Far North Queensland | |||||||||||||
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 Queensland regions | |||||||||||||
| Country | Australia | ||||||||||||
| State | Queensland | ||||||||||||
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| • State electorate | |||||||||||||
| • Federal divisions | |||||||||||||
| Area | |||||||||||||
• Total | 380,748.3 km2 (147,007.7 sq mi) | ||||||||||||
| Population | |||||||||||||
| • Totals | 5,647,468 ((March 2025 est.)) | ||||||||||||
| • Density | 14.8/km2 (38/sq mi) | ||||||||||||
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Far North Queensland (FNQ) is the northernmost part of theAustralian state ofQueensland (QLD). Its largest city isCairns and it is dominated geographically byCape York Peninsula, which stretches north to theTorres Strait, and west to theGulf Country. The waters of Torres Strait include the onlyinternational border in the area contiguous with theAustralian mainland, between Australia andPapua New Guinea.
The region is home to threeWorld Heritage Sites, theGreat Barrier Reef, theWet Tropics of Queensland andRiversleigh, Australia's largestfossil mammal site. Far North Queensland lays claim to over 70national parks, includingMount Bartle Frere; with a peak of 1,622 metres (5,322 ft) it is the highest peak in both Northern Australia and Queensland.
Prior toEuropean settlement, the Far North of Queensland was inhabited by numerous Aboriginal peoples, and today many local Indigenous languages and cultural practices have survived and are still maintained.[1] New Native Title determinations for this area continue to be awarded. The Far North is the only region of Australia that is the indigenous country of bothAboriginal Australians andTorres Strait Islanders.
Far North Queensland supports a significant agricultural sector, a number of significant mines and is home to Queensland's largest wind farm, theWindy Hill Wind Farm.
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Various government departments and agencies have different definitions for the region. The Queensland Government department of Trade and Investment Queensland defines the region as an area comprising the following 25 local government areas;Aurukun,Burke,Cairns,Carpentaria,Cassowary Coast,Cook,Croydon,Doomadgee,Douglas,Etheridge,Hope Vale,Kowanyama,Lockhart River,Mapoon,Mareeba,Mornington,Napranum,Northern Peninsula Area,Pormpuraaw,Tablelands,Torres Strait Islands (not autonomous),Torres Strait Islands (autonomous),Weipa,Wujal Wujal, andYarrabah.
The main population and administrative centre of the region is the city of Cairns. Other key population centres includeCooktown, theAtherton Tableland,Weipa,Innisfail and theTorres Strait Islands. The region also consists of manyAboriginal and farming groups.
The northeastern point ofHighway 1 passes through the region in the city ofCairns and connects the southern-runningBruce Highway to the western-runningSavannah 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 theSavannah 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 the2021 Australian census in Douglas Shire the rate of empty homes was 18%.[2]
Significant industries include tourism, cattle grazing, agriculture and mining of both sand andbauxite. 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 atCape Flattery.[4] The mine was established in 1967 and was severely damaged byCyclone Ita in 2014.Rio Tinto Alcan operates abauxite 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 theCairns 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 region supports a large tourism industry and is considered a premier tourist destination in Australia.[6] Nearly one third of international visitors to the state come to the region.[6] Attractions include theGreat Barrier Reef,Daintree Rainforest and otherQueensland tropical rain forests within theWet Tropics of Queensland heritage area, theAtherton Tableland,Hinchinbrook Island and other resort islands such asDunk Island andGreen Island. Major attractions around and in Cairns includeCairns Aquarium,Cairns Botanic Gardens,The Reef Hotel Casino,Kuranda Scenic Railway,Barron Falls and theSkyrail Rainforest Cableway. Towns and localities attracting large numbers of tourists includeCape Tribulation,Port Douglas,Mission Beach andCardwell.
The region is served byCairns Airport. The airport is the main international gateway to the region with direct services to other parts ofAustralia,Asia,Oceania andNew Zealand.
Far North Queensland's population has grown rapidly. The Australian Bureau of Statistics estimated the region's population at 280,638 in 2010.[7] In 2024, Far North Queensland is home to 303,102 residents, expected to increase to 378,000 residents by 2041[8].
