Cairns Museum

This is a free public event - bookings are required to assist with seating and catering. As part of the Cairns 150 celebrations, the Cairns Historical Society and Cairns Museum are presenting a series of free public lectures throughout 2026. Held every second month, each lecture afternoon features two talks exploring key moments, people and themes from Cairns and Far North Queensland’s history. LECTURE #1 When two worlds collide: contact in the Cairns region Dr Alice Buhrich and Dr Sandi Robb During George Dalrymple’s 1873 North Coast expedition, he observed people living all along the coastline. Campfire smoke rose through the trees along the Mulgrave River, Malanbarra people called out to him, and at Palm Cove, Yirrganydji warriors defended their Country with spears and woomeras against Sub-Inspector Johnstone and his troopers armed with Snider rifles. We now understand that Dalrymple was traversing a complex, socially rich and deeply storied landscape. LECTURE #2 From the Indian Empire to Far North Queensland: Indians in Cairns Dr Sandi Robb From the Indian Empire to Far North Queensland, very little is known about the migration and settlement of Indian people in the region during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. This lecture explores some of the earliest Indian settlers to Cairns, the challenges they faced, their working lives, and marriage relationships. From these early struggles emerged pathways for future generations, leaving a rich and enduring legacy that continues to shape the community today. ABOUT THE SPEAKERS Dr Alice Buhrich is a freelance heritage specialist working across Far North Queensland. She works closely with Aboriginal groups in the Gulf savannah, Wet Tropics rainforest and Cape York Peninsula. Dr Sandi Robb is a historian and Executive Officer of the Cairns Historical Society. She specialises in north Queensland migration and women’s history.

This is a free public event - bookings are required to assist with seating and catering. As part of the Cairns 150 celebrations, the Cairns Historical Society and Cairns Museum are presenting a series of free public lectures throughout 2026. Held every second month, each lecture afternoon features two talks exploring key moments, people and themes from Cairns and Far North Queensland’s history. LECTURE #1 The history of Cairns from 1876 to 1896 Will Always Be a Moving Feast Michael Brumby Well-known north Queensland author Michael Brumby presents findings from his research for the Cairns Historical Society’s latest publication, Cairns: A Tropical Town Takes Shape. This lecture traces the development of Cairns from its First Nations origins through early contact, settlement planning, key personalities and formative moments that shaped the emerging town and region. LECTURE #2 Not for the faint hearted: Women of FNQ Dr Jan Wegner Women have played vital roles in Cairns’ history, yet their contributions have often remained invisible in the historical record. This lecture highlights the lives and experiences of women across different periods and examines how their roles have evolved over time. ABOUT THE SPEAKERS Michael Brumby is a prolific north Queensland historian with more than 36 digital, print and commissioned publications. A member of the Cairns Historical Society since 2022, he is the author of the sesquicentennial publication Cairns: A Tropical Town Takes Shape, to be launched in May 2026. Dr Jan Wegner is a Far North Queensland–born historian and former senior lecturer at the Cairns campus of James Cook University. She now volunteers in the Cairns Historical Society’s Research Centre at the Cairns Museum.

This is a free public event - bookings are required to assist with seating and catering. As part of the Cairns 150 celebrations, the Cairns Historical Society and Cairns Museum are presenting a series of free public lectures throughout 2026. Held every second month, each lecture afternoon features two talks exploring key moments, people and themes from Cairns and Far North Queensland’s history. LECTURE #1 Meston’s Wet Dream in the Scottish Tropics Dr Jonathan Richards Many Cairns Historical Society members are familiar with Archie Meston’s dream of establishing a sugar empire on the Barron River. Fewer realise that he pursued a similar fantasy on the Russell River. This lecture reveals how Meston misled Scottish cane farmers from New South Wales by claiming to be a government land agent, and how the venture ultimately failed. LECTURE #2 William Bairstow Ingham: Cairns’ first entrepreneur Dr Sarah Collins Although present from the earliest moments of Cairns’ colonial settlement in 1876, William Bairstow Ingham and his contribution to Cairns’ early settlement history has largely been overlooked. Dr Collins’ public lecture will reveal the man and his significant contributions to the region’s local shipping and the timber industry before his murder at Brooker Island, New Guinea, in 1878. ABOUT THE SPEAKERS Dr Jonathan Richards is a professional historian whose work focuses on frontier violence and colonial policing. His major research interest is the history of the North Queensland coast. Dr Sarah Collins is an archaeologist (PhD), historian, and author, whose expertise is in the post-contact history of north Queensland.

