Stunning Nearmap aerial photos show how developers have transformed Cairns
Pockets of Cairns received a massive facelift in just seven years. These staggering aerial images reveal how our city has been transformed. SEE HOW IT CHANGED
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Pockets of Cairns have become unrecognisable in the space of seven years as deep-pocketed developers reshape the way we live.
Former cane fields are now bustling suburbs where young families abound, and a notorious CBD war zone has become the prized jewel of the city’s cultural and entertainment set.
Australian location intelligence company Nearmap provided the Cairns Post with the stunning imagery which shows the significant changes.
The company provides government organisations, architectural, construction and engineering firms, and other companies, with easy, instant access to high resolution aerial imagery, city-scale 3D content, artificial intelligence data sets, and geospatial tools to assist with urban planning, monitoring and development projects in Australia, New Zealand and North America.
Words can only express so much.
These staggering aerial images leave no doubt about how intense our city’s transformation has been.
Cairns CBD
For years, Munro Martin Park in Sheridan St, Cairns was a no-go zone, especially at night, and a 2014 aerial image shows the barren wasteland frequented by drunk itinerants.
Now it is a spectacular place with an amphitheatre and vast landscaping and greenery.
Plus it is locked at night to keep out troublemakers.
From 2014 to today, the inner city of Cairns has changed noticeably.
The most obvious and latest has been the $28 million Esplanade dining precinct and associated Shields St upgrade as well as the former Courthouse Hotel transformation.
But the Cairns Post has chosen four different cityscapes to highlight the differences in time:
■ Lake St near Cairns Hospital.
■ The performing arts precinct, encompassing Cairns Performing Arts Centre and Munro Martin Parklands.
■ The Cairns North multi-sports complex.
■ The block encompassing Cairns Aquarium, Cairns Novotel Resort and Crystalbrook Bailey hotel.
The photographs of Lake and Charles streets at Cairns North did not show a lot of differences between 2014 and now but a key highlight is the redesign of the streets to create more parking spaces near Cairns Hospital.
The only notable new building is flats on the Charles and Lake st intersection and the adjoining Odett’s Cafe.
Stani Thomas, the finance manager of the Cairns Queenslander Hotel and Apartments on the Lake and Charles street corner, said the area had become busier over the seven years.
“There are a lot more cars, much busier, more traffic and more crime,” she said.
“But it helps the hospital with carparking. The council does a great job.
“The (Odett’s) cafe is popular, particularly with hospital staff and locals.”
Businessman and long-time Cairns resident Bill Kennedy said the parking improvements were much needed.
“You could never get a park around the hospital. There is so much more parking now,” he said.
The performing arts precinct with parklands and CPAC has transformed the area.
In 2014 Munro Martin Park was a den of iniquity, frequented by drunk itinerants, while the old Civic Theatre was rundown and in desperate need of replacement.
The transformation is dramatic after multimillion-dollar investments by Cairns Regional Council.
Both properties provide a spectacular entrance to the CBD and Florence St between Sheridan and Grafton streets. Florence St can be closed to allow seamless and safe passage between both venues for special events.
Brad Shannon, who owns Pump n Pedals across the road in Sheridan St, said the park improvements were welcome.
“You wouldn’t walk in the park 10 years ago. Now it has a nice family atmosphere,” he said.
“It’s a massive change, it has really cleaned up the area, there are not so many drunks now.
“It’s a nice place to have lunch at the park.
“I’ve been to CPAC twice. It’s a big upgrade and it’s really nice to have food and drink available.”
Mr Kennedy, of Kennedy’s Betta Home Living in nearby McLeod St, said the parklands were “fantastic”.
“I’ve walked through dozens of times to the Esplanade because it is nice,” he said.
“We’ve never been disappointed with the shows and facility (at CPAC).”
The block, bounded by Florence, Lake, Aplin and Abbott streets, houses three key tourism properties but it wasn’t like that in 2014.
Back then there was just the Cairns Novotel Resort in the centre with empty blocks of land either side with trees frequented by flying foxes.
Today the Cairns Aquarium has been added on the Florence St side while the Crystalbrook Bailey hotel was built on the other block in Aplin St.
