The small Australian town of Cairns in Queensland pulled out a happy ticket. His good location played a decisive role in his fate. With a population of only 159 thousand people, Cairns is very popular with tourists.
Cairns is located in northeastern Queensland on the Cape York Peninsula, directly on the shores of the Coral Sea Bay, just 40 kilometers from the world-famous Great Barrier Reef.
From the west, this coastal strip from the Atherton plateau is separated by a mountain range with a height of 700 meters, and some peaks of which reach 1,500 meters. Thanks to this natural protection on the coastal strip, a wonderful tropical climate. And the rivers crossing the city make these places incredibly picturesque. Well, of course, as in all of Australia, winter here is the monsoon season, which brings rains, but this does not affect the life of the city. After all, the rest of the year is a great place where sea lovers who have discovered the Great Barrier Reef gather from all over the world.
Before European colonization, Cairns was a small village inhabited by the Weylubarra and Yidinji tribes. James Cook was the first to discover and describe these places during his first round-the-world voyage.
Cook looked at a very comfortable bay, on the shore of which the Aboriginal village was located, and he named this bay Trinity. In this convenient place in 1876 a seaport was built and a city was founded which was named in honor of William Cairns, the then Governor of Queensland. When the construction of the railway began on the Atherton plateau to the city of Herberton in 1886, this greatly stimulated the development of this region.
Cairns was originally conceived as a transshipment base from gold and tin deposits to the coast. Gradually, the settlement increased, in the fertile coastal strip, many crops began to be grown: corn, rice, bananas, pineapples and sugarcane, which became the basis for the construction of a small sugar factory in the town. This plant for a long time, in principle, was the only attraction of Cairns. Over time, and farmers mastered the plateau, dairy farming began to develop. They began to grow fruits and citrus fruits. Cairns gradually grew and became a regional center. In 1903, the population of Cairns grew to 3,500 inhabitants and was officially awarded the title of city.
World War II did not bypass Cairns. It became a kind of intermediate point for the transfer of troops to war zones in the Pacific Ocean and New Guinea, and thanks to the soldiers who visited these places, they learned about the Great Barrier Reef and this small town in many countries. Maybe that is why after the war Cairns got a new life. The main direction of the development of the city was tourism. And when in 1984 in Cairns the Cairns International Airport began to operate, the number of tourists increased several times. In the city, luxurious hotels and tourist attractions began to be built. The tourist destination of the Great Barrier Reef and naturally the city itself, which became a kind of gateway to the wonders of the Great Barrier Reef, began to develop thoroughly.
In 1997, the Convention Center was built – a multifunctional tourist complex, in which for the first time a concert hall and an indoor sports arena were combined. The intensive development of tourism infrastructure over time created Cairns fame as one of the best international tourist centers. Now tourism contributes to the Cairns budget more than any other industry, even more than the sugar industry. Despite the fact that all the land in the city district is mainly used for growing sugar cane, there are several sugar factories. In today’s Cairns, a little more than 160 thousand people live.
Unlike most resort cities, Cairns does not offer tourists many well-groomed beaches. The coastal line is not equipped for recreation. Those who want to swim have to use the artificially created Lagoon – a large pool. But in the suburbs of Cairns there are many very convenient beaches. By the way, lovers of swimming in the natural water area need to remember that from November to May, the waters around Cairns are filled with poisonous jellyfish. To protect against them, tourists are offered special costumes or create special fenced beaches.
In Cairns, you can participate in almost all Australian attractions. This tour in a jeep, and a ride on an old train, and a visit to the Aboriginal camp, and tasting mango wine. In recent years, this type of recreation is very popular as a dive safari. This is diving at sea with a rented yacht. With a diving safari, you can dive in places where it is almost impossible to get there on your own. A boat trip combined with diving is the best opportunity to see the unique places of the Great Barrier Reef. Even not diving, but being on board the yacht, you can observe rare marine life, which is impossible to see near the coast.
