Cairns

History

Nothing reveals the essence of a city more than its evolution and history. Delve deep into a city’s past and you will find many snippets of interesting narrative, related to the land. Can you imagine that Cairns, the tourist hotspot and trending city, was once a lush rainforest primarily inhabited by the Gimuy Walubara Yidinji people? Gimuy was, and still is, the Aboriginal name for the city. Explore a little and you will still find them inhabiting areas around Cairns and Yarrabah. Carrying on the legacy of their ancestors, they continue to educate the current generation about their rich and ancient heritage.
 
Development took shape in Cairns with the hastening need to export gold that was discovered on the tablelands to the west of the inlet. Founded in 1876, it was named after the then-Governor of Queensland, William Wellington Cairns. The land of swamps and ridges was gradually cleared to make it more inhabitable.
 
The addition of a railway line led to it becoming a major port for exporting sugarcane, gold, other metals, minerals and agricultural products. But, that was easier said than done. The railway line passing through Cairns is still counted as one of the greatest engineering achievements of the world, the reason being the vastly uneven terrain that it has to traverse through.