Port Douglas Attractions
Port Douglas (pop. 2100) is reached on the Cook Highway, a scenic coast road which runs between beaches and rain forest-covered hills that reach down almost to the sea.
Port Douglas was founded during the opening up of the far north of Queensland, and in those days was a serious competitor of Cairns as a port for supplying the goldfields on the Palmer and Hodgkinson rivers. But when a railroad was laid from the goldfields to Cairns Port Douglas's great days were over. Its decline was hastened by a devastating cyclone in 1911.
In recent years, however, the increasing number of visitors to the far north have given the town a new lease of life and its population has risen sharply. The sleepy little village has now become a luxury holiday resort.
All the town's old buildings were destroyed in the 1911 cyclone with the exception of the old courthouse of 1879 and the Courthouse Hotel (1880) in Wharf Street.
From the Flagstaff Hill Lookout there are breathtaking views of the beach and the Coral Sea. The Shipwreck Museum on Ben Cropp's Wharf displays relics of wrecked ships.
Port Douglas was founded during the opening up of the far north of Queensland, and in those days was a serious competitor of Cairns as a port for supplying the goldfields on the Palmer and Hodgkinson rivers. But when a railroad was laid from the goldfields to Cairns Port Douglas's great days were over. Its decline was hastened by a devastating cyclone in 1911.
In recent years, however, the increasing number of visitors to the far north have given the town a new lease of life and its population has risen sharply. The sleepy little village has now become a luxury holiday resort.
All the town's old buildings were destroyed in the 1911 cyclone with the exception of the old courthouse of 1879 and the Courthouse Hotel (1880) in Wharf Street.
From the Flagstaff Hill Lookout there are breathtaking views of the beach and the Coral Sea. The Shipwreck Museum on Ben Cropp's Wharf displays relics of wrecked ships.
