cairns museums

• DIRECTORY: cairns museums
• cairns museum & historical walks
• bransfords fishing museum
• kuranda scenic railway museum
• atherton hou wang temple
• the crystal caves
• warbirds adventures, mareeba
• mareeba heritage museum & information centre
• port douglas museum
• james cook museum & cooktown sea museum

Although there is no major museum for the whole area, the Cairns region has a number of small, generally volunteer-run, museums dotted around the territory.

cairns museum & historial walks

The Cairns Museum is centrally located in City Place, the mall at the corner of Lake and Shields streets. Housed in an historic building, the former School of Arts, the museum is run and supported by the Cairns Historical Society.

There are a number of static and pictorial displays that trace the history of the region beginning with the indigenous Aboriginal people and including the various groups that have made their way here.

There is a substantial display on the Chinese immigrants that include replicas of a ‘joss house’ or temple, garments and carvings.

There is also a large display on the various industries that have added to the Cairns region’s economy of the years and a major display on the building of the Kuranda Railway.

The museum is air-conditioned, open from Monday to Saturday from 10am to 4pm and entry is $5 for adults and $2 for school kids.

There are a number of interesting historical walks around the city of Cairns sponsored by the Cairns Regional Council. The Cairns Heritage walk travels around the city centre passing some of the major buildings.

The brochure gives a brief history of each building and is available from the Cairns Regional Council office.

The walk includes the Old Telegraph Office, The Cairns Post office – home of the local newspaper – and Cairns Regional Gallery. The Boland Centre is another interesting building that was built in 1902 and was the first concrete building in the town.

Other heritage tours include the Esplanade Heritage Walk that follows the monuments on the Esplanade and a historical Southern Heritage Drive, a brochure can be picked up from Cairns Regional Council at 119-145 Spence St. The council building is open from 8am to 5pm Monday to Friday but closed on public holidays.

bransfords fishing museum

The Bransfords Discount Tackle Shop on the Captain Cook Highway at Clifton Beach, north of Cairns, is worth a look if you are a fishing aficionado.

Dedicated to the father of Australian game fishing, Captain George Bransford, the shop is a Mecca for all fishing gear, historical pictures of the biggest catches and has a dedicated corner for fishing memorabilia. There are also a large number of mounted game fish.

According to the owner, Keith Graham, just before he died in 1994 George Bransford was asked if his name could be used for a tackle store, he promptly replied ‘Why not? Sure as hell nobody else is using it!’.

kuranda scenic railway museum

There is a small museum and theatrette in the Freshwater Connection station on the Kuranda Scenic Railway route north west of Cairns. In a small renovated pioneer cottage is an interpretive display about the building of the Kuranda Railway, an interactive display on the history of Cairns and other interesting bits and pieces.

The theatrette is located in a real railway cottage that was home to Red Lynch – the origin of the suburb name, Redlynch – who was the foreman who oversaw the construction of the first section of the famous railway line. There is a short film about the planning and construction of the Kuranda Scenic Railway.

atherton hou wang temple

Atherton was originally a stopover point for miners and carters heading from Cairns to the tin mines at Herberton. At its peak it had a large Chinese population and their cultural influence can still be seen in the restored temple.

The recently rebuilt temple is located in its original area, which continues to undergo regular digs, turning up artefacts from the Chinese occupation in the 1800s.

The Hou Wang Temple was the social and religious centre of the Atherton Tableland Chinese community with a community hall and kitchen in the same complex. It is the only remaining structure of the original Chinatown.

The ornate interior fittings were all made in China, with the community raising funds for the items to be sent from their homeland. The temple itself is built of typical north Queensland materials – timber and corrugated iron – but decades of neglect saw the structure decay. The conservation work began in 2002 and continues to today.

‘Hou Wang’ is not a name but a title – ‘prince marquis’ – and was given to a loyal commander of the last Song Dynasty Emperor. Atherton’s temple is believed to be the only remaining temple dedicated to him outside China.

Hou Wang Temple is open daily from 10am to 4pm except for Christmas Day and Good Friday. The last guided tour begins at 3.30pm; visitors can’t enter the temple without a guide. It costs $10 for adults and $5 for children aged 5-15 years.

Also on the grounds is an art gallery and an interpretive centre which includes interactive displays of life during the gold rush in Chinatown, an ‘artefact scanner’ and a quality gift shop.