Far North Queensland supports a significant agricultural sector, a number of significant mines and is home to Queensland's largest wind farm, the Windy Hill Wind Farm.
The northeastern point of Highway 1 passes through the region in the city of Cairns and connects the southern-running Bruce Highway to the western-running Savannah Way. Highway 1 circumnavigates the continent at a length of approximately 14,500 kilometres (9,000mi) and is the longest national highway in the world. Despite being Highway 1, not all sections of the Savannah Way are designated as a federally funded National Highway and certain sections remain unsealed.
Despite being in a housing crisis, the region has a very high unoccupied house rate.[2] In the 2021 Australian census in Douglas Shire the rate of empty homes was 18%.[2]
Industry
Crops near Cardwell, Far North Queensland
Significant industries include tourism, cattle grazing, agriculture and mining of both sand and bauxite. Agricultural products generate between $600 and $700 million a year.[3]Sugar cane, tropical fruits including bananas, mangoes, papaya, lychees and coffee are grown in Far North Queensland.
The region is home to the world's biggest silica mine at Cape Flattery.[4] The mine was established in 1967 and was severely damaged by Cyclone Ita in 2014. Rio Tinto Alcan operates a bauxite mine on the western coast of Cape York Peninsula near Weipa which contains one of the largest bauxite deposits in the world.[5]
In recent years, Far North Queensland has become increasingly known for its artistic and creative offerings, with the Cairns Indigenous Art Fair, and Cairns Festival both held annually. Active arts organisation include the Tanks Arts Centre, Cairns Civic Theatre, and Cairns Art Gallery.
The Australian Bureau of Statistics estimates the region's population at 280,638 in 2014.[1] The region contains 25.6% of the state's Indigenous population, or 28,909 people, making up 11.8% of the region's population.[7]
In addition to its large Indigenous community, there is also a large number of Melanesians in Far North Queensland, due to the region's close proximity to Melanesia. The majority of them are from Papua New Guinea or are South Sea Islanders, who descend from labourers who were blackbirded and brought to Queensland from Fiji, the Solomon Islands and Vanuatu. Cairns has the highest population of Papua New Guineans outside of Papua New Guinea itself.[8]
Warungu (also known as Warrungu, Warrongo, and Waroongoo.) is an Australian Aboriginal language in North Queensland. The language region includes areas from the Upper Herbert River to Mount Garnet.[11]
Yir Yiront (also known as Yiront, Jirjoront, Yir-yiront, and Kokomindjan) is an Australian Aboriginal language. Its traditional language region is in Western Cape York within the local government areas of Aboriginal Shire of Kowanyama and Shire of Cook, in the catchments of the Coleman River and Mitchell River. Following the removal of Aboriginal people from their traditional lands, it is also spoken in Pormpuraaw and Kowanyama.[12]
Far North Queensland is the location of the first amber fossils to be found in Australia. The four-million-year-old fossils were found on a beach in Cape York Peninsula but were probably washed ashore after drifting with the currents for about 200km.[14] In the 1860s, Richard Daintree discovered gold and copper deposits along several rivers which led early prospectors to the area.[15] Many mining towns have come and gone, going through a boom and bust cycle as mines were depleted.[16]
The region suffered Queensland's worst maritime disaster on 4 March 1899 when the Mahina Cyclone destroyed all 100 ships moored in Princess Charlotte Bay. The entire North Queensland pearling fleet was in the bay at the time of the cyclone. Approximately 100 Aboriginals assisting survivors and 307 men from the pearling fleet were drowned.[18] Its pressure was measured at 914hPa with a recorded tidal surge of 13m, the highest ever in Australia.[19] The 1918 Mackay cyclone hit the Queensland coast in January of that year, killing 30 people.[20]
In March 1997, Cyclone Justin resulted in the deaths of seven people. In early 2000, Cyclone Steve caused major flooding between Cairns and Mareeba. Cyclone Larry crossed the Queensland coast near Innisfail in March 2006. The storm resulted in an estimated $1.5billion worth of damage and damaged 10,000 homes.[20] 80% of Australia's banana crop was destroyed. Cyclone Monica was the most intense cyclone on record in terms of wind speed to cross the Australian coast. It impacted the Northern Territory and Far North Queensland in April 2006. In January 2011, Cyclone Yasi passed over Tully and resulted in an estimated $3.6 billion worth of damage, making it the costliest cyclone ever to hit Australia.[20]
In December 2023, Cyclone Jasper crossed the Far North Queensland coast south of Cooktown as a category two cyclone. It later stalled over the southern York Peninsula resulting in record rainfall along the eastern coast that lead to the 2023 Cairns floods. Port Douglas received more than a metre of rain in a few days.[21]
Fauna
The region has many unique native animal species such as crocodile, endangered southern cassowary, koala, flying possum, python, water dragon, wallabie, flying fox, tree kangaroo, platypus, leaf-tailed gecko and bandicoot.[22][23][24]
Tropical North Queensland
Far North Queensland has a tropical climate and as such, the name Tropical North Queensland is also used as the name for the region, mostly due to the tourism industry. Tourism Tropical North Queensland (TTNQ) defines its area from Cardwell in the south up to the Torres Strait in the north and west to the Queensland border with the Northern Territory. However, the phrase Tropical North Queensland is ambiguous and may be used to name a wider area including parts of North Queensland, or even Mackay.[25][26][27]
The Mitchell River is a river in Far North Queensland, Australia. The river rises on the Atherton Tableland about 50 kilometres (31 mi) northwest of Cairns and flows about 750 kilometres (470 mi) northwest across Cape York Peninsula from Mareeba to the Gulf of Carpentaria.
