Cairns (, ) is a city in
Queensland
)
, nickname = Sunshine State
, image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg
, map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = Australia
, established_title = Before federation
, established_ ...
, Australia, on the tropical north east coast of
Far North Queensland
Far North Queensland (FNQ) is the northernmost part of the Australian state of Queensland. Its largest city is Cairns and it is dominated geographically by Cape York Peninsula, which stretches north to the Torres Strait, and west to the Gulf C ...
. The population in June 2019 was 153,952, having grown on average 1.02% annually over the preceding five years.
[ The city is the 5th-most-populous in Queensland, and ]15th
15 (fifteen) is the natural number following 14 (number), 14 and preceding 16 (number), 16.
Mathematics
15 is:
* A composite number, and the sixth semiprime; its proper divisors being , and .
* A deficient number, a smooth number, a lucky ...
in Australia.
The city was founded in 1876 and named after Sir William Wellington Cairns, following the discovery of gold in the Hodgkinson river Hodgkinson is an English language, English-language surname, and may refer to:
*Alan Hodgkinson (1936–2015), English footballer
*Albert Hodgkinson (1897–1975), English recipient of the Distinguished Conduct Medal
*Alison Hodgkinson, South Africa ...
. Throughout the late 19th century, Cairns prospered from the settlement of Chinese immigrants who helped develop the region's agriculture. Cairns also served as a port for blackbirding ships, bringing slaves and indentured labourers to the sugar plantations of Innisfail. During World War II, the city became a staging ground for the Allied Forces in the Battle of the Coral Sea
The Battle of the Coral Sea, from 4 to 8 May 1942, was a major naval battle between the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) and naval and air forces of the United States and Australia. Taking place in the Pacific Theatre of World War II, the batt ...
. By the late 20th century the city had become a centre of international tourism
International tourism is tourism that crosses national borders. Globalisation has made tourism a popular global leisure activity. The World Tourism Organization defines tourists as people "traveling to and staying in places outside their usual en ...
, and in the early 21st century has developed into a major metropolitan city.
Cairns is a popular tourist destination because of its tropical climate and access to tropical rainforest and the Great Barrier Reef
The Great Barrier Reef is the world's largest coral reef system composed of over 2,900 individual reefs and 900 islands stretching for over over an area of approximately . The reef is located in the Coral Sea, off the coast of Queensland, ...
, one of the seven natural wonders of the world
Various lists of the Wonders of the World have been compiled from antiquity to the present day, in order to catalogue the world's most spectacular natural features and human-built structures.
The Seven Wonders of the Ancient World is the o ...
.
History
Prior to British settlement, the Cairns area was inhabited by the Gimuy Walubara Yidinji people,[ who still claim their native title rights. Yidinji (also known as Yidinj, Yidiny, and Idindji) is an ]Australian Aboriginal language
The Indigenous languages of Australia number in the hundreds, the precise number being quite uncertain, although there is a range of estimates from a minimum of around 250 (using the technical definition of 'language' as non-mutually intellig ...
. Its traditional language region is within the local government areas of Cairns Region and Tablelands Region, in such localities as Cairns, Gordonvale
Gordonvale is a rural sugar-growing town and Suburbs and localities (Australia), locality situated on the southern side of Cairns, Queensland, Cairns in the Cairns Region, Queensland, Australia. In the , the locality of Gordonvale had a populati ...
, and the Mulgrave River
The Mulgrave River, incorporating the East Mulgrave River and the West Mulgrave River, is a river system located in Far North Queensland, Australia. The -long river flows towards the Coral Sea and is located approximately south of .
Location ...
, and the southern part of the Atherton Tableland
The Atherton Tableland is a fertile plateau which is part of the Great Dividing Range in Queensland, Australia.
The principal river flowing across the plateau is the Barron River. It was dammed to form an irrigation reservoir named Lake Tina ...
including Atherton and Kairi. The area in which the city is located is known in the local Yidiny language as Gimuy, and the clan who inhabited the region before colonisation are the Gimuy-walubarra clan.
From 1770 to the early 1870s the area was known to the British simply as Trinity Bay. The arrival of beche de mer
Sea cucumbers are marine animals of the class Holothuroidea. They can be used as food, in fresh or dried form, in various cuisines. In some cultural contexts the sea cucumber is thought to have medicinal value.
The creature and the food product ...
fishermen from the late 1860s saw the first European presence in the area. On the site of the modern-day Cairns foreshore, there was a large native well which was used by these fishermen. A violent confrontation occurred in 1872 between local Yidinji people
The Yidiny (also spelt Yidindj, Yidinji or Yidiñ), are an Aboriginal Australian people in Far North Queensland. Their language is the Yidiny language.
Language
The last fluent speakers of Yidiny were Tilly Fuller (d. October 1974), George Dav ...
and Phillip Garland, a beche de mer fisherman, over the use of this well. The area from this date was subsequently called Battle Camp. In 1876, hastened by the need to export gold mined from the Hodgkinson goldfields on the tablelands to the west, closer investigation by several official expeditions established its potential for development into a port. Brinsley G. Sheridan surveyed the area and selected a place further up Trinity Inlet known to the diggers as Smith's Landing for a settlement which he renamed Thornton. However, after Native Police officers Alexander Douglas-Douglas
Alexander Douglas Douglas (7 February 1843– 5 February 1914) was a naval officer, an inspector in the Native Police and a chief inspector of police in Queensland.
Early life
Douglas was born on 7 February 1843 at St Helier, Channel Islands, so ...
and Robert Arthur Johnstone opened a new track from the goldfields to Battle Camp, this more coastal site became preferable. Battle Camp was renamed Cairns in late 1876 in honour of the then Governor of Queensland, William Cairns. The site was predominantly mangrove swamps and sand ridges. Labourers gradually cleared the swamps, and the sand ridges were filled with dried mud, sawdust from local sawmills, and ballast from a quarry at Edge Hill.
The Cairns Parish of the Roman Catholic Vicariate Apostolic of Cooktown (now the Roman Catholic Diocese of Cairns) was established in 1884.
Debris from the construction of a railway to Herberton
Herberton is a rural town and locality in the Tablelands Region, Queensland, Australia. In the , the locality of Herberton had a population of 855 people.
Geography
Herberton is on the Atherton Tableland in Far North Queensland. It is situa ...
on the Atherton Tableland, a project which started in 1886, was also used. The railway opened up land later used for agriculture on the lowlands (sugar cane, corn, rice, bananas, pineapples), and for fruit and dairy production on the Tableland. The success of local agriculture helped establish Cairns as a port, and the creation of a harbour board in 1906 supported its robust economic future.
The Wharf Estate Cairns went on sale in Brisbane via auction on 19 February 1889 by John Macnamara & Co. Land Auctioneers. The land was part of the place known as the Railway Reserve. The sale was described by the Auctioneers as the 'largest ever yet held in Northern Queensland'.
On 25 April 1926 (ANZAC Day
, image = Dawn service gnangarra 03.jpg
, caption = Anzac Day Dawn Service at Kings Park, Western Australia, 25 April 2009, 94th anniversary.
, observedby = Australia Christmas Island Cocos (Keeling) Islands Cook Islands New ...
), the Cairns Sailors and Soldiers War Memorial was unveiled by Alexander Frederick Draper
Alexander is a male given name. The most prominent bearer of the name is Alexander the Great, the king of the Ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia who created one of the largest empires in ancient history.
Variants listed here are Aleksandar, Al ...
, the mayor of the City of Cairns
The City of Cairns was a local government area centred on the Far North Queensland city of Cairns. Established in 1885, for most of its existence it consisted of approximately around Cairns itself, with much of the metropolitan area being loc ...
.
During World War II, the Allied Forces used Cairns as a staging base for operations in the Pacific, with United States Army Air Forces
The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...
and Royal Australian Air Force
"Through Adversity to the Stars"
, colours =
, colours_label =
, march =
, mascot =
, anniversaries = RAAF Anniversary Commemoration ...
operational bases (now the airport), as well as a major military seaplane base, Naval Base Cairns
Naval Base Brisbane was a major United States Navy base built in the early part of World War II at Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. At first, operated as a base for patrol aircraft and convoy escort aircraft to protect the last leg of the Pacific ...
, in Trinity Inlet, and United States Navy
The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...
and Royal Australian Navy
The Royal Australian Navy (RAN) is the principal naval force of the Australian Defence Force (ADF). The professional head of the RAN is Chief of Navy (CN) Vice Admiral Mark Hammond AM, RAN. CN is also jointly responsible to the Minister of ...
bases near the current wharf. Combat missions were flown out of Cairns in support of the Battle of the Coral Sea
The Battle of the Coral Sea, from 4 to 8 May 1942, was a major naval battle between the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) and naval and air forces of the United States and Australia. Taking place in the Pacific Theatre of World War II, the batt ...
in 1942. Edmonton
Edmonton ( ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Alberta. Edmonton is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Alberta's central region. The city ancho ...
and White Rock south of Cairns were major military supply areas and U.S. Paratroopers trained at Gordonvale
Gordonvale is a rural sugar-growing town and Suburbs and localities (Australia), locality situated on the southern side of Cairns, Queensland, Cairns in the Cairns Region, Queensland, Australia. In the , the locality of Gordonvale had a populati ...
and the Goldsborough Valley
Goldsborough is a locality in the Cairns Region, Queensland, Australia. In the , Goldsborough had a population of 929 people.
Geography
The Mulgrave River flows from the south to the north-east of the locality, forming its northern boundary. T ...
. A Special Forces training base was established at the old " Fairview" homestead on Munro's Hill, Mooroobool. This base was officially known as the Z Experimental Station
The Z Experimental Station (ZES) was established in July 1942 at Munro Terrace, Mooroobool, Queensland, Mooroobool, Cairns, Queensland, Australia, jointly by Secret Intelligence Australia and the Inter-Allied Services Department. The building ch ...
, but referred to informally as "The House on the Hill".
After World War II, Cairns gradually developed into a centre for tourism. The opening of the Cairns International Airport
Cairns Airport is an international airport in Cairns, Queensland, Australia. Formerly operated by the Cairns Port Authority, the airport was sold by the Queensland Government in December 2008 to a private consortium. It is the seventh busiest ...
in 1984 helped establish the city as a desirable destination for international tourism
International tourism is tourism that crosses national borders. Globalisation has made tourism a popular global leisure activity. The World Tourism Organization defines tourists as people "traveling to and staying in places outside their usual en ...
.
In the the urban area of Cairns had a population of 144,730 people.
The population in June 2019 was 153,951.[ Estimated resident population, 30 June 2019.]
Demographics
According to the 2016 census
Sixteen or 16 may refer to:
*16 (number), the natural number following 15 and preceding 17
*one of the years 16 BC, AD 16, 1916, 2016
Films
* ''Pathinaaru'' or ''Sixteen'', a 2010 Tamil film
* ''Sixteen'' (1943 film), a 1943 Argentine film dir ...
of population, there were 144,787 people in Cairns (Significant Urban Area).
* Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people made up 8.9% of the population.
* 67.9% of people were born in Australia. The next most common countries of birth were England 4.0%, New Zealand 3.1%, Papua New Guinea 1.5%, Philippines 1.2% and Japan 1.1%.
