HERE IS THE HISTORY OF THE CAIRNS AQUATIC CLUB AND THE CAIRNS YACHT CLUB
SHOULD WE SAVE THIS HERITAGE OR JUST ALLOW IT TO BE BULLDOZED AND TAKEN TO THE DUMP?
YOU BE THE JUDGE.
Information produced by
The Cairns Heritage Group
A non profit Group dedicated to the
preservation of Cultural Heritage.
Principal: Rob Williams j.p.(Qual.)
28 Lake Placid Road Caravonica Qld 4878
Email
This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it
Tel 0740 551916
Mob. 0418 774 175
Thursday 27th July 2006.
BRIEF
HISTORY 1885 - 2008
Cairns Aquatic Club
Cairns Sailing Club
Cairns Yacht Club Inc.
Other
stakeholders
Cairns Heritage
Group
Cairns Tropic
Jazz Club Inc.
People of Cairns for the valuable
cultural history it represents.
The port
of Cairns was proclaimed
in 1876, however it took eight years for a local citizen to push for a boating
regatta to be held. He got his wish two months later when on New
Year’s Day, 1885 when Cairns
held its first regatta. The editor of the Cairns Post (who came from a
seafaring family and who had been sailing since he was a small boy) was
delighted to report that the regatta passed off satisfactorily, especially
given the short notice. Members
participating included W.J. Chard, A.J. Draper, A. Allison, R. Simpson, Mr.
Landy, the Reid brothers, Mr. Lyons, Mr. Holmes and E. Butler.[i] Boats participating were Peggy, Idalia, Grand Flaneur, Water Witch, Peggy, Sea Breeze, Scud,
Coquette and Baby Bee.
[i] Cairns Post, 8.1.1885.
Significant
dates, people and events highlighted in blue
|
YEARS
|
DATE
|
PLACE
|
HISTORICAL EVENT
|
|
0
|
1873
|
Trinity Inlet
|
Examined by Dalrymple and recommended as
a shipping port
|
|
0
|
1876
|
Hodg22kinson Goldfields
|
Viable Gold Deposits discovered
|
|
0
|
1876
|
Cairns
|
Behan surveyed the first streets. Lake, Abbott & Spence.
|
|
0
|
1876
|
Trinity Inlet
|
Cairns declared a Port
City. First makeshift
wharves built.
|
|
0
|
1878
|
Trinity Inlet
|
Private companies constructed more
substantial wharves
|
|
0
|
1895
|
Trinity inlet
|
The Cairns Rice Manufacturing
Company
builds a Rice Mill on existing site of the Cairns Yacht Club.
|
|
9
|
1904
|
Trinity inlet
|
Cairns Harbour Board (CHB) was appointed and Cairns Seaport defined
under the CHB Act 1904 (Qld.) E.C.Earl
was appointed as Chairman of the Board
|
|
10
|
1905
|
Cairns Seaport
|
CHB purchased all private wharves and
Jetties in Trinity Inlet.
|
|
13
|
1908
|
Cairns Seaport
|
March 30th. CAIRNS AQUATIC CLUB was founded by
the following;
R. Sturt, Dr..Baxter-tyrie,
C.B.Lilley, E.Sunners, Capt. Nelson, Dr. Kerwin, P.G.Grant, W.J. Munro (Later a MAYOR), A.J.Draper (Later a MAYOR), E.C.Earl Harbour Board Chairman and (Later a MAYOR), P.J.Doyle, J. Meyer.It
was common for the Mayor to head the Harbour Board.
|
|
17
|
1912
|
Cairns Seaport
|
Wharves 2 & 3 were commenced
|
|
20
|
1915
|
Cairns City
|
Socials were held by Aquatic Club
to raise funds for wounded
WW1 returned soldiers.
|
|
20
|
1915
|
Cairns City
|
Aquatic Club members do up Christmas Hampers to send to soldiers
|
|
21
|
1916
|
Cairns City
|
Farewell Dinner to 10 Aquatic Club members who enlisted.
|
|
22
|
1917
|
Cairns Seaport
|
Aquatic Club purchases the Cairns Rice Mill
on its present site. Obtains a lease at one pound per annum.
|
|
24
|
1917-19
|
Cairns Seaport
|
Aquatic
Club welcomes home soldiers from WW1.