In 2010 the region contained 25.6% of the state'sIndigenous population, or 28,909 people, making up 11.8% of the region's population.[9] This percentage seemingly declined by the 2021 census, although this reflects changes to the areas included in the calculation. ABS' 2021 census estimated FNQ's Indigenous population at 16,534, or 4.6% of Queensland's total number of people identifying as Indigenous.[10] This apparent decline overlooks (a) the dramatic increase in numbers of non-Indigenous residents in the region, and (b) the high percentages of Indigenous people that remain in areas now designated the 'Outback North', and several other 'Tablelands', urban and coastal classification areas, that used to fall under the FNQ umbrella.[10]
In addition to its large Indigenous community, there is also a large number ofMelanesians in Far North Queensland, due to the region's close proximity toMelanesia. The majority of them are fromPapua New Guinea or areSouth Sea Islanders, who descend from labourers who wereblackbirded and brought to Queensland fromFiji, theSolomon Islands andVanuatu. Cairns has the highest population ofPapua New Guineans outside of Papua New Guinea itself.[11]
Yalanji (also known asKuku Yalanji,Kuku Yalaja,Kuku Yelandji, andGugu Yalanji) is anAustralian Aboriginal language of Far North Queensland. The traditional language region isMossman River in the south to theAnnan River in the north, bordered by thePacific Ocean in the east and extending inland to west ofMount Mulgrave. This includes the local government boundaries of theShire of Douglas, theShire of Cook and theAboriginal Shire of Wujal Wujal and the towns and localities ofCooktown,Mossman,Daintree,Cape Tribulation andWujal Wujal. It includes the head of thePalmer River, theBloomfield River,China Camp,Maytown, andPalmerville.[12]
Kuku Yalanji (also known asGugu Yalanji,Kuku Yalaja, andKuku Yelandji) is an Australian Aboriginal language of theMossman andDaintree areas of North Queensland. The language region includes areas within the local government area ofShire of Douglas andShire of Cook, particularly the localities of Mossman, Daintree,Bloomfield River, China Camp,Maytown,Palmer,Cape Tribulation andWujal Wujal.[13]
Warungu (also known asWarrungu,Warrongo, andWaroongoo.) is an Australian Aboriginal language in North Queensland. The language region includes areas from theUpper Herbert River toMount Garnet.[14]
Yir Yiront (also known asYiront,Jirjoront,Yir-yiront, andKokomindjan) is an Australian Aboriginal language. Its traditional language region is in Western Cape York within the local government areas ofAboriginal Shire of Kowanyama andShire of Cook, in the catchments of theColeman River andMitchell River. Following the removal of Aboriginal people from their traditional lands, it is also spoken inPormpuraaw andKowanyama.[15]
Yidinji (also known asYidinj,Yidiny, andIdindji) is an Australian Aboriginal language of North Queensland. Its traditional language region is within the local government areas ofCairns Region andTablelands Region, in such localities asCairns,Gordonvale, the southern part of theAtherton Tableland includingAtherton andKairi.[16]
Far North Queensland is the location of the firstamber fossils to be found in Australia. The four-million-year-old fossils were found on a beach inCape York Peninsula but were probably washed ashore after drifting with the currents for about 200 km.[17] In the 1860s,Richard Daintree discovered gold and copper deposits along several rivers which led early prospectors to the area.[18] Many mining towns have come and gone, going through a boom and bust cycle as mines were depleted.[19]
TheMount Mulligan mine disaster occurred on 19 September 1921.[20] Seventy-five workers were killed, making it the third-worst coalmining accident in Australia.[20]
The region suffered Queensland's worst maritime disaster on 4 March 1899 when theMahina Cyclone destroyed all 100 ships moored inPrincess 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.[21] Its pressure was measured at 914 hPa with a recordedtidal surge of 13 m, the highest ever in Australia.[22] The1918 Mackay cyclone hit the Queensland coast in January of that year, killing 30 people.[23]
In March 1997,Cyclone Justin resulted in the deaths of seven people. In early 2000,Cyclone Steve caused major flooding between Cairns andMareeba.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.[23] 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 overTully and resulted in an estimated $3.6 billion worth of damage, making it the costliest cyclone ever to hit Australia.[23]
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 the2023 Cairns floods. Port Douglas received more than a metre of rain in a few days.[24]
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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.[25][26][27]
Far North Queensland has a tropical climate and as such, the nameTropical 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 ofNorth Queensland, or evenMackay.[28][29][30]
This Wikipedia article incorporatesCC BY 4.0licensed text from:"Yalanji".Queensland Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander languages map.State Library of Queensland. Retrieved5 February 2020. This Wikipedia article incorporatesCC BY 4.0licensed text from:"Kuku Yalanji".Queensland Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander languages map.State Library of Queensland. Retrieved28 January 2020. This Wikipedia article incorporatesCC BY 4.0licensed text from:"Warungu".Queensland Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander languages map.State Library of Queensland. Retrieved5 February 2020. This Wikipedia article incorporatesCC BY 4.0licensed text from:"Yir Yiront".Queensland Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander languages map.State Library of Queensland. Retrieved30 January 2020. This Wikipedia article incorporatesCC BY 4.0licensed text from:"Yidinji".Queensland Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander languages map.State Library of Queensland. Retrieved30 January 2020.
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