover a strong room made with concrete walls and a steel door.

Taabinga station was established in the 1840s by the Haly brothers in the wake of Henry Stuart Russell's exploration of the Burnett district in 1842.

The Homestead site provides a well-preserved example of vernacular architecture of the Queensland pastoral frontier and its aesthetic significance is enhanced by its picturesque setting within mature landscaped gardens.

The main residence exhibits a high degree of workmanship and design, and its use of local resources for building highlights the adaptive lifestyle of Queensland's pastoral pioneers.

Taabinga has a special association with brothers Charles Robert and William O'Grady Haly, who were early pioneers of the Logan and Burnett regions.