[2] The area was originally occupied by the Wurundjeri, Indigenous Australians of the Kulin nation, who spoke variations of the Woiwurrung language group.

[5] Like much of the City of Manningham, Doncaster East was predominantly covered in fruit orchards for some time before subdivision began and it became a contiguous part of Melbourne.

[6] Housing estates began to replace orchards in the 1960s, generally along Doncaster Road, in the southern half of the suburb.

[6] The area of land that is occupied by Doncaster East mostly consists of rolling hills, creek valleys and short ridges.

Andersons Creek Road runs along an unnamed ridge that, when atop, gives views of Mount Dandenong to the east and the further rolling hills of Templestowe to the west.

Many small areas of Pine Trees were planted by early German settlers[3] and can be found all over the suburb, particularly around George and Victoria Streets and to the south-east, the presence of these pine trees can serve as a good indicator of historical property boundaries and further may be present in the nature reserves and parks that populate the region.

There are many small anecdotal localities that have established individual community identities within the suburb, some of these include: The formally recognised traditional owners for the area in which Doncaster is located are the Wurundjeri people.

The suburb contains many diverse places of worship servicing the Anglican, Baptist, Catholic, Gospel, Islamic and Uniting faiths.

Plans for a railway line to Doncaster East were scrapped by the Cain Labor Government[citation needed] and as a result local residents rely heavily on the use of cars.

Certain areas of land are currently awaiting development, including the former Box Hill Institute of TAFE's East Doncaster campus, now a newly subdivided small housing estate and a large area surrounding the Cherry Hill Tavern, which is proposed for a reception centre.

The club has had 6 Olympians at Doncaster, Chris Ciriello, Russell Ford, Andrew Smith, Lachlan and James Elmer and Joshua Simmonds.