Doonan, Queensland

Doonan is a suburb on the Sunshine Coast in Queensland, Australia. The name is believed to come from the Aboriginal word for leaf. The northern part is within the local government area of Shire of Noosa and the southern part is within Sunshine Coast Region (between 2008 and 2013 it was entirely within Sunshine Coast Region). At the 2011 Australian Census Doonan recorded a population of 3,142.HistoryThe Doonan area was first settled in the late 1800s. Many of the early settlers had land on what is now known as Cash Road. They included Neils Bierregaard in 1889 and William Stuart-Russell, 1910-1930. Also Thomas Robinson, who selected in 1898, and was granted deeds in 1906 to 159 acres. He transported all his goods from Eumundi railway station by packhorse and earned a living by felling timber mainly from his own property. After he was killed by a falling tree in 1910, his family stayed on the property. His eldest son Joseph married Marie Stuart-Russell and they settled on their own property, further down Doonan Road below the steep hill. This hill was often called "Misery Hill", presumably because of its bogginess in wet weather.William Cash and family selected in 1898. They built a house of cedar slabs and were the first to bring banana plants in by pack horse. Timber felling was their main occupation and to assist them they had their own bullock teams. Cash Snr was a master of most trades - carpenter, builder, blacksmith, wheelwright, slaughterman- butcher. Michael and Mary Burke settled on 200 acres of rainforest. They cleared the land for dairying, had pigs, grew cane, as well as growing arrowroot and sweet potatoes for pig feed.