General News
16 February, 2026
Built on the back of the land
LONG before tourism defined Cairns, agriculture helped make the young settlement viable.
From its establishment in the late 1870s as a port servicing the Hodgkinson goldfields, Cairns relied on the productivity of the land immediately surrounding the city to survive and grow.
Early farming took place on the low-lying coastal plains south of the town, where dense vegetation and swampy ground were slowly transformed into productive farmland. These areas – stretching through what are now Gordonvale, Aloomba and the Mulgrave Valley – proved ideal for sugar cane.
By the late 1800s, cane farms and mills were supplying exports through the Port of Cairns, anchoring the city’s economy and creating a steady flow of workers, goods and investment into the town.
Sugar shaped daily life in Cairns. Seasonal harvesting brought activity through the port and rail networks, while farmers relied on Cairns for supplies, banking, accommodation and social life.
South Sea Islander labourers, followed by European and Italian migrants, were central to the industry and left an enduring cultural imprint on the city and surrounding districts.
As Cairns expanded north and west, smaller-scale agriculture developed closer to the city’s edge.
Market gardens supplied fresh produce to local households, hotels and ships, while banana farms became increasingly common in areas linked to Cairns by road and rail. The city functioned as both the marketplace and the transport hub, connecting growers to interstate and overseas markets.
Agriculture also influenced Cairns’ physical growth.
Roads, tramlines and rail connections were built to move produce efficiently into the city, shaping suburbs and industrial areas that still exist today. Cairns’ early role as a service centre for nearby farms helped establish its commercial strength well before tourism became dominant.
While large-scale farming has gradually shifted further from the urban core, agriculture remains closely tied to Cairns.
The city continues to support growers through its port, transport networks, markets and processing facilities, while nearby cane fields and banana farms remain a familiar sight on its southern approaches.
Over 150 years, agriculture has quietly underpinned Cairns’ development – feeding its people, driving trade and shaping its connections to land and sea.
It is a history rooted not just in crops, but in the city’s identity as a place built through hard work, resilience and a close relationship with its surrounding landscape.
