The building was originally erected in Cooktown around 1880, where it was originally a corner commercial building, hence the truncated corner. The building was re-located to Cairns in 1920 where it was leased to a local midwife, Janet Herries who eventually turned the building into Herries' Private Hospital which catered for both maternity and general patients. Situated at 180 McLeod Street, Cairns, it was run by Nurse Janet Abercrombie Herries between 1921 and 1939.
The building stayed occupied by the Herries family until approximately 1996 when Janets son passed away. Around this time the building was also added to the State Heritage Register and the building sat empty and slowly deteriorating for many years until the current owner purchased it and decided to restore it as his personal home. This project took almost a year and over $1 million to complete but the owner couldn't be happier.