The Tablelands railway line enters the locality from the north (Biboohra), passes through the town, and exits to the west (Chewko).[7] The locality is served by the following railway stations (from north to south):
Prior to European settlement, the area around Mareeba was inhabited by the Muluridji people. They maintained a hunter/gatherer existence in the area between Mount Carbine, Mareeba, Rumula (near Julatten) and Woodville (near Canoona), mainly concentrated between Biboohra and Mount Molloy. In the local Aboriginal language, Mareeba means meeting of the waters - referring to the point at which the Barron River is joined by Granite Creek.
On 26 May 1875 James Venture Mulligan became the first European officially to see the future site of Mareeba when he rode up the eastern bank of the Barron River, and passed the junctions of Emerald Creek and Granite Creek.
The Mareeba area was first settled by Europeans in 1877 by John Atherton, who arrived with cattle at Emerald End, which is just north of the town today. Mareeba quickly became a busy coach stop for Cobb & Co on the road from Port Douglas to Herberton. When the railway arrived in 1893, Mareeba grew into a busy town.
Mareeba Post Office opened on 25 August 1893 (a receiving office named Granite Creek had been open from 1891). A Mareeba Diggings Post Office opened by 1893 and closed in 1905.[10]
Mareeba State School opened on 28 August 1893.[11]
St Thomas of Villanova Catholic School opened on 1 January 1909.[11] St Thomas' celebrated their centenary in 2009.[12] The Mareeba parish of the Roman Catholic Vicariate Apostolic of Cooktown (now the Roman Catholic Diocese of Cairns) was established in 1911.[13]
Mareeba is also home to an Albanian Australian community that dates from the interwar period.[15][16][17] Built by local Albanian Australians, the Mareeba Mosque was opened on Anzac Day, 1970 and is dedicated to Australian soldiers who lost their lives in war.[18][17][19]
On 24 January 2006, St Stephen's Catholic College opened after a nearly 10-year approval process regarding the provision of Catholic secondary education.[20]
In October 2011, most of the land (209 hectares; 516 acres) of the former state farm / research station at Kairi was sold by the Queensland Government, retaining only 26 hectares (65 acres). The sale of the land was to fund the establishment of the Agri-Science Hub at Peters Street in Mareeba. The hub focusses on agricultural research and development, together with education and training. James Cook University is a partner of the hub, researching tropical agriculture, aquaculture and biosecurity.[21] The hub opened on 16 December 2011.[22]
At the 2023 Australian Indigenous Voice referendum the town overwhelmingly voted No. 85% of Mareeba's residents voted No which was one of the largest proportion of No votes in the country.[23]
Demographics
At the 2006 census, Mareeba had a population of 6,806 people.[24]
In the 2011 census, Mareeba had a population of 10,181 people.[25]
In the 2016 census, the locality of Mareeba had a population of 11,079 people. Mareeba includes the largest Italian Australian community of any suburb in Queensland, numbering 1,608 individuals and making up 10.8% of the town's population.[26][27]
In the 2021 census, the locality of Mareeba had a population of 11,825 people.[6]
Mareeba has a tropical savanna climate (Köppen: Aw), somewhat modified by its elevation. Mareeba township's tagline reads "300 sunny days a year" because the town is in what is called a rain shadow and is sunnier than the wetter surrounding areas (such as Tully). Though despite its reputation as a sunny place, it only receives 61.8 clear days annually and 59.5 cloudy days.[citation needed]
Climate data for Mareeba Airport, Queensland, Australia (2000–present normals and extremes); 472 m AMSL
Mareeba Hospital is in the Tablelands Health District. It provides 52 beds, with surgical, maternity, pediatric, outpatient, emergency and x-ray facilities.[37]
Mareeba Shire Council operates a public library at 221 Byrnes Street.[39] The library facility opened in 1958, with a major refurbishment in 1985 and minor refurbishment in 2013.[40]
The Mareeba branch of the Queensland Country Women's Association meets at the CWA Hall on the corner of Dempster Street and Wilkes Street.[41] The Cairns Aerial Outpost branch of the Queensland Country Women's Association meets at 15 Wilson Street.[41]
St Thomas of Villanova's Catholic Church is at 59 Constance Street. St Stephen's College at Lot 3 McIver Road also has a Catholic church. Both are within the Mareeba Parish of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Cairns.[13]
Tourist attractions in the Mareeba Shire include the Golden Drop Mango Winery, Jaques Coffee Plantation, Coffee Works, Mareeba Heritage Museum, Mareeba Rock Wallabies and Granite Gorge Nature Park, Emerald Creek Falls, and Davies Creek Falls.[citation needed]
Events
The Mareeba Rodeo and Festival is held annually, with the first Affiliated Mareeba Rodeo held in July 1949 (which is now the home ground of the GladiatorsRugby league team).[43] The rodeo is hosted at the Kerribee Park Rodeo Grounds, located slightly out of town on route to Dimbulah. In 2014, the attendance was 13,000, almost double the town's normal population.[citation needed] A parade through the town is held, and the Rodeo Queen is crowned (the first Princess was crowned in 1959). A ute muster is often staged over the same weekend as the rodeo. In 1999 Mareeba District Rodeo Association Inc. celebrated their 50 years Golden Jubilee of the foundation of the Association and 20 years of the opening of "Kerribee Park".[43]
The FNQ Country Music Festival and Talent Search is held annually at Kerribee Park Rodeo Grounds. The event is hosted by the Walkamin Country Music Club.[44]
Each year on the third Sunday of January, St Thomas's Catholic Church celebrates the Feast of Santo Nino which celebrates Jesus as a child. The event is of special significance to the Filipino Australians. After the Mass, there is a celebratory meal of Filipino cuisine.[13]
Each year, on the second Sunday of September, St Thomas's Catholic Church celebrates the Feast of Our Lady of the Chain. The celebration begins with a procession through various streets of Mareeba and culminates in a fireworks display.[45]
Dimbulah is a rural town and locality in Far North Queensland, Australia, 114 kilometres (71 mi) from Cairns by road, on the Atherton Tableland. It is within the local government area of Shire of Mareeba. In the 2021 census, the locality of Dimbulah had a population of 975 people, a decrease from the 1,050 people in the 2016 census.