* 76.9% of people only spoke English at home. Other languages spoken at home included Japanese 1.6%, Mandarin 0.8%, Italian 0.7%, Korean 0.7% and German 0.6%.
* The most common responses for religion were No Religion 32.1%, Catholic 22.4%, Anglican 13.2%, Not stated 12.2% , Uniting Church: 3.6%.[ Material was copied from this source, which is available under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.]
Geography
Cairns is located on the east coast of Cape York Peninsula
Cape York Peninsula is a large peninsula located in Far North Queensland, Australia. It is the largest unspoiled wilderness in northern Australia.Mittermeier, R.E. et al. (2002). Wilderness: Earth’s last wild places. Mexico City: Agrupación ...
on a coastal strip between the Coral Sea
The Coral Sea () is a marginal sea of the South Pacific off the northeast coast of Australia, and classified as an interim Australian bioregion. The Coral Sea extends down the Australian northeast coast. Most of it is protected by the Fre ...
and the Great Dividing Range
The Great Dividing Range, also known as the East Australian Cordillera or the Eastern Highlands, is a cordillera system in eastern Australia consisting of an expansive collection of mountain ranges, plateaus and rolling hills, that runs rough ...
. The northern part of the city is located on Trinity Bay and the city centre is located on Trinity Inlet
The Trinity Inlet is an oceanic inlet which serves as the port for the city of Cairns, Queensland, Australia. The city centre is on the western bank where the inlet meets the Coral Sea.
Location and features
The Trinity Inlet is located in the ...
. To the south of the Trinity Inlet lies the Aboriginal
Aborigine, aborigine or aboriginal may refer to:
*Aborigines (mythology), in Roman mythology
* Indigenous peoples, general term for ethnic groups who are the earliest known inhabitants of an area
*One of several groups of indigenous peoples, see ...
community of Yarrabah. Some of the city's suburbs are located on flood plains. The Mulgrave River
The Mulgrave River, incorporating the East Mulgrave River and the West Mulgrave River, is a river system located in Far North Queensland, Australia. The -long river flows towards the Coral Sea and is located approximately south of .
Location ...
and Barron River flow within the greater Cairns area but not through the Cairns CBD
Cairns City is a coastal suburb at the centre of Cairns in the Cairns Region, Queensland, Australia. It is also known as the Cairns Central Business District (CBD). In the , Cairns City had a population of 2,737 people.
Geography
The suburb ...
. The city's centre foreshore is located on a mud flat.
Urban layout
Cairns is a provincial city, with a linear urban layout that runs from the south at Edmonton to the north at Ellis Beach
Ellis Beach is a coastal locality in the Cairns Region, Queensland, Australia. In the , Ellis Beach had a population of 24 people.
Geography
The five-kilometre strip of Ellis Beach is located aside the Coral Sea north of Cairns on the Captai ...
. The city is approximately from north to south; it has experienced a recent urban sprawl
Urban sprawl (also known as suburban sprawl or urban encroachment) is defined as "the spreading of urban developments (such as houses and shopping centers) on undeveloped land near a city." Urban sprawl has been described as the unrestricted growt ...
, with suburbs occupying land once used for sugar cane farming.
The ''Northern Beaches'' consist of a number of beach communities extending north along the coast. In general, each beach suburb is at the end of a spur road extending from the Captain Cook Highway. From south to north, these are Machans Beach
Machans Beach is a beach and coastal suburb of Cairns in the Cairns Region, Queensland, Australia. In the , Machans Beach had a population of 1,051 people.
Geography
The Barron River and Barr Creek are respectively the southern and norther ...
, Holloways Beach, Yorkeys Knob
Yorkeys Knob is a coastal suburb of Cairns in the Cairns Region, Queensland, Australia. In the , Yorkeys Knob had a population of 2,759 people.
Geography
The suburb is approximately north of the centre of Cairns, and is the third beach sub ...
, Trinity Park, Trinity Beach
Trinity Beach is a coastal suburb of Cairns in the Cairns Region, Queensland, Australia. At the , Trinity Beach had a population of 5,488.
Geography
Trinity Beach is approximately from the Cairns city centre and approximately 6.6 km f ...
, Kewarra Beach
Kewarra Beach is a coastal suburb of Cairns in the Cairns Region, Queensland, Australia. In the , Kewarra Beach had a population of 5,652 people.
Geography
Kewarra Beach is bordered by the Coral Sea to the east and Kuranda National Park to th ...
, Clifton Beach, Palm Cove
Palm Cove is a suburb of Cairns in the Cairns Region, Queensland, Australia. In the , Palm Cove had a population of 2,059 people.
It is named after the palm trees that line the beach.
Geography
Palm Cove is located in Far North Queensland ...
, and Ellis Beach
Ellis Beach is a coastal locality in the Cairns Region, Queensland, Australia. In the , Ellis Beach had a population of 24 people.
Geography
The five-kilometre strip of Ellis Beach is located aside the Coral Sea north of Cairns on the Captai ...
.
The suburb of Smithfield is inland against the mountains of the Great Dividing Range, between Yorkeys Knob and Trinity Park. It serves as the main hub for the Northern Beaches, with a modern shopping arcade, called Smithfield Shopping Centre.
South of Smithfield and inland from the Northern Beaches along the edge of the Barron River flood plain
A floodplain or flood plain or bottomlands is an area of land adjacent to a river which stretches from the banks of its channel to the base of the enclosing valley walls, and which experiences flooding during periods of high discharge.Goudi ...
are the suburbs of Caravonica
Caravonica ( lij, Caironega) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Imperia in the Italian region Liguria, located about southwest of Genoa and about northwest of Imperia.
Caravonica borders the following municipalities: Borgomaro, ...
, Kamerunga, Freshwater
Fresh water or freshwater is any naturally occurring liquid or frozen water containing low concentrations of dissolved salts and other total dissolved solids. Although the term specifically excludes seawater and brackish water, it does include ...
, and Stratford. This area is sometimes referred to as Freshwater Valley, though it is actually the lower part of Redlynch Valley; further up the valley are the suburbs of Redlynch, on the western side of Redlynch Valley, and Brinsmead on the eastern side. Stratford, Freshwater, and Brinsmead are separated from Cairns city by Mount Whitfield (elevation ) and Whitfield Range. Crystal Cascades
The Crystal Cascades is a cascade waterfall on the Freshwater Creek in the Far North region of Queensland
)
, nickname = Sunshine State
, image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg
, map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia
, sub ...
and Copperlode Falls Dam
Copperlode Falls Dam or Lake Morris is a fresh water reservoir dam in Lamb Range, Cairns Region, Queensland, Australia, servicing the city of Cairns. The dam is located in the range immediately west of Cairns.
History
Originally Cairns' wat ...
are also behind this range. ( Kuranda, a town on the Barron River on the western side of the Macalister Range, forms part of the Cairns economic catchment but is in the Tablelands local government area and is not part of the Cairns urban area.)
The city centre of Cairns is adjacent to the suburbs of Cairns North
Cairns North is a coastal suburb of Cairns in the Cairns Region, Queensland, Australia. In the , Cairns North had a population of 5,191 people.
Geography
The suburb is bounded to the north by the Cairns Airport, to the east by Trinity Bay ( ...
, and Parramatta Park, Bungalow
A bungalow is a small house or cottage that is either single-story or has a second story built into a sloping roof (usually with dormer windows), and may be surrounded by wide verandas.
The first house in England that was classified as a b ...
, Portsmith
Portsmith is a suburb of Cairns in the Cairns Region, Queensland, Australia. In the , the population of Portsmith was 195.
History
Portsmith is situated in the Yidinji traditional Aboriginal country. The origin of the suburb name is from ...
, and close to Westcourt, Manunda
TSMV ''Manunda'' was an ''Australian'' registered and crewed passenger ship which was converted to a hospital ship in 1940. During the war ''Manunda'' saw service in both the Middle East and Pacific Campaigns, specifically New Guinea. She resume ...
, Manoora, Edge Hill, Whitfield, Kanimbla, City View, Mooroobool, Earlville, Woree
Woree is a suburb of Cairns in the Cairns Region, Queensland, Australia. In the Woree had a population of 4,821 people.
Geography
The Bruce Highway goes between Bald Hills in Brisbane to Woree and is long. The highway goes through Woree both ...
and Bayview Heights. The small suburb of Aeroglen is pressed between Mount Whitfield and the airport, on the Captain Cook Highway between Cairns North
Cairns North is a coastal suburb of Cairns in the Cairns Region, Queensland, Australia. In the , Cairns North had a population of 5,191 people.
Geography
The suburb is bounded to the north by the Cairns Airport, to the east by Trinity Bay ( ...
and Stratford.
''Southside Cairns'', situated in a narrow area between Trinity Inlet
The Trinity Inlet is an oceanic inlet which serves as the port for the city of Cairns, Queensland, Australia. The city centre is on the western bank where the inlet meets the Coral Sea.
Location and features
The Trinity Inlet is located in the ...
to the east and Lamb Range to the west, includes the suburbs of White Rock, Mount Sheridan
Mount Sheridan el. is a prominent mountain peak overlooking Heart Lake in the Red Mountains of Yellowstone National Park. The peak is named in honor of General Philip H. Sheridan, U.S. Army, one of the early protectors of the park.
History
...
, Bentley Park
Bentley Park is a suburb of Cairns within the local government area of Cairns Region, Queensland, Australia. It is located approximately south of the Cairns City. In the , Bentley Park had a population of 8,018 people.
History
Bentley Park i ...
and Edmonton
Edmonton ( ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Alberta. Edmonton is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Alberta's central region. The city ancho ...
. The townships of Goldsborough, Little Mulgrave, and Aloomba are near Gordonvale
Gordonvale is a rural sugar-growing town and Suburbs and localities (Australia), locality situated on the southern side of Cairns, Queensland, Cairns in the Cairns Region, Queensland, Australia. In the , the locality of Gordonvale had a populati ...
, on the Mulgrave River. This area is serviced by the Bruce Highway. Several other small towns and communities within Cairns' jurisdiction are sparsely located along the Bruce Highway, the furthest being Bramston Beach, south of the Cairns CBD
Cairns City is a coastal suburb at the centre of Cairns in the Cairns Region, Queensland, Australia. It is also known as the Cairns Central Business District (CBD). In the , Cairns City had a population of 2,737 people.
Geography
The suburb ...
; the largest of these townships is Babinda, about from the city.
Climate
Cairns experiences a tropical
The tropics are the regions of Earth surrounding the Equator. They are defined in latitude by the Tropic of Cancer in the Northern Hemisphere at N and the Tropic of Capricorn in
the Southern Hemisphere at S. The tropics are also referred to ...
climate
Climate is the long-term weather pattern in an area, typically averaged over 30 years. More rigorously, it is the mean and variability of meteorological variables over a time spanning from months to millions of years. Some of the meteorologic ...
, specifically a tropical monsoon climate
An area of tropical monsoon climate (occasionally known as a sub-equatorial, tropical wet climate or a tropical monsoon and trade-wind littoral climate) is a tropical climate sub-type that corresponds to the Köppen climate classification category ...
(Am) under the Köppen climate classification
The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, notabl ...
