CAIRNS Cairns are the northern most major centre in Queensland. Tropical, colourful and growing rapidly. Cairns are one of those cities where its citizens are at the forefront of planning decisions. Increasingly heritage considerations are carefully considered. The city was named after William Wellington Cairns (then Governor of Queensland). 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. During World War II, Cairns was used by the Allied Forces as a staging base for operations in the Pacific, with US Army Air Force and Royal Australian Air Force operational bases (now the airport), as well as a major military seaplane base in Trinity Inlet, and US Navy and Royal Australian Navy. Much of the Battle of the Coral Sea in 1942 was staged from Cairns. The War Memorial is located on the seaside reserve As a result of the WW 2 history Cairns has a large number of Hotels. The Museum is located in the heart of the city. The Catholic Church is a new and inspirational work of design. The stain glass window is something else. Likewise the Anglican Church, but is a different era and the traditional design. Cairns is a great city and staging post for a huge number of activities. An easy place to stay over a week. Diary notes