File:StateLibQld 1 134985 Selector's house, probably near Logan in the Beenleigh district, 1872.jpg

English: Selector's house, probably near Logan in the Beenleigh district, 1872

The early part of William Boag's career was spent in Sydney where he was in partnership with portrait photographer Joseph Charles Milligan. (Images made by Boag are in the collection of the Campbelltown and Airds Historical Society.). Boag arrived in Queensland in November 1871. He travelled around the south-east, along the foreshore of Moreton Bay and the township of Cleveland. He then moved into the Logan and Albert area where he captured images of local crushing mills and sugar plantations. While at Yatala, he took on a partner, John Henry Mills, and by the end of 1872, both men were in Stanthorpe where they remained for several months, producing views of the booming tin-mining settlement. In July 1873, after stopping off in Warwick, Boag and Mills extended their operations to Mackay, where they remained until October 1875. During this time, Boag made trips to St Lawrence and Cooktown, however his movements after this are difficult to trace. It is known that by mid 1876 he was at Copperfield and Clermont, and in February 1878, he inserted a notice in the Peak Downs Telegram announcing that he was leaving for the west. Then information ceases abruptly. It is possible that Boag never reached his destination, since his death certificate records that he died in 1878 at an unknown location.

This dwelling with its supporting stumps to protect it from floods and termites shows the early use of a gabled roof over a four-roomed plan. The decorative bargeboard recalls the details on American villa residences of the 1850s and 1860s. Beenleigh at the time of Boag's visit was becoming a major commercial centre for the Logan and Albert districts. Pretty cottages of this kind sat by the roadside approach to the town and these residences were surrounded by 'tasty bits of garden'.