General News
27 August, 2026
Horse racing’s colourful past
THE first racecourse at Cairns was cut out of a camping reserve four miles south of the town.
It was used for meetings conducted by the Cairns and District Jockey Club.
In 1884, a reserve was finally set aside for a new racecourse further south that would not conflict with the expansion of agricultural land for sugar plantations.
The Cairns racing public could reach the course via the steamer tender Bee from Swallow’s Wharf or travel by Mulgrave Road.
By 1897, Cairns possessed three racecourses: one at the-then showgrounds on Anderson Street and two on Mulgrave Road. These included Isaac Fretwell’s Doncaster course, adjacent to his hotel, where the Mulgrave Jockey Club was formed in March 1888.
The Cairns Amateur Racing Club was established in 1911 and Gordonