List of mayors of Cairns

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

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.

Borough of Cairns (1885–1903)

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

Chairman Term Notes
Richard Ash Kingsford 1885–1886
Louis Severin 1886–1888
Richard Ash Kingsford 1889
Callaghan Walsh 1890
Louis Severin 1891
Alexander Frederick John "AJ" Draper 1891–1893 [2]
Daniel Patience 1893–1894
James Lyons 1895–1896
AJ Draper 1897
Karl Aumuller 1898
Lyne Brown 1899
Richard Alfred Tills 1900–1901
AJ Draper 1902

Town of Cairns (1903–1923)

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

Mayor Term
Louis Severin 1903
Donald McLachlan 1904
Charles McKenzie 1905
Edward Earl 1906
Richard Alfred Tills 1907
Sinclair Miller 1908
John Coxall 1909
Andrew Hartill-Law 1910
John George Hoare 1911
Charles McKenzie 1912–1913
Thomas Dillon 1914
John Griffiths 1915
Thomas Dillon 1915–1916
Thomas Henry Donaldson 1917
AJ Draper 1918–1919
Richard Cowle Foxdale Gelling 1919
John George Hoare 1920–1923

City of Cairns Council (1923–1995)

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

Mayor Term Notes
John George Hoare 1923–1924
AJ Draper 1924–1927 [4]
William Aloysius Collins 1927–1949 [5]
William Henry Murchison 1949–1952
Bill Fulton 1952–1960
S. Darcy Chataway 1960–1967
Colin Penridge 1967–1969
David Thomas De Jarlais 1969–1973
Kevin Francis Crathern 1973–1978
Ronald (Ron) Davis 1979–1988
Keith Goodwin 1988–1990
John Peter Cleland 1990–1991
Kevin Byrne 1992–1995

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

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

Mayor Term
Tom Pyne 1995–2000
Kevin Byrne 2000–2008

Cairns Regional Council

2008–present

No. Portrait Mayor Party Term start Term end Notes Council control
(term)
1 Val Schier Independent 3 April 2008 28 April 2012 First female mayor of Cairns. Lost re-election Independents majority
(2008–2012)
2 Bob Manning Unity 28 April 2012 17 November 2023 Retired Unity majority
(2012–2024)
3 Terry James Unity 22 November 2023 16 March 2024 Division 4 councillor 2012–2023. Lost re-election
4 Amy Eden Team Eden 16 March 2024 present Division 5 councillor 2020–2024. Incumbent No overall control
(2024–present)

Election results

2024

This section is an excerpt from 2024 Queensland mayoral elections § Cairns.[edit]
2024 Queensland mayoral elections: Cairns
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Team Eden Amy Eden 25,782 30.70 +30.70
Cairns Unity Terry James 20,187 24.04 −42.93
Independent Paul Taylor 19,532 23.26 +23.26
Community First Denis Walls 10,745 12.79 +12.79
Independent John Kel 3,854 4.59 +4.59
Independent Leah Potter 2,747 3.27 +3.27
Independent Warren Binda 1,139 1.36 +1.36
Turnout 88,650 75.39 +4.83
Two-candidate-preferred result
Team Eden Amy Eden 30,364 56.64 +56.64
Cairns Unity Terry James 23,242 43.36 −37.89
Team Eden gain from Cairns Unity Swing N/A

2020

This section is an excerpt from 2020 Queensland mayoral elections § Cairns.[edit]
2020 Queensland mayoral elections: Cairns
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Cairns Unity Bob Manning 47,171 66.97
Independent Georgia Babatsikos 8,161 11.59
Independent LNP Ian Lydiard 7,837 11.13
Cairns N.Q.S.A. Team Jen Sackley 7,266 10.32
Turnout 73,850 70.56
Two-candidate-preferred result
Cairns Unity Bob Manning 49,048 81.25
Independent Georgia Babatsikos 11,320 18.75
Cairns Unity hold Swing

1933

This section is an excerpt from 1933 Queensland mayoral elections § Cairns.[edit]
1933 Queensland mayoral elections: Cairns[6]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Independent William Aloysius Collins unopposed
Independent hold Swing

References

  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.