Port Douglas History Facts and Timeline

(Port Douglas, Far North Queensland - QLD, Australia)

Port Douglas is a small town in North Queensland, catering to tourists visiting the Great Barrier Reef, Cape Tribulation and the Daintree National Park.

The town of today has more of a village feel than neighbouring Cairns, with a permanent population in the region of 6,000 people. However, Port Douglas shares its origins with Cairns, in that both places were born out of the Hodgkinson River gold rush.

History of the Early Days

Gold was discovered on the Hodgkinson River by Irish prospector-cum-bushman James Venture Mulligan in 1877, leading miners to settle in an area which was to be named Port Douglas.


The town of Port Douglas took its name from John Douglas, head of government for Queensland. Other workers who settled here were involved in the growing timber trade, situated on the nearby Daintree River. At the town's peak, more than 12,000 people resided here.

A Period of Decline

Port Douglas began to decline somewhat after the construction of the Kuranda Railway in the early 1890s. This offered a vital transport link into the rainforest that the town simply could not compete with.

One of the darkest days in Port Douglas history occurred in 1911, when a devastating cyclone hit the town, leaving only a handful of buildings still standing in its aftermath. The year of 1960 is also considered to be another low point in local history. At this time, just 100 people now resided in this small fishing village, which had become a pale shadow of its former self. Of note, a good place to learn about the ups and downs of the settlement during this period is at the Port Douglas Court House Museum on Wharf Street.

Birth of Tourism

Port Douglas began to reinvent itself as a tourist destination in the middle of the 1980s, when a world-class hotel, the Sheraton Mirage, was built on this stretch of Queensland coast. This was a turning point in Port Douglas history. Since then, the town has gone on to become one of the most popular holiday destinations in Queensland, even catering to visiting foreign dignitaries such as former US President, Bill Clinton and his wife. They stayed in Port Douglas in 1996 and again in 2001.

Death of Steve Irwin

Steve Irwin was a charismatic Australian entertainer and wildlife expert widely known on television as the 'Crocodile Hunter'. He sadly died while snorkelling off the Port Douglas coast, near Batt Reef, in September of 2006. He was lashed by a toxic stingray, causing him to die immediately. His death was mourned by wildlife lovers in Australia and across the world.

The Mulligan Highway

Named after the bushman who discovered gold on the Hodgkinson River, the Mulligan Highway was opened in 2006 and allows tourists to reach Port Douglas quicker than ever before. It replaced an unpaved road on which visitors travelled between Cairns and Cooktown in around six hours. The new highway now allows visitors to complete the same journey in less than four hours.