. A wet season
The wet season (sometimes called the Rainy season) is the time of year when most of a region's average annual rainfall occurs. It is the time of year where the majority of a country's or region's annual precipitation occurs. Generally, the sea ...
with heavy monsoonal downpours runs from November to May, with a relatively dry season
The dry season is a yearly period of low rainfall, especially in the tropics. The weather in the tropics is dominated by the tropical rain belt, which moves from the northern to the southern tropics and back over the course of the year. The te ...
from June to October, though light showers occur during this period. Cairns' mean annual rainfall is just under , although monthly totals in the wet season from December to April can exceed , with the highest monthly rainfall being recorded in January 1981, where over of rain fell. In contrast, as little as fell in the record dry calendar year of 2002.
Babinda, a town to the south of the city, is Australia's wettest town, recording an annual rainfall of over .
Cairns has hot, humid summers and very warm winters.[ Mean maximum temperatures vary from in July to in January. Monsoonal activity during the wet season occasionally causes major flooding of the Barron and Mulgrave Rivers, cutting off-road and rail access to the city. Cairns has 97.0 clear days, annually. Dewpoint in the wet season (summer) averages at . The average temperature of the sea ranges from in July to in January.
]
Tropical cyclones
Like most of North and Far North Queensland, Cairns is prone to tropical cyclones, usually forming between November and May.
Notable cyclones that have affected the Cairns region include:
* Cyclone Yasi
Severe Tropical Cyclone Yasi () was a powerful and destructive tropical cyclone that made landfall in northern Queensland, Australia in early 2011, causing major damage to the affected areas. Originating as a tropical low near Fiji on 26 Jan ...
, 2011
* Cyclone Larry, 2006
* Cyclone Abigail, 2001
* Cyclone Steve
Tropical Cyclone Steve was a tropical cyclone that affected northern Australia from 27 February 2000 until 11 March 2000. Cyclone Steve was noted for its longevity and traversal of northern and western Australia. It impacted on regions of north ...
, 2000
* Cyclone Rona
Severe Tropical Cyclone Rona (JTWC designation: 20P) and Severe Tropical Cyclone Frank (JTWC designation: 22P; RSMC Nadi designation: 16F) were a pair of tropical cyclones that affected Queensland and New Caledonia during the 1998–99 Australian ...
, 1999
* Cyclone Justin
Cyclone Justin was a tropical cyclone of the 1996–97 Australian region cyclone season that caused seven deaths and had a major economic impact in northern Queensland, Australia. It had a long -week life from 6 March to 24 March 1997. Peaking a ...
, 1997
Facilities
The City Library, operated by the Cairns Regional Council, opened in 1979 and is situated at 151 Abbott Street. A major refurbishment was undertaken in 1999 and a further minor refurbishment was implemented in 2011. Public accessible wifi is available. Current Library services and collections can be accessed from the Cairns Libraries website.
Heritage listings
Cairns has a number of heritage-listed
This list is of heritage registers, inventories of cultural properties, natural and man-made, tangible and intangible, movable and immovable, that are deemed to be of sufficient heritage value to be separately identified and recorded. In many ...
sites, including:
* Cairns-to-Kuranda railway line
The Cairns-to-Kuranda Railway is a heritage-listed railway line from the Cairns Region to the Shire of Mareeba, both in Queensland, Australia. It commences at Redlynch, a suburb of Cairns and travels up the Great Dividing Range to Kuranda wi ...
* Abbott Street: Dr EA Koch Memorial
Dr EA Koch Memorial is a heritage-listed memorial at Abbot Street, Cairns City, Cairns, Cairns Region, Queensland, Australia. It was designed by Melrose & Fenwick and built in 1903. It was added to the Queensland Heritage Register on 27 May 1 ...
* Abbott Street: Barrier Reef Hotel
Barrier Reef Hotel is a heritage-listed hotel at Abbott Street, Cairns City, Cairns, Cairns Region, Queensland, Australia. It was designed by Lawrence and Lordan in conjunction with Richard Hill built in 1926 by Carl Peter Jorgensen. It wa ...
* Abbott Street: Bishop's House
* Abbott Street: St Monica's High School Administration Building
St Monica's College Sr Cecilia Building is a heritage-listed part of the catholic school in Abbott Street, Cairns City, Cairns, Queensland, Australia. It was designed by Vibert McKirdy Brown and built in 1941 by VW Doyle. This building was o ...
* 6A-8A Abbott Street: former Cairns Customs House
Cairns Customs House is a heritage-listed former customs house and now restaurant at 6A-8A Abbott Street, Cairns City, Cairns, Cairns Region, Queensland, Australia. It was designed by Robert Henry Bowen and built from 1936 to 1937 by Watkin ...
* 38 – 40 Abbott Street: Cairns Court House
Cairns Court House Complex is a heritage-listed site incorporating a former courthouse and a former public administration building (now an art gallery) at 38–40 Abbott Street, Cairns City, Cairns, Cairns Region, Queensland, Australia. It ...
* 151 Abbott Street: Cairns City Council Chambers
Cairns City Council Chambers is a heritage-listed former town hall and now council library at 151 Abbott Street, Cairns City, Cairns, Cairns Region, Queensland, Australia. It was designed by Hill & Taylor and built from 1929 to 1930 by Alex M ...
* 179 Abbott Street: St Joseph's Convent
ST, St, or St. may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* Stanza, in poetry
* Suicidal Tendencies, an American heavy metal/hardcore punk band
* Star Trek, a science-fiction media franchise
* Summa Theologica, a compendium of Catholic philosophy an ...
* 183 Abbott Street: St Monica's War Memorial Cathedral
St Monica's Cathedral (also known as St Monica's War Memorial Cathedral) is the cathedral church of the Catholic Diocese of Cairns. It is located at 183 Abbott Street, Cairns City, Cairns, Queensland, Australia. The cathedral was designed by ...
* Collins Avenue, Edge Hill: Flecker Botanical Gardens
Flecker Botanic Gardens is a heritage-listed botanic garden at Collins Avenue, Edge Hill, Queensland, Australia. It was built from 1886 to 1960s. It is now known as Cairns Botanic Gardens, and also known as Edge Hill Nursery, and Fitzalan's ...
* Collins Avenue, Edge Hill: WWII RAN Fuel Installation
WWII RAN Fuel Installation is a heritage-listed former fuel depot and now arts centre at Collins Avenue, Edge Hill, Cairns, Cairns Region, Queensland, Australia. It was built in 1943. It was added to the Queensland Heritage Register on 2 Febr ...
* Grafton Street: Cairns Control Room
Cairns Control Room is a heritage-listed military building at Grafton Street, Cairns City, Cairns, Cairns Region, Queensland, Australia. It was built in 1942 by the Queensland Department of Public Works. It is also known as World War II Volunte ...
, World War II Volunteer Defence Corps
* 99 Grafton Street: former Cairns Chinatown
The Cairns Chinatown Building is a heritage-listed commercial building at 99 Grafton Street, Cairns City, Cairns, Cairns Region, Queensland, Australia. It was built from to and is one of the last remaining buildings from the Cairns Chinatown ...
*28D Grove Street, Parramatta Park: Grove Street Pensioners' Cottages
Grove Street Pensioners' Cottages is a heritage-listed house at 28D Grove Street, Parramatta Park, Cairns, Cairns Region, Queensland, Australia. They were designed by the Cairns City Council and built from 1953 to 1958. They were added to the ...
* Lake Street: Bolands Centre
Bolands Centre is a heritage-listed department store at Lake Street, Cairns City, Queensland, Cairns City, Cairns, Queensland, Cairns, Cairns Region, Queensland, Australia. Designed by Edward Gregory Waters and built in 1912, the Centre was ho ...
* 37 Lake Street: former Adelaide Steamship Co Ltd Building
Adelaide Steamship Company Ltd Building is a heritage-listed office building at 37 Lake Street, Cairns City, Cairns, Cairns Region, Queensland, Australia. It was built in 1910 by Wilson & Baillie. It was added to the Queensland Heritage Regist ...
* 39 – 49 Lake Street: former Central Hotel
* 87 Lake Street: Hides Hotel
Hides Hotel is a heritage-listed hotel at 87 Lake Street, Cairns City, Cairns, Cairns Region, Queensland, Australia. It was designed by Sydenham Stanley Oxenham and built in 1928 by Michael Thomas Garvey. It is also known as Hides Cairns Ho ...
* 93–105 Lake Street: former School of Arts School of Arts or school of arts may refer to:
*Art school, an educational institution with a primary focus on the visual arts
* Mechanics' institutes, Victorian-era educational establishments formed to provide education, particularly in technical ...
* 399 Kamerunga Road, Redlynch: Xavier and Sadie Herbert's Cottage
Xavier and Sadie Herbert's Cottage is a heritage-listed cottage at 399 Kamerunga Road, Redlynch, Queensland, Redlynch, Cairns, Cairns Region, Queensland, Australia. It was built from to 1970s. It is also known as Sadie's House. It was added to ...
* 127–145 McLeod Street, Cairns North: McLeod Street Pioneer Cemetery
McLeod Street Pioneer Cemetery is a heritage-listed cemetery at 127-145 McLeod Street, Cairns North, Cairns Region, Queensland, Australia. It was built from 1877 to 1954. It is also known as Cairns General Cemetery and Cairns Pioneer Cemetery. ...
* 180 McLeod, Cairns North: Herries Private Hospital
Herries Private Hospital is a heritage-listed former maternity hospital and now private home at 180 McLeod, Cairns North, Cairns Region, Queensland, Australia. It was built from 1880s circa to 1920. It is now known as Herries House. It was add ...
* Minnie Street: St Monica's Old Cathedral
* 8 Minnie Street: Cairns Masonic Temple
Cairns Masonic Temple is a heritage-listed former masonic temple at 8 Minnie Street, Cairns City, Cairns, Cairns Region, Queensland, Australia. It was built from 1934 to 1935. It was added to the Queensland Heritage Register on 28 August 1998.
...
* Sheridan Street, Cairns North: Cairns Technical College and High School Building
Cairns Technical College and High School Building is a heritage-listed state school at Sheridan Street, Cairns North, Cairns, Cairns Region, Queensland, Australia. It was designed by Nigel Laman Thomas of the Department of Public Works (Que ...
* The Esplanade: Cairns War Memorial
Cairns War Memorial is a heritage-listed memorial at The Esplanade, Cairns City, Cairns, Cairns Region, Queensland, Australia. It was built in 1925. It was added to the Queensland Heritage Register on 21 October 1992.
History
The Cairns War ...
* 51 The Esplanade: former Mulgrave Shire Council Chambers
Mulgrave Shire Council Chambers is a heritage-listed former town hall at 51 The Esplanade, Cairns City, Cairns, Cairns Region, Queensland, Australia. It was designed by Charles Dalton Lynch & Walter Hunt and built from 1912 to 1913 by Wils ...
* 183–185 The Esplanade, Cairns North: Floriana
Floriana ( mt, Il-Furjana or ''Il-Floriana''), also known by its title Borgo Vilhena, is a fortified town in the South Eastern Region area of Malta, just outside the capital city Valletta. It has a population of 2,205 as of March 2014. Floriana i ...
* Wharf Street: Cairns Wharf Complex
Cairns Wharf Complex is a heritage-listed wharf at Wharf Street, Cairns City, Cairns, Cairns Region, Queensland, Australia. It was built from 1910 to 1948. It was added to the Queensland Heritage Register on 17 December 1999.
History
Cairns ...
