Innisfail

Innisfail (from Irish: Inis Fáil) is a regional town and locality in the Cassowary Coast Region, Queensland, Australia.

Innisfail (from Irish: Inis Fáil) is a regional town and locality in the Cassowary Coast Region, Queensland, Australia. The town was originally called Geraldton until 1910. In the 2016 census, the town of Innisfail had a population of 7,236 people, while the locality ofInnisfail had a population of 1,145 people.Innisfail is the major township of the Cassowary Coast Region and is known for its sugar and banana industries, as well as for being one of Australia's wettest towns. In March 2006, Innisfail gained worldwide attention when severe Tropical Cyclone Larry passed over causing extensive damage.

Prior to European settlement the Innisfail area was occupied by five separate societies of the Mamu people. These Aboriginal people followed migratory lifestyles in the rainforest and traversed rivers in string-bark canoes.

The first arrival of European people came in January 1872 when survivors of the shipwreck, the "Maria" arrived on the coastal areas surrounding what is now the Johnstone River. Sub-Inspector Robert Arthur Johnstone of the Native Police came with the intention of rescuing remaining survivors and collectively punishing Aboriginals thought to have killed a number of the shipwrecked crew. In mid 1873, Johnstone returned to the area as part of another punitive mission and ventured further upriver between what is today Flying Fish Point and Coquette Point. Johnstone wrote very highly of the area, stating:A most glorious view appeared – a noble reach of fresh water, studded with blacks with their canoes and catamarans, others on the sandy beaches; deep blue fresh water expanding to an imposing breadth.

In October 1873, Johnstone again returned as part of the Northeast Coast Expedition led by the explorer George Elphinstone Dalrymple. British settlement was first established at the junction of the north and south branches of the Johnstone River by this expedition on 5 October 1873. It was named Nind's Camp after Philip Henry Nind who accompanied the party.Later in 1879, Irishman Thomas Henry Fitzgerald arrived in the area to establish a sugar industry at his Innisfail Estate (now the locality of that name). He was accompanied by large numbers of Kanaka South Sea Islanders workers accompanied by smaller numbers of Irish labourers.The house built by Fitzgerald and thus the first establishment in the area was called Innisfallen, after the largest island in the Lakes of Killarney, Ireland. Inis Fáil (Island of Destiny) is an ancient Irish name for Ireland itself. The name is used in the rarely sung third verse of "The Soldier's Song", the Irish national anthem. The stone mentioned may be the stone at Tara, Co Meath, at which high kings of Ireland were crowned.

From 1879, the settlement was named Geraldton (officially in July 1883) by Fitzgerald, but on 20 August 1910 it was renamed "Innisfail" to avoid confusion with the town of the same name in Western Australia.Johnstone River Post Office opened on 1 November 1882 (a receiving office had been open from 1880), was renamed Geraldton two months later and Innisfail in 1910.

In May 1885, the Queensland Government called for tenders to build the Geraldton Hospital to replace the existing tent hospital; however, the tenders submitted were more expensive than the government was willing to pay, so they called again for tenders in September 1885 resulting in a contract with E. Couchman for £1527.Geraldton Provisional School opened on 18 July 1887. On 1 August 1894 it became Geraldton State School. In 1913 the name was changed to Innisfail State School to reflect the renaming of the town.The Innisfail Parish within the Roman Catholic Vicariate Apostolic of Cooktown (now the Roman Catholic Diocese of Cairns) was established in 1898. It is now merged with the Mourilyian and South Johnstone parishes.Sacred Heart Catholic School opened on 2 November 1902 with an enrolment of 42 students. It was operated by the Sisters of the Good Samaritan. It was renamed Good Counsel Catholic Primary School in 1975. When the Sisters were no longer able to lead the school, it was briefly led by the Marist Brothers until the first lay principal was appointed in 1982. The Sisters withdrew from teaching in the school in 1990.In 1906, Patrick Leahy established the Johnstone River Advocate newspaper, with the first issue published in December that year. Later it was renamed the Johnstone River Advocate and Innisfail News, the Evening Advocate, and the Innisfail Chronicle. The newspaper continues to be published as the Innisfail Advocate.In June 1912 there was a meeting that resulted in the creation of the Johnstone River Agricultural Association with the intention to hold their first agricultural show that same year. The first show was held on Friday 11 and Saturday 12 October 1912 in recreation ground (now Callender Park) with exhibits in the Shire Hall and the Oddfellows Hall. In 1935 the show needed more space and the present showgrounds were established (in present-day Goondi Hill) with purpose-built buildings and a show ring. The show was held annually apart from 1942 and 1942 when, due to World War II, the army was using the showground. In 1986 many of the showgound's buildings were badly damaged by Cyclone Winifred with further damage sustained during Cyclone Larry in 2006. In 2002 the show introduced a banana packing competition which was very popular.A huge cyclone swept through Innisfail on 10 March 1918, causing immense damage and killing many people. So many buildings were severely damaged, that many new buildings were erected after the cyclone using concrete rather than the more traditional timber with tin roof. As Art Deco architecture was popular at that time, many of the new buildings were built in the Art Deco style. As a result, Innisfail is now considered one of the best Australian towns for Art Deco and Streamline Moderne architecture.The 1920s and 1930s saw the beginning of a major period of settlement by Italian immigrants and noteworthy populations from Greece and Malta. Later in this period populations from Yugoslavia, India and the Philippines would also settle in the area.

