Cairns

Cairns, regional council (city) and port, northeastern Queensland, Australia, on Trinity Inlet of Trinity Bay.

Founded in the 1870s as a government customs collection point, it grew in the late 19th century as the result of gold discoveries along the Hodgkinson and Palmer rivers, tin discoveries at Herberton on the Atherton Tableland, and the introduction of sugarcane cultivation in the area. Named for Sir William Wellington Cairns, governor of Queensland (1875–77), it was proclaimed a municipality in 1885, a town in 1903, and a city in 1923. In 2008 the city merged administratively with the neighbouring shire of Douglas to form Cairns Regional Council.

With air and rail links and a location on the Bruce Highway from Brisbane (860 miles [1,380 km] southeast), Cairns serves an agricultural hinterland that produces dairy products, sugarcane, corn (maize), fruit, tobacco, and peanuts (groundnuts). Lumbering, commercial fishing, and tin mining are also carried on in the area. Besides its port activities (especially the shipment of bulk sugar), Cairns has agriculturally based industries, sawmills, foundries, and breweries. It is also a tourist centre for the Great Barrier Reef offshore and is known for big-game fishing. In the late 20th century the city’s airport was upgraded to handle international flights, and resorts were built. Cairns became an important destination for tourists to Australia and especially popular with travelers from China, the United Kingdom, and Japan. The city has a Roman Catholic cathedral, a museum and art gallery, and a botanical garden. Pop. (2006) local government area, 127,438; (2011) local government area, 156,169.