Gordonvale is a rural sugar-growing town and locality situated on the southern side of Cairns in the Cairns Region, Queensland, Australia. In the 2021 census, the locality of Gordonvale had a population of 6,944 people.
Chillagoe is a rural town and locality in the Shire of Mareeba, Queensland, Australia. In the 2016 census the locality of Chillagoe had a population of 251 people.
Atherton is a rural town and locality in the Tablelands Region, Queensland, Australia. In the 2016 census, Atherton had a population of 7,331 people.
Port Douglas is a coastal town and locality in the Shire of Douglas, Queensland, Australia, approximately 60 km north of Cairns. In the 2021 census, Port Douglas had a population of 3,650 people. The town's population can often double, however, with the influx of tourists during the peak tourism season from May to September. The town is named in honour of a former Premier of Queensland, John Douglas. Port Douglas developed quickly based on the mining industry. Other parts of the area were established with timber cutting in the area surrounding the Daintree River and with settlement starting on lots around the Mossman River by 1880.
Kuranda is a rural town and locality on the Atherton Tableland in the Shire of Mareeba, Queensland, Australia. In the 2016 census, Kuranda had a population of 3,008 people. It is 25 kilometres (16 mi) from Cairns, via the Kuranda Range road. It is surrounded by tropical rainforest and adjacent to the Wet Tropics of Queensland World Heritage listed Barron Gorge National Park.
Herberton is a rural town and locality in the Tablelands Region, Queensland, Australia. In the 2016 census, the locality of Herberton had a population of 855 people.
Babinda is a rural town and locality in the Cairns Region, Queensland, Australia. In the 2016 census, the locality of Babinda had a population of 1,253 people.
Malanda is a rural town and locality in the Tablelands Region, Queensland, Australia. In the 2016 census, the locality of Malanda had a population of 1,985 people. The economy is based upon agriculture and tourism.
Ravenshoe is a rural town and locality in the Tablelands Region, Queensland, Australia. In the 2021 census, the locality of Ravenshoe had a population of 1,332 people.
Mutchilba is a rural town and locality in the Shire of Mareeba, in Far North Queensland, Australia. It is known for its production of mangoes.
Mount Molloy is a rural town and locality in the Shire of Mareeba, Queensland, Australia. It is a historic mining and timber town, 55 kilometres (34 mi) north of Cairns. The dominant industry in the area is cattle grazing; the town itself consists of a few shops and an old hotel. In the 2021 census, the locality of Mount Molloy had a population of 266 people.
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 2016 census, the locality of Mossman had a population of 1,937 people.
The Shire of Mareeba is a local government area at the base of Cape York Peninsula in Far North Queensland, inland from Cairns. The shire, administered from the town of Mareeba, covered an area of 53,491 square kilometres (20,653.0 sq mi), and existed as a local government entity from 1879 until 2008, when it amalgamated with several councils in the Atherton Tableland area to become the Tablelands Region.
Irvinebank is a rural town and locality in the Shire of Mareeba, Queensland, Australia. In the 2021 census, the locality of Irvinebank had a population of 113 people.
Watsonville is a rural town and locality in the Shire of Mareeba, Queensland, Australia. In the 2016 census Watsonville had a population of 191 people.
Almaden is a rural town and locality in the Shire of Mareeba, Queensland, Australia. In the 2016 census, the locality of Almaden had a population of 71 people.
Biboohra is a rural town and locality in the Shire of Mareeba, Queensland, Australia. In the 2021 census, the locality of Biboohra had a population of 561 people.
Petford is a rural locality in the Shire of Mareeba, Queensland, Australia. In the 2021 census, Petford had a population of 22 people.
Macalister Range is a coastal locality in the Cairns Region, Queensland, Australia. In the 2021 census, Macalister Range had a population of 0 people.
↑ Carne, J.C. (1984). "Moslem Albanians in North Queensland"(PDF). In Dalton, B. J. (ed.). Lectures on North Queensland history. University of North Queensland. pp.191–193. Archived(PDF) from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 10 August 2020.
↑ "Mareeba Islamic Society". Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission. Archived from the original on 19 November 2020. Retrieved 18 November 2020.
1 2 "History". Mareeba Rodeo and Festival. 2018. Archived from the original on 3 February 2018. Retrieved 3 February 2018.
↑ "Festival". Walkamin Country Music Club. Archived from the original on 3 February 2018. Retrieved 3 February 2018.
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