Cooran, Queensland

Cooran is a rural hinterland town and locality in the Shire of Noosa, Queensland, Australia.[2][3] In the 2016 census the locality of Cooran had a population of 1,624 people.[1]

Cooran
Sunshine Coast, Queensland
Cooran Memorial School of Arts
Cooran is located in Queensland
Cooran
Cooran
Coordinates26.3352°S 152.8230°E / -26.3352; 152.8230 (Cooran (town centre))
Population1,624 (2016 census locality)[1]
 • Density42.85/km2 (110.98/sq mi)
Postcode(s)4569
Elevation84 m (276 ft)
Area37.9 km2 (14.6 sq mi)
Time zoneAEST (UTC+10:00)
Location
LGA(s)Shire of Noosa
State electorate(s)
Federal division(s)Wide Bay
Localities around Cooran:
Mothar Mountain Kin Kin Pinbarren
Traveston Coles Creek Cooran Pomona
Tuckekoi Federal Pomona

Geography
Looking towards Cooran from Pinbarren, circa 1931

Cooran is predominantly farming land with its urban centre in the north of the locality. Pinbarren Creek and Six Mile Creek flow from east to west through the northern part of the locality, while Coles Creek flows from east to west through the southern part of the locality. All the creeks flow into the Mary River.[4]

The Bruce Highway passes through the south-west corner of the locality but does not pass through the town. The major routes to the town are Traveston Road (from the north-west), Coles Creek Road from the south-west and Greenridge-Pinbarren Road from the east.[4]

The North Coast railway line passes through the town and northern part of the locality, to the north of Traveston Road. Cooran is served by the Cooran railway station in the centre of the town (26.3340°S 152.8227°E / -26.3340; 152.8227 (Cooran railway station)).[4][5]

Mount Cooran is a very distinctive peak in the landscape (26°22′13″S 152°48′43″E).[6]

History
Railway Station at Cooran Queensland with Mount Cooran in the background, ca. 1926

The name Cooran comes from guran or kuran, meaning tall in the Kabi language.[2][3] This might refer to Mount Cooran or to the tall Moreton Bay Ash trees (Eucalyptus tessellaris).[7]

Cooran Lagoon lies between the North Coast railway line and Railway Street near James Street (26.3396°S 152.8258°E / -26.3396; 152.8258 (Cooran Lagoon)),[8] where the Aboriginals used it as a source of water-lily bulbs and mussels for food. The Indigenous name for the lagoon is Guran.[9]

By 1878, the lagoon was the site of the Half Way Hotel (also known as the Half Way House) on the old Gympie-to-Tewantin coach road (also known as the Noosa Road).[10] It was operated by William Casey, until he transferred the licence to William Martin in December 1881.[11] Nothing remains of the hotel but the approximate site is marked with a plaque.[9][12]

In December 1889, Martin transferred the hotel licence to his new Cooran Hotel at the Cooran railway station.[13]

Cooran Post Office opened on 17 June 1889 (a receiving office had been open from 1888).[14]

The Cooran Provisional School opened on 21 July 1890.[15] It became Cooran State School in 1909.[16]

In April 1906, William Martin had plans drawn up for a public hall.[17] On Friday 17 August 1906, William Martin opened with his new hall with a free social event. The hall had a 60-by-25-foot (18.3 by 7.6 m) dance floor with a stage which was the full width of the hall and 8 feet (2.4 m) deep. It was lit by 3 Rochester lamps, each of which used one gallon of oil to produce the light of 100 candles for 12 hours. At that time, it was the largest event ever held in Cooran with around 200 people in attendance, some having ridden up to 20 miles (32 km) to attend.[18]

St Matthew's Anglican Church was dedicated on 30 September 1913 by Archbishop St Clair Donaldson.[19] It closed circa 1987.[20]

In the 1920s and 30s, banana growing became an important industry around the town.[21] For a period after World War II pineapple farms gained popularity in the district.[21]

In the early 2000s, the 26-km Noosa Trail Network was linked through Cooran.

Between 2008 and 2013, Cooran (and the rest of Noosa Shire) was within Sunshine Coast Region.[22][23]

In the 2011 census, Cooran had a population of 1,457 people.[24]

In the 2016 census, the locality of Cooran had a population of 1,624 people.[1]

Today Cooran is a small country town and retains its rural feel, as well as its main street with its preserved historic buildings.

Heritage listings

Cooran has a number of heritage-listed sites, including:

Education

Cooran State School is a government primary (Prep-6) school for boys and girls at 31 James Street (26.3406°S 152.8241°E / -26.3406; 152.8241 (Cooran State School)).[26][27] In 2018, the school had an enrolment of 134 students with 15 teachers (9 full-time equivalent) and 10 non-teaching staff (6 full-time equivalent).[28]

There is no secondary school in Cooran. The nearest secondary school is Noosa District State High School. It has a campus offering schooling to Year 8 in neighbouring Pomona to the east with schooling to Year 12 available at its campus in Cooroy to the southeast.[4]

Amenities

Cooran Memorial School of Arts is at 14 King Street (26.3347°S 152.8222°E / -26.3347; 152.8222 (Cooran Memorial School of Arts)).[29][12] The hall remains the oldest memorial hall in the Noosa Region. It acts as a community hall with different venues.

