Colonsay Farm (former Doolong Farm)

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.