* 29 Wharf Street: former Jack and Newell Building
Jack and Newell Building is a heritage-listed office building at 29 Wharf Street, Cairns City, Cairns, Cairns Region, Queensland, Australia. It was built in 1911 by Hanson & Sons. It is also known as Bartlam's Ltd, Fearnley & Co. Ltd, and Nos ...
Governance
Cairns is part of the Cairns Region local government area
A local government area (LGA) is an administrative division of a country that a local government is responsible for. The size of an LGA varies by country but it is generally a subdivision of a State (administrative division), state, province, divi ...
which is governed by a Regional Council. The Council consists of a directly elected mayor and 10 councillors, elected from 10 single-member divisions (or wards) using an optional preferential voting system. Elections are held every four years.
The Cairns Region consists of three former local government areas. The first was the original City of Cairns
The City of Cairns was a local government area centred on the Far North Queensland city of Cairns. Established in 1885, for most of its existence it consisted of approximately around Cairns itself, with much of the metropolitan area being loc ...
, consisting of the Cairns City region as listed above. The second, which was amalgamated in 1995, was the Shire of Mulgrave (comprising the other areas, namely the Northern Beaches, Redlynch Valley and Southside). The town of Gordonvale was once called Nelson. The third area is the Shire of Douglas
The Shire of Douglas is a Local government in Australia, local government area in Far North Queensland, Far North Queensland. It is located on the coast north of the city of Cairns, Queensland, Cairns. The shire, administered from the town of Mo ...
, which amalgamated in 2008 during major statewide local government reforms.
At the time of the 1995 amalgamation, Cairns City had a population of approximately 40,000 and Mulgrave Shire had a population of approximately 60,000. Both local government authorities had chambers in the Cairns CBD. The old Cairns City Council chambers has been converted into a new city library. In a controversial decision, new Council chambers were constructed on previously contaminated land in the mainly industrial suburb of Portsmith.
Cairns has three representatives in the Queensland Parliament, from the electoral districts of Barron River, Cairns
Cairns (, ) is a city in Queensland, Australia, on the tropical north east coast of Far North Queensland. The population in June 2019 was 153,952, having grown on average 1.02% annually over the preceding five years. The city is the 5th-most-p ...
and Mulgrave. The city is represented in the Federal Parliament by representatives elected from the districts of Leichhardt and Kennedy
Kennedy may refer to:
People
* John F. Kennedy (1917–1963), 35th president of the United States
* John Kennedy (Louisiana politician), (born 1951), US Senator from Louisiana
* Kennedy (surname), a family name (including a list of persons with t ...
.
Economy
Cairns serves as the major commercial centre for the Far North Queensland and Cape York Peninsula Regions. It is a base for the regional offices of various government departments.
Tourism
Tourism plays a major part in the Cairns economy
An economy is an area of the production, distribution and trade, as well as consumption of goods and services. In general, it is defined as a social domain that emphasize the practices, discourses, and material expressions associated with the ...
. According to Tourism Australia, the Cairns region is the fourth-most-popular destination for international tourists in Australia after Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane. While the city does not rank amongst Australia's top 10 destinations for domestic tourism, it attracts a significant number of Australian holiday makers despite its distance from major capitals. There is also a growing interest in Cairns from the Chinese leisure market with regular scheduled direct flights from Chinese cities such as Shanghai and Guangzhou. During the 2013 Chinese Lunar New Year period alone, Cairns saw 20,000 Chinese holidaymakers flying in on chartered flights.
The city is near the Great Barrier Reef
The Great Barrier Reef is the world's largest coral reef system composed of over 2,900 individual reefs and 900 islands stretching for over over an area of approximately . The reef is located in the Coral Sea, off the coast of Queensland, ...
, the Wet Tropics of Queensland, and the Atherton Tableland
The Atherton Tableland is a fertile plateau which is part of the Great Dividing Range in Queensland, Australia.
The principal river flowing across the plateau is the Barron River. It was dammed to form an irrigation reservoir named Lake Tina ...
. Great Barrier Reef tours that operate from Cairns are very popular and hence Cairns is also considered as the gateway to Great Barrier Reef.
The Cairns esplanade includes a swimming lagoon with adjoining barbecue areas. In May 2003, the then Cairns Mayor Kevin Byrne declared that topless sunbathing is permitted here. Many leisure activities are conducted in this area, including flea market, sports classes and many more.
Commercial
Several shopping centres of various sizes are located throughout Cairns. The largest of these are Cairns Central
Cairns Central Shopping Centre is in Cairns City, Cairns, Far North Queensland, Australia. It is Cairns' biggest shopping centre. The centre was opened in late 1997 and is the second multi-story shopping centre in northern Queensland. The sh ...
shopping centre, located in the central business district (CBD), and Stockland Cairns, located in the suburb of Earlville. In Westcourt, one of the city's oldest shopping centres has been refurbished, with the city's first DFO. To service the needs of suburbs further from the city centre, shopping complexes are also located at Mount Sheridan, Redlynch, Smithfield, and Clifton Beach.
In 2010, the state government opened the second stage of William McCormack Place, an A$80 million office building credited as the first 6-star green star-rated building in the city.
Media
'' The Cairns Post'' is a daily newspaper published in the city; a weekly paper, ''The Cairns Sun'', is also published. ''The Courier-Mail
''The Courier-Mail'' is an Australian newspaper published in Brisbane. Owned by News Corp Australia, it is published daily from Monday to Saturday in Tabloid (newspaper format), tabloid format. Its editorial offices are located at Bowen Hills, ...
'' is a daily Queensland-wide newspaper published in Brisbane. ''The Australian
''The Australian'', with its Saturday edition, ''The Weekend Australian'', is a broadsheet newspaper published by News Corp Australia since 14 July 1964.Bruns, Axel. "3.1. The active audience: Transforming journalism from gatekeeping to gatew ...
'' newspaper also circulates widely. The ''Cairns Bulletin
''The Cairns Bulletin'' was an independent newspaper in circulation in Cairns. It covered the Cairns area from Palm Cove in the north to Gordonvale
Gordonvale is a rural sugar-growing town and Suburbs and localities (Australia), locality si ...
'' is an independent newspaper in circulation in the Cairns area.
Cairns is served by five television stations, three commercial television stations ( WIN Television, Seven Queensland and Southern Cross 10
10 Regional is an Australian television network owned by Southern Cross Austereo that is broadcast in Queensland, New South Wales, Australian Capital Territory, Victoria and South Australia. The network is the primary affiliate of Network 10 i ...
) which are regional affiliates of the three Australian commercial television networks ( 10, Seven
7 is a number, numeral, and glyph.
7 or seven may also refer to:
* AD 7, the seventh year of the AD era
* 7 BC, the seventh year before the AD era
* The month of
July
Music Artists
* Seven (Swiss singer) (born 1978), a Swiss recording artist ...
and Nine), and public broadcasters the ABC
ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet.
ABC or abc may also refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting
* American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster
** Disney–ABC Television ...
and SBS services.
All three main commercial networks produce local news coverage - Seven Queensland and WIN Television both air 30-minute local news bulletins at 6pm each weeknight, produced from newsrooms in the city but broadcast from studios in Maroochydore and Wollongong
Wollongong ( ), colloquially referred to as The Gong, is a city located in the Illawarra region of New South Wales, Australia. The name is believed to originate from the Dharawal language, meaning either 'five islands/clouds', 'ground near wate ...
respectively. Southern Cross 10 airs a regional Queensland news updates of ''10 News First
''10 News First'' is an Australian television newscast, produced by Network 10. The network's ninety-minute long news program airs at 5pm each evening covering local, national and world news, including sport and weather. Weekend editions are p ...
''.
Cairns radio stations include a number of public, commercial and community broadcasters. The ABC broadcasts ABC Far North
ABC Far North is an ABC Local Radio station based in Cairns. The station broadcasts to Far North Queensland. This includes the towns of Cooktown, Mossman, Innisfail, Weipa and up to the Torres Strait Islands
The Torres Strait Island ...
, ABC Radio National
Radio National, known on-air as RN, is an Australia-wide public service broadcasting radio network run by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC). From 1947 until 1985, the network was known as ABC Radio 2.
History
1937: Predecessors an ...
, ABC NewsRadio, ABC Classic FM
ABC Classic, formerly ABC-FM (also ABC Fine Music), and then ABC Classic FM, is an Australian classical music radio station available in Australia and internationally. Its website features classical music news, features and listening guides. ...
and the Triple J
Triple J (stylised in all lowercase) is a government-funded, national Australian Radio in Australia, radio station intended to appeal to listeners of alternative music, which began broadcasting in January 1975. The station also places a greate ...
youth network. Commercial radio stations include Star 102.7, 4CA 846 AM, Hot FM, Sea FM and 104.3 4TAB sports radio, while the community radio stations are 4CCR-FM, 101.9 Coast FM, Orbit FM 88.0FM & 87.8FM and 4CIM 98.7FM.
Industry and agriculture
The land around Cairns is still used for sugar cane farming, although this land is increasingly under pressure from new suburbs as the city grows. The Mulgrave Sugar Mill
The Mulgrave Sugar Mill is a sugar mill in Gordonvale, Cairns Region, Queensland, Australia. It commenced operations in 1896. It is operated by MSF Sugar, a subsidiary of the Mitr Phol Group. It is also known as Mulgrave Central Mill.
History ...
is located in Gordonvale ().
The Barron Gorge Hydroelectric Power Station
The Barron Gorge Hydroelectric Power Station (or Barron Gorge Hydro) in Queensland, Australia is an electricity power station commissioned in 1963 with a maximum capacity of . It is located in the locality of Barron Gorge in the Wet Tropics Wor ...
is located nearby on the lower Barron River, and provides green power
Green Power is a non-governmental organisation in Hong Kong founded in 1988, concerned with the city's environmental issues.
Activities and works
Environmental education
Green Power established the first Green Schools Network in Hong Kong ...
.
Transport
Cairns is an important transport hub in the Far North Queensland region. Located at the base of Cape York Peninsula, it provides important transport links between the Peninsula and Gulf of Carpentaria
The Gulf of Carpentaria (, ) is a large, shallow sea enclosed on three sides by northern Australia and bounded on the north by the eastern Arafura Sea (the body of water that lies between Australia and New Guinea). The northern boundary is ...
regions, and the areas to the south of the state. Cairns International Airport
Cairns Airport is an international airport in Cairns, Queensland, Australia. Formerly operated by the Cairns Port Authority, the airport was sold by the Queensland Government in December 2008 to a private consortium. It is the seventh busiest ...
is essential to the viability of the area's tourism industry.
Roads
The Bruce Highway runs for from Bald Hills on the City of Brisbane's northern boundary, and terminates in Woree
Woree is a suburb of Cairns in the Cairns Region, Queensland, Australia. In the Woree had a population of 4,821 people.
Geography
The Bruce Highway goes between Bald Hills in Brisbane to Woree and is long. The highway goes through Woree both ...
, a southern suburb in Cairns. The Captain Cook Highway (also referred as the Cook Highway) commences at Aeroglen, a northern suburb of Cairns, and runs for approximately northwest to Mossman.