Daintree is a rural town and locality in the Shire of Douglas, Queensland, Australia. In the 2021 census, the locality of Daintree had a population of 93 people.
Wujal Wujal, sometimes spelt Wudjil Wudjil, is a rural town and locality in the Wujal Wujal Aboriginal Shire, Queensland, Australia. It is an Aboriginal community. In the 2021 census, the locality of Wujal Wujal had a population of 276 people.
Maytown was the main township on the Palmer River Goldfields in Far North Queensland, Australia. It is now a ghost town within locality of Palmer in the Shire of Cook, having been active from c. 1874 to the 1920s. It was added to the Queensland Heritage Register on 1 June 2004.
Cape Tribulation is a headland and coastal locality in the Shire of Douglas in northern Queensland, Australia. In the 2021 census, Cape Tribulation had a population of 123 people.
The Palmer River is a river in Far North Queensland, Australia. The area surrounding the river was the site of a gold rush in the late 19th century which started in 1873.
Mossman Gorge is a rural locality in the Shire of Douglas, Queensland, Australia. In the 2021 census, Mossman Gorge had a population of 248 people.
The Kuku Yalanji, also known as Gugu-Yalanji, Kuku Yalandji or Kokojelandji, are an Aboriginal Australian people originating from the rainforest regions of Far North Queensland.
Mossman is a rural town and locality in the Shire of Douglas, Queensland, Australia. It is the administrative centre for the Douglas Shire Council In the 2021 census, the locality of Mossman had a population of 1,935 people.
The Shire of Douglas is a local government area in Far North Queensland. It is located on the coast north of the city of Cairns. The shire, administered from the town of Mossman, covers an area of 2,428 square kilometres (937.5 sq mi), and existed as a local government entity from 1880 until 2008, when it was amalgamated with the City of Cairns to become the Cairns Region. Following a poll in 2013, the Shire of Douglas was re-established on 1 January 2014.
The Shire of Cook is a local government area in Far North Queensland, Australia. The Shire covers most of the eastern and central parts of Cape York Peninsula, the most northerly section of the Australian mainland.
The Bloomfield River is a river in the Wet Tropics of Far North Queensland, Australia, noted for its Bloomfield River cod fish species, found only in the river.
Cooktown is a coastal town and locality in the Shire of Cook, Queensland, Australia. Cooktown is at the mouth of the Endeavour River, on Cape York Peninsula in Far North Queensland where James Cook beached his ship, the Endeavour, for repairs in 1770. Both the town and Mount Cook which rises up behind the town were named after James Cook.
The Kuku Nyungkal dialect is an Australian Aboriginal language and the language of the Kuku Nyungkal people of Far North Queensland. It is a variety of Kuku Yalanji still being spoken. Most of the speakers today live in the communities of Wujal Wujal and Mossman.
The Wujal Wujal Aboriginal Shire is a local government area in Far North Queensland, Australia. It is managed as a Deed of Grant in Trust under the Local Government Act 2004.
Bloomfield is a rural town in the Shire of Cook and a coastal locality which is split between the Shire of Cook and the Shire of Douglas in Queensland, Australia. The neighbourhood of Ayton is within the locality. In the 2021 census, the locality of Bloomfield had a population of 228 people.
Palmer is a rural locality in the Shire of Cook, Queensland, Australia. In the 2021 census, Palmer had a population of 46 people.
The Mossman River is a river in lower Cape York Peninsula, Queensland, Australia.
The Wulpura were an indigenous Australian people of the state of Queensland. Their language, Kuku Waldja, has been listed as a dialect of Kuku Yalanji, but there does not appear to be any data available.
Mount Mulgrave is a rural locality in the Shire of Mareeba, Queensland, Australia. In the 2021 census, Mount Mulgrave had a population of 11 people.
↑ Anna Salleh (29 November 2006). "Amber fossils a first for Australia". ABC Science Online. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Archived from the original on 19 February 2012. Retrieved 27 January 2012.
↑ "Daintree, Richard (1832–1878)". Australian Dictionary of Biography. National Centre of Biography, Australian National University. Archived from the original on 8 February 2015. Retrieved 8 February 2015.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
