Guide to Innisfail Queensland Australia

Innisfail is a river town on the Cassowary Coast, 88 kilometres south of Cairns, where the North and South Johnstone rivers meet a few kilometres from the sea. It is the centre of a rich sugar and banana district and one of the wettest towns in Australia. It also has one of the best collections of art deco buildings in the country, the result of rebuilding after a devastating cyclone in 1918.

Known For

• Art deco streets beside the Johnstone River
• Sugar, bananas and a strong Italian heritage
• Close to Paronella Park, Etty Bay and the Mamu Tropical Skywalk

The town centre climbs a low hill above the river, with Edith and Rankin streets its main thoroughfares. Fishing boats tie up along Fitzgerald Esplanade, and cane fields and banana plantations begin at the edge of town. On a clear day Mount Bartle Frere, the highest mountain in Queensland, fills the skyline to the north-west.

Things To Do in Innisfail

Art Deco Walk

After the 1918 cyclone the town was rebuilt in concrete, in the fashionable styles of the 1920s and 1930s. A self-guided walk takes in dozens of buildings with stepped parapets, sunbursts and pastel colours, among them the Shire Hall, the water tower and the Catholic church on the hill. Maps are available from the visitor centre.

The Riverfront

A path follows the river along Fitzgerald Esplanade past the Canecutters Memorial, a marble statue given by the Italian community in 1959 to honour the men who cut cane by hand. Estuarine crocodiles live in the river, so keep back from the water.

Chinese Temple

The small red Lit Sing Gung temple in Owen Street has served the Chinese community since 1940, replacing earlier joss houses. Visitors are welcome to look inside.

Etty Bay and Flying Fish Point

Etty Bay, 15 minutes east, is a small rainforest-fringed beach with a caravan park and stinger net, and one of the most reliable places in Queensland to see a cassowary, as the birds often wander along the sand. Flying Fish Point, at the river mouth, is a quiet fishing village.

Nearby Attractions

Paronella Park, the ruins of a Spanish-style castle in the rainforest at Mena Creek, is 20 minutes south. The Mamu Tropical Skywalk, a walkway and tower through the canopy above the North Johnstone gorge, is 30 minutes west on the Palmerston Highway. Josephine Falls and the boulders at Babinda are to the north.

Where To Stay

Innisfail has a good range of motels along the highway and in the town centre, several old hotels and backpacker hostels that cater for banana farm workers.

Caravan parks are found in town, at Flying Fish Point and at Etty Bay. Mission Beach, 45 minutes south, is the nearest beach resort area.

Eat & Drink

The Italian influence shows in the delicatessens and cafes of the town centre, and the pubs and clubs serve seafood and steak. Fresh prawns and fish are sold from the trawlers and co-op on the river. Each March the Feast of the Senses festival celebrates the rare tropical fruits grown in the district.

History

This is the country of the Mamu people. Thomas Fitzgerald arrived in 1880 with a party of South Sea Islander and Irish workers to plant sugar, and the town that grew up was called Geraldton until 1910, when it was renamed Innisfail, a poetic name for Ireland. Chinese, Italian, Greek, Maltese, Sikh and other migrants followed to work the cane and bananas. Cyclones have shaped the town more than once, most recently Cyclone Larry, which caused great damage in March 2006.

Getting to Innisfail

Innisfail is on the Bruce Highway, a little over an hour south of Cairns. Long-distance coaches and the Brisbane to Cairns train stop in the town. The Palmerston Highway leads west to the southern Tableland and Ravenshoe.