Cairns - a tourist city with an industrial history

Cairns, on the natural harbour of Trinity Inlet, has always been a centre of industry.

 

Cairns has grown at a sometimes rapid rate over the last century according to progress both in Cairns and the surrounding areas.

 

From the early days the port was the lifeblood of the community. As technology improved the rail link from south was established and in time an international airport blossomed to the point where Cairns is about the 5th busiest airport in Australia.

 

Early industries in the district were mining (especially gold), agriculture (mainly sugar and bananas), timber and cattle.

 

The Cairns Port was a very busy place and the area along the waterfront is fondly remembered by locals as the Barbary Coast. When fishermen, miners and adventurers met at the waterfront pubs it was a time for hard drinking, fighting and assorted entertainments. Of course Cairns is much more civilised and the drinking, fighting and entertainment is in the nightclubs in the same area which stay open til the early hours.

The leading industry in Cairns is now tourism, with Cairns being promoted worldwide, travellers are discovering the natural beauty of Far North Queensland with the unique beauty of the Great Barrier Reef and the wonder of the tropical rainforest encompasing jungles, waterfalls and extinct volcano craters and lakes.

 

Much of the area surrounding Cairns is taken up with sugar cane production. This has been very important to the local community for many years, however the local farmers are struggling to survive with unfair trade policies and corrupt world prices.

 

Although Cairns is landlocked by the Coral Sea to the East and The Great Dividing Range to the West, it has a surprisingly versatile industry base. Ship building, heavy and light industry, fishing and ancillary services such as netmaking and lately luxury yacht refinishing abound.

 

As a transport base Cairns has been important to the cattle, timber and mining industries over the years.

 

Tropical fruit is exported all over the world.