What are the opening hours?

Monday 10am - 4pm Tuesday 10am - 4pm Wednesday 10am - 4pm Thursday 10am - 4pm Friday 10am - 4pm Saturday 10am - 4pm

Cairns Museum

Name: Cairns Museum
Address: 105 Lake Street, Cairns, QLD, 4870, AU
Telephone: +61740515582
Price range: $

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Cairns Museum

Cairns Museum content is now shared through our combined page, Cairns Historical Society & Museum. This page is no longer updated.

Please follow us there for exhibitions, events, talks and stories from Cairns’ social history. Discover the history of Far North Queensland. Enjoy our 5 galleries in air conditioned comfort.

15/12/2025

We’ve brought our social channels together.

To make it easier to find all of our stories, updates and events in one place, content from Cairns Museum and the Cairns Historical Society is now shared through a single page:

👉 Cairns Historical Society & Museum

Please follow us there to stay up to date with exhibitions, talks, school holiday activities and local history from across our region.

This page will no longer be updated.

11/12/2025

Yesterday marked the official launch of the C150 program of events by Mayor Amy Eden, setting the tone for a huge year of celebrations ahead.

We were proud to see our President, Dr Clive Skarott AM, invited to speak about the Cairns Historical Society’s early involvement in shaping the vision for C150. That partnership with Cairns Regional Council has continued throughout the planning process, with our Executive Officer, Sandi Robb, serving on the C150 Advisory Committee, and with the Museum and Historical Society set to deliver a number of key events across the year.

It’s a great time to be a member of the Cairns Historical Society, with an action-packed schedule ahead.

Stay tuned — there’s so much more to share.

07/12/2025

Over the next couple of days, the Cairns Museum and Cairns Historical Society pages will be coming together into one combined page.

We are bringing these pages together so you can follow all of our stories and updates in one place.

It is the same people, in the same building, doing the same work to share Cairns’ history. Bringing the pages together simply puts everything in one spot so it is easier to stay connected, especially as we head into C150.

You do not need to do anything. You will stay connected automatically.

Thank you for being part of our community as we bring our pages together.

05/12/2025

A moment from Monday afternoon at the Museum

We love seeing visitors pause at the end of their visit to write in our guest book, taking the time to share their thoughts with us.

This guest seemed to be referring to their phone while writing, so they’d either been so moved they needed to take notes along the way, or they were using Google Translate. Either way, we absolutely love the dedication.

Are you the kind of person who fills in guest books when you travel?

02/12/2025

We’re excited to be publishing our full Cairns 150 program very, very soon, but in the meantime we wanted to share a behind-the-scenes moment from one of next year’s special exhibitions in our Ground Floor Gallery.

Cairns and Far North Environment Centre is preparing Decades of Dedication, an exhibition celebrating more than 40 years of conservation work in Far North Queensland. In this photo, Dez Knuckey, Mary Burg and Ro Hill are deep in the CAFNEC archives, sorting through decades of campaign material, photographs and stories to help shape the exhibition.

CAFNEC is one of several local organisations and businesses who will be exhibiting with us as part of Cairns’ 150th anniversary celebrations. It’s incredibly special to be able to share these local stories in partnership with the people and groups who helped create them.

We can’t wait to reveal more of the C150 program soon - there’s so much to look forward to in 2026!

📸 CAFNEC

25/11/2025

Collectors like Brian remind us that history lives everywhere - in sheds, in stories and in the people who care enough to preserve it.

We’re lucky in Far North Queensland, where sharing history is truly a community effort.

23/11/2025

If you’ve been to one of our events, chances are you’ve met this wonderful duo.

Deb, our Accounts Manager, has spent most of her career in finance and administration roles in the tourism industry, so it’s no surprise her favourite spot in the Museum is on Level 1 where our tourism campaigns are on display.

Joining her is Evelyn, a much-loved long-term volunteer with the Historical Society. Many of our members will know Evelyn well, as she has been our Membership Officer for years and is a friendly face at countless events.

We’re so grateful for the people who make the Museum what it is.

21/11/2025

We’re grateful to Shirley Hogan (née Tredrea) for her recent donation to our collection.

Shirley, who was born and raised in Cairns, has shared a lovely assortment of children’s books, dolls and brooches that were gifted to her by relatives during the 1930s and early 1940s. All of them were purchased here in Cairns at the time, giving us a wonderful snapshot of what local children read and played with during that era.

Among the books is the first title in the Pip and Pepita series, which includes references to WWII and the air raids in London. Imagining a young Cairns girl reading those stories from the other side of the world gives this donation a special poignancy.

Shirley also donated a small china doll made in Japan (not pictured), once dressed in blue earmuffs, red patent leather shoes and white socks, with tiny arms that moved on metal wires.

Thank you, Shirley, for helping us preserve these memories of childhood in Cairns. We’re proud to hold this collection on behalf of the people of Cairns and for future generations to learn from and enjoy.

18/11/2025

We’re so excited to welcome two new neighbours to the block, Earl’s Eatery and nōknōk.

Earl’s is winning hearts with their housemade cinnamon scrolls, foccacia and great coffee - it's an easy stop-in before or after a Museum visit.

nōknōk brings a dark, moody and chic vibe to the neighbourhood, perfect for an end-of-day knockoff or cocktail.

We’re very lucky to have such great food and drink spots close by, joining our other favourites Evo Burgers, Roti Shak and Wa Wa Wa.

It’s a good time to visit Lake and Shields Street!

.bar The Roti Shack Cairns

📸 nōknōk &

14/11/2025

When the weather warms up in FNQ, we all know to keep an eye out for things that slither and hiss. But we wouldn’t mind spotting this emerald green tree snake, beautifully coloured by our English visitor Emily, or Juno’s snake, with its delightful rainbow spots!

Our colouring-in table on the veranda has one of the best views in Cairns. And while the stools might be small, visitors of all ages can’t resist picking up a pencil or felt tip and creating their own masterpiece.

Address

105 Lake Street
Cairns, QLD
4870

Opening Hours

Monday	10am - 4pm
Tuesday	10am - 4pm
Wednesday	10am - 4pm
Thursday	10am - 4pm
Friday	10am - 4pm
Saturday	10am - 4pm

Telephone

+61740515582

Website

http://www.cairnsmuseum.org.au/

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