Sat, 12th Nov, 2016 Mum & Dad’s, Cairns, Qld (Cairns & Wharf history)

Cleaned out a few more cupboards for Mum. So glad to be able to help her and make life easier for her.

After lunch I went for a drive into town and parked under the Pier Shopping Centre. I wandered along the foreshore back to the old wharf area which is now where the cruise ships dock. Looking south towards Gordonvale and The Pyramid.

The Hayles family were the ones involved in the World Ski Record Attempt.

Old pylons have been used to tell the ‘locals’ stories.

Walked out onto the fishing jetty to read about the Marlin Fishing. I remember the old boat ramp and the marlin jetty with the big scales in this photo.

Great tree-house playground.

Nice sculptures.

The old Barrier Reef Hotel is dwarfed by all the apartment buildings now. It was originally named the Empire Hotel in 1898. The current building was erected in 1926 by local wine & spirit merchant PJ Doyle Lit. It was partly occupied by the RAAF during WW2. In the 1950s the hotel reportedly stayed open 24 hours a day to cater for shift workers of the sugar shed and terminals. In 1960 it was named the Barrier Reef Hotel, reflecting the growing importance of tourism.

The last of the cranes used to load and unload all the different cargo on and off the ships over the many years on these wharves.

Lots to read.

More info on the concrete seats.

 (why does it turn them sidewards!!)

They have created a nice garden area opposite the Cruise Terminal.

Some more historical info.

The Jack & Newell building mentioned before has been incorporated in an apartment building.

I continued up the street and spotted a history trail sign – never knew these were there but now I see things through tourist eyes!! We know this hotel as the Cairns International but they are always changing names. It has a beautiful staircase inside which is used a lot for weddings and graduations etc.

Cairns has always had beautiful trees everywhere.

A monument to Dr Koch. A fountain unveiled in 1903 commemorates Dr Edward Albert Koch who died in 1901. Malaria was endemic in Far North Queensland in the late 19th century, and Koch`s fever remedy and recognition of the role of mosquitos in the transmission of the disease were important to the settlement of the area. Dr Koch arrived in Cairns in 1884. As a result of the arrival of the Europeans and Chinese and their diseases, the eighties saw the greatest spread of tropical diseases in the north. Malaria was particularly prevalent, killing crews on ships and leaving men prostrate for days in the hospital. The Equadorians knew that quinine was a cure for malaria and the knowledge had reached Europe by the seventeenth century. Dr Koch's celebrated fever mixture, still obtainable from a Cairns chemist in the 1970s, combined quinine with lemon juice. His prescription for daily ingestion, recommended its use not only as a treatment but also as a suppressive. Dr Koch also understood the role of the mosquito in carrying malaria, this being the time when climactic explanations for disease were being replaced by a notion that various organisms were responsible.

Nice walk under the trees through Anzac Park.

Across to the Esplanade and Fogarty Park which used to have a big fountain but now has a soundshell and lots of grass. The path starts here and continues for 2.5km to the other end of the Esplanade – we used to walk back and forwards in our quest to keep fit and lose weight! Very nice setting for walking.

Across the road is the old Mulgrave Shire Council which is now the Info Centre.

A group of Where’s Wally people – lots of groups come for holidays and dress in themes – Hawaiian shirts etc.

Across to the lagoon which is very popular – warm and soupy if you ask me on a very hot day but the tourists seem to like it. ‘The Herd’ heading across the water.

Market day today.

Lots of tree art.

The ‘sandy’ section of the Esplanade!!

Otherwise it is mudflats when the tied is out – the pelicans like it though.

Around to the seaside of the Lagoon.

At the end of the boardwalk near the Pier again looking back over the Esplanade and Cairns then over the flat area of the airport back in behind the mangroves. Out to the inlet.

Walked out for a look over the Marina.

Then under the Pier to the carpark. Heading home past another old timer hotel – the Cape York Hotel that was damaged years ago when the Gas Company next door had an explosion.

Back home and I got a surprise as Steve came home early from the Palmer. So glad he is home safe and sound – no wandering cows!!! He found 40 nuglets weighing about 5 grams. (Rick the last 4 were from your patch!)