|
|
25
|
1920
|
Cairns Seaport
|
February ; A cyclone severely damages the Aquatic Club Building: Cairns
people rally to support the club and donate money, material and labour. The
members rebuild the building in their own time and at night to re-open it 5
months later on 27th July
1920 – estimated population 6,000
|
|
26
|
1921
|
Atherton Tablelands
|
Mount Mulligan, 170 klms west of Cairns, via Mareeba/Dimbulah is an
impressive landmark whose underlying coal deposits supported a small mining
town from 1914 until 1958. On the 19th September 1921, a
massive coal dust explosion in the Mount
Mulligan mine killed
all seventy-six men working underground. The disaster was the greatest Queensland has ever
seen. Members of the Aquatic Club raised funds for the
families of the Miners.
|
|
28
|
1923
|
Cairns Seaport
|
White’s Shed was constructed
|
|
29
|
1924
|
Cairns Seaport
|
Hayles Magnetic Island commenced a tour service to Green Island
using a Jetty adjacent to the Aquatic Club, thus starting the Great Barrier Reef tourism industry.
|
|
30
|
1925
|
Cairns Seaport
|
1500 Foot Concrete Wharf, the first of
its kind in Australia
was completed.
|
|
31
|
1926
|
Cairns Seaport
|
Sam Cadman, Aquatic Club
member National Championship.
|
|
35
|
1930
|
Cairns City
|
Recognized as the largest Port outside Brisbane
|
|
40
|
1935
|
Cairns City
|
WW2 : Sailing had to be abandoned. All Cairns Aquatic Club boats had to be immobilized due to the threat
of Japanese invasion.
|
|
40
|
1935-1945
|
Cairns Seaport
|
Royal Australian Navy commandeers Aquatic Club and their start boat Magenta. Allows upstairs
to continue for recreation of members, Service Personnel and Cairns Citizens.
|
|
|
1935-1945
|
Cairns Seaport
|
Cairns Aquatic Club sailing members who
were ineligible for war formed the Australian
Navy Auxiliary Patrol. They serviced the Submarine Boom Nets installed to protect the Naval Troop Carriers
(up to 21 ship movements a day). They also provided training in boatmanship
for others in the service of providing rescue facilities for the Catalina Squadrons in Trinity Inlet.
|
|
45
|
1935-1945
|
Cairns Seaport
|
Cairns Aquatic Club again provides support and sustenance for service men and women
in WW2. Providing welcome home and transport to those fortunate enough to
return.
|
|
|
1948
|
Cairns Seaport
|
Electric Striking Clock constructed
|
|
56
|
1958
|
Cairns Seaport
|
Cairns Aquatic Club changes name to Cairns Sailing Club.
|
|
58
|
1960
|
Cairns Seaport
|
White’s Shed closed.
|
|
|
1972
|
Cairns Seaport
|
Hayles moves to own wharf next to Cairns
Sailing Club
|
|
|
1980’s
|
Cairns City
|
Major Tourism boom
|
|
79
|
1981
|
Cairns Seaport
|
Cairns Sailing Club changes name to Cairns Yacht Club
|
|
|
1988
|
Cairns City
|
Cairns International Airport was opened
|
|
|
1988
|
Cairns City
|
CHB becomes Cairns Port Authority
|
|
94
|
1996
|
Cairns Seaport
|
Peddle Thorpe Architects reported: “The (Cairns Yacht Club) building is unique as it is probably the
earliest (surviving) timber framed public building in Cairns, if not the whole of Far North
Queensland.”
|
|
100
|
2002
|
Cairns Seaport
|
Cairns Historical Society Nominates Cairns Yacht
Club Building
for State Heritage
|
|
101
|
2003
|
Brisbane
|
Queensland Heritage Council meets to decide the application
The objectors to the application were:
The Cairns Port Authority, Cairns City Council, Tourism Tropical
North Queensland, Hilton Hotel, Advance Cairns.
|
|
|
2003
|
Brisbane
|
12th December. The Heritage Council member from Cairns left the room
because she was said to have a vested interest in the application. The controversial vote went 5 all and
despite his reported support, the Chairman used his casting vote against the
listing. He later resigned.
|
|
102
|
2004
|
Cairns Seaport
|
The Cairns Port Authority moved to obtain a Section 32
order under the State Heritage Act preventing
any further nominations of the Cairns Yacht Club Building for 5 years.
|
|
102
|
2004
|
Cairns Seaport
|
MAY 11th . Cairns
Yacht Club Committee forced to sign a CPA MEMORANDUM OF
AGREEMENT. An extract from the minutes of the Cairns Yacht Club meeting
says, “The CPA has moved that we sign the memorandum. The Committee is
disappointed with the outcome. We have no option but to sign the Memorandum
and see what happens. If we don’t sign we have no-where to go.” (The Cairns Yacht Club Committee has
been gagged by this memorandum ever since). The maintenance of the building has
suffered because the CYC perceive it to be a lost cause.
|
|
103
|
2005
|
Cairns City
|
Cairns Heritage Group obtains 5,000 signature to petition Queensland
Parliament to save the Cairns Yacht Club Building –
CHG has no connection with Yacht Club
|
|
103
|
2005
|
Cairns Seaport
|
A National
Heritage Nomination for the preservation of the Cairns Yacht Club
Building was lost in June 2005 due to the fact that the Nomination
did not carry enough information and the Minister used references from the failed
State Nomination.
