| Kuranda Queensland |
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Kuranda railway station, the greenest in Australia with scenic rail on the left |
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Kuranda
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| Population: | 1611 (2006 census) |
| Postcode: | 4881 |
| Elevation: | 330 m (1,083 ft) |
| LGA: | Tablelands Region |
| State District: | Barron River |
| Federal Division: | Leichhardt |
Kuranda is a town on the Atherton Tableland in Far North Queensland, Australia, it is 25 kilometres from Cairns, via the Kuranda Range road. It is surrounded by rainforest. At the 2006 census, Kuranda had a population of 1,611.[1]
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The rainforest around Kuranda has been home to the Djabugay people for over 10,000 years. Europeans began to explore the area throughout the nineteenth century. It is believed a massacre of indigenous people took place at the location in Kuranda known as Skeleton Creek. Kuranda was first settled in 1885 and surveyed by Thomas Behan in 1888. Construction of the now famous railway from Cairns to Myola (later Cairns to Herberton) began in 1887 and the line reached Kuranda in 1891. The current railway station was built in 1915.
Although coffee was grown around Kuranda in the early twentieth century, timber was the town's primary industry for a number of years.
The Barron Gorge Hydroelectric Power Station was built nearby in the 1960s. Throughout the 1960s and 1970s Kuranda was popular with alternative lifestylers, and today is a thriving tourist town.
The town receives thousands of tourists each week who arrive on the Kuranda Scenic Railway from Cairns, the Skyrail gondola cableway, or by coach on the Kuranda Range road.
Kuranda is home to Cairns Wildlife Safari Reserve the only zoo in north Queensland to hold Big Cats and Ungulates.
Attractions in the town include a regular market, consisting of a range of arts and crafts stalls as well as restaurants. Kuranda is a major centre for opals and didgeridoos. It was also the first home of the Tjapukai Indigenous Dance Theatre, established by former New Yorkers Judy and Don Freeman, together with indigenous dancer and actor, David Hudson. The theatre is now located adjacent the Skyrail base station at Caravonica. Kuranda is home to a bird park, butterfly sanctuary, a bat rehabilitation centre, snake and venom park and koala sanctuary. As mentioned, the town is surrounded by rainforest rich in wildlife, with numerous walks and lookouts, such as to the Barron Falls.
Being situated in the tropics, Kuranda experiences only mild variations in temperature and its seasons consist of a dry season and a wet season. The weather is not as humid as the nearby coastal city of Cairns, as it is high in the hinterlands. The coolest month is July, and the hottest January. In July a light jacket may be needed on some cool days and evenings.
Kuranda is located in the (federal) Australian House of Representatives Division of Leichhardt, the Queensland Legislative Assembly electoral district of Barron River and locally, in the Tablelands Region.
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