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 (9,000 mi) 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 200 km.[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 914 hPa with a recorded tidal surge of 13 m, 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 $1.5 billion 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]
^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.
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