|
| The park and mud flats
from The Esplanade in the centre of Cairns
|
Cairns (including Fitzroy Island, Green Island,
Redlynch, Smithfield and Yorkeys Knob)
The major centre in North Queensland and an ideal
starting point for travellers wanting to explore both the
tropical rainforest and the Great Barrier Reef.
If there is a city which sums up the aspirations of North
Queensland it has got to be Cairns. North Queenslanders may
well believe that they live in a tropical paradise with
palm-fringed beaches, balmy days, easy living, spectacular
rainforests, exotic fauna and flora and dramatic waterfalls,
but they also want the riches that a modern society can
provide. They don't want to be Robinson Crusoes. They want
tourism, shopping malls, efficient transport, sophisticated
hotels, restaurants and nightclubs and a lifestyle that is
in keeping with a modern western city.
Cairns is a city driven by tourism. Its fundamental
raison d'etre is to attract tourists and to provide them
with a wealth of ways to spend their money - from gift
shops, reef visits, snorkelling, Aboriginal artefacts and
culture, nightclubs and forays into the hinterland to places
like Kuranda and the Atherton Tablelands, opal shops,
deep-sea fishing, adventure holidays to Cape York, seafood
restaurants, white-water rafting, catamarans and helicopter
joyrides.
Looking at Cairns today it is hard to imagine that just
20 years ago it was a sleepy little port from whence primary
produce such as sugar, timber and beef were exported. It is
located 1757 km north of Brisbane.
Captain Cook was the first European to see the site which
is now modern-day Cairns. In June 1770 he sailed into an
inlet which, because it was Trinity Sunday, he named Trinity
Bay. A little further north Cook's ship the Endeavour went
aground on the reef and he was forced to beach the vessel at
the site now known as Cooktown.
Cook's landing obviously meant little as the area wasn't
settled by Europeans until October 1873. The discovery of
gold at Palmer River meant that port facilities were created
at Cooktown.
|
| View across Cairns modern
port facilities |
In the next few years there were a number of gold
discoveries in Far North Queensland. Cooktown was the only
port servicing the area and the miners in the south,
particularly those on the Hodgkinson field, began to look
for a new and shorter route to the coast.
One miner, with the unimpressive name of Bill Smith, had
worked around Trinity Bay as a fisher of beche-de-mer (sea
cucumbers) before becoming a prospector. He was convinced
that the bay would prove a suitable port. In 1876 he
successfully cut a track from Trinity Bay across Freshwater
and the Barron River to the Hodgkinson River goldfields.
Smithfield to the north of Cairns was named in his honour.
At the same time the local policeman on the Hodgkinson
field, an Inspector Douglas, was instructed to cut a track
down to the coast. Douglas joined Smith on his return to
Trinity Bay but he came down the south side of the Douglas
River. Within the space of two months there were two tracks
from the goldfields to the coast.
A small township was established on the present site of
Cairns in late 1876 but it was short-lived because the land
was swampy. Smithfield became the more important of the
centres and within a year it had blossomed with eleven
stores and hotels. It quickly gained a reputation as 'the
wickedest town in Australia' and legend has it that Bill
Smith, who became a publican in the town, made so much money
from the gold miners that he had his horse shod with shoes
of gold.
On 6 October 1876 the Porpoise arrived in Trinity Bay
with a postmaster and customs officers aboard. The
government were not slow in responding to the establishment
of a new settlement. The public servants cut out an area for
themselves near where The Esplanade now stands. At the time
the whole area was covered with dense scrub.
On 1 November Trinity Bay was declared a port of entry
and clearance. It was renamed after the then-Governor of
Queensland, Sir William Cairns. In spite of these official
actions Smithfield remained the more popular of the two
settlements. By November its population had reached 150 and
it was growing rapidly. The next year, however, Smithfield
was totally destroyed by a freak flood on the Barron River.
However, instead of moving to Cairns, most of the population
resettled in Port Douglas, which immediately took the bulk
of the maritime business away from Cairns.
By 1882 Cairns was suffering from a serious economic
depression. The figures tell the story of the city's decline
at this time. In 1877 £132 407 worth of gold passed through
the port. Two years had snared 100% of the gold trade.
The town's revival occurred with the establishment of the
sugar plantations in the Mulgrave and Russell River valleys
in 1882. This was followed by the building of a railway from
Myola (just beyond Kuranda) in 1886. The combination of a
rail terminus and port sustained Cairns until tourism
achieved a momentum of its own around 1980. Cairns was
gazetted as a town in 1903, became a city in 1923 and the
terminus for the Brisbane railway line in 1924. It was an
important air and naval base during World War II. In 1984
the airport was upgraded to international standard thus
giving the city the boost it needed.
