This house was built by Scottish stonemason William Wood, probably about 1860. Like the other buildings by Wood, it was a substantial building, as was reflected in the rate assessments. The rate assessment books also reveal that Wood must have had an interest in photography, as they record a 'picture gallery' or 'photographic rooms' on Wood's property.

After Wood left the district in 1874 he sold this house and the store next door to William Mills. Mills sold the house to Richard Bailey in 1889. There is a picture of Richard Bailey standing in front of his house with his wife and three children. Richard Bailey had married Elizabeth Sophia Roads in 1881, and they had eight children. Bailey took out a mortgage on his property but appears to have defaulted on the mortgage in 1901, and the property was transferred to Robert MacIndoe Robertson.