Bookable
An Apollonaut travel guide
Moments in a longer story.
Selected milestones in the history of Port Douglas and Wildlife Habitat.
On this page
A town, a cane field and a park
These dates describe the place you can learn about here. They are not a company timeline for Apollonaut.
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1876
Gold inland
Gold is found on the Hodgkinson goldfield, inland from the coast.
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1877
Port Douglas
A port town is established and, in November, named after the Queensland Premier John Douglas.
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1900
A tramway
A tramway to Mossman, centre of the district’s sugar industry, is completed.
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1905–1958
The sugar wharf
A new wharf handles the district’s sugar until 1958.
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June 1989
Rainforest Habitat
A bird and butterfly sanctuary opens on an old cane field beside Port Douglas Road.
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1 October 2005
Wildlife Habitat
Charles and Pip Woodward buy the sanctuary and rename it Wildlife Habitat.
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Today
Five habitats
Part of the CaPTA Group, the park has five habitats: Wetlands, Rainforest, Savannah, Nocturnal and Woodlands.
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.