A need for future upgrades to the Bruce Highway to motorway standards through the southern suburbs to Gordonvale has been identified in regional planning strategies to cope with increasing congestion from rapid population growth. This will result in overpasses at all major intersections from Woree to Gordonvale. The motorway will divert from Bentley Park to Gordonvale, bypassing Edmonton to reduce the effects of road noise on residential areas.
The Kennedy Highway commences at Smithfield on the Barron River flood plain north of Cairns, and ascends the Macalister Range to the township of Kuranda. The highway then extends to the town of Mareeba
Mareeba is a rural town and locality in the Shire of Mareeba in Far North Queensland, Australia. Between 2008 and 2013, it was within the Tablelands Region. The town's name is derived from an Aboriginal word meaning ''meeting of the waters'' ...
on the Atherton Tableland
The Atherton Tableland is a fertile plateau which is part of the Great Dividing Range in Queensland, Australia.
The principal river flowing across the plateau is the Barron River. It was dammed to form an irrigation reservoir named Lake Tina ...
, and continues to communities of Cape York Peninsula.
The Gillies Highway
The Gillies Highway is a road that runs from Gordonvale in the Cairns Region through the Gillies Range (part of the Great Dividing Range) to Atherton in the Tablelands Region, both in Queensland, Australia. It is also known as the Gillies Rang ...
commences at the township of Gordonvale, and ascends the Gillies Range
The Gillies Range is a mountain range in Queensland, Australia. It is a chain of summits south of Cairns that separate the Far North Queensland coastal plain from the interior Atherton Tableland. At the foot of the range is the town of Gordon ...
(part of the Great Dividing Range) to the town of Atherton on the Atherton Tableland, passing through the township of Yungaburra
Yungaburra is a rural town and locality in the Tablelands Region, Queensland, Australia. In the , the locality of Yungaburra had a population of 1,239 people.
Geography
Yungaburra is on the Atherton Tableland in Far North Queensland.
The landsc ...
on the way.
The controversial private road, Quaid Road, was constructed in 1989 through what is now a Wet Tropics
The Wet Tropics of Queensland World Heritage Site consists of approximately 8,940 km2 of Australian wet tropical forests growing along the north-east Queensland portion of the Great Dividing Range. The Wet Tropics of Queensland meets all f ...
World Heritage Area, and links Wangetti, on the coast just north of Cairns, to Southedge
Southedge is a rural locality in the Shire of Mareeba, Queensland, Australia. In the Southedge had a population of 21 people.
Geography
The major road thoroughfare in Southedge is the Mulligan Highway.
The Southedge-Wangetti Road, also know ...
, just south of Mount Molloy. The road is not open to the public and is not used for general traffic.
Bus
A public bus transit network exists within the city, with two transit hubs located within the CBD: the Cairns Central
Cairns Central Shopping Centre is in Cairns City, Cairns, Far North Queensland, Australia. It is Cairns' biggest shopping centre. The centre was opened in late 1997 and is the second multi-story shopping centre in northern Queensland. The sh ...
Railway Station precinct, and the Cairns City Bus Station located within the Lake street and Shield street area, through which all bus lines operate and provide linkage to taxi, ride share and intercity rail services. The transit network includes most parts of the city, from Palm Cove
Palm Cove is a suburb of Cairns in the Cairns Region, Queensland, Australia. In the , Palm Cove had a population of 2,059 people.
It is named after the palm trees that line the beach.
Geography
Palm Cove is located in Far North Queensland ...
in the north, Gordonvale
Gordonvale is a rural sugar-growing town and Suburbs and localities (Australia), locality situated on the southern side of Cairns, Queensland, Cairns in the Cairns Region, Queensland, Australia. In the , the locality of Gordonvale had a populati ...
in the south and Redlynch to the west. It is managed throughout the city by Translink Translink (or TransLink) may refer to:
* TransLink (British Columbia), the public transport operator in Vancouver, Canada
* Translink (Northern Ireland)
Translink is the brand name of the Northern Ireland Transport Holding Company (NITHCo), a ...
: through a service contract with the Sunbus Cairns
Sunbus Cairns, previously Marlin Coast Sunbus, was the principal bus operator in Cairns, Queensland operating services under the TransLink (Queensland) scheme in the Cairns region. It is one of Sunbus' operations. As of late 2022, Sunbus has ch ...
company, however the Go Card ticketing system has not been implemented in the region. A smaller shuttle bus service, ''Jon's Kuranda Bus'' runs between Cairns and Kuranda alongside other private coach services. The main bus hubs in the Cairns CBD are the Cairns City bus station, opened in 2014, and at Cairns Central
Cairns Central Shopping Centre is in Cairns City, Cairns, Far North Queensland, Australia. It is Cairns' biggest shopping centre. The centre was opened in late 1997 and is the second multi-story shopping centre in northern Queensland. The sh ...
, the former servicing almost all bus lines in Cairns.
Cairns is served by long-distance coaches to Brisbane, and regional cities to the south. Coaches also operate west to Mount Isa via Townsville, and to Alice Springs
Alice Springs ( aer, Mparntwe) is the third-largest town in the Northern Territory of Australia. Known as Stuart until 31 August 1933, the name Alice Springs was given by surveyor William Whitfield Mills after Alice, Lady Todd (''née'' Al ...
and Darwin in the Northern Territory
The Northern Territory (commonly abbreviated as NT; formally the Northern Territory of Australia) is an states and territories of Australia, Australian territory in the central and central northern regions of Australia. The Northern Territory ...
.
Taxis and transportation network companies
Cairns also has a major taxi company, Cairns Taxis, which services the Cairns region. Uber
Uber Technologies, Inc. (Uber), based in San Francisco, provides mobility as a service, ride-hailing (allowing users to book a car and driver to transport them in a way similar to a taxi), food delivery (Uber Eats and Postmates), package ...
was introduced to the region in March 2017, servicing the greater region. Ola
Ola may refer to:
Places Panama
*Olá, a subdistrict in Coclé Province
*Olá District
Russia
*Ola, Russia, an urban settlement in Magadan Oblast
*Ola District, an administrative division in Magadan Oblast
*Ola (river), a river in Magadan Obla ...
launched in February 2020.
Rail
Cairns railway station is the terminus for Queensland's North Coast railway line, which follows the eastern seaboard from Brisbane. Services are operated by Queensland Rail (QR) and include the high-speed Diesel Tilt Train. Freight trains also operate along the route, with a QR Freight handling facility located at Portsmith.
Pacific National Queensland (a division of Pacific National
Pacific National is one of Australia's largest rail freight businesses.
History
In February 2002, National Rail Corporation, National Rail's freight operations and rollingstock (owned by the Government of Australia, Federal, Government of New ...
, owned by Asciano Limited) operates a rail siding at Woree. It runs private trains on the rail network owned by the Queensland State Government and managed by QR's Network Division.
The Kuranda Scenic Railway
The Kuranda Scenic Railway is a tourist railway service that operates along the heritage-listed Cairns-to-Kuranda railway line. Constructed in 1891, the line runs from Cairns, Queensland, over the Great Dividing Range to the town of Kuranda o ...
operates from Cairns. The tourist railway ascends the Macalister Range and is not used for commuter services. It passes through the suburbs of Stratford, Freshwater (stopping at Freshwater Station) and Redlynch before reaching Kuranda.
Freight services to Forsayth
Forsayth is a rural town and locality in the Shire of Etheridge, Queensland, Australia. In the , Forsayth had a population of 129 people.
Geography
Forsayth is in Far North Queensland approximately by road from Cairns.
The town is the terminu ...
were discontinued in the mid-1990s. These were mixed freight and passenger services that served the semi-remote towns west of the Great Dividing Range. There is now a weekly passenger-only service, ''The Savannahlander
The Savannahlander is an Australian passenger train service (primarily serving tourists) that operates in Far North Queensland. It travels on the Tablelands railway line and the Etheridge railway line from the coastal city of Cairns to Forsa ...
'', that leaves Cairns on Wednesday mornings. The Savannahlander is run by a private company, Cairns Kuranda Steam Trains.
Cairns is served by a narrow gauge cane railway (or cane train) network that hauls harvested sugar cane to the Mulgrave Sugar Mill
The Mulgrave Sugar Mill is a sugar mill in Gordonvale, Cairns Region, Queensland, Australia. It commenced operations in 1896. It is operated by MSF Sugar, a subsidiary of the Mitr Phol Group. It is also known as Mulgrave Central Mill.
History ...
located in Gordonvale. The pressure of urban sprawl on land previously cultivated by cane farmers has seen this network reduced over recent years.
Airport
Cairns International Airport
Cairns Airport is an international airport in Cairns, Queensland, Australia. Formerly operated by the Cairns Port Authority, the airport was sold by the Queensland Government in December 2008 to a private consortium. It is the seventh busiest ...
is north of Cairns City between the CBD and the Northern Beaches. The domestic terminal at Cairns Airport underwent an extensive redevelopment which began in 2007 and was completed in 2010.
The airport has a domestic terminal, an international terminal, and a general aviation area. The airport handles international flights, and flights to major Australian cities, tourist destinations, and regional destinations throughout North Queensland. It is an important base for general aviation serving the Cape York Peninsula and Gulf of Carpentaria communities. The Cairns airport is also a base for the Royal Flying Doctor Service.
Port
The Cairns Seaport, located on Trinity Inlet, is operated by the Cairns Port Authority.
It serves as an important port for tourist operators providing daily reef trips. These consist of large catamarans capable of carrying over 300 passengers, as well as smaller operators that may take as few as 12 tourists. Cairns Port is also a port of call for cruise ships
Cruise ships are large passenger ships used mainly for vacationing. Unlike ocean liners, which are used for transport, cruise ships typically embark on round-trip voyages to various ports-of-call, where passengers may go on tours known as "s ...
, such as Captain Cook Cruises, cruising the South Pacific Ocean. It also provides freight services to coastal townships on Cape York Peninsula, the Torres Strait
The Torres Strait (), also known as Zenadh Kes, is a strait between Australia and the Melanesian island of New Guinea. It is wide at its narrowest extent. To the south is Cape York Peninsula, the northernmost extremity of the Australian mai ...
and the Gulf of Carpentaria.
Yearly cargo through the port totals 1.13 million tonnes. Almost 90% of the trade is bulk cargoes – including petroleum, sugar, molasses, fertiliser and LP gas. A large number of fishing trawlers
A fishing trawler is a commercial fishing vessel designed to operate fishing trawls. Trawling is a method of fishing that involves actively dragging or pulling a trawl through the water behind one or more trawlers. Trawls are fishing nets tha ...
are also located at the port. There is also a marina that houses private yachts and boats used for tourist operations.
The Trinity Wharf has recently been the subject of a major redevelopment to improve the area for tourist and cruise ship operations. The freight wharves are located to the south of Trinity Wharf further up Trinity Inlet.
Defence facilities
The Royal Australian Navy
The Royal Australian Navy (RAN) is the principal naval force of the Australian Defence Force (ADF). The professional head of the RAN is Chief of Navy (CN) Vice Admiral Mark Hammond AM, RAN. CN is also jointly responsible to the Minister of ...
has a base in Cairns (). The base has a complement of 900 personnel, and supports nine vessels, including:
*Three ''Armidale''-class patrol boats of ''Ardent'' Division.
*Two ''Cape''-class patrol boats.