Jade Kilpatrick, Freeman Real Estate’s principal in Aplin St, said she remembered the Novotel resort and car parks with mature trees where flying foxes roosted on each side.
“It’s prettier (now), a much nicer look,” she said.
Miss Kilpatrick said the area attracted more activity and tourists walking by at night.
“We do get walk-ins for that reason, people on holiday staying next door,” she said.
“The bats were amazing and people still stop to look at the bats when they fly overhead. It’s a bit of a touristy thing.”
Mr Kennedy, 71, said the Novotel was the site of the Cairns Central School which he attended decades ago and the family’s former shop was across the road on the corner of Abbott and Aplin streets.
“They are amazing changes, the Bailey and the aquarium. My wife (Leonie) takes the grandkids to the aquarium and we have been to dinner a few times (at Dundees at the aquarium).
“It’s amazing when you look at the site from above.”
The Cairns North multi-sport complex has changed a lot from 2014 to now.
Seven years ago there were two main hockey fields, the old dilapidated Tobruk pool and the international tennis centre.
The changes have been extensive, including a full upgrade of the Tobruk pool to include an Olympic-size pool, a hot pool and flowrider, a roof over the centre tennis court and improvements to the two main hockey pitches.
Lily St resident Matt Mitchley of 14 years said the improvements were “a great investment” by the regional council.
He said before it wasn’t much – just a big field fronting his street alongside the tennis centre.
“It’s a great investment in the area. It’s a positive”, the Designer Garden Company owner said.
“The Olympic-size pool there is well used I believe. They are world-class facilities.”
He said Lily St was always busy but fortunately streetscaping with gardens and pathways had been upgraded too.
Mr Kennedy said hockey had played a big role in his life and that of his family’s.
“I used to play hockey and our kids played hockey as well,” he said.
“I used Tobruk for rehab with my hip in the hot pool and also enjoyed watching people using the flowrider.
“The tennis centre draws good tournaments and the roof helps with protection from the sun and rain.
“Tennis is one of the worst sports to play here. It’s either too hot or too wet.
‘There certainly have been changes in seven years.”
Cairns southside
The dramatic transformation of the southern gateway to Cairns is stark, with the duplication of the Bruce Highway from Gordonvale to Edmonton currently under construction in a massive hive of activity.
The change from 2014 is startling with the latest aerial images showing extensive earthworks at Wrights Creek and at Gordonvale.
Special imagery also show the cane fields of Mt Peter have been stripped away to be replaced by a large multi-staged Catholic college and residential estates.
Long-time Edmonton resident and former city councillor Fran Lindsay said the roadworks were “huge”.
“But I still don’t have a clue when it’s finished … probably not for years,” she said.
“I don’t see it as a bad thing.
“There is a lot more residential development but we need facilities and I was disappointed that we don’t have a proper hospital for all the people who live here.
“The only problem with the highway works is that there will be a lot of traffic lights to hold us up.
“I believe in progress but I’m against building on the hillsides and hope there will be no development on the hillsides.
“I accept progress with more schools, more services, more traffic and more cars.
“I’m disappointed with the tiny blocks (at Mt Peter). You can’t even put a tree on them. Kids need to run around in backyards.
“I see a new developer has created good-sized blocks but there should be restrictions on the tiny blocks.’
Edmonton businessman Eddie Eljed said the development and road upgrades were “excellent” for the community.
“It’s good for business, it brings people to the area,” he said.
“Mt Peter subdivisions are excellent. People are moving to the area and it’s good for business.
“The widening of the road is all about providing jobs. Young people have good opportunities to get a job when leaving school.”
The BP Edmonton owner said the idea behind the road duplication was to get people from Gordonvale to the Cairns CBD faster, more smoothly and efficiently.
He said there were more houses being built at Gordonvale as well.
“When the road is finished it will be great,” Mr Eljed said.
Canefarmer and also former city councillor Paul Gregory said he was “really concerned” about the loss of cane land for residential development.
He said it was agreed by all parties that there would be no development east of the highway.
Mr Gregory said he played a big role in the Mt Peter masterplan and accepted that there would be residential development west of the highway.