Things to see:
Check out this Site
Some locals have created a website http://www.destinationex.com
which is truly remarkable. It has no advertising (at the
moment) and yet boasts 800 pages of information on Tropical
Queensland and over 200 videos. Read us and check them out
as well.
Buildings
There is enough of the old Cairns left for the astute
visitor to imagine what the city was once like. The most
interesting buildings in town are in the Wharf Road, Abbott
Street and Lake Street areas where you will find the famous
Barbary Coast collection of buildings which indicate the
maritime origins of Cairns. Their location close to the
wharves, their wide verandahs and awnings extending over the
footpaths, make them an important part of Cairns'
streetscape. Principal among them are the two inns - the
Barrier Reef Hotel and the Oceanic Hotel on Wharf Street.
Closer to City Place, the new centre of the city, are two
outstanding buildings. The old Adelaide Steamship Company
Building on the corner of Lake and Spence Streets is now
owned by Quaids Real Estate but it retains its distinctive
charm. The relief image of a steamship on the Lake Street
side of the building recalls its previous owners.
One block further up Lake Street (on a corner of City
Place) is Hides Hotel, a typical North Queensland grand
hotel dating back to the 1920s. Built out of a combination
of timber and brick, it once dominated the corner and was an
important gathering point for the people of Cairns before
World War II.
The Cairns Historical Museum
Opposite Hides is the elegant School of Arts building.
Constructed in 1907 it now houses the excellent Cairns
Historical Museum which has a good display of history
relating to Cairns and the region. Its documentation of the
town's history, from Cook's arrival through its maritime
history and the arrival of the railway, is complemented by
good displays of Aboriginal artefacts and an interesting
video on the Great Barrier Reef. The building itself with
its wide verandahs is an excellent example of the kind of
architecture which buttressed Cairns' reputation for
elegance before World War I. People interested in the
history of Cairns should read Establishment Trinity Bay: A
Collection of Historical Episodes available from the museum.
It has interesting and well-illustrated chapters on aspects
of the city's history including beche-de-mer fishing, the
building of the railway to Kuranda, the racial mixture of
Cairns and the establishment of Smithfield.
The Botanical Gardens
The Flecker Botanic Gardens in Collins Avenue, Edge Hill,
are widely regarded as the most impressive botanical display
in North Queensland with over 10 000 species and excellent
views over Cairns. The gardens were started in 1886 and take
their name from Dr Hugo Flecker, a keen botanist and
biologist who established the North Queensland Naturalists'
Club. Of particular interest is the Aboriginal Plant Use
garden which consists of plants utilised by local Aborigines
for medicine, food, weapons and shelter.
The Jack Barnes Bicentennial Mangrove Boardwalk
In 1988 another interesting botanical expedition was added
to the city's sights with the opening of the Jack Barnes
Bicentennial Mangrove Boardwalk. Located off Airport Avenue
(the main route out to the airport) it allows visitors to
explore mangrove swamps from elevated boardwalks.
The Cairns Marina
Another place in the city which is popular with tourists is
the Cairns Marina where the game fishermen bring their
marlin to be weighed. Cairns' long association with marlin
fishing has attracted anglers to the area for decades. Zane
Grey, the writer of American westerns, made a number of
movies about game fishing off the coast of Cairns and the
actor Lee Marvin was a regular visitor during the 1970s.
Other Sites in Town
There is also the Bulk Sugar Terminal, where tours are
conducted regularly, Windows on the Reef - a sensory theatre
which recreates the sounds and sensations of diving on the
Great Barrier Reef - and the audio-visual display at the
Royal Flying Doctor Service at Junction Street on Edge Hill.
Fitzroy Island
Fitzroy Island is a favourite with visitors. It has some 324
hectares of tropical rainforest, is almost completely
surrounded by coral reef and possesses a mountainous peak
which rises 271 metres above sea-level. There are a number
of tours to the island every day and people wishing to stay
at the expensive Fitzroy Island Reef Resort can arrange
accommodation by contacting the resort on tel: (07) 4051
9588, fax: (07) 4052 1335
Green Island
For many years Green Island was one of Cairns' primary
tourist attractions. A small, uninhabited island it once had
nothing more than a jetty and a marine viewing point at the
end of the jetty. The addition of a resort has detracted
from its primitive charm. It now has a Marineland, a Barrier
Reef Theatre, snorkelling trails and a range of eating
facilities.