Four ships of the Royal Australian Navy Hydrographic Service
The Australian Hydrographic Service (formerly known as the Royal Australian Navy Hydrographic Service) is the Australian Commonwealth Government agency responsible for providing hydrographic services that meet Australia's obligations under the SO ...
.
*Two ''Leewin''-class hydrographic ships.
*Two ''Paluma''-class survey ships.
Previously four of the six ''Balikpapan''-class landing craft where based before their decommissioning
Porton Barracks
Porton Barracks was founded in 1971 as the home of the 51st Battalion, Far North Queensland Regiment.
Porton Barracks was named after the Battle of Porton Plantation. A battle during the Second World War that involved the 31st/51st Battalion, ...
, in the outlying suburb of Edmonton
Edmonton ( ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Alberta. Edmonton is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Alberta's central region. The city ancho ...
, is home to the Australian Army
The Australian Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of Australia, a part of the Australian Defence Force (ADF) along with the Royal Australian Navy and the Royal Australian Air Force. The Army is commanded by the Chief of Army (Austral ...
's 51st Battalion, Far North Queensland Regiment
The 51st Battalion, Far North Queensland Regiment (51 FNQR) is an Australian Army Regional Force Surveillance Unit headquartered at Porton Barracks in Cairns. The battalion's primary role is to conduct reconnaissance and surveillance tasks in ...
. Delta Company from the Townsville based 31st/42nd Battalion, Royal Queensland Regiment
The 31st/42nd Battalion, Royal Queensland Regiment (31/42 RQR) is a Reserve infantry battalion of the Australian Army. One of three battalions of the Royal Queensland Regiment, it was formed in early 2008 through the amalgamation of the 31st Batta ...
is also based here. Both units are components of the Australian Army Reserve
The Australian Army Reserve is a collective name given to the reserve units of the Australian Army. Since the Federation of Australia in 1901, the reserve military force has been known by many names, including the Citizens Forces, the Citizen ...
.
Sister cities
* Lae
Lae () is the capital of Morobe Province and is the second-largest city in Papua New Guinea. It is located near the delta of the Markham River and at the start of the Highlands Highway, which is the main land transport corridor between the Highl ...
, Papua New Guinea (Morobe Province
Morobe Province is a province on the northern coast of Papua New Guinea. The provincial capital and largest city is Lae. The province covers 33,705 km2, with a population of 674,810 (2011 census), and since the division of Southern Highlands P ...
) since 1984
* Minami, Japan (Tokushima Prefecture
is a prefecture of Japan located on the island of Shikoku. Tokushima Prefecture has a population of 728,633 (1 October 2019) and has a geographic area of 4,146 km2 (1,601 sq mi). Tokushima Prefecture borders Kagawa Prefecture to the north, E ...
) since 1969
* Oyama, Japan (Tochigi Prefecture
is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of Honshu. Tochigi Prefecture has a population of 1,943,886 (1 June 2019) and has a geographic area of 6,408 Square kilometre, km2 (2,474 Square mile, sq mi). Tochigi ...
) since 15 June 2006
* Riga
Riga (; lv, Rīga , liv, Rīgõ) is the capital and largest city of Latvia and is home to 605,802 inhabitants which is a third of Latvia's population. The city lies on the Gulf of Riga at the mouth of the Daugava river where it meets the Ba ...
, Latvia since 1990
* Scottsdale, Arizona
, settlement_type = City
, named_for = Winfield Scott
, image_skyline =
, image_seal = Seal of Scottsdale (Arizona).svg
, image_blank_emblem = City of Scottsdale Script Logo.svg
, nick ...
(USA) since 1987
* Sidney, British Columbia (Canada) since 1984
* Zhanjiang, People's Republic of China (Guangdong province
Guangdong (, ), alternatively romanized as Canton or Kwangtung, is a coastal province in South China on the north shore of the South China Sea. The capital of the province is Guangzhou. With a population of 126.01 million (as of 2020) ...
) since 2005
A selection of memorabilia and artefacts relating to Cairns Sister Cities is displayed at Cairns City Library.
Education
Cairns has numerous primary and secondary schools. Separate systems of private and public schools operate in Queensland. There are 20 state primary schools and 16 state high schools operated by the Queensland state government Department of Education within the Cairns City Council
The City of Cairns was a local government area centred on the Far North Queensland city of Cairns. Established in 1885, for most of its existence it consisted of approximately around Cairns itself, with much of the metropolitan area being l ...
area, including 6 schools in the predominantly rural areas south of Gordonvale.
Catholic
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
schools are operated by Catholic Education Cairns. The Catholic system encompasses nineteen primary schools, six secondary colleges and one P-12 college. The oldest Marist Brothers college in Cairns is St Augustine's, which is a secondary college. there were almost 6,700 primary students and 4,000 secondary students enrolled in the Roman Catholic school system.
There are also four other independent schools – Peace Lutheran College
Peace is a concept of societal friendship and harmony in the absence of hostility and violence. In a social sense, peace is commonly used to mean a lack of conflict (such as war) and freedom from fear of violence between individuals or groups. ...
, Trinity Anglican School
Trinity Anglican School (TAS) is an Independent Anglican School in Far North Queensland, Australia which opened on 25 May 1983. It has three campuses set over two grounds. TAS White Rock caters for students from Kindergarten through to Year 12, ...
, Freshwater Christian College
Freshwater Christian College is a private Christian school located in the suburb of Brinsmead, in Cairns, in Far North Queensland, Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country c ...
and Redlynch State College Redlynch may refer to:
*Redlynch, Queensland, Australia
* Redlynch, Somerset, England, United Kingdom
* Redlynch, Wiltshire
Redlynch is a village and civil parish about southeast of Salisbury in Wiltshire, England. The parish includes the villa ...
.
There is also Hinterland Cairns Steiner School
Hinterland is a German word meaning "the land behind" (a city, a port, or similar). Its use in English was first documented by the geographer George Chisholm in his ''Handbook of Commercial Geography'' (1888). Originally the term was associated ...
, which is independent.
The Cairns Campus of James Cook University
James Cook University (JCU) is a public university in North Queensland, Australia. The second oldest university in Queensland, JCU is a teaching and research institution. The university's main campuses are located in the tropical cities of Cairn ...
is located at Smithfield. CQUniversity Australia has established a study centre in Cairns. The city also hosts a TAFE
Technical and further education or simply TAFE (), is the common name in English-speaking countries in Oceania for vocational education, as a subset of tertiary education. TAFE institutions provide a wide range of predominantly vocational cours ...
college, and a School of the Air base, both located in the inner suburb of Manunda.
Health
The Cairns Hospital
Cairns Hospital, known as the Cairns Base Hospital between 1932 and 2013, is the largest major hospital in Far North Queensland, Australia. It is located at 165 The Esplanade, Cairns North, Cairns. The hospital offers general services to Cair ...
is situated on the Cairns Esplanade and is the major hospital for the Cape York Peninsula area. The smaller Cairns Private Hospital is located nearby. A new building was completed in 2015 to provide up to 168 more beds.
Cairns is a base for the Royal Flying Doctor Service, which operates clinics and provides emergency evacuations in remote communities throughout the region.
Sport and recreation
Association football, Australian rules football, and rugby
Cairns is home to Far North Queensland Heat, who play in the 2nd tier of association football
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...
in Australia. They compete in the NPL Queensland
The National Premier League Queensland, run by Football Queensland, is the top tier state-level football (soccer) competition in Queensland. The conference is a sub division of the National Premier Leagues. The inaugural season kicked off in Marc ...
which is one tier under the A-League
A-League Men (known as the Isuzu UTE A-League for sponsorship reasons) is the highest-level professional men's soccer league in Australia and New Zealand. At the top of the Australian league system, it is the country's premier men's competiti ...
. The team has represented the city nationally previously at the 2014 FFA Cup
The 2014 FFA Cup was the inaugural season of the FFA Cup, the main national soccer knockout cup competition in Australia. 631 teams in total from around Australia entered the competition. Only 32 teams competed in the competition proper (Round o ...
. The team competes at Barlow Park
Barlow Park is a multi-sports facility and stadium in Parramatta Park, Queensland, Parramatta Park, Cairns, Queensland, Australia.
The Park is home of Cairns District Rugby League, Far North Queensland Rugby Union, Cairns District Rugby Union, C ...
. The Cairns region has a large association football
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...
community with a local competition which spans from Port Douglas to Innisfail and west to Dimbulah
Dimbulah is a town and locality in Far North Queensland, Australia, from Cairns by road, on the Atherton Tableland. It is within the local government area of Shire of Mareeba (between 2008 and 2013, it was within the Tablelands Region). In ...
.
Notable association football
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...
players from the region include Socceroos
The Australia men's national soccer team represents Australia in international men's soccer. Officially nicknamed the Socceroos, the team is controlled by the governing body for soccer in Australia, Football Australia, which is affiliated with ...
Frank Farina, Steve Corica, Shane Stefanutto
Shane Stefanutto (born 12 January 1980) is an Australian former professional footballer who is the Technical Director of Brisbane Roar. He previously played for Brisbane Strikers, Lillestrøm, Lyn, North Queensland Fury, Brisbane Roar, Olympic ...
and Michael Thwaite
Michael may refer to:
People
* Michael (given name), a given name
* Michael (surname), including a list of people with the surname Michael
Given name "Michael"
* Michael (archangel), ''first'' of God's archangels in the Jewish, Christian an ...
.
Cairns has a seven-team Australian rules football competition between teams from the Cairns and Port Douglas region. AFL Cairns currently hosts one AFL game each season. There is also an AFL Masters
Variations of Australian rules football are games or activities based on or similar to the game of Australian rules football, in which the player uses common Australian rules football skills. They range in player numbers from 2 (in the case of ki ...
team that is based in Cairns, they are known as the Cairns Stingers.
The Northern Pride Queensland Cup rugby league team played their first season in 2008, and act as a feeder team to the North Queensland Cowboys who play in the National Rugby League. Cairns is represented by 11 Senior clubs, most notably ''Brothers Cairns'', ''Ivanhoes Knights,'' ''Cairns Kangaroos, Edmonton Storm'' and ''Southern Suburbs Cockatoos'' in the Cairns District Rugby League. Cairns also hosts growing bases for Rugby union
Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In its m ...
.
Other sports
There is a baseball league at Trinity Beach
Trinity Beach is a coastal suburb of Cairns in the Cairns Region, Queensland, Australia. At the , Trinity Beach had a population of 5,488.
Geography
Trinity Beach is approximately from the Cairns city centre and approximately 6.6 km f ...
. Cairns also has a National Basketball League ( NBL) team, the Cairns Taipans
The Cairns Taipans are an Australian professional basketball team based in Cairns, Queensland. The Taipans compete in the National Basketball League (Australia), National Basketball League (NBL) and play their home games at the Cairns Conventio ...
whose home court is the Cairns Convention Centre
The Cairns Convention Centre is a convention and entertainment centre in Cairns, Queensland, Australia. The venue was selected the World's Best Congress Centre in 2004 and 2014.
Description
The centre has a floor space of on a site in the Ca ...
, known as ''The Snakepit'' during Taipans home games.
In 1965 the City of Cairns Open
The City of Cairns Open is a professional and amateur golf tournament. It was briefly part of the PGA Tour of Australia's calendar.
History
The City of Cairns Open began in 1965. It is held at Cairns Golf Club in Cairns, Australia. In the late ...