He said the Mulgrave mill’s future was under threat with cane land slowly being eroded away.
Mr Gregory said the declared state development area at Wrights Creek would also take away cane land.
“It is a worry this unplanned development. It’s almost incidental why the land is disappearing,” he said.
Mr Gregory said it was always accepted that the highway would expand and a transport corridor was created, even though it too had “gobbled up” cane land.
“It (the highway) was terrible and the work need to be done,” he said.
Cairns northside
The much-vaunted $164 million Smithfield bypass takes traffic away from the James Cook University roundabout at McGregor Rd through the back of Smithfield beside the Cattana Wetlands to a four-way intersection at Caravonica.
In 2014 the Caravonica roundabout and the Smithfield roundabout further north were creating traffic snarls at peak times.
But fast-track to now and the bypass has taken pressure off the two pinch points, making it easier for drivers to access the Kuranda Range and the busy Smithfield shopping centre, and making the commute from the northern beaches to the Cairns CBD smoother and quicker.
Gone is the Caravonica roundabout to be replaced by a four-way intersection controlled by traffic lights and leading to the bypass to McGregor Rd where an overpass takes motorists onto the highway towards the northern beach suburbs.
The roundabout remains to funnel cars to James Cook University, the Smithfield Campus shopping village and residential streets.
Nearmap has provided the Cairns Post with photos showing the significant changes on the northern beaches.
They compare:
■ The Smithfield bypass at Caravonica, replacing the roundabout. Of note is the large expansion of the Australian Armour and Artillery Museum which includes a tank performance demonstration track.
■ The Smithfield overpass at McGregor Rd above the existing roundabout and increased residential development.
■ The widespread residential development alongside the Cook Highway south of the Trinity Beach roundabout.
Ray White Cairns Beaches principal Paul Stirling said the general consensus was that people were noting less traffic on the old Cook highway route.
“Generally the travel times on the old highway and the bypass to town and to Redlynch has been six to 10 minutes more efficiently,” he said.
He said people liked the bypass because there were less roundabouts and traffic signals.
Mr Stirling said sales at the Smithfield Village residential estate had accelerated two to three times in the last 18 months.
He said developers might have budgeted for 40 to 50 blocks but were selling between 100-120 lots.
Mr Stirling said sales at Bluewater Estate since July 2020 had picked up “substantially” and also between Reed Rd at Trinity Park and Trinity Beach Rd.
Trinity Park resident Grant Woolcock said his commute to the city had been reduced using the Smithfield bypass.
“I believe it has been cut by 10 minutes after two years of hell while they were building it,” he said.
Mr Woolcock travels from Trinity Park to his workplace of Westco BMW at Bungalow via the Cairns Western Arterial Rd.
“It also takes just 25 minutes from Trinity Park to Forest Gardens,” he said.
Mr Woolcock said he avoided the Cook Highway route because of the traffic jams at Airport Drive and the Mother of Good Counsel School zone at Cairns North.
He said one mistake of the bypass was the reduction of double lanes to single lanes.
“But if someone is travelling at 40-50km/h in 80km/h zone then it all blocks up,’ Mr Woolcock said.
He accepted increased residential development at Smithfield and Trinity Beach but was concerned at the small blocks.
“They are so small, they are killing the beaches. I hope they stop the small blocks and offer people larger lots to build on,” Mr Woolcock said.
“The Paradise Palms blocks (at Kewarra Beach) are much bigger. The developer is doing the right thing by the northern beaches,” he said.
Clifton Beach resident David Lynch said the Smithfield bypass was “OK” but it was yet to come under pressure.
“Wait until the school holidays are over. That is when it will be tested during the school runs,” he said.
“It’s good at the moment but does slow when it goes from double lanes to one lane.”
Mr Lynch said the new residential developments were too crowded.
“They are all living on top of each other but I know it has to do with affordability,” he said.
“I don’t know when it will end because they are running out of land.”
Mr Lynch said he now “got lost’ driving from Dunne Rd at Yorkeys Knob through to Trinity Beach Rd through the backstreets.
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Originally published as Stunning Nearmap aerial photos show how developers have transformed Cairns
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