Cairns Control Room With Scout's Hat

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-populous in Queensland, and 15th in Australia.

The city was founded in 1876 and named after Sir William Wellington Cairns, following the discovery of gold in the Hodgkinson river. 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. By the late 20th century the city had become a centre of international tourism, 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, one of the seven natural wonders of the world.

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. Its traditional language region is within the local government areas of Cairns Region and Tablelands Region, in such localities as Cairns, Gordonvale, and the Mulgrave River, and the southern part of the Atherton Tableland 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 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 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 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 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), the Cairns Sailors and Soldiers War Memorial was unveiled by Alexander Frederick Draper, the mayor of the City of Cairns.

During World War II, the Allied Forces used Cairns as a staging base for operations in the Pacific, with United States Army Air Forces and Royal Australian Air Force operational bases (now the airport), as well as a major military seaplane base, Naval Base Cairns, in Trinity Inlet, and United States Navy and Royal Australian Navy bases near the current wharf. Combat missions were flown out of Cairns in support of the Battle of the Coral Sea in 1942. Edmonton and White Rock south of Cairns were major military supply areas and U.S. Paratroopers trained at Gordonvale and the Goldsborough Valley. 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, 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 in 1984 helped establish the city as a desirable destination for international tourism.

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 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 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. To the south of the Trinity Inlet lies the Aboriginal community of Yarrabah. Some of the city's suburbs are located on flood plains. The Mulgrave River and Barron River flow within the greater Cairns area but not through the Cairns CBD. 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. The city is approximately from north to south; it has experienced a recent urban sprawl, 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, Holloways Beach, Yorkeys Knob, Trinity Park, Trinity Beach, Kewarra Beach, Clifton Beach, Palm Cove, and Ellis Beach.

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 are the suburbs of Caravonica, Kamerunga, Freshwater, 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 and Copperlode Falls Dam 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, and Parramatta Park, Bungalow, Portsmith, and close to Westcourt, Manunda, Manoora, Edge Hill, Whitfield, Kanimbla, City View, Mooroobool, Earlville, Woree and Bayview Heights. The small suburb of Aeroglen is pressed between Mount Whitfield and the airport, on the Captain Cook Highway between Cairns North and Stratford.

''Southside Cairns'', situated in a narrow area between Trinity Inlet to the east and Lamb Range to the west, includes the suburbs of White Rock, Mount Sheridan, Bentley Park and Edmonton. The townships of Goldsborough, Little Mulgrave, and Aloomba are near Gordonvale, 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; the largest of these townships is Babinda, about from the city.

Climate

Cairns experiences a tropical climate, specifically a tropical monsoon climate (Am) under the Köppen climate classification. A wet season with heavy monsoonal downpours runs from November to May, with a relatively dry season 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, 2011
* Cyclone Larry, 2006
* Cyclone Abigail, 2001
* Cyclone Steve, 2000
* Cyclone Rona, 1999
* Cyclone Justin, 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 sites, including:
* Cairns-to-Kuranda railway line
* Abbott Street: Dr EA Koch Memorial
* Abbott Street: Barrier Reef Hotel
* Abbott Street: Bishop's House
* Abbott Street: St Monica's High School Administration Building
* 6A-8A Abbott Street: former Cairns Customs House
* 38 – 40 Abbott Street: Cairns Court House
* 151 Abbott Street: Cairns City Council Chambers
* 179 Abbott Street: St Joseph's Convent
* 183 Abbott Street: St Monica's War Memorial Cathedral
* Collins Avenue, Edge Hill: Flecker Botanical Gardens
* Collins Avenue, Edge Hill: WWII RAN Fuel Installation
* Grafton Street: Cairns Control Room, World War II Volunteer Defence Corps
* 99 Grafton Street: former Cairns Chinatown
*28D Grove Street, Parramatta Park: Grove Street Pensioners' Cottages
* Lake Street: Bolands Centre
* 37 Lake Street: former Adelaide Steamship Co Ltd Building
* 39 – 49 Lake Street: former Central Hotel
* 87 Lake Street: Hides Hotel
* 93–105 Lake Street: former School of Arts
* 399 Kamerunga Road, Redlynch: Xavier and Sadie Herbert's Cottage
* 127–145 McLeod Street, Cairns North: McLeod Street Pioneer Cemetery
* 180 McLeod, Cairns North: Herries Private Hospital
* Minnie Street: St Monica's Old Cathedral
* 8 Minnie Street: Cairns Masonic Temple
* Sheridan Street, Cairns North: Cairns Technical College and High School Building
* The Esplanade: Cairns War Memorial
* 51 The Esplanade: former Mulgrave Shire Council Chambers
* 183–185 The Esplanade, Cairns North: Floriana
* Wharf Street: Cairns Wharf Complex
* 29 Wharf Street: former Jack and Newell Building