, a professional golf tournament, was inaugurated. Significant golfers like Randall Vines
Randall Vines (born 6 June 1945) is an Australian professional golfer. Vines was one of the top Australian golfers of his generation, winning a number of worldwide tournaments. He may be best remembered for his sterling 1968 season which included ...
and Vic Bennetts
Vic Bennetts (born May 1944) is an Australian professional golfer. Bennetts had an excellent amateur career through the 1960s, becoming the first golfer to win the New South Wales Junior Championship three times. Bennetts turned pro in 1968 and ...
won the event. In the mid-1970s it evolved into an amateur event. In modern times, the week-long event encompasses four tournaments, including a mixed team event and separate men's and women's tournaments.
Cairns is a major international destination for water sports and scuba diving
Scuba diving is a mode of underwater diving whereby divers use breathing equipment that is completely independent of a surface air supply. The name "scuba", an acronym for "Self-Contained Underwater Breathing Apparatus", was coined by Chris ...
due to its close proximity to the Great Barrier Reef
The Great Barrier Reef is the world's largest coral reef system composed of over 2,900 individual reefs and 900 islands stretching for over over an area of approximately . The reef is located in the Coral Sea, off the coast of Queensland, ...
. Other recreational activities popular with tourists include whitewater rafting, skydiving, hang gliding, kitesurfing and snorkelling.
Sporting facilities
Notable sporting grounds include Barlow Park
Barlow Park is a multi-sports facility and stadium in Parramatta Park, Queensland, Parramatta Park, Cairns, Queensland, Australia.
The Park is home of Cairns District Rugby League, Far North Queensland Rugby Union, Cairns District Rugby Union, C ...
, Parramatta Park, Cazaly's Stadium
Cazalys Stadium is a sports stadium in Cairns, Queensland, Australia. It is situated in the suburb of Westcourt. The stadium is named after the social club which abuts the oval, Cazalys, which itself was named after Australian rules footballe ...
, the Cairns Convention Centre, and the Cairns Hockey Centre. The Cairns Showground is used for sports as well, as the Cairns Show and funfairs.
Amenities
Established in 1978, the Cairns & District Chinese Association is an arts and heritage organisation seeking to preserve the Chinese culture and heritage of Cairns and North Queensland and enriching the contemporary cultural, social and economic diversity of the community. The society organises events such as the Chinese New Year Festival, organises Lion dancers and dragon boat
A dragon boat is a human-powered watercraft originating from the Pearl River Delta region of China's southern Guangdong Province. These were made of teak, but in other parts of China, different kinds of wood are used. It is one of a family of t ...
racing, maintains the Lit Sung Goong Temple, and offers Chinese language classes and social group activities.
Established in 1989, the Cairns and District Family History Society maintains a library of world-wide genealogy
Genealogy () is the study of families, family history, and the tracing of their lineages. Genealogists use oral interviews, historical records, genetic analysis, and other records to obtain information about a family and to demonstrate kins ...
material at 271 Gatton Street, Westcourt. The society publishes new genealogical resources based on collecting and indexing family information relating to Far North Queensland.
The Cairns Historical Society operates the Cairns Museum and Cairns Historical Society Resource Centre at the former Cairns School of Arts
Cairns School of Arts is a heritage-listed former school of arts and now the Cairns Museum at 93-105 Lake Street, Cairns City, Cairns, Cairns Region, Queensland, Australia. It was designed by Tunbridge, Tunbridge & Lynch and built from 1907 ...
building on the corner of Lake and Shields Streets in Cairns City
Cairns City is a coastal suburb at the centre of Cairns in the Cairns Region, Queensland, Australia. It is also known as the Cairns Central Business District (CBD). In the , Cairns City had a population of 2,737 people.
Geography
The suburb is ...
.
The Cairns branch of the Queensland Country Women's Association meets at 264 Grafton Street, Cairns North
Cairns North is a coastal suburb of Cairns in the Cairns Region, Queensland, Australia. In the , Cairns North had a population of 5,191 people.
Geography
The suburb is bounded to the north by the Cairns Airport, to the east by Trinity Bay ( ...
.
St Monica's Catholic Cathedral is at 183 Abbott Street. It is within the Cairns Cathedral Parish of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Cairns.
Indigenous languages and representation
The Yidiny language is a prominent language of the Cairns area.[
]Irukandji language
Djabugay (or ''Djabuganjdji''; see below for other names) is an endangered Australian Aboriginal language spoken by the Djabugay people with 46 native speakers at the 2016 census. The Djabugay language region includes Far North Queensland, parti ...
(also known as Yirrgay, Yurrgay, Yirrgandji, Djabuganjdji and Yirgay) is a language of Far North Queensland
Far North Queensland (FNQ) is the northernmost part of the Australian state of Queensland. Its largest city is Cairns and it is dominated geographically by Cape York Peninsula, which stretches north to the Torres Strait, and west to the Gulf C ...
, particularly the area around the Kuranda Range Kuranda may refer to:
Places
* Kuranda, Queensland, a town on the Atherton Tableland in Far North Queensland, Australia
** Kuranda Butterfly Farm, the Australian Butterfly Sanctuary, situated in the centre of Kuranda Village
** Kuranda Fig Tree Ave ...
and Lower Barron River. The Irukandji language region includes the landscape within Cairns Regional Council.
Yumplatok
Torres Strait Creole ( tcs, Yumplatok), also known as Torres Strait Pidgin, Brokan/Broken, Cape York Creole, Lockhart Creole, Kriol, Papuan, Broken English, Blaikman, Big Thap, Pizin, and Ailan Tok, is an English-based creole language (a varie ...
(also known as Torres Strait Creole and Broken) is a contemporary Torres Strait Island language originating in the Torres Strait
The Torres Strait (), also known as Zenadh Kes, is a strait between Australia and the Melanesian island of New Guinea. It is wide at its narrowest extent. To the south is Cape York Peninsula, the northernmost extremity of the Australian mai ...
. The contact with missionaries and others since the 1800s has led to the development of a pidgin language
A pidgin , or pidgin language, is a grammatically simplified means of communication that develops between two or more groups of people that do not have a language in common: typically, its vocabulary and grammar are limited and often drawn from s ...
, which transitioned into a creole language
A creole language, or simply creole, is a stable natural language that develops from the simplifying and mixing of different languages into a new one within a fairly brief period of time: often, a pidgin evolved into a full-fledged language. ...
and now has its own distinctive sound system, grammar, vocabulary, usage and meaning. Torres Strait Creole is spoken by most Torres Strait Islanders and is a mixture of Standard Australian English
Australian English (AusE, AusEng, AuE, AuEng, en-AU) is the set of varieties of the English language native to Australia. It is the country's common language and ''de facto'' national language; while Australia has no official language, Englis ...
and traditional languages. It is an English-based creole; however, each island has its own version of creole. Torres Strait Creole is also spoken on the Australian mainland, including Northern Peninsula Area Region and coastal communities such as Cairns, Townsville, Mackay Mackay may refer to:
*Clan Mackay, the Scottish clan from which the surname "MacKay" derives
Mackay may also refer to:
Places Australia
* Mackay Region, a local government area
** Mackay, Queensland, a city in the above region
*** Mackay Airport ...
, Rockhampton
Rockhampton is a city in the Rockhampton Region of Central Queensland, Australia. The population of Rockhampton in June 2021 was 79,967, Estimated resident population, 30 June 2018. making it the fourth-largest city in the state outside of the ...
and Brisbane
Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the states and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland, and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a populati ...
.[
There are four Traditional Owner groups representing the rights and interests of the peoples of the Cairns region. The Dawul Wuru (Yirrganydji) Aboriginal Corporation represents Traditional Owners in the area between Cairns and Port Douglas. Native title rights have been granted to the ]Djabugay people
The Djabugay people (also known as Djabuganydji or Tjapukai) are a group of Australian Aboriginal people who are the original inhabitants of mountains, gorges, lands and waters of a richly forested part of the Great Dividing Range including t ...
over land and waters within the Barron Gorge National Park
Barron Gorge National Park is a protected area in the Cairns Region, Queensland, Australia. It is predominantly within the locality of Barron Gorge.
Geography
The park is 1,404 km northwest of Brisbane and from Kuranda. Barron Gorge ...
near Kuranda. The Gunggandji people hold rights over more than on the Yarrabah Peninsula. The fourth group represents the Yidinji clans, and comprises Gimuy Walubara Yidinji, Dulabed Malanbarra and Yidinji, Mandingalbay Yidinji and Wadjanbarra Tableland Yidinji.
Notable people
* Gavin Allen
Gavin Allen (born 30 March 1965) is an Australian former rugby league footballer who played in the 1980s and 1990s. He played club football in the Brisbane Rugby League premiership for Fortitude Valley and in the NSWRL premiership for the St. ...
, Queensland and Brisbane Broncos Rugby League player
* Christine Anu
Christine Anu (born 15 March 1970) is an Australian singer, songwriter and actress. She gained popularity with the cover song release of the Warumpi Band's song " My Island Home". Anu has been nominated for 17 ARIA Awards.
Early life
Anu was bo ...
, pop singer
Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or without ...
and actress
* Aron Baynes
Aron John Baynes (born 9 December 1986) is an Australian professional basketball player for the Brisbane Bullets of the National Basketball League (NBL). He played college basketball for Washington State University before starting his professi ...
, basketball player in the NBA
The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United St ...
* Daniel Boyd, contemporary artist
* Leonard John Brass
Leonard John Brass (17 May 1900 – 29 August 1971) was an Australian and American botany, botanist, plant collecting, botanical collector and explorer.
Early life
Brass was born at Toowoomba, Queensland. He was trained at the Queensland Herbar ...
, botanist
* Mark 'Yank' Cantoni, rugby league player
* Kev Carmody
Kevin Daniel Carmody (born 1946), better known by his stage name Kev Carmody, is an Aboriginal Australian singer-songwriter and musician, a Murri man from northern Queensland. He is best known for the song "From Little Things Big Things Grow", ...
, singer-songwriter, born in Cairns
* Terence Cooper
Terence Cooper (5 July 1933 – 16 September 1997) was a British film actor, best known for his roles in Australian and New Zealand television and film.
Biography
Born in 1933 at Carnmoney, a district of the modern-day borough of Newtownabbey ...
, film actor, artist
* Courtenay Dempsey
Courtenay Dempsey (born 28 August 1987) is a former professional Australian rules footballer who played for the Essendon Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL).
Early life
Dempsey was born in Mount Isa[Essendon Football Club
The Essendon Football Club, nicknamed the Bombers, is a professional Australian rules football club. The club plays in the Australian Football League (AFL), the game's premier competition. The club was formed by the McCracken family in their A ...]
* Charlie Dixon, AFL footballer, Port Adelaide Football Club
Port Adelaide Football Club is a professional Australian rules football club based in Alberton, South Australia, Alberton, South Australia. The club's senior men's team plays in the Australian Football League (AFL), where they are nicknamed ...
* Catriona Gray, Miss Universe
Miss Universe is an annual international beauty pageant that is run by a United States and Thailand based Miss Universe Organization.Natalie Tadena (July 2, 2015"Donald Trump's Miss USA Pageant Lands on Reelz Cable Channel". ''The Wall Stre ...
winner
* Ben Halloran
Benjamin Halloran (born 14 June 1992) is an Australian football player who plays as a winger for A-League Men club Adelaide United.
