[1] Ernest Elphinstone Dalrymple was part of the first wave of European settlers, who included Patrick and George Leslie, and George and John Gammie, to drive stock to the newfound Darling Downs area on receiving instructions from explorer Allan Cunningham who first recognised the potential of the area for pastoral settlement in 1827.

This partnership was later broken and the property remained in Hamner's possession until his death, when it passed to the Queensland Cattle Company, and later to Lucht, who sold it to George and Charles Clark in 1865.

[1] The stone building situated near the entrance to Talgai was apparently built as a residence for the architect, Richard George Suter and his wife, during the construction of the homestead and the property's huge woolshed.

[1] Richard George Suter (1827 - 1894) trained as an architect in London under his father after completing a Bachelor of Arts at Trinity College at Cambridge in 1850.

After a decline in his success, Suter moved to Melbourne in 1876 and became a priest for the Catholic Apostolic Church, where he died of heart disease in 1894.

Beside the Olive tree, which still remains today near the back gate of the property, George also constructed a stone chapel which was used for family worship but was never consecrated.

William Naish, fencing contractor, inadvertently discovered a skull where heavy rain had scoured out a creek bed.

[1] In 1934 both the cattle and the sheep studs were sold at public auction, leaving about 750 acres on the homestead block around East Talgai house.

[1] The homestead is a large single-storeyed U-shaped sandstone building with a corrugated iron hipped roof and verandahs all round.

The building has seven rock-faced sandstone chimneystacks, and French doors with glass fanlights and sash windows open onto the verandahs from most rooms.

This loggia has two pairs of cast iron columns, centrally located along the line of the verandah wall, supporting a timber truss beam.

[1] Internally, the ceilings are boarded and raked at the sides, and the building has rough rendered stone walls, panelled cedar doors and ornate timber fireplace surrounds.

The eastern wing contains two sitting rooms, one of which houses a grand piano which is the only surviving original piece of furniture in the homestead.

An office and large kitchen are located in the midsection of the wing, and are accessed from the main entry via an arched doorway and corridor.

[1] The grounds include a clay tennis court to the east of the homestead, an avenue of Bunya Pines to the south, and the remains of a sandstone slaughter house/acetylene store consisting of an L-shaped wall with two sash windows and a concrete floor to the west.

A gravel driveway enters the home paddock to the northeast of the homestead, and swings along the northern side bordering a pond with fountain to access a carpark to the west.

[1] A timber cottage with a hipped corrugated iron roof and front verandah is located to the northeast of the office/store on the opposite side of the driveway.

The line of the footings for the weir is visible in the stone embankment of the creek bed, and the remains of a water control mechanism is located at the western end.

Talgai homestead also reflects the immense wealth that the early pastoralists were able to amass from wool production on the Darling Downs.

Talgai Homestead is a rare surviving example of the early affluent development by squatters on the Darling Downs which was a feature of this pastoral district in the mid to late 19th century.

Talgai Homestead has the potential to yield information about Queensland's history due to the age and former complexity of the settlement.

Talgai Homestead has significant aesthetic value as a well composed substantial stone residence in a picturesque setting of landscaped gardens showing a high level of skilled design.