History Doonan, Queensland

the doonan area first settled in late 1800s. many of settlers had land on known cash road. included neils bierregaard in 1889 , william stuart-russell, 1910-1930. thomas robinson, selected in 1898, , granted deeds in 1906 159 acres. transported goods eumundi railway station packhorse , earned living felling timber own property. after killed falling tree in 1910, family stayed on property. eldest son joseph married marie stuart-russell , settled on own property, further down doonan road below steep hill. hill called misery hill , presumably because of bogginess in wet weather.

william cash , family selected in 1898. built house of cedar slabs , first bring banana plants in pack horse. timber felling main occupation , assist them had own bullock teams. cash snr master of trades - carpenter, builder, blacksmith, wheelwright, slaughterman- butcher. michael , mary burke settled on 200 acres of rainforest. cleared land dairying, had pigs, grew cane, growing arrowroot , sweet potatoes pig feed.

further along doonan road, joe , marcella bowden , 9 children settled in 1927. cleared land , planted banana farm. william , edith duke settled in called duke road in 1917. began dairying , growing bananas on slopes farmers working on share basis. there tennis court on property , dances held in homes of residents. further along towards tewantin, bill , esther bedington settled in called bedington road in 1909, , kept dairy farm. esther had been gatekeeper , postmistress @ eumundi railway station.

local children had gone eumundi school, more children came district, parents applied school @ doonan. tom stevens donated land , permission granted build school. doonan provisional school opened in 1919. in 1920 became state school until closure in 1954. railway link eumundi tewantin, run through doonan, proposed in 1915. survey undertaken, project shelved during world war , abandoned.