Port Douglas
Approximately sixty kilometres north of Cairns at the northern end of Yirrganydji country, Port Douglas takes its name from former Queensland Premier John Douglas.
The town developed after James Venture Mulligan discovered gold on the Hodgkinson goldfield in 1876. Cooktown merchants paid Christie Palmerston to blaze a new track from the Hodgkinson. Palmerston's track reached the coast near Island Point and, although it was slightly longer, provided easier access than alternative routes from Cairns and Smithfield through the Barron Gorge.
Image:
Four Mile Beach, from Flagstaff Hill Lookout, Port Douglas, 2020 (Kgbo, CC BY-SA 4.0
Sources:
Queensland Places: https://queenslandplaces.com.au/port-douglas
Tourism Port Douglas: History and Heritage:" https://tourismportdouglas.com.au/general-information/things-to-see/history-heritage
Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Port_Douglas
