Diving students take plunge at former Cairns brothel

A FORMER Cairns brothel that squeaked its last bedspring during the rise of Tinder is about to undergo a major change.

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A FORMER brothel that squeaked its last bedspring during the rise of dating app Tinder is about to be converted into a dive school.

The Oriental Doll opened at 7 Owen Cl in Portsmith in 2013 and operated as a licensed brothel for about three years.

The site had previously been a brothel called Forbidden Apple prior to the new owners taking over with their brand of bordello populated by Asian prostitutes.

The venture was short-lived, unlike the city’s only current licensed brothel Northern Belle which first opened the doors to its bedrooms in 2006.

The former Oriental Doll brothel in Portsmith is going to be transformed into a scuba diving school.

Oriental Doll went the way of several such businesses in the post-Tinder market — in 2015 there were 26 registered brothels in Queensland compared to just 20 today.

The bright pink building sold to new owner RL Sheen Pty Ltd, operated by Xin Zhang according to documents, for about $1 million in February this year after eight months on the market.

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The 2095sq m property’s cycle of flash-in-the-pan sex industry ventures has been broken with a development application to Cairns Regional Council revealing its destiny.

The building will be home to an educational facility allowing students to live onsite for six-day scuba courses.

Plans to create a diving school on the site of the former Oriental Doll brothel in Owen St in Cairns industrial suburb Portsmith. PICTURE: SUPPLIED

Budding aquanauts will be picked up from the airport, spend two days learning theory and undergoing pool training and another two days the reef before leaving on the sixth day.

A 10-bay depot for small vans and buses ranging from eight to 25-seaters will also be built.

“The applicant proposes to provide all-inclusive ‘learn to dive’ courses similar to that offered by other operators in the Cairns region,” the report states.

“The establishment of the dive school onsite will involve the re-use of the existing building for classrooms, common areas, student accommodation and office space associated with the operation of the dive school and bus depot.”

“A 13m-by-7m dive pool will be constructed in the western corner of the site.

“The garage within the existing building will be converted to a classroom.”

Originally published as Diving students take plunge at former Cairns brothel