Cairns (), is a major city on the east coast of
Far North Queensland in
Australia. The city is the
5th most populous in Queensland and
14th overall in Australia. Cairns was founded in 1876 and named after
William Wellington Cairns,
Governor of Queensland from 1875-1877. It was formed to serve miners heading for the Hodgkinson River goldfield, but experienced a decline when an easier route was discovered from
Port Douglas. It later developed into a railhead and major port for exporting sugar cane, gold and other metals, minerals and agricultural products from surrounding coastal areas and the
Atherton Tableland region. The estimated residential population of the Cairns urban area in 2014 was 146,778. The region has experienced an average annual growth rate of 2.8% over the last 10 years.