The suburb was established in 1975 from part of Parramatta Park and all of the area known as West Cairns.[6] It was named after HMAS Manoora, which was in turn named after the town of Manoora in South Australia. The ship was built in Scotland in 1935 as a coastal steamer for the Adelaide Steamship Company and regularly visited Cairns, and entered service with the Royal Australian Navy in the World War II.[3]
Pau Enterprises Indigenous Corporation was established in 2015 to manage and maintain the Pau family native title lands and interests on Darnley Island. It also seeks to create social enterprises on Darnley Island and other locations where community members have migrated to, such as Cairns.[7] Their Cairns initiatives are organised from their Manoora office.[8]
In 2012, the Non-State Schools Accreditation Board approved the application for Holy Spirit College to establish as a special assistance school. Assisted by funding of $9 million from the Queensland Government, construction commenced on the two sites in Manoora and Cooktown in July 2014. The Manoora campus opened at the start of the 2015 school year in the partly-built campus, full completion not being expected until July 2015.[9]
Demographics
At the 2011 census, Manoora had a population of 5,688 people.[10]
In the 2016 census, Manoora had a population of 6,027 people.[11]
In the 2021 census, Manoora had a population of 6,175 people.[1]
Education
Holy Spirit College is a private secondary (7-12) campus of the Holy Spirit College headquartered at Cooktown. It is operated by Cairns Catholic Education Services. The Manoora campus is at 13 Moignard Street (16°55′24″S145°44′08″E / 16.9233°S 145.7355°E / -16.9233; 145.7355 (Holy Spirit College)).[12][13] The school is specifically to provide support for disengaged and marginalised young people.[9] It offers enrolment as a day student at the Manoora campus, but there are also boarding options at the Cooktown campus.[14]