A careful plan
The cableway was proposed in 1987. The route crosses Barron Gorge National Park in the Wet Tropics of Queensland World Heritage Area, so the project went through an environmental impact study and consulted 23 agencies and communities. An agreement was made with the Djabugay Tribal Aboriginal Corporation to protect Aboriginal cultural heritage.
Towers by helicopter
Building began in June 1994. Each of the 32 towers stands in a clearing of about 10 by 10 metres; the tallest, Tower 6, is 45 metres high. Helicopters lifted in the steel and cement, and the builders walked in to the sites. Surveys looked for rare and endangered species, and displaced seedlings were replanted.
Opening day and after
Skyrail opened on 31 August 1995 with 47 gondolas. By 1997 it had 114, carrying more than 600 passengers an hour in each direction. In 2009 it was named one of the Q150 Icons of Queensland.



