Looking towards Cairns

The nearby Barron River settlement of Smithfield competed for commercial dominance, but many of its residents had moved to Cairns even before the 1878 flood swept Smithfield away.

By 1878 a track had been cut from the Hodgkinson Goldfield to Island Point and Cairns was soon overshadowed by the new anchorage, later renamed Port Douglas. However, by 1880 the newly discovered Mulgrave Goldfield had brought shipping back to Cairns and in 1884 the settlement was selected ahead of Port Douglas as the terminus for the railway over the Kuranda Range to the Herberton tinfields Its future as the principal port for the region was assured.

The town of Cairns became a municipality and the centre for the expanding network of rail and road links serving the Atherton Tablelands and the tropical coast. Its prosperity was reflected in the imposing government, commercial and community buildings that replaced the early temporary structures. Mining, sugar, dairying and agriculture soon overshadowed timber-milling as new industries for the developing port and the formation of the Cairns Harbour Board in 1906 enabled the port's handling capacity to be expanded by a major restructuring of wharves and loading facilities

Cairns suffered devastating cyclone damage in the 1920s and an extensive rebuilding program began, new buildings being constructed of bricks or reinforced concrete. With this redevelopment, the town moved out of the pioneering era and took on the appearance of a progressive city.

When the final bridge on the North Coast Railway was completed in December 1924, Cairns, along with other isolated towns on the far north coast, was connected with Brisbane. Electricity was provided to the town in the 1930s, on the completion of the Barron Falls hydro-electricity scheme.

From early 1942, Cairns was a major operational base and supply port for the war in the Pacific and the regional headquarters for Allied naval and air forces. With most of the civilian population evacuated, buildings were taken over for military purposes. Cairns served as the main gateway to the Allied military camps and training facilities, established on the Atherton and Evelyn Tablelands. Road and rail connections with the Tablelands were upgraded, and defence manufacturing and supply installations proliferated.

Improved rail and highway links in the post-war period made shipping less important for the transport and supply of goods. Cairns remained prosperous, however, as the principal northern administrative and commercial centre for the region's thriving sugar, timber and agricultural industries.

Extensive redevelopment of the city had begun by the late 1970s in response to the growth of the north Queensland tourist industry. Calms was revitalised as the centre for regional tourism and a rapid jump in population resulted in extensive building development. Unfortunately, many of the city's historic landmarks and heritage links were lost in the rush. Those that survived are now of very special value.