Photos from the REAL Australia

Around Gordonvale - A sugar town south of Cairns

24 km south of Cairns, in north Queensland, is the town of Gordonvale, named after the local pioneer John Gordon. It became a sugar milling town in 1896 and is still dominated by its sugar mill, servicing the farms around it. It is a quiet town, with a population of around 6,000 people. The big event of the year is "The Great Pyramid Race", held every year in August, in which enthusiasts run (or attempt to run) to the top of Walsh's Pyramid, the landmark conical hill, 922 metres high, and back. The distance of 12 kilometres, including the almost 1 kilometre climb, has been completed in 80 minutes! The traditional Aboriginal owners of the Pyramid are the Yidinyji-Malanbarra clan who refer to it as "Djarrugan": the mound of Djarruga, the scrub hen. This gave its name to Djarragun College, an indigenous school with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students situated just north of the town.

The area of Gordonvale was first settled in 1877 by white families on the tribal lands of the Yidinyji-Malanbarra; it was previously called Mulgrave and then Nelson and finally Gordonvale. The Mulgrave Central sugar mill near the centre of town started as far back as 1896 and operates six months of the year. Sugar production is declining: in recent years large stretches of sugar fields have been converted to new suburbs. Gordonvale presently has a population of around 4,500.

There are many scenic spots around the town, like Behana Gorge near Aloomba, and, along the Gillies Highway leading up to the Atherton Tablelands, great views to Walsh's Pyramid; there are waterholes along the Mulgrave River, the Goldsborough and Wooroonooran National Park, stretching all the way south to the Palmerston Highway

To see a photo full size, just click on it;
you may then send it as a postcard if you wish.

Gordonvale Pub	""Queenslander, Gordonvale	From Heale's Lookout	Gordonvale Post Office	Riverstone Hotel
War Memorial	Norman Street	Dempsey Street	Sugar pioneer	Pyramid Estate
Central Hotel	Walsh's Pyramid	Gordonvale view	View of the cane fields	Gordonvale from the Pyramid
Gordonvale panorama	Sikh temple	Old railway station	Mulgrave River	Gordonvale Rail station
The sugar mill	Gordon Street	Sugar cane	Little Mulgrave River	In Behana Gorge
Behana Creek	Behana Falls	Behana Creek Falls	Swimming in Behana Creek	Athletics day
Pyramid Estate	Gordonvale view	Along the Gillies Highway	From the Gillies Highway	Mushrooms growing
Across the Mulgrave River	Mulgrave sugar mill	Sugar cane train	View to Walsh's Pyramid	View with low clouds
Painted frog on rock	Rapids below Pete's Falls	Lower Pete's Falls	Upper Pete's Falls	Picnic at the Falls
Gnarled tree	Below Pete's Falls	Start "Pyramid Race"	Hotel veranda	Waiting on the street

Back to Menu at Top of the Page