Bookable
An Apollonaut travel guide
Moments in a longer story.
Selected milestones in the history of Skyrail Rainforest Cableway.
On this page
From an idea to a landmark
These dates describe the place you can learn about here. They are not a company timeline for Apollonaut.
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1987
An idea
A cableway from Smithfield to Kuranda is proposed.
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1994
Building begins
Construction starts in June, with materials flown in by helicopter.
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1995
Opening day
Skyrail opens on 31 August with 47 gondolas, then the longest gondola cableway in the world.
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1997
More gondolas
The fleet grows to 114 gondolas.
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2005
A foundation
The Skyrail Rainforest Foundation is set up to fund rainforest research and education.
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2009
A Queensland icon
Skyrail is named one of the Q150 Icons of Queensland.
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2013
Glass floors
Gondolas with glass floors are introduced in November.
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2019
The Edge Lookout
A new lookout opens over the Barron Gorge at Barron Falls station.
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2026
An upgrade
A major upgrade of the cableway and its gondolas is under way.
Follow the stories behind the dates
A timeline is a beginning. The longer history introduces the people and places; the sources below provide further context.
Read at the source
Sources & further reading
Links lead to the original publishers.