Cairns Region
The Cairns Region is a local government area in Far North Queensland, Queensland, Australia, centred on the regional centre of Cairns. It was established in 2008 by the amalgamation of the City of Cairns and the Shire of Douglas. However, following public protest and a referendum in 2013, on 1 January 2014, the Shire of Douglas was separated from the Cairns Region and re-established as a local government authority.
History of Cairns
In 1994, construction began for the Sky Rail scenic cableway from Cairns to Kuranda over World Heritage rainforest, which opened in 1995, further promoting ecotourism in the region. In 1995, the Mulgrave Shire and Cairns City councils amalgamated to form the present-day City of Cairns. In the same year, a $1.5 million Art Gallery and Cairns' first public Internet café were opened. and, James Cook University officially opened a campus at Smithfield.
The opening of the $8.8 million Tjapukai Aboriginal Cultural Park in July 1996 has helped promote education and understanding of Australian Aboriginal culture in a society that had largely ignored the history of its original inhabitants. The theme park has received many Australian and international awards, indicating ongoing recognition of the achievement. Commencement of construction of the Cairns Convention Centre in the same month was an important development towards catering for modern corporate events. The centre's first major conference, in 2000, was presented by the software giant, Microsoft. At the suggestion of the Cairns City Council, an annual "Reef Festival" was first held in October 1996, combining the resources and publicity of the city's major festival, "Fun in the Sun", with the increasing number of other minor festivals, resulting in stronger co-operation and integration of the community and its resources.
In May 1996 the old Cairns railway station was demolished, and the site was redeveloped into Cairns Central Shopping Centre, incorporating the new railway station. A new Cairns City Council Chambers was opened in 1998, and the City Library moved into a refurbished version of the previous Council Chambers building in 1999.