DONALD Vic

  The locals of Donald are obviously very proud of their town and friendly, a few waving welcome as I took photos in the main street.Donald is on the Richardson River named after William Donald, a Scottish pastoralist who was the first settler in the area in 1844. At the 2006 census Donald had a population of 1,697. The earliest township was known as Richardson Bridge until surveyed as Donald in 1866. The Donald Post Office opened in 1870. The town grew steadily boosted by the closer settlement of the surrounding countryside and the arrival of the railway in 1882. Donald  became famous on 26 September 2006 when it was the scene of the Borung Highway collision in which seven people died. Unfortunately, the town has been the victim of floods three times in the last year, with the most severe in January 2011. Major floods also occurred in August 1909, 1918, 1956, 1975 and 1992. In contrast, the area suffered a major drought period in the 1990s and 2000s, significantly impacting the community which primarily relies on crop farming to survive.
(Click on a photo to enlarge)