Green Island was the setting for an innocent pre-marital
holiday for Joe Harman and Jean Paget in Nevil Shute's novel
A Town Like Alice.
Accommodation on Green Island Reef Resort can be arranged
by contacting the resort on tel: (07) 4031 3300 , free call
1800 673 366
Redlynch
Only a few kilometres from Freshwater on the Kuranda Railway
line, Redlynch is famous in the literary life of Australia.
The great novelist, Xavier Herbert, lived here for 34 years
during which time he worked at the local pharmacy (on
Saturday mornings) and wrote the mammoth Poor Fellow My
Country. Published in 1975 it is still Australia's longest
novel. Herbert lived opposite the railway station and wrote
the tale in a shed behind the house.
Kuranda Railway
The journey on the Kuranda Train is delightful. The Kuranda
railway is probably the most scenically beautiful railway
line in Australia with one section actually running across
the face of the Stony Creek Falls and other sections winding
around the hillside and through no fewer than 15 tunnels. At
various points there are views back across the Coral Sea. It
was built by John Robb between 1886 and 1891 and is
recognised as a masterpiece of railway engineering. In 1915
the Railway Station at Kuranda was completed.
Perhaps the perfect symbol of Kuranda's unswerving
commitment to tourism is the way the Barron Falls are used.
In the dry season the water over the falls reduces to a
trickle. However, to provide the tourists with good photos,
just before the tourist train arrives at Barron Falls
Station someone opens one of the floodgates and, quite
miraculously, the falls begin to fall. This is a phenomenon
which is worth watching if you happen to travel to Kuranda
by car.
|
| Skyrail rising up the
escarpment and passing over tropical rainforest
|
Skyrail
This spectacular 7.5 kilometre journey over rainforest from
the top of the escarpment to Caravonica Lakes Station north
of Cairns must rate as one of Australia's most memorable
tourist experiences. There is nowhere else on earth where
you can travel across a tropical river, beside a huge
waterfall and across untouched tropical rainforest and
experience the beauty without damaging the landscape.
The Skyrail became a reality after years of on-going
battles with environmentalists (it was argued that the
construction would irrepairably damage the rainforest). The
result is an experience which is beyond criticism. The
Skyrail blends into the environment and offers a
once-in-a-lifetime experience as it moves silently over the
top of the rainforest canopy.
The first stop is the Barron Falls Station. Skyrail
offers a glorious panorama of the Barron Gorge. It is then
possible to alight from the cable car and walk to the cliffs
for a better view of the Barron Falls.
Returning to the cableway, the passenger then passes over
the top of the rainforest before arriving at Red Peak
Station where, again, it is possible to break the journey
and inspect the rainforest from a wooden walkway. The
diversity of the rainforest is evident with palms, ferns,
epiphytes and towering rainforest trees surrounding the
station.
Tjapukai Cultural Theme Park
The Tjapukai Cultural Theme Park is a unique attempt to
explain Aboriginal culture (in this case the society of the
Djabugay and Yirrgandyji peoples) in a broad thematic way.
It offers visitors a rare opportunity to experience
Aboriginal culture through a Cultural Village (with
Boomerang and Spear Throwing), a Creation Theatre (in which
the story of creation is told in the Tjapukai language -
with headset translations) , a History Theatre (an overview
of Aboriginal history in the past 120 years) and Magic Space
with giant murals. Visitors can experience all the
performances in a 2 hour period at the Theme Park.
The Theme Park is a powerful statement of what it means
to be an Aborigine.
The power of the experience rests on a strange mixture of
the educational (each dancer explains a particular aspect of
Aboriginal life ranging from the boomerang to the
didgeridoo, songsticks, spears and clothing), a clever blend
of ancient and modern in both the dancing and the singing,
the enactment of a tribal legend which is easy to follow, a
genuine rapport which the troupe establishes with the
audience, a buoyant sense of humour, and a constantly
reiterated theme of 'Proud to be an Aborigine'. The result
is an entertainment which leaves the audience elated and
educated.
Yorkeys Knob
The beaches to the north of Cairns are a delight. Once
separate communities they are now commuter suburbsof the
city. Of them all Yorkeys Knob has the most interesting
history. It was named after a one-armed beche-de-mer
fisherman who used the point as a base for his angling
activities at the turn of the century. During World War II
it became a popular haunt for American servicemen on R & R
leave. Today it is one of Cairns more exclusive areas.
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Cairns.
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