On Sunday 1 July 1928 Bishop John Heavey officially opened and blessed the new Catholic presbytery, built of reinforced concrete to protect it from cyclones, after the Catholic church and associated buildings were all destroyed in the cyclone of 1918. Heavey returned some week later to officially open and bless the new Mother of Good Counsel Catholic Church which cost £20,000 and was described as the largest Catholic church in Queensland outside of its capital Brisbane.Innisfail East State School opened on 3 February 1936.Innisfail State High School opened on 24 January 1955 and operated until the end of 2009 at 2 Stitt Street (Mighell, 17.5367°S 146.0280°E? / -17.5367; 146.0280? (Innisfail State High School (former))). In 2010,it was amalgamated with the Innisfail Inclusive Education Centre (a special education facility) and Tropical North Queensland TAFE (Innisfail Campus) to form Innisfail State College using the site of the TAFE campus at Innisfail Estate.On 3 July 1970, Innisfail State School introduced a special education program called Opportunity Classes. In 1980 these were replaced by the opening of Innisfail Special School on 29 January 1980. On 7 March 2003 the school was renamed Innisfail Inclusive Education Centre. In 2010 it was amalgamated into the Innisfail State College.Radiant Life Christian College opened on 13 February 1982 and closed on 1 November 1991.In 2001 Los Angeles band Sugar Ray filmed part of their music DVD "Music in High Places" at the Johnstone Crocodile Farm in Innisfail.

The Innisfail War Memorial in Jack Fossey Park on Fitzgerald Esplanade was dedicated on 16 April 2005; it commemorates those who served in all wars.

Innisfail suffered extensive damage in 2006 due to tropical Cyclone Larry, an Australian Category 5 cyclone with over 100mm of rain in the span of three hours. It struck Innisfail at 7am on 20 March 2006, with the eye of the storm passing over the town.

Severe structural damage occurred over the entirety of the township, the main damage being a portion of houses losing roofs and windows and the cyclone rendered even more homes structurally unsound. Power was effectively eliminated from the town and generators became a luxury in many homes. Clean drinking water was also compromised in many homes leading to health fears. The swift response of the Australian Defence Force was praised by many and the cleanup campaign they orchestrated allowed for total utilities restoration within 3 weeks. Severe damage was done to crops and plantations (mainly bananas) which had a serious economic impact on the region. Only one indirect death was record as a result of the cyclone. While Innisfail was always reputed to have a positive sense of community spirit, the aftermath of Tropical Cyclone Larry and the unified cleanup effort acted to promote this spirit through shared suffering.Cyclone Larry was a direct and primary cause of the widely reported and dramatic surge in banana prices in Australia. Inflated cost remained until farmers were able to meet demand again in early 2007.After the cyclone the township underwent something of an economic boom that stemmed from an influx of tradespeople and business eager to capitalise upon relatively significant insurance payouts. According to reports local trade had increased some 30 – 40% opposed to expected increases of 10%.On 8 February 2007 the Johnstone Shire Council was sacked by the Queensland Government by the Local Government Minister, Andrew Fraser because of internal conflict, inappropriate behaviour and financial problems.In 2011, in the early morning of 3 February, Cyclone Yasi crossed the far north Queensland coast causing damage to the Innisfail area. Although the damage was not as severe as Cyclone Larry, Cyclone Yasi still had a huge impact on Innisfail bringing strong winds of possibly 285 kilometres per hour.In the 2016 census, the town of Innisfail had a population of 7,236 people, which includes the urban and suburban parts of the localities of Innisfail, Cullinane, Innisfail Estate, East Innisfail, Webb, South Innisfail, Mighell, Goondi Hill, Hudson, and Goondi Bend. The locality ofInnisfail had a population of 1,145 people.Darlinga Forest School opened on 10 February 2020 at 2 Stitt Street, Mighell, part of the former Innisfail State High School site.