> History & heritage The facility was built at a cost of £85,000 upon a proposal by returned servicemen to commemorate the contribution of the Rats of Tobruk during World War II. [12], In 1872, William Hann led a prospecting expedition in the Palmer River, where an extensive gold field was located. The Barron Gorge Hydroelectric Station came on line in 1963, 4CA becomes the City's first radio station. First water supply opened. 24,788 30,401 28,046 56,462 43,564 13,550. Other, mostly older, suburbs of Cairns have their own entries, and are listed under further reading in the long entry on Cairns. The information on this website is for information purposes only. Sugar and bottled tropical juices are produced, and there is a wood-products industry. On the site of the modern-day Cairns foreshore, there was a large native well which was used by these fishermen. [75], In 1949, long-time Cairns Mayor, William Collins, was defeated at local council elections by Australian Labor Party candidate W. H. Murchison, ending Collins' record 22 years in office. Anti-aircraft gun emplacements were established along the Cairns Esplanade and Trinity Beach was used as a major training ground for defence forces for amphibious landings. [94], In 1958, the Cairns Council embarked on a much-needed sewering of the entire city, providing the basic plumbing infrastructure for future development. [108] As a result, these ancient paintings, long known to Cape residents, soon became a subject of much discussion throughout Australia and internationally. After intense public debate, a local harbour board was established in 1906. Cairns Harbour Board constituted by an Act of Parliament. Urban development later crept toward the country town of White Rock, some 3 km south on the Bruce Highway. Demography. Source. [13], In 1873, the extensive and detailed reports of the George Dalrymple exploration party indicated the assets and potential of Trinity Inlet:.mw-parser-output .templatequote{overflow:hidden;margin:1em 0;padding:0 40px}.mw-parser-output .templatequote .templatequotecite{line-height:1.5em;text-align:left;padding-left:1.6em;margin-top:0}. A drive-in cinema opened in 1961 and parking meters were installed in the business area in 1965. During this period the Queensland Government decided to issue two casino licences, one for the north of the state and one for the south. Sugar and bottled tropical juices are produced, and there is a wood-products industry. It's official opening was held on 9 September 1989. [149] In March 2003, a public swimming lagoon and Esplanade foreshore boardwalk and redevelopment were officially given to the public, allowing Cairns City a small area of white sandy beach. [19] Cairns population in 2020 is more than 165,000 and the top six nationalities of birth of people in Cairns are Aussies, British, Kiwis, Japanese, Korean and Indian according to the Australian Census Bureau.. Cairns region is the traditional land of Bama Aboriginal people and continues to be home to Aboriginal people from three main language groups and 15 clans. [36] Another important early activist was Church of England minister Ernest Gribble. Until around 1970, growth was reasonably steady and was based to a large degree on a rural economy. The history of Cairns in Queensland, Australia, is a transition of a port from a shanty town to a modern city, following an uncertain start because of competition from the newly created neighbouring community of Port Douglas. Answer: Cairns, Australia (Administrative unit: Queensland) - last known population is ≈ 146 800 (year 2014). Cairns High School and Technical College opens to students. His consequent official map listed "Native Huts" at present-day Palm Cove, and "Many Natives" and "Native Village" on the stretch of coast immediately north. [93], Parts of a Cinerama movie, Cinerama South Seas, were filmed in Cairns in 1957. [1] Traditional local Aboriginal stories recall hunting and fishing on land that once extended past Green Island during a time of lower sea levels. That leaves 12.4% of the population that are separated or divorced and the rest are widowed. In the 2016 Census, there were 240,190 people in Cairns (Statistical Area Level 4). [140] At the suggestion of the Cairns City Council, an annual Reef Festival was first held in October 1996, combining the resources and publicity of the city's major festival, Fun in the Sun, with the increasing number of other minor festivals, resulting in stronger co-operation and integration of the community and its resources. "[7] Cook hauled his ship, the HM Bark Endeavour into Mission Bay, at the southern end of Trinity inlet between Cape Grafton and False Cape, and went ashore for a short time with Sir Joseph Banks near the present site of the Yarrabah Aboriginal community. Cairns Mayor S.D.E. Formation of new Cairns Regional Council through amalgamation of Cairns City Council and Douglas Shire Council. On King's first visit, he drew attention to the availability of drinking water and the presence of Aboriginal people in the area. Registered population of 3,500. Initially, Lieutenant Shaw was Senior Naval Officer and in 1971 Lieutenant Commander Geoff Burrell