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 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]
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 the early 1900s, Cooran became a thriving centre of agriculture, with the main livelihoods of timber and dairying.
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]
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.
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]
The Shire of Noosa operates a mobile library service on a weekly schedule in King Street.[31]
Tourism
Cooran has been a tourist destination since the decline of dairying in the 1990s. It is a popular stopping place on the hinterland for scenic drives. Facilities include a community store, a memorial school of arts, three nature reserves and several additional local businesses. The town sits within surroundings of lush valleys and is connected by the network of the Cooroora and Woondum Trails.[citation needed]
^"Cooran". Queensland Places. Centre for the Government of Queensland, University of Queensland. Archived from the original on 31 January 2022. Retrieved 31 January 2022.
^"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.
^Anglican Church of Southern Queensland. "Closed Churches". Archived from the original on 3 April 2019. Retrieved 3 July 2020.