The Federal Minister, Senator Ian Campbell has agreed to revise the Nomination when more information is forthcoming.
That is in train. 9th April 2007
|
|
111
|
2006
|
Brisbane
|
Cairns Heritage Group’s petition is presented
to Coalition Opposition.
|
|
|
2006
|
Cairns City
|
Candidate for Cairns Electorate,
Wendy Richardson and the Coalition pledge to preserve the Cairns Yacht Club Building
in the coming election.
|
|
111
|
2006
|
Cairns Seaport
|
A National Heritage Nomination is current for the whole Trinity Wharf
Precinct plus the Cairns Yacht Club
Building Monday 9th April 2007 but that wont stop the CPA from demolishing the place if
they want to.
|
|
112
|
2007
|
Cairns Seaport
|
Aquatic (Sailing
Club Building)
|
|
113
|
2008
|
Cairns seaport
|
Sailing Club to move out leaving the Aquatic Building
to be demolished by the Cairns Port Authority.
|
- The History of the Cairns Aquatic and
the Cairns Yacht Club is well chronicled in past editions of the Cairns Post, Trinity Phoenix,
Historian Alan Hudson, Cairns Historical Society, Government Records,
relatives of the members such as Historian Marjory Earl and lately Bob Rendall a former Commodore of the Cairns Yacht Club, with
his book “Dancing at the Aquatic”.
The book has an immense amount of information about the bands and
musicians who played and are still playing there in this Living Historical
place.
- The Aquatic Building
can trace its origin right back to 1895.
It is 18 years older than the Heritage
Listed Wharf and 28 years older than Heritage listed White’s Shed.
On 30th March 2008, the Living Aquatic – Cairns Yacht Club Building can legitimately celebrate a genuine 100 years of continued occupation of the building and the site. It would be fitting if the club ran a 2008 Centenary Ragatta.
The member for Cairns and the Local Member Desley Boyle and the State
Labor Government has, till now, refused to recognize the significance of its place in the History
of our City and want to see the place demolished or removed from the site.
- It is the only public building left in Cairns that was built by the people. Its members have an enviable record of service to the fabric
of our Cairns Community, the State of Queensland and Australia.
- Architects consider the Black Bean
Dance floor to be the original one
installed in the Rice Mill in 1919,
two more black bean floors cover the original now because they were
worn out by dancers.
- It is estimated that some 3 million people have danced on the floor
of the Aquatic. As a bench mark, The Cairns Yacht Club, The Cairns
Heritage Group and the Cairns Tropic Jazz Club awarded a certificate for
the
3 millionth dancer at the
celebration of the 86th
anniversary of the re-opening of the Aquatic Club on 27TH JULY 2006. The night had a theme of the 1920’s and
incorporated Jazz and 60’s Rock & Roll. 350 people attended.
NOTE :: The
Cairns Heritage Group is a group of apolitical Cairns people who have
joined together to save the Historical Cairns Yacht Club Building. They are not connected in any
way with the Cairns Yacht Club Committee
or its members although there are members of the group that are members
of the CYC. The aim of the Group is
purely to save this Historical Building and its Valuable History on its site for future generations of Cairns people.
The Cairns Heritage Group
A non profit Group dedicated to the preservation of
Cultural Heritage.
Principal: Rob
Williams j.p.(Qual.)
28 Lake Placid Road Caravonica Qld 4878
Email
This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it
Tel 0740 551916
Mob.
0418 774 175
Raise your hand
and show us your support
09042007
HELP US KEEP THE DREAM ALIVE
Disclaimer:: The Cairns Tropic Jazz Club
has a historically vested interest in seeing the Aquatic preserved. The CTJC plays
there every Thursday Night and have done so for 230 weeks. Musician
Members of the Jazz Club have played the Aquatic as far back as 1938
(69 years). Furthermore the Aquatic Club will be 100 years old on 30th
March 2008. Timbers in the building date back to 1895. The Cairns
Tropic Jazz Club committee has granted me permission to tell the story
of the Aquatic Building through these pages. The views and facts
displayed in these pages are not necessarily those of the Cairns
Tropiuc Jazz Club Inc.
Signed Rob Williams President Cairns Tropic Jazz Club Inc
Chairman Cairns Heritage Group
Saturday, 04 July 2009