took over. Explore our stories and photos to learn more about, A more detailed history of Cairns, and who and what helped shape the region, is available in the, Council chambers: 119-145 Spence Street, Cairns Qld 4870, Australia, Postal address: PO Box 359 Cairns Qld 4870, Australia, After hours emergency phone: 1300 69 22 47. [65] In the same year, the former inner-city red-light district of Sachs Street, a name regarded as an embarrassing coincidence to respectable Cairns citizens, had a name change to Grafton Street. The Smith's Landing-Thornton area later became part of the Cairns suburb of Portsmith[24], After five years of competition from the already established town of Port Douglas and the nearby settlement of Smithfield,[25] Cairns became secure, with a series of successful agricultural ventures by Chinese businessmen and labourers frustrated with the overworked northern goldfields. This was called Smith's Track and the place on the inlet where it finished was called Smith's Landing. [8], Lieutenant Phillip Parker King, one of the most important early charters of Australia's coast, made three marine surveying expeditions to northern Australia in 1819, 1820, and 1821. Due to habitat loss, pesticides, and more, North America’s springs are more silent than ever. The most common ancestry in Townsville is Australian at 30.7% followed by English at 27.4%. Made by The Commonwealth Film Unit 1964. This was 0.621% of total Australia population. [71] Despite the end of the conflict in 1945, many who left never returned. The two-storey building, located on the esplanade, had taken two years to construct. Cairns is a tourist attraction. [133] In the same year, a $1.5 million Art Gallery[134] and Cairns' first public Internet café were opened. It took almost 100 years for Cairns to reach a population of 50 000; it only [47], In 1909, The Cairns Post newspaper commenced publication, with a publishing schedule of six days per week, which continues to the present day. [91], In 1956, Cairns was hit by Cyclone Agnes, with winds of 110 kilometres per hour (68 mph). During the North Queensland section of the Olympic torch relay, extensive worldwide television and print media attention was given to the carrying of the 27th Olympic torch on a Skyrail cable car by Djabugay Aboriginal elder Martha "Cookie" Brim,[147] and then underwater over the Great Barrier Reef by Australian marine biologist Wendy Craig Duncan. Green Island was marked "Low Bushes", and the future site of Cairns was indicated as "Shoal" and "Mangroves".[10]. The population density of Cairns is 581 people per square kilometer. EVENTS, NEWS & REMINDERS STRAIGHT TO YOUR DEVICE, Traditional Owners and Indigenous history, Cairns Heritage Study (A Thematic History of the City of Cairns and its Regional Towns 2011) ( PDF, 5.43 MB ), stories and photos of Cairns during World War II, Tanks Arts Centre School Tours and Workshops, Active Living Program - free fitness program, Palm Cove Foreshore, opposite Coffee Haven, Palm Cove Foreshore, opposite Reef House to Villa Paradiso, Palm Cove Foreshore, opposite Sarayi to Melaluca, Yorkeys Knob Foreshore, beach near boat ramp, Minami, Japan (formerly Hiwasa) - since 1969. CHS is an abbreviation for the Cairns Historical Society, Sydney Morning Herald 26 February 1866, Mein family documents p1 Cairns Historical Society, Warners expedition notes published Brisbane Courier 14 April 1876, W B Ingham erects sawmill May 1877 JW Colinson Early Days of Cairns p131, May, Cathie "Topsawyers, the Chinese in Cairns 1870–1920" James Cook Uni 1984 p8, Clayton and Hill wish to start dairy farm, microfiche Cairns Electoral Roll April 1889, “Why make the darkness visible ” – Kingston, Hudson, Alan "Tracks of Triumph" Cairns 2003 p43, Humston, Shep "Kuranda The Village in the Rainforest" p22 Watson Ferguson 1988, Elected 1891,1892,1893,1897,1902,1918,1924 A J Draper "The Passing of a Patriot" Cairns Post In Memoriam 46 page booklet published 1928 page 9 "Civic Offices" Cairns Historical Society document D00771, Hodes, Jeremy “Darkness and Light Yarrabah 1889 – 1910” treatise Central Queensland University 1997 p19, Rapkins, Denise "Ernest Gribble of Yarrabah” CHS bulletin 413, May, Cathie "Top Sawyers" James Cook University 1984 p246-251, Rapkins, Denise "A Remarkable Achievement" CHS 1997 p11, CMC minute book "from 31 March 1903 Cairns Municipal Council became Cairns Town Council", Queenslander newspaper various dates 2 May 1903 – 11 March 1905 see "Spinifex and Wattle" book for text, Rod Kirkpatrick "The First Cairns Post" chs bulletins 282/283 June/July 1983, Balodis, Midge "Drill Till You Get Blood" p4/cp 29 July 1912 p2, Hawtin S L "Rise and Fall of the Glen Boughton Estate" Mulgrave Historical Society Bulletin #227/#228 2000, Qld Parliamentary Papers Vol 2 1937 p983/35, Dept Harbors and Marine, "Barron River Delta Investigation" 1981 p13, Neilsen, Peter, Diary of World War II p40, Bradley, Vera “I Didn't Know That – Cairns and District in the War Years”p175ff, Ernie Stephens "Memorial to Malaria Control" CHS bulletin #149 March 1972, first cairns post ANA advert 4 June 1940 p2, chs bulletin 184 Stephens S E “When Cairns Had A Cannery”, North