List of mayors of Cairns

The City of Cairns, in Far North Queensland, was originally established as a borough with a chairman from 1885 until 1903, when the Local Authorities Act 1902 transformed it into a town with a mayor. The town achieved city status in 1923. In 1995, when the Shire of Mulgrave amalgamated into the City, the mayor was elected by a much larger base of voters. In 2008, when the City was amalgamated with the Shire of Douglas into the Cairns Region, the mayor's voter base expanded yet again.

Mayor of Cairns
Incumbent
Amy Eden
since 16 March 2024
Inaugural holderRichard Ash Kingsford
Formation1885

Borough of Cairns (1885–1903) edit

The mayors of the Borough of Cairns were:[1]

ChairmanTermNotes
Richard Ash Kingsford1885–1886
Louis Severin1886–1888
Richard Ash Kingsford1889
Callaghan Walsh1890
Louis Severin1891
Alexander Frederick John "AJ" Draper1891–1893[2]
Daniel Patience1893–1894
James Lyons1895–1896
AJ Draper1897
Karl Aumuller1898
Lyne Brown1899
Richard Alfred Tills1900–1901
AJ Draper1902

Town of Cairns (1903–1923) edit

The mayors of the Town of Cairns were:[1]

MayorTerm
Louis Severin1903
Donald McLachlan1904
Charles McKenzie1905
Edward Earl1906
Richard Alfred Tills1907
Sinclair Miller1908
John Coxall1909
Andrew Hartill-Law1910
John George Hoare1911
Charles McKenzie1912–1913
Thomas Dillon1914
John Griffiths1915
Thomas Dillon1915–1916
Thomas Henry Donaldson1917
AJ Draper1918–1919
Richard Cowle Foxdale Gelling1919
John George Hoare1920–1923

City of Cairns Council (1923–1995) edit

The mayors of the City of Cairns (prior to amalgamation) were:[3]

MayorTermNotes
John George Hoare1923–1924
AJ Draper1924–1927[4]
William Aloysius Collins1927–1949[5]
William Henry Murchison1949–1952
Bill Fulton1952–1960
S. Darcy Chataway1960–1967
Colin Penridge1967–1969
David Thomas De Jarlais1969–1973
Kevin Francis Crathern1973–1978
Ronald (Ron) Davis1979–1988
Keith Goodwin1988–1990
John Peter Cleland1990–1991
Kevin Byrne1992–1995

City of Cairns Council (Amalgamated) (1995–2008) edit

The mayors of the City of Cairns (following amalgamation):[3]

MayorTerm
Tom Pyne1995–2000
Kevin Byrne2000–2008

Cairns Regional Council edit

2008–present edit

No.PortraitMayorPartyTerm startTerm endNotesCouncil control
(term)
1 Val SchierIndependent3 April 200828 April 2012First female mayor of Cairns. Lost re-electionIndependents majority
(2008–2012)
2 Bob ManningUnity28 April 201217 November 2023RetiredUnity majority
(2012–2024)
3 Terry JamesUnity22 November 202316 March 2024Division 4 councillor 2012–2023. Lost re-election
4 Amy EdenTeam Eden16 March 2024presentDivision 5 councillor 2020–2024. IncumbentNo overall control
(2024–present)

Election results edit

2024 edit

2024 Queensland mayoral elections: Cairns
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Team EdenAmy Eden25,78230.70+30.70
Cairns UnityTerry James20,18724.04−42.93
IndependentPaul Taylor19,53223.26+23.26
Community FirstDenis Walls10,74512.79+12.79
IndependentJohn Kel3,8544.59+4.59
IndependentLeah Potter2,7473.27+3.27
IndependentWarren Binda1,1391.36+1.36
Turnout88,65075.39+4.83
Two-candidate-preferred result
Team EdenAmy Eden30,36456.64+56.64
Cairns UnityTerry James23,24243.36−37.89
Team Eden gain from Cairns UnitySwingN/A

2020 edit

2020 Queensland mayoral elections: Cairns
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Cairns UnityBob Manning47,17166.97
IndependentGeorgia Babatsikos8,16111.59
Independent LNPIan Lydiard7,83711.13
Cairns N.Q.S.A. TeamJen Sackley7,26610.32
Turnout73,85070.56
Two-candidate-preferred result
Cairns UnityBob Manning49,04881.25
IndependentGeorgia Babatsikos11,32018.75
Cairns Unity holdSwing

1933 edit

1933 Queensland mayoral elections: Cairns[6]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
IndependentWilliam Aloysius Collinsunopposed
Independent holdSwing

References edit

  1. ^ a b "Mayors of Cairns 1885 to Present" (PDF). Cairns Heritage Page. Cairns Regional Council. Retrieved 18 December 2017.
  2. ^ Australian History Publishing Co (1936), Queensland and Queenslanders : incorporating 'Prominent Queenslanders', Australian History Publishing Co, p. 75, retrieved 1 October 2015 — available online Archived 16 February 2017 at the Wayback Machine
  3. ^ a b "Mayors of the Cairns City Council" (PDF). Cairns Heritage Page. Cairns Regional Council. Retrieved 19 February 2014.
  4. ^ Pugh, Theophilus Parsons (1927). Pugh's Almanac for 1927. Retrieved 13 June 2014.
  5. ^ Australian History Publishing Co (1936), Queensland and Queenslanders : incorporating 'Prominent Queenslanders', Australian History Publishing Co, p. 78, retrieved 1 October 2015 — available online Archived 16 February 2017 at the Wayback Machine
  6. ^ "Local Government Elections". Trove. Brisbane Courier.