Gordonvale

Gordonvale is a rural sugar-growing town and locality situated on the southern side of Cairns in the Cairns Region, Queensland, Australia.

Gordonvale is a rural sugar-growing town and locality situated on the southern side of Cairns in the Cairns Region, Queensland, Australia. In the 2016 census, the locality of Gordonvale had a population of 6,671 people.

Gordonvale was established on Yidinji tribal land. Yidinji (also known as Yidinj, Yidiny, and Idindji) is an Australian Aboriginal language. Its traditional language region is within the local government areas of Cairns Region and Tablelands Region, in such localities as Cairns, Gordonvale, and the Mulgrave River, and the southern part of the Atherton Tableland including Atherton and Kairi.British settlement began in 1877 with William Saunders Alley and Mr Blackwell and their families who cut a road through to Trinity Inlet so they could haul out cedar logs. It was called Plain Camp by Alley. By 1880, the road was well-used by miners and packers and they established the Riverstone Hotel to service the passing trade. After a while, a small town developed, encompassing three pubs, a store and a butcher shop run by John Gordon.

In the Cairns area, a Chinese businessman, Andrew Leon built the first sugar mill in 1882, named Pioneer Mill, and established the Hap Wah Plantation on 612 acres (2.48 km2) of land. Other plantations and sugar mills were also established in the area in years following, and the region developed into a sugar cultivation and milling area.

In 1890 the area became known Mulgrave after the Mulgrave River. In 1896 it was name Nelson, named after Queensland Premier Sir Hugh Muir Nelson. However this caused postal confusion with Nelson in New South Wales. On 24 January 1914 the town was officially renamed Gordonvale after John Gordon, a pioneer in the district who was a butcher, dairyman and grazier and early director of Mulgrave Central sugar mill.In the late 19th century, the Bryce brothers built the town's general store which expanded greatly over the years, supplying the community and farmers with provisions as well as equipment. Also in the late 19th century "Snowy" Thomas and his family built a butcher shop with adjoining bakery that also became the lifeblood of the town and ran a delivery service using horses. Similarly, the Harris brothers ran a mechanical repair store for farming equipment and personal vehicles, another essential service for the small farming community.

Mulgrave State School opened on 15 March 1897. In 1914 it was renamed Gordonvale State School in 1914. On 28 March 1924 it became Gordonvale Rural School. In 1963 a secondary school department was added until a permanent secondary school was established in 1965. On 1 January 1965 it was renamed Gordonvale State School again.Around 1902, Anthony Abdullah (Simon) moved to Gordonvale with his wife, Mary. The Abdullahs were among the earliest Lebanese families to migrate to Australia, hailing from the tiny village of Kfarsghab. Anthony owned the grounds where today stand St Michael's Catholic Church. The convent was his original family home. He ran a drapery business, and was known locally and with fondness as 'Abdullah the Turk'. The family were great benefactors of the Church. They moved to Sydney in 1923, leaving Gordonvale forever.Around 1914 the first cinema in the town was established by Vince and Daisy Medlik with the latter's sister Nellie Sutcliffe. Vince Medlik was a carpenter and was the owner-builder. Running silent movies at first, the cinema was called "Vince Medlik's Silent Pictures". As well as movies, once a month they presented a vaudeville night produced by Nellie and the dancers from her dancing school. Displaying a rare technical skill in its time, especially for a woman, Nellie also operated the projection and took care of inaugurating the "talkies" when they later came in. Due to unforeseen circumstances the business had to be moved just before the Great Depression to the newly built and nearby Nelson Hall. It subsequently had to be closed down during the Depression even though by that stage other family members had become involved in its operation such a Vince's son Laurie Medlik. Before the Second World War the cinema reopened with new proprietors and employed Nellie Sutcliffe and Laurie Medlik, the latter managing it.St Alphonsus Catholic School was established in Muir Street in 1923 by the Sisters of Mercy. It was officially opened on Sunday 15 April 1923 by Bishop John Heavey. A special excursion train was provided for people wishing to attend the ceremony. In December 1959 it was replaced by the St Michael's Catholic Primary School and the former school building became a parish hall. The Sisters of Mercy ended their involvement with the school in 1990 and it now operates under lay leadership.Little Mulgrave State School opened on 26 July 1926 and closed on 21 February 1964.On Sunday 15 July 1934 the Apostolic Delegate, Archbishop Filippo Bernardini laid the foundation stone for a new Catholic Church. On Sunday 27 January 1935 Bishop John Heavey officially opened and blessed the new church. The Gordonvale parish of the Roman Catholic Vicariate Apostolic of Cooktown (now the Roman Catholic Diocese of Cairns) was established in 1935.Cane toads (Bufo marinus) were deliberately introduced into Australia in an attempt to control the native Frenchi beetle (Lepidiota frenchi) and the greyback cane beetle (Dermolepida albohirtum) whose larvae (colloquially known as "cane grubs") were destroying sugar cane crops in North Queensland. In June 1935 the Queensland Bureau of Sugar Experiment Stations imported 102 cane toads (Bufo marinus) into Gordonvale from Hawaii in June 1935 (with one dying in transit due to dehydration) in the belief that the toads would eat the cane beetles, a pest in the sugarcane industry. By March 1937 some 62,000 toadlets had been bred and distributed into sugar cane fields up and down the Queensland coast. The experiment did not work and the toads have spread throughout much of Australia.During World War II a contingent of approximately 3,000 American paratroopers was stationed in Gordonvale and did their training there for their missions in New Guinea. The American Army commandeered some of the town's hotels to use as hospitals as many troops were injured during this training. Quite a number of local women were employed to do parachute packing.The Gordonvale Library opened on 19 February 1954, replacing the old School of Arts which was built in 1900.All Saints' Anglican Church was consecrate on 14 June 1963 by Anglican Bishop of North Queensland Ian Shevill and Anglican Archbishop of Sydney Hugh Gough. It was designed by Cairns architects Sidney George Barnes and Edwin Oribin.On 26 October 1964 Senior Constable Desmond Trannore was shot attending a domestic disturbance.Gordonvale State High School opened on25 January 1965, taking over the secondary department of Gordonvale State School. In 2015, Gordonvale State High School celebrated its 50th anniversary.In the 1990s a number of mosaics were commissioned by the "Friends of Gordonvale" commemorating through imagery the original businesses and shops in the town. These mosaics were cemented permanently within the footpaths directly outside the original sites of the businesses. The granddaughter of picture theatre owner Vince Medlik, award-winning artist Jewel Isaacs, designed the image for that business.Gordonvale was located within the Shire of Mulgrave until its amalgamation with the City of Cairns in 1995. The City was subsequently merged into the larger Cairns Region in 2008.

