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Cairns is a regional city and Local Government Area located in Queensland, Australia. Originally settled in 1876, and named after William Wellington Cairns (the then Governor of Queensland) to serve miners heading for the Hodgkinson River goldfield, the settlement declined when an easier route was ... more »
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Airports Cairns is a regional city and Local Government Area located in Queensland, Australia. Originally settled in 1876, and named after William Wellington Cairns (the then Governor of Queensland) to serve miners heading for the Hodgkinson River goldfield, the settlement declined when an easier route was discovered from Port Douglas. However, Cairns' future was secured as it developed into a railhead and major port for the exportation of sugar cane, gold, precious metals and agricultural industries from the surrounding coastal and Tableland regions. The city is rapidly expanding, with a population of 128,284 (ABS 23/2/2006), and is reliant on the sugar and tourism industries.
The City of Cairns lies about 1720 km (1,069 miles) from Brisbane and about 2500 km (1,553 miles) from Sydney by road.
Cairns is a popular travel destination for foreign tourists because of its tropical climate and proximity to many attractions. The Great Barrier Reef is only one-and-a-half hours away by boat. The Daintree National Park and Cape Tribulation, about 130km north of Cairns, are popular areas for experiencing a tropical rainforest. It is also a starting point for people wanting to explore Cooktown, Cape York Peninsula, and the Atherton Tableland.
Cairns is located on the east coast, at the base of Cape York Peninsula on a coastal strip between the Coral Sea and the Great Dividing Range. The northern part of the city is located on Trinity Bay and the city centre is located on Trinity Inlet. Some of the city's suburbs are located on fertile flood plains. The Mulgrave River and Barron River flow within the city's boundary but not through the city itself. The city centre's foreshore is located on a mud flat. The highest mountain in Queensland, Mount Bartle Frere, is located within the city's boundaries.
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 many government departments.
Tourism plays a major part in the Cairns economy. After Sydney and the Gold Coast, Cairns is the most popular tourist destination in Australia. Cairns is second only to Sydney for the number of international visitors to Australia. Its proximity to the Great Barrier Reef and rainforest make it a popular destination. The city contains dozens of hotels, resorts, motels and backpackers hostels. Activities in the region include golf, white water rafting and hiking.
Public Transport
A public transport network is operated throughout the city by Sunbus. A transit mall is located in the CBD through which all services operate. Most services run from the Northern Beaches to the southern parts of Cairns via the CBD. Bus services operated by Whitecar Coaches run to Kuranda and to the Atherton Tableland.
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Rail
Cairns is the terminus for Queensland's main passenger route, which follows the eastern seaboard from Brisbane. Services are operated by Queensland Rail (QR) and include the high speed tilt train. Freight trains operate along the route. There is a QR Freight handling facility located at Portsmith.
Pacific National Queensland (a division of Pacific National, owned by Toll Holdings) 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 operates from Cairns. The tourist railway snakes its way up the Kuranda 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 were discontinued in the mid-1990s. These were mixed freight and passenger services which served the semi-remote towns west of the Great Dividing Range. There is now a weekly passenger-only service, "The Savannahlander" 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 tram) network that hauls harvested sugar cane to the Mulgrave Mill located in Gordonvale. The pressure of urban sprawl on land previously cultivated by cane farmers has seen this network reduced over recent years. There has been discussion that these railway corridors may be used for a possible future light rail mass transit system, however no plans have been drawn up.
The use of the existing heavy rail line for commuter services between Redlynch and Gordonvale is occasionally discussed; however this is not a favoured option under the FNQ 2010 Regional Plan, which favours the use of buses.
Airport
Cairns International Airport is operated by the Cairns Port Authority and is located 7km north of Cairns City between the CBD and the Northern Beaches. It is Australia sixth busiest in terms of international and domestic passenger movements. In excess of three million international and domestic passenger movements were recorded during 2003–2004. The Airport has a domestic terminal, a separate 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.
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Cairns is situated on the Indigenous Australian people's tribal lands of the Irukandji.
The land on which Cairns would be situated was first seen by European settlers in 1770, though Captain James Cook did not settle there or nearby due to his perception of it being harsh land with dense rainforests and dangerous reefs nearby.
Cairns was named after Sir William Wellington Cairns and was founded in 1876 to support gold exploration that was occurring at Palmer River in 1872. Initially gold was accessed via the Barron River and a then port, Trinity Bay (at the present-day Cairns suburbs of Trinity Beach, Clifton Beach and Palm Cove). At that stage, the land on which Cairns City itself is located consisted of uninhabitable mangroves. It wasn't until the building of a railway for the Atherton Tableland that the centre itself developed. The railway then opened up land that was to be used for agriculture on the lowlands (sugar cane) and fruit and dairy in Tablelands. Gold mining then declined. This increased the importance of Cairns.
During World War II, Cairns was used by the Allied Forces; in particular, the United States stationed troops through the region to supply the Pacific fleet. Furthermore, it was a strategic point to hold to prevent the Japanese from entering into Australia through Cape York Peninsula. The Japanese did in fact bomb the Far North a few times.
After World War II, Cairns became a centre for tourism. The Cairns Intenational Airport was opened in 1984, and the World Heritage listing of the Wet Tropics area around Cairns has enhanced the location as a holiday destination.
Cairns experiences a warm tropical climate. It experiences a dry season between April and November and a wet season with tropical monsoons between November and March. Mean rainfall of Cairns is 2002.9 mm. The township of Babinda at the southern end of the city is one of Australia’s wettest towns, recording an annual rainfall of over 4200 mm. It has hot humid summers and milder temperatures in winter. The temperature varies from a mean temperature of 25.5 °C in July to 31.7 °C in January. Many tourists consider Cairns to have a similar climate to Hawaii. 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.
Temperature - Yearly Average
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Distances are calculated as the crow flies, and are provided as an aid in planning only.
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