The city of Cairns in Australia’s tropical north east is continuing its track record as one
of the fastest growing centres in Australia – a city that has been roughly doubling its
population every 20 years from barely 20,000 in the 1950’s to over 120,000 today.
Clearly, Cairns is on the way to becoming a city of strategic national importance.
The Cairns 2020/2050 Business Research Manual looks back on 50 years of
economic history to identify the underlying factors that led to a remote tropical outpost
at ‘the end of the line’, a thousand miles away from the State capital, emerging as the
vibrant, modern gateway city it is today.
It then looks forward over a similar time frame at forces that are likely to underpin the
region’s continuing rapid growth and the form this growth is likely to take.

2.9mb Summary & Overview
To obtain a copy of the full report, please contact Cummings Economics cummings@cummings.net.au | ph: (07) 40312888