Club career
Gold Coast United
Halloran made his debut for Gold Coast United as a substitute in their Round 4 ...
, footballer for Adelaide United
* Ken Ham
Kenneth Alfred Ham (born 20 October 1951) is an Australian Christian fundamentalist, young Earth creationist and apologist, living in the United States. He is the founder, CEO, and former president of Answers in Genesis (AiG), a Christian apolo ...
, creationist and religious activist
* Tracey Hannah
Tracey Hannah (born 13 June 1988 in Cairns, Australia) is a Professional Downhill bike rider. She raced her first national BMX title when she was 4 years old. Tracey chose to do MTB when she saw Mick Hannah (her eldest brother of four) was raci ...
, downhill mountain biker
* Jarrod Harbrow
Jarrod Harbrow (born 18 July 1988) is a former professional Australian rules footballer who played for the Gold Coast Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL).
Early life
Harbrow was born in Cairns to an Indigenous Australian moth ...
, AFL footballer, Gold Coast Football Club
* Xavier Herbert
Xavier Herbert (born Alfred Jackson; 15 May 190110 November 1984) was an Australian writer best known for his Miles Franklin Award-winning novel '' Poor Fellow My Country'' (1975). He was considered one of the elder statesmen of Australian li ...
, writer
* Justin Hodges, international Rugby League player
* Erin Holland
Erin Victoria Holland (born 21 March 1989) is an Australian singer, television host, sports presenter, model, dancer, and charity worker. She won her national title, Miss World Australia, on 20 July 2013.
She has also featured as a sports prese ...
, an Australian singer and Television Host
* Nathan Jawai
Nathan Leon Jawai (born 10 October 1986) is an Australian professional basketball player for the Darwin Salties of the NBL1 North. Standing at 209 cm, he plays at the Power forward (basketball), power forward and Center (basketball), centre ...
, professional basketball player, first indigenous Australian to play in NBA
* Danilo Jovanovitch
Danilo Jovanovitch (3 September 1919 – 17 September 2015) was an Australian poet, actor and singer. He appeared in the Australian feature films ''40,000 Horsemen'', '' Gone to the Dogs'' and ''Ants in His Pants''. His published poetry antholo ...
, poet
* Susan Kiefel, Chief Justice, High Court of Australia
The High Court of Australia is Australia's apex court. It exercises Original jurisdiction, original and appellate jurisdiction on matters specified within Constitution of Australia, Australia's Constitution.
The High Court was established fol ...
* Richard Ash Kingsford
Richard Ash Kingsford (1821–1902) was an alderman and mayor of Brisbane Municipal Council, a Member of the Legislative Assembly of Queensland, Australia, and a mayor of Cairns, Queensland.
Early life and education
Richard Ash Kingsford was ...
, Mayor of Brisbane, first Mayor of Cairns
* Emma Louise
Emma Louise Lobb (born 16 July 1991), who performs as Emma Louise, is an Australian indie pop singer-songwriter from Cairns. She is best known for her 2011 debut single "Jungle". Two studio albums, '' Vs Head vs Heart'' (March 2013) and '' Supe ...
, musician
* Rayleen Lynch
Rayleen Lynch (m. Decker) is a retired Australian women's basketball player.
Biography
Lynch was born in Cairns and became a multi-sport prodigy, gaining representative honours in basketball, tennis, softball, and athletics. At the age of 16, ...
, retired Australian basketball player
* Rhyse Martin
Rhyse Martin (born 1 March 1993) is a Papua New Guinea international rugby league footballer who plays as a forward for the Leeds Rhinos in the Super League.
He previously played for Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs in the NRL.
Background
Mart ...
, Rugby League player, Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs
* Grant McLennan, musician, The Go-Betweens
The Go-Betweens were an Australian indie rock band formed in Brisbane, Queensland, in 1977. The band was co-founded and led by singer-songwriters and guitarists Robert Forster and Grant McLennan, who were its only constant members throughout it ...
* Isabel Lucas, actress
* Ryan McGoldrick
Ryan McGoldrick (born 12 January 1981) is a professional rugby league footballer for the Darlington Point Coleambally Roosters in the Group 20 competition in regional New South Wales, Australia. He has previously played for the Salford City Red ...
, Rugby League player, Castleford Tigers
The Castleford Tigers are a professional rugby league club in Castleford, West Yorkshire, England, that compete in the Super League, the top-level professional rugby league club competition in the Northern Hemisphere. The club have competed i ...
* Nate Myles
Nate Myles (born 24 June 1985) is an Australian former rugby league footballer who played in the 2000s and 2010s, he last played for the Melbourne Storm in the National Rugby League. A Queensland State of Origin and Australia national represen ...
, international Rugby League player
* Johnny Nicol
Johnny Nicol is a jazz singer born in Ayr, Queensland.
Nicol began his career in 1958 as a member of The Maori Troubadours and recorded an album, ''A Little This, A Little That'', with them. He then went on to perform in on the Gold Coast the ...
, musician
* Danielle Oke, artist
* Wilma Reading
Wilma Reading is a singer from Cairns, Queensland, Australia.
Reading began her singing career in 1959 after singing for friends at a Brisbane jazz club.
Reading performed on '' The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson'', had a residency at N ...
, singer
* Adam Sarota
Adam Tomek Sarota (born 28 December 1988) is an Australian footballer who plays as a central midfielder.
Career Club Brisbane Roar
Sarota was named National Youth League Player of the Year for 2008–2009. As a result of his solid performance ...
, international football player
* Xavier Savage
Xavier Savage (born 24 April 2002) is an Australian professional rugby league footballer who plays as a and er for the Canberra Raiders in the National Rugby League (NRL).
Background
Savage was born in Cairns, Queensland, Australia. He is an ...
, Rugby League player
* Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow
Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow (born 5 September 2001), also known by the nickname of "Hammer", is an Australians, Australian professional rugby league footballer who plays as a for the Dolphins (NRL), Dolphins in the National Rugby League. He has also ...
, Rugby League player
* Michael Thwaite
Michael may refer to:
People
* Michael (given name), a given name
* Michael (surname), including a list of people with the surname Michael
Given name "Michael"
* Michael (archangel), ''first'' of God's archangels in the Jewish, Christian an ...
, footballer for Liaoning Whowin
Liaoning Football Club (), officially known as Liaoning Hongyun (), was a professional association football club with a long history in Chinese football. The club can predate their formation to 1953, when Shenyang government sports body joined ex ...
, and occasional Socceroo
* Brenton Thwaites, actor
* Rhys Wakefield
Rhys Wakefield is an Australian actor and director, known for his roles in Australian TV series ''Home and Away'', the feature film ''The Black Balloon'' (2008) and in season 3 of HBO's ''True Detective'' in 2019.
Wakefield's debut feature f ...
, actor
* Naomi Wenitong, member of former pop and R&B duo Shakaya.
* Shim Jake
Shim may refer to:
* Shim (spacer), a thin and often tapered or wedged piece of material
** CPU shim, a spacer for a computer heat sink
** Shim (fencing), a device used in the sport fencing
** Shim (lock pick), a tool used to bypass padlocks
* ...
, member of the South Korean group Enhypen
* Grant Patterson
Grant Patterson (born 19 May 1989) is an Australian Paralympic swimmer. At the 2020 Tokyo Paralympics, his second games, he won a silver and bronze medal.
Personal
Patterson was born on 19 May 1989 and is from Cairns, Queensland. He attended ...
, Paralympic swimmer
Gallery
File:Dawn, the Esplanade, Cairns, QLD.JPG, View of the pier and Esplanade at dawn
File:Esplanade, Cairns, 2015 (02).JPG, City centre
File:Glass bottom boats & Semi sub.JPG, Glass bottom boats and a Semi submarine at Green Island, Great Barrier Reef
The Great Barrier Reef is the world's largest coral reef system composed of over 2,900 individual reefs and 900 islands stretching for over over an area of approximately . The reef is located in the Coral Sea, off the coast of Queensland, ...
, outer Cairns
File:Jack Barnes Bicentennial Mangrove Boardwalk.jpg, Jack Barnes Bicentennial Mangrove Boardwalk
File:Great Barrier Reef Ferry.JPG, A Great Barrier Reef
The Great Barrier Reef is the world's largest coral reef system composed of over 2,900 individual reefs and 900 islands stretching for over over an area of approximately . The reef is located in the Coral Sea, off the coast of Queensland, ...
ferry, Green Island, outer Cairns
File:Kuranda Scenic Railway Cairns.JPG, Kuranda scenic railway, Kuranda
File:Mossman River and Gorge.JPG, Mossman river and Gorge, Daintree National Park
The Daintree rainforest is a national park in Far North Queensland, Australia, northwest of Brisbane and northwest of Cairns. It was founded in 1981 and is part of the Wet Tropics of Queensland. In 1988 it became a World Heritage Site. The par ...
, outskirts of Cairns
File:Moved Termite Mounts Mareeba.JPG, Moved termite mounds, Mareeba, Queensland
Mareeba is a rural town and locality in the Shire of Mareeba in Far North Queensland, Australia. Between 2008 and 2013, it was within the Tablelands Region. The town's name is derived from an Aboriginal word meaning ''meeting of the waters'' ...
, outskirts of Cairns
File:QLD Rescue Helicopter.JPG, Queensland rescue Helicopter, Green Island, Great Barrier Reef
The Great Barrier Reef is the world's largest coral reef system composed of over 2,900 individual reefs and 900 islands stretching for over over an area of approximately . The reef is located in the Coral Sea, off the coast of Queensland, ...
, outskirts of Cairns
File:Marine Stingers Sign Cairns.JPG, Marine stingers sign, Trinity beach
Trinity Beach is a coastal suburb of Cairns in the Cairns Region, Queensland, Australia. At the , Trinity Beach had a population of 5,488.
Geography
Trinity Beach is approximately from the Cairns city centre and approximately 6.6 km f ...
, Cairns
File:Hastings Reef.jpg, Hastings Reef
Cairns-copperlode.JPG, City landscape
See also
Notes
References
External links
Cairns City Council Website
University of Queensland: Queensland Places: Cairns
Cairns Local Information Website
Watch historical footage of Cairns and Far North Queensland
from the National Film and Sound Archive
The National Film and Sound Archive of Australia (NFSA), known as ScreenSound Australia from 1999 to 2004, is Australia's audiovisual archive, responsible for developing, preserving, maintaining, promoting and providing access to a national co ...
of Australia's collection.
Cairns
– Tourism Australia
*
* Freeman, Jennifer
The Collinson Index
State Library of Queensland
The State Library of Queensland is the main reference and research library provided to the people of the State of Queensland, Australia, by the state government. Its legislative basis is provided by the Queensland Libraries Act 1988. It contai ...
log post, 2 September 2011
Log most often refers to:
* Trunk (botany), the stem and main wooden axis of a tree, called logs when cut
** Logging, cutting down trees for logs
** Firewood, logs used for fuel
** Lumber or timber, converted from wood logs
* Logarithm, in mathem ...
{{Authority control
1876 establishments in Australia
Cairns Region
Coastal cities in Australia
Fishing communities in Australia
Populated places established in 1876
Port cities in Queensland
Queensland in World War II