About Port Douglas

The coastal town of Port Douglas is approximately 70km north of Cairns, and adjacent to two World Heritage areas, the Great Barrier Reef and the Daintree Rainforest.

The town is named in honour of former Premier of Queensland, John Douglas. The Port Douglas township was established in 1877 after the discovery of gold at Hodgkinson River by James Venture Mulligan.

Port Douglas developed quickly based on the mining industry, other parts of the area were established with timber cutting occurring in the area surrounding the Daintree River and with settlement starting to occur on lots around the Mossman River by 1880. With the construction of the Mulligan Highway it serviced towns as far away as Herberton, and at its peak Port Douglas had a population of 12,000 people and 27 hotels.

When the Kuranda Railway from Cairns to Kuranda was completed in 1891, the importance of Port Douglas dwindled along with its population. A cyclone in 1911 which demolished all but two buildings in the town also had a significant impact. At its nadir in 1960 the town, by then little more than a fishing village, had a population of 100.

In the mid-1980s, tourism boomed in the region, and Port Douglas became a popular, world-renowned destination. Today it continues to be a popular film location and celebrity hotspot, with visitors including US ex-president Bill Clinton and his wife Hillary.