This is a free public event - bookings are required to assist with seating and catering. As part of the Cairns 150 celebrations, the Cairns Historical Society and Cairns Museum are presenting a series of free public lectures throughout 2026. Held every second month, each lecture afternoon features two talks exploring key moments, people and themes from Cairns and Far North Queensland’s history. LECTURE #1 Roads to Cairns from the mining fields, 1876–1877 Dr Ruth Kerr OAM Driven by the desire to reach the Hodgkinson goldfield, early miners, police, explorers and adventurers turned their attention to existing trails across the coastal range. This lecture follows the journeys of those who claimed to have found the best route inland and explores how the opening of these roads transformed the region. LECTURE #2 The Cannon Family David Cannon Between 1884 and 1911, four brothers and two sisters of the Cannon family migrated from the Lake District in northern England to Cairns. Settling in Cairns, Gordonvale and Babinda, the family contributed to the region’s development through agriculture, trade and industry. William and John Cannon were founding members of the Mulgrave Central Mill, and William later provided land at Woree to the Cairns Jockey Club, now known as Cannon Park. ABOUT THE SPEAKERS Dr Ruth Kerr OAM is an Adjunct Professor at the University of Queensland’s School of Historical and Philosophical Inquiry. She is a renowned Queensland historian, recipient of the Cairns Historical Society S.E. Stephens Award (2023), and a long-term member of the Society. David Cannon was born and raised in Babinda and is a graduate of James Cook University with a Bachelor of Education. His interest in history began in the 1970s while working as an assistant to historian Dorothy Jones. He has been a member of the Cairns Historical Society and Mulgrave Shire Historical Society for more than four decades.

This is a free public event - bookings are required to assist with seating and catering. As part of the Cairns 150 celebrations, the Cairns Historical Society and Cairns Museum are presenting a series of free public lectures throughout 2026. Held every second month, each lecture afternoon features two talks exploring key moments, people and themes from Cairns and Far North Queensland’s history. LECTURE #1 Recent Archaeological Investigations of Chinese Gold Mining Communities in the North Dr Kevin Rains Discovered in 1868, the Ravenswood Goldfield offers valuable insights into Chinese life and activity on Far North Queensland goldfields. Drawing on recent archaeological investigations, this lecture examines Chinese homesteads, market gardens and commercial sites, and traces the connections between Ravenswood and northern ports such as Cooktown and Cairns through patterns of migration and enterprise. LECTURE #2 Architecture of Cairns Roger Mainwood In the final lecture of the C150 Public Lecture Series, prominent Cairns architect Roger Mainwood explores the architectural development of the city. Drawing on decades of professional experience and a deep appreciation of Cairns’ built environment, this lecture examines how design, function and heritage have shaped the city’s architectural identity. ABOUT THE SPEAKERS Dr Kevin Rains is a historical archaeologist and heritage manager with extensive experience delivering heritage projects across large-scale infrastructure developments. He holds a PhD from the University of Queensland, with research focused on the overseas Chinese social landscape of early Cooktown. Roger Mainwood is Director of TPG Architects and has led or contributed to numerous local and state heritage projects, including the Tanks Arts Centre, the conversion of Wharf Shed 3 into the Cairns Cruise Liner Terminal, and the refurbishment and adaptation of the School of Arts Building into the Cairns Museum.