The City of Cairns, in Far North Queensland, was originally established as a borough with a chairman from 1885 until 1903, when the Local Authorities Act 1902 transformed it into a town with a mayor. The town achieved city status in 1923. In 1995, when the Shire of Mulgrave amalgamated into the City, the mayor was elected by a much larger base of voters. In 2008, when the City was amalgamated with the Shire of Douglas into the Cairns Region, the mayor's voter base expanded yet again.
| Mayor of Cairns | |
|---|---|
Incumbent since 16 March 2024Amy Eden | |
| Inaugural holder | Richard Ash Kingsford |
| Formation | 1885 |
Borough of Cairns (1885–1903)
editThe mayors of the Borough of Cairns were:[1]
| Chairman | Term | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Richard Ash Kingsford | 1885–1886 | |
| Louis Severin | 1886–1888 | |
| Richard Ash Kingsford | 1889 | |
| Callaghan Walsh | 1890 | |
| Louis Severin | 1891 | |
| Alexander Frederick John "AJ" Draper | 1891–1893 | [2] |
| Daniel Patience | 1893–1894 | |
| James Lyons | 1895–1896 | |
| AJ Draper | 1897 | |
| Karl Aumuller | 1898 | |
| Lyne Brown | 1899 | |
| Richard Alfred Tills | 1900–1901 | |
| AJ Draper | 1902 |
Town of Cairns (1903–1923)
editThe mayors of the Town of Cairns were:[1]
| Mayor | Term |
|---|---|
| Louis Severin | 1903 |
| Donald McLachlan | 1904 |
| Charles McKenzie | 1905 |
| Edward Earl | 1906 |
| Richard Alfred Tills | 1907 |
| Sinclair Miller | 1908 |
| John Coxall | 1909 |
| Andrew Hartill-Law | 1910 |
| John George Hoare | 1911 |
| Charles McKenzie | 1912–1913 |
| Thomas Dillon | 1914 |
| John Griffiths | 1915 |
| Thomas Dillon | 1915–1916 |
| Thomas Henry Donaldson | 1917 |
| AJ Draper | 1918–1919 |
| Richard Cowle Foxdale Gelling | 1919 |
| John George Hoare | 1920–1923 |
City of Cairns Council (1923–1995)
editThe mayors of the City of Cairns (prior to amalgamation) were:[3]
| Mayor | Term | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| John George Hoare | 1923–1924 | |
| AJ Draper | 1924–1927 | [4] |
| William Aloysius Collins | 1927–1949 | [5] |
| William Henry Murchison | 1949–1952 | |
| Bill Fulton | 1952–1960 | |
| S. Darcy Chataway | 1960–1967 | |
| Colin Penridge | 1967–1969 | |
| David Thomas De Jarlais | 1969–1973 | |
| Kevin Francis Crathern | 1973–1978 | |
| Ronald (Ron) Davis | 1979–1988 | |
| Keith Goodwin | 1988–1990 | |
| John Peter Cleland | 1990–1991 | |
| Kevin Byrne | 1992–1995 |
City of Cairns Council (Amalgamated) (1995–2008)
editThe mayors of the City of Cairns (following amalgamation):[3]
| Mayor | Term |
|---|---|
| Tom Pyne | 1995–2000 |
| Kevin Byrne | 2000–2008 |
Cairns Regional Council
edit2008–present
edit| No. | Portrait | Mayor | Party | Term start | Term end | Notes | Council control (term) | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 
|
Val Schier | Independent | 3 April 2008 | 28 April 2012 | First female mayor of Cairns. Lost re-election | Independents majority (2008–2012) | ||
| 2 |
|
Bob Manning | Unity | 28 April 2012 | 17 November 2023 | Retired | Unity majority (2012–2024) | ||
| 3 |
|
Terry James | Unity | 22 November 2023 | 16 March 2024 | Division 4 councillor 2012–2023. Lost re-election | |||
| 4 |
|
Amy Eden | Team Eden | 16 March 2024 | present | Division 5 councillor 2020–2024. Incumbent | No overall control (2024–present) | ||
Election results
edit2024
edit| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Eden | Amy Eden | 25,782 | 30.70 | +30.70 | |
| Cairns Unity | Terry James | 20,187 | 24.04 | −42.93 | |
| Independent | Paul Taylor | 19,532 | 23.26 | +23.26 | |
| Community First | Denis Walls | 10,745 | 12.79 | +12.79 | |
| Independent | John Kel | 3,854 | 4.59 | +4.59 | |
| Independent | Leah Potter | 2,747 | 3.27 | +3.27 | |
| Independent | Warren Binda | 1,139 | 1.36 | +1.36 | |
| Turnout | 88,650 | 75.39 | +4.83 | ||
| Two-candidate-preferred result | |||||
| Team Eden | Amy Eden | 30,364 | 56.64 | +56.64 | |
| Cairns Unity | Terry James | 23,242 | 43.36 | −37.89 | |
| Team Eden gain from Cairns Unity | Swing | N/A | |||
2020
edit| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cairns Unity | Bob Manning | 47,171 | 66.97 | ||
| Independent | Georgia Babatsikos | 8,161 | 11.59 | ||
| Independent LNP | Ian Lydiard | 7,837 | 11.13 | ||
| Cairns N.Q.S.A. Team | Jen Sackley | 7,266 | 10.32 | ||
| Turnout | 73,850 | 70.56 | |||
| Two-candidate-preferred result | |||||
| Cairns Unity | Bob Manning | 49,048 | 81.25 | ||
| Independent | Georgia Babatsikos | 11,320 | 18.75 | ||
| Cairns Unity hold | Swing | ||||
1933
edit| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Independent | William Aloysius Collins | unopposed | |||
| Independent hold | Swing | ||||
References
edit- ^ a b "Mayors of Cairns 1885 to Present" (PDF). Cairns Heritage Page. Cairns Regional Council. Retrieved 18 December 2017.
- ^ Australian History Publishing Co (1936), Queensland and Queenslanders : incorporating 'Prominent Queenslanders', Australian History Publishing Co, p. 75, retrieved 1 October 2015 — available online Archived 16 February 2017 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ a b "Mayors of the Cairns City Council" (PDF). Cairns Heritage Page. Cairns Regional Council. Retrieved 19 February 2014.
- ^ Pugh, Theophilus Parsons (1927). Pugh's Almanac for 1927. Retrieved 13 June 2014.
- ^ Australian History Publishing Co (1936), Queensland and Queenslanders : incorporating 'Prominent Queenslanders', Australian History Publishing Co, p. 78, retrieved 1 October 2015 — available online Archived 16 February 2017 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Local Government Elections". Trove. Brisbane Courier.