Queensland Annual 1966 CHS archive copies, Interview with Richard Bickford long time Weir Road Kuranda resident, p13,14 Michael Chatenay "Rusty's Markets" Bolton Imprint 05, North Queensland Register 22 July 1987 p5, opened 27 February 1988 Boardwalk pamphlet Cairns City Council, "private boxes to move this week [from old location]", "Skyrail started operating a day earlier to beat protesters", "115-year history of mulgrave shire to end 11 March 1995", officially opened 6 December 1995 "from cardboard to campus", Mackay Mercury And South Kennedy Advertiser, "Cairns' Tjapukai Aboriginal Cultural Park shuts for good as COVID wreaks tourism havoc", "A Thematic History of the City of Cairns and its Regional Towns", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=History_of_Cairns&oldid=1018546573, Articles incorporating text from the State Library of Queensland, Use Australian English from February 2017, All Wikipedia articles written in Australian English, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, This page was last edited on 18 April 2021, at 17:13. Cairns - Overseas born (Usual residence) 2016; Year of arrival in Australia Number % Regional QLD % 2011 to 9 Aug 2016: 6,554: 19.4: 18.6: 2006 to 2010: 5,821: 17.3: 16.9: 2001 to 2005: 3,288: 9.8: 9.4: 1991 to 2000 (10 year period) 4,408: 13.1: 11.7: 1981 to 1990 (10 year period) 4,441: 13.2: 12.2: 1971 to 1980 (10 year period) 3,170: 9.4: 9.9: 1961 to 1970 (10 year period) 2,823: 8.4: 10.0 Landmark. The theme park received many Australian and international awards, indicating ongoing recognition of the achievement. About 9 percent of the region's population is Indigenous - one of the highest populations of First People in Australia. Between 1943 and 1946, the Australian Army undertook extensive anti-malaria drug experimentation. Today the cane toad is listed as a key threatening species. [109], In 1972, a group of young people started a hippie colony at Weir Road, Kuranda near Barron Falls National Park after earlier attempts at Holloways Beach in 1967–71. [44] These memoirs, later collectively published under the title, Spinifex and Wattle,[45] were significant because of the details given of many Aboriginal customs observed by Johnstone in the Trinity Bay and Barron River area during the Dalrymple expeditions of 1872–1873. Since the previous year, the population has grown by 0.96%. Bayview Heights , immediately west of Woree, was formally named in 1970. Cyclone Joy caused $6 million damage in the Cairns area. [90] In August, a modern steel-framed railway station replaced the previous badly degraded wood and rusting iron structure. Construction began on SkyRail rainforest cableway. On 12 October 1923, the Government granted approval for Cairns to be listed as a city. The long-awaited Cairns Civic Center was officially opened by Australian Prime Minister Gough Whitlam on 31 May 1974. It replaced an earlier basic bungalow-style hospital, in which the office had at times also served as an operating theatre.[51]. A period of reconstruction and quiet growth followed World War I. The first mayor, R.A. Kingsford, was elected in 1885. The Tjapukai Aboriginal Cultural Park at Smithfield opened in July 1996, Wet Tropics was included on the UNESCO World Heritage list. Area of Cairns - South is 633.00 km², in this year population density was 165.68 p/km² . It was formed to serve miners heading for the Hodgkinson River goldfield, but declined when an easier route was discovered from Port Douglas.. This road, which took 18 months to construct with a single bulldozer, opened June 1942.[68][69]. [63] The toxic animal developed into one of the worst feral pests in Australia's history, resulting in ecological disaster to many native species. Three billion birds have been lost in North America since 1970. Its traditional language region is within the local government areas of Cairns Region and Tablelands Region, in such localities as Cairns, Gordonvale, the southern part of the Atherton Tableland including Atherton and Kairi. A new base was constructed, which remains in operation. Population, 28,300 (1970). Many of these immigrants settled in the region, establishing the sugarcane industry and extensive fruit orchards. The Royal Australian Navy had a presence in Cairns, operating a Patrol Boat Facility from a warehouse in Grafton Street, under the satellite command of HMAS Penguin in Sydney. In 1990, the city's mail sorting facilities and central post office boxes were relocated. Population: 827,601,385. a city in Australia, in northeast Queensland. 2000 mines were cleared from shipping lanes over the next 2 years. Queensland’s first mechanical sugar loading facility installed at Cairns Port (in what is now known as White’s Shed). La Gran Barrera de Coral es una de ellas y … It took off rapidly after 1970 as the tourist industry became significant Tobruk Memorial Pool opens after $23.7 million redevelopment. [37] In December 1893, thirty Aboriginal people arrived at the Gribble outstation seeking a safe place to live, which is considered to be the unofficial foundation of the Yarrabah mission settlement. In his journal, he commented, "The shore between Cape Grafton and Cape Tribulation forms a large but not very deep bay which I named Trinity Bay after the day – Trinity Sunday – on which it was discovered. [124], The 1987 founding of the Tjapukai Dance Theatre in Kuranda had far-reaching benefits for the commercial tourism potential of Cairns, and the cultural pride of the local indigenous population. 