|
Cairns (pronounced /'ke?nz/
or /'k??nz/, 16°57'S 145°45'E)
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.
Car Hire Queensland offers
oneway car rental between Cairns
and Brisbane
(subject to availability)
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.
The city has used
its natural surrounds to its advantage
with the construction of several small
theme parks for tourists. Among them
are the Tjapukai Aboriginal Cultural
Park and the Kuranda
Skyrail Gondola Cableway, which
extends for 7.5 kilometres over World
Heritage rainforest.
Cairns is a provincial
city and has a linear urban layout that
runs from the south, at Aloomba, to
the north, at Ellis Beach). The city
is approximately 52 km from north to
south. Cairns has experienced recent
urban sprawl, with suburbs occupying
land previously used for sugar cane
farming. Many houses have also been
built on hillsides, partly due to lack
of space and partly due to a perception
of prestige living. Building on Cairns
hillslopes is extremely dangerous. According
to national geologists and geographers,
Cairns is the most likely place in Australia
for a landslide to occur because of
the fertile but weak clay-based soils.[citation
needed]
The Northern Beaches are
low in elevation and consist of a number
of beach communities extending north
along the coast. In general, each beach
suburb is located 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 located inland and against the mountains
of the Great Dividing Range and serves
as the main centre for the Northern
Beaches. It is located between Yorkey’s
Knob and Trinity Park.
Located inland from the
Northern Beaches along the edge of the
Barron River flood plain are the suburbs
of Caravonica, Lake Placid, Kamerunga,
Stratford, and Freshwater. This area
is sometimes referred to as Freshwater
Valley. Further up Freshwater Valley
is Redlynch Valley. The suburb of Redlynch
is located on the western side of Redlynch
Valley, and Brinsmead lies on the eastern
side. Stratford, Freshwater, Redlynch
and Brinsmead are separated from Cairns
city by Mount Whitfield (elevation 365m)
and Whitfield Range.
Cairns, view of the foreshore.Cairns
City, located on what once was swamp,
is in close proximity to the suburbs
of Cairns North, Manunda, Edge Hill,
Whitfield, Kanimbla, Parramatta Park,
Mooroobool, Manoora, Portsmith, Earlville,
Bungalow and Woree. The small suburb
of Aeroglen is pressed between Mount
Whitfield and the airport on the Captain
Cook Highway north of the CBD towards
Smithfield.
Southside Cairns, which
is higher in elevation and is situated
in a mountainous valley, includes the
suburbs of White Rock, Mount Sheridan,
Bentley Park, Wrights Creek, Edmonton
and Centenary Heights, and the townships
of Babinda, Goldsborough, Little Mulgrave,
Aloomba and Gordonvale, which is located
on the Mulgrave River.
The town of Kuranda
is located upstream on the Barron River
on the western side of the Kuranda Range,
part of the Great Dividing Range. Kuranda
is located in the Mareeba Shire local
government area and, due to the geography
of the Kuranda Range, is not part of
the Cairns urban area, however it forms
part of the Cairns economic catchment.
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 [1]. 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.
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's 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.
|