Djarragun College opened in 2001. The school's mission is "to develop proud, strong, educated Indigenous men and women, who walk confidently in two worlds, to be leaders, and to be role models for their families and communities".At the 2006 census Gordonvale had a population of 4,420.In the 2011 census Gordonvale had a population of 6,214 people.In 2012 the new Gordonvale Ambulance Station opened. It replaced the old ambulance station built in 1916 at 1 Cannon Street (17.0933°S 145.7873°E? / -17.0933; 145.7873? (Gordonvale Ambulance Station (former))). The old ambulance building was sold on 8 October 2013 for $405,000.The Cairns Adventist College officially opened in Gordonvale on 27 October 2014. The school commenced as an Adventist primary school in Cairns in 1950 in a number of locations, the longest and most recent being Gatton Street at the Adventist Church prior to the relocation to Gordonvale to create a larger campus.In the 2016 census the locality of Gordonvale had a population of 6,671 people.The first Gordonvale Fire Station opened in 1950 at 105 Norman Street (17.0943°S 145.7863°E? / -17.0943; 145.7863? (Gordonvale Fire Station (former))). The new Gordonvale Fire Station on Gillies Range Road was completed in 2017. The new site was chosen to provide better access to both the Bruce Highway and the Gillies Highway.

On 22 November 2018 the new Gordonvale Police Station was officially opened on Draper Road by Police Minister Mark Ryan and Police Commissioner Ian Stewart. The new police station cost $4.5 million and was built to serve the growing population in the corridor south of Cairns. It features Indigenous artwork "Looking to the Stars" by Gilimbaa artist Jenna Lee of the Larrakia people. The previous police station was in Cannon Street (17.0933°S 145.7866°E? / -17.0933; 145.7866? (Gordonvale Police Station (former))).

Operating since 1896, the Mulgrave Central sugar mill is located near the town centre in Gordon St. The mill services about 300 sugarcane farms in the local region and operates during the 'crush' season (about six months of the year). When operating, the mill emanates a strong sugary smell downwind. Tours of the mill were previously available, but with the increase in global sugar prices, tours have been stopped as the focus is now on sugar production.

The Mulgrave Settlers Museum is across Gordon Street from the mill (17.0913°S 145.7881°E? / -17.0913; 145.7881? (Mulgrave Settlers Museum)). It is operated by the Mulgrave Shire Historical Society. The museum has a number of historical items donated from the local community and displays that represent the early gold miners, cedar cutters, Chinese workers and packers (mule train suppliers to the Atherton Tableland). The museum is open Monday to Saturday from 10AM to 2PM.Gordonvale Golf Club is at 75 George Street (17.0914°S 145.7845°E? / -17.0914; 145.7845? (Gordonvale Golf Club)) and has an 18-hole golf course. The course is unusual as nine holes are shared with a horse-racing track, Gordonvale Racecourse (which predated the golf course by many years), with the other nine going through bushland to run up against the Bruce Highway. The Gordonvale Turf Club is also at 75 George Street (17.0930°S 145.7808°E? / -17.0930; 145.7808? (Gordonvale Turf Club)).The suburb is surrounded predominantly by sugarcane fields and is only a short drive from many interesting places including the Bellenden Ker National Park and Goldsborough Valley State Forest.