'Corporal punishment shall not be inflicted upon any aboriginal over the age of 16 years of a reserve, settlement, or mission reserve and shall not be inflicted without the authority of the Director.' Cairns was named for Sir William Wellington Cairns and officially founded in 1876, following the discovery of gold in the surrounding area. Population, 28,300 (1970). Construction of tramway from Cairns to Mulgrave linked agricultural lands to the port. [53] On 12 October 1923, the Government granted approval for Cairns to be listed as a city. [115], 1976 saw the commencement of supply from Copperlode Falls Dam, providing the extra water needed for a projected rapid increase in population. Tourists began to discover this quiet paradise in the 1970s and Jim and Jo Wallace started Quicksilver tours to the Outer Barrier Reef in 1982. The average cost of living in Cairns is $1500, which is in the top 26% of the most expensive cities in the world, ranked 2394th out of 9294 in our global list and 40th out of 64 in Australia.The median after-tax salary is $2278, which is enough to cover living expenses for 1.5 months. Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people made up 10.0% of the population. The site for the village of Kuranda, the first large area at the top of the range suitable for development, was surveyed in 1888. The population estimate for Cairns as of the 30th June 2020 is 168,449. The $71 million project replaced the former Cairns Civic Theatre. [92], Towards the end of the year, the 16th Olympic games were held in Melbourne, Australia. In his address, Mr Whitlam stated that Cairns was in a unique position to absorb ideas and styles from three cultures – European, Aboriginal, and Torres Strait Islander. [142][143] A new Cairns City Council Chambers was opened in 1998,[144] and the City Library moved into a refurbished version of the previous Council Chambers building in 1999. The South American cane toad was introduced to sugar cane fields to the south of Cairns in early 1935 to assist in the control of the cane beetle. It was the size of a domestic freezer and had a memory of 200 words. Queensland Government approves Cairns being listed as a city, Gillies Highway over the range to Atherton opens, Cairns High School and Technical College opens to students, Cyclone Willis causes widespread destruction, The first Cairns City Council Chambers is built in Abbott Street (now houses the Cairns City Library), Cairns’ population recorded as 11,993 in the 1933 Census. 1 properties available, complete with high-quality … Cairns airport and harbour were closed, and all flights were suspended. The article, by J. S. V. Mein, a ships commander appointed to set up a bêche-de-mer plant at Green Island,[11] helped increase southern awareness of the northern location. Olympic Torched visited the region on its way to the Sydney Games. Supply of city’s water from Copperlode Dam begins. A two-week series of auctions of ex-army equipment in August 1946 attracted buyers from throughout Australia who were anxious to boost depleted stocks of various goods, from textiles to building equipment. 1 MODELLING MULTI-POPULATION MORTALITY WITH COHORT EFFECTS Andrew Cairns Heriot-Watt University, Scotland and The Maxwell Institute, Edinburgh Joint work with David Blake, Kevin Dowd, Guy Couglan and Marwa Green Island Jetty was opened as a highlight of the inaugural Cairns Tourist Festival. A succession of major work projects, institution establishments and direct involvement in world enterprise accelerated the settlement's development. (It closed in early 2000.). The majority in Cairns opposed these proposals, and demonstrated on the mudflats of Cairns Esplanade, led by the Mayor of Cairns, Keith Goodwin. 1970 TO 2003 Peter Abelson and Demi Chung pabelson@efs.mq.edu.au ABSTRACT There have been few reliable published data for housing prices in Australia (as in many other countries). [60] The city's first Council Chambers was opened in 1930. [129] In 1992, a new multi-story courthouse and police station were built, at a cost of $46.5 million, to cater for the legal needs of the rapidly expanding North Queensland population. This recognition by the Australian Government took 12 years to be approved, and was made 236 years after James Cook made his brief visit to the Yarrabah area. The event was renamed Fun in the Sun in 1963, and has since evolved to become the annual Cairns Festival. [119] The opening of Ruth's Women's Shelter second-hand book shop in November 1980 was a practical way to provide a vital independent community service. The Cairns region is located within on a narrow coastal strip between the Great Dividing Range and the Coral Sea, and is part of Australia’s Wet Tropics. [52] A period of reconstruction and quiet growth followed World War I. Cairns Cruise Liner Terminal redevelopment completed.