Mary Cairncross Reserve, Subtropical rainforest reserve in Sunshine Coast Hinterland, Australia

Mary Cairncross Reserve is a 55-hectare subtropical rainforest on the Blackall Range east of Maleny, Queensland, overlooking the Glass House Mountains. Its canopy, dominated by Australian red cedar, shelters 107 tree species, strangler figs and red-legged pademelons. Walking tracks start near the Rainforest Discovery Centre, opened in 2017.

The reserve was created in 1941 when the Thynne sisters donated the land to Landsborough Shire Council as a memorial to their mother. That donation stopped the forest from being cleared and set it aside as protected land from that point on.

The name of the reserve honors Mary Thynne, a local woman whose daughters gave the land away so it would be protected. Today, families and school groups come here to see native plants and animals up close along the forest trails.

The reserve is open year-round and the trails are manageable for most visitors, though some sections have hills that require a bit of effort. A Discovery Centre and café at the entrance are good starting points before heading into the forest.

The reserve protects 139 recorded bird species, among them the wompoo fruit-dove, green catbird and brown cuckoo-dove, alongside 11 marsupials, 14 snakes and 14 frog species. Its 55 hectares also shelter the red-legged pademelon, a small forest-dwelling relative of the kangaroo that forages on the rainforest floor.