The Shire of Noosa operates a mobile library service on a weekly schedule in King Street.[30]

Attractions

The James M McKane Memorial Lookout (also known as the Tablelands Lookout) is at 526 Tablelands Road (26.3041°S 152.8359°E / -26.3041; 152.8359 (James M McCane (Tablelands) Lookout)).[31]

References
  1. Australian Bureau of Statistics (27 June 2017). "Cooran (SSC)". 2016 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 20 October 2018.
  2. "Cooran – town in Shire of Noosa (entry 8293)". Queensland Place Names. Queensland Government. Retrieved 28 December 2020.
  3. "Cooran – locality in Shire of Noosa (entry 49646)". Queensland Place Names. Queensland Government. Retrieved 28 December 2020.
  4. "Queensland Globe". State of Queensland. Retrieved 5 February 2021.
  5. "Railway stations and sidings – Queensland". Queensland Open Data. Queensland Government. 2 October 2020. Archived from the original on 5 October 2020. Retrieved 5 October 2020.
  6. "Mount Cooran (entry 8296)". Queensland Place Names. Queensland Government. Retrieved 31 August 2015.
  7. "Cooran". Queensland Places. Centre for the Government of Queensland, University of Queensland. Archived from the original on 31 January 2022. Retrieved 31 January 2022.
  8. "Town of Cooran" (Map). Queensland Government. 1983. Archived from the original on 8 February 2021. Retrieved 31 January 2022.
  9. "Cooran". Tourism & Events Queensland. Archived from the original on 31 January 2022. Retrieved 31 January 2022.
  10. "ANNUAL LICENSING MEETING". Gympie Times And Mary River Mining Gazette. Vol. X, no. 1083. Queensland, Australia. 17 April 1878. p. 3. Retrieved 31 January 2022 – via National Library of Australia.
  11. "Advertising". Gympie Times And Mary River Mining Gazette. Vol. XIII, no. 1452. Queensland, Australia. 24 December 1881. p. 2. Retrieved 31 January 2022 – via National Library of Australia.
  12. "5 Mary River Catchment (includes Pomona, Cooran, Black Mountain, Ridgewood, Pinbarren & Federal)". Historical Cultural Heritage of Noosa Shire. Noosa Shire Council. pp. 126–127. Archived from the original on 8 February 2021. Retrieved 30 January 2022.
  13. "Advertising". Gympie Times And Mary River Mining Gazette. Vol. XXI, no. 2510. Queensland, Australia. 2 July 1889. p. 2. Retrieved 31 January 2022 – via National Library of Australia.
  14. Premier Postal History. "Post Office List". Premier Postal Auctions. Archived from the original on 15 May 2014. Retrieved 10 May 2014.
  15. "Opening and closing dates of Queensland Schools". Queensland Government. Retrieved 31 August 2015.
  16. "Agency ID 5124, Cooran State School". Queensland State Archives. Retrieved 31 August 2015.
  17. "NOTES BY OUR TRAVELLING CORRESPONDENT". The Queenslander. No. 2094. Queensland, Australia. 28 April 1906. p. 10. Retrieved 31 January 2022 – via National Library of Australia.
  18. "COORAN". Gympie Times And Mary River Mining Gazette. Vol. XXXVIII, no. 5028. Queensland, Australia. 23 August 1906. p. 3. Retrieved 31 January 2022 – via National Library of Australia.
  19. "RELIGIOUS". The Brisbane Courier. No. 17, 387. Queensland, Australia. 4 October 1913. p. 5. Archived from the original on 5 February 2021. Retrieved 27 July 2020 – via National Library of Australia.
  20. Anglican Church of Southern Queensland. "Closed Churches". Archived from the original on 3 April 2019. Retrieved 3 July 2020.
  21. Environmental Protection Agency (Queensland) (2000). Heritage Trails of the Great South East. State of Queensland. p. 148. ISBN 0-7345-1008-X.
  22. "Backward Glance: History of Local Government on the Sunshine Coast". Sunshine Coast Regional Council. Retrieved 2 August 2023.
  23. "The Noosa De-amalgamation: Building a New Organisation". Noosa Shire Council. 2 January 2014. pp. 8–9. Retrieved 2 August 2023.
  24. Australian Bureau of Statistics (31 October 2012). "Cooran (SSC)". 2011 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 31 August 2015.
  25. "Alfredson's Joinery, Pre-Cut House Workshop and Sawmill (former) (entry 602690)". Queensland Heritage Register. Queensland Heritage Council. Retrieved 14 July 2013.
  26. "State and non-state school details". Queensland Government. 9 July 2018. Archived from the original on 21 November 2018. Retrieved 21 November 2018.
  27. "Cooran State School". Archived from the original on 27 March 2020. Retrieved 21 November 2018.
  28. "ACARA School Profile 2018". Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority. Archived from the original on 27 August 2020. Retrieved 28 January 2020.
  29. "Cooran Hall and Acoustic Night". Archived from the original on 23 December 2021. Retrieved 31 January 2022.
  30. "Noosa Mobile Library – Mobile Stops – Noosa Mobile Hours". Shire of Noosa. Archived from the original on 30 January 2018. Retrieved 19 January 2018.
  31. "Cooran Tablelands Lookout / James McKane Memorial Lookout". Visit Noosa. Archived from the original on 31 January 2022. Retrieved 31 January 2022.

Further reading
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Cooran, Queensland.
Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Cooran.
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