A weekly re-cap of the events that have made news in Cairns over the past week.

Monday July 9, 2001 22nd Edition

Cairns continues to grow not only as tourist destination but also as a place to live with the city more than doubling in population in the past 24 years. A visit by the Queen for October and the annual Cairns show have also made headlines in the last week.

Cairns population continues to grow
Cairns is like many coastal cities around Australia that are experiencing rapid growth in population as more people opt out of life in the bush and move to the coastal plains. Cairns has doubled in size in the past 24 years, now having a population of almost 130,000. Lifestyle and climate are attributed as the two most appealing aspects of life in Cairns with many people opting to live in the tropics and the smaller North Queensland cities of Townsville and Cairns.

Jazz Festival a hit
Tropical Jazz Festival 2001 has been declared an absolute success with organisers stating that good numbers attended the main event, which was held at Forest Gardens. The outdoor venue attracted over 1000 spectators and other events throughout Cairns in the past week also attracted good numbers and provided a very enjoyable ambient atmosphere for old and new jazz lovers alike.

The Court House Hotel gets new owners and a face lift
One of Port Douglas's most well known landmarks, the Court House Hotel has a new owner who is planning to renovate the old building and provide more facilities for hotel patrons. The Hotel was built in 1878, undergoing significant repairs in 1911 following a severe tropical cyclone that virtually destroyed Port Douglas. The historical value of the site has not been lost on the new owner and developer, Mr Brian Ray, who has reassured local residents that the well-known and extremely popular Court House Hotel will not change dramatically. The Court House will continue to be the number one watering hole in North Queensland for at least another 100 years.

Show time has arrived
The annual Cairns show is set to kick off next week and this year's show is expected to be bigger than ever with more rides, more sideshow attractions and more livestock being entered into the various competitions. The Cairns show is a prominent feature on the calendar of events and Friday the 20th of July is a public holiday in Cairns, to give school children the opportunity to attend the show.

Home sales continue to boom
The Cairns property market has shown a 13.2 percent growth in the first quarter of 2001. This extraordinary growth rate has been sparked by the Federal Governments $14,000 first homebuyers grant. There are now industry wide calls to keep the grant operating indefinitely. At present it is planned that the grant will stop as of the end of this year. Last month in Cairns over $3.5 million in funding was approved for home loans.

Government steps in to save endangered possum
The survival of the endangered sugar glider is now a little more certain with the Queensland Governments purchase of a 3250-hectare parcel of land to extend the animal's habitat. The mahogany glider is only found in the far north of the state and is estimated that there are only between 1500 and 2000 of the gliders remaining in the wild.

Petrol prices finally take a tumble
After 12 months of highly volatile petrol prices that saw Cairns residents paying almost $1.00 per litre in October last year, a respite has been offered with cheaper petrol being made available. One local service station started passing on the price savings to customers last week by offering unleaded fuel at 79.9 cents per litre. As result the business was inundated with customers reminiscing over the cheaper fuel. Most other service stations in the area followed suit shortly after.

The circus hits Cairns
Circus Royale has rolled into Cairns in what is shaping up to be an entertainment filled few weeks. Circus Royale is one of the largest circuses to travel throughout Australia with over 30 performers and 35 assistants. Circus Royale boasts over $7 million worth of equipment which is packed in 25 semi trailers at the end of each visit and driven to the next town on the touring schedule. Circus Royale has been performing in Australia for over 30 years.

The Queen to visit Cairns
Far Northern police and security are preparing for an anticipated visit by the Queen of England in October this year. The visit is yet to be confirmed however this has been stated as a "mere formality". The Queen has not visited the region for over 30 years. The royal visit is expected to provide a major boost for the region especially with the international exposure and publicity that the visit would generate.

Cairns and Port Douglas received exceptional world wide exposure with the visit of Bill Clinton in 1998. This has been directly attributed to a growth in tourist numbers from North America in the past three years and the visit by the Queen is expected to have the same affect on the United Kingdom market.