Skip links and keyboard navigation

Colonsay Farm (former Doolong Farm)

125 Doolong Road, Kawungan

Remove favourite

Colonsay Farm Horse shed (2006); Heritage Branch staff

Colonsay Farm Horse shed (2006)

Colonsay Farm (2006); Heritage Branch staff

Colonsay Farm (2006)

Colonsay Farm mechanised walk-through dairy (2006); Heritage Branch staff

Colonsay Farm mechanised walk-through dairy (2006)

Colonsay Farm Handmilking bales (2006); EHP

Colonsay Farm Handmilking bales (2006)

In the hinterland of Hervey Bay lies a private farm that is symbolic of this former sugar and dairying district. Originally known as ‘Doolong Farm’, the property was selected by Danish immigrant Anders Jensen in 1879. He grew sugar and grazed cattle and horses. The farm was acquired by the Macpherson family who built the house in 1909. They grew sugar on the southern part of the 80 ha property and dairy cattle grazed the remainder. Sugar was the first commercial crop in the district, and dairying came to the fore in the early 20th century. This property retains its slab barn, hand milking bails, and two piggeries, most likely built by the McPhersons. Piggeries were always a subsidiary business to dairying, as the pigs consumed the buttermilk remaining after the milk was separated. The cream was then sent to the Maryborough Butter Factory. Subsequent owners of the farm built a walk-through electrified dairy in the 1940s. The property was sold again in the late 1960s to the McFie family who continued dairying. They renamed the property ‘Colonsay Farm’, honouring the McFie family’s ancestral home in Scotland. This is a private property and not publically accessible.

Coordinates: -25.31315198, 152.84771989

Full details of this heritage-registered place are in the Heritage register.

My favourites

View favourites list (1 favourites)

Licence
Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)
Last reviewed
1 July 2022
Last updated
28 February 2023