[1] In 1910, the railway line linking Cairns with the Tablelands reached Allumbah, which was then renamed Yungaburra to avoid confusion with another town.

A period of rapid development then began with the construction of a sawmill, a hotel and a number of shops and houses near the new Yungaburra railway station.

The land on which the house is built was part of a 65-acre block comprising adjoining Agricultural Farms 163 and 164 selected by George O'Donnell in 1899.

He had purchased another block from this subdivision the previous year and took out a mortgage for £150 on the newly acquired land, though not necessarily to build a residence.

Williams had arrived in Australia in the 1860s and worked in a number of occupations before leasing land at Scrubby Creek on the Tablelands.

After losing his dairy cattle to tick in 1895, Williams turned to business and ran a store and butchery at Scrubby Creek and a hotel at Carrington.

Williams is first listed as operating a store, butchers and bakery in Yungaburra and they may have established these businesses in anticipation of the road link from Gordonvale, which had been under construction since 1920.

[1] In 1926 the Gillies Highway was opened and the role of Yungaburra as a gateway to the natural attractions of the Tablelands created a second period of development in the town due to the blossoming tourist trade to the nearby lakes.

The area was used for training and recuperation and from March 1942, there was a USAF base at Mareeba at which many Americans were stationed as ground and workshop crews.

[1] The house has been extended in several stages and has had a number of alterations carried out to it over the years including the filling in of verandahs and removal of internal walls.

[1] The former Williams house is a single storey timber building set on stumps and has a corrugated iron hip and gable roof.

Sliding windows in timber frames having alternating square panes of pink and green obscure glass flank this section and extend down each side of the building.

On the western side of the building towards the rear a section of verandah has been removed, exposing a portion of wall with exterior studding.

A verandah side awning cuts across a window at this point, evidence of the series of adjustments made to the house to accommodate changing use.

As an early house built on one of the subdivisions made following the opening of the railway, it assists in understanding the way in which Yungaburra developed.