Innisfail Estate is a rural

locality Locality may refer to: * Locality (association), an association of community regeneration organizations in England * Locality (linguistics) * Locality (settlement) * Suburbs and localities (Australia), in which a locality is a geographic subdivis ...

in the

Cassowary Coast Region The Cassowary Coast Region is a local government area in the Far North Queensland region of Queensland, Australia, south of Cairns and centred on the towns of Innisfail, Cardwell and Tully. It was created in 2008 from a merger of the Shire ...

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 , establishe ...

, Australia. In the , Innisfail Estate had a population of 1,338 people.

Geography

Innisfail Estate is bounded by the

Johnstone River The Johnstone River, comprising the North Johnstone River and the South Johnstone River, is a river system located in Far North and North Queensland, Australia. The headwaters of the river system rise in the Atherton Tablelands. The north ...

to the east, south and west. It is flat low-lying land, below above sea level. It is connected to Innisfail to the west across the river by the Geraldton Bridge (Geraldton being the former name of Innisfail). Rocky Point is at the south-east of the locality on the Johnstone River (). The south-western part of the locality near the bridge is suburban. The east of the locality is undeveloped wetlands. The remainder of the locality is used for agriculture, predominantly growing sugarcane.

History

In 1879 Thomas Henry Fitzgerald came to North Queensland looking for locations suitable to grow sugarcane. He was impressed by the potential of the Johnstone River district. Returning to

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Queensland, and the third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of approximately 2.6 million. Brisbane lies at the centre of the South ...

he established a company Fitzgerald & Co with the assistance of

Roman Catholic Bishop of Brisbane The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Brisbane is a Latin Church metropolitan archdiocese of the Catholic Church in Australia located in Brisbane and covering the South East region of Queensland, Australia. Part of the Roman Catholic Ecclesiastical ...

James O'Quinn James Quinn, also known as James O'Quinn (17 March 1819 – 18 August 1881 ), was an Irish-Australian prelate of the Catholic Church and the first bishop of the Diocese of Brisbane. Early life Quinn was born at Rathbane (or Athy), Coun ...

. On 23 April 1880 he returns to the area and establishes the first sugarcane plantation (called ''Innisfail Estate'') with its own sugar mill. The mill closed in 1885 but by then there were a number of other mills in the Johnstone River district. By the 1940s there was a cane tramway through the Innisfail Estate, with a ferry connection for the tramway across the Johnstone River (approx ) to Innisfail and from there to the sugar mill. In the , Innisfail Estate had a population of 1,338 people.

Education

Innisfail State College is a government primary and secondary (Early Childhood-12) school for boys and girls at 45 Flying Fish Point Road (). In 2017, the school had an enrolment of 856 students with 85 teachers (81 full-time equivalent) and 57 non-teaching staff (43 full-time equivalent). It includes an early childhood developmental program, a diverse learning centre, and a special education program. There is no primary school in Innisfail Estate. The nearest government primary school is Innisfail State School in Innisfail across the river to the west. Catholic primaryand secondary schools are also in Innisfail.

References

{{Cassowary Coast Region Cassowary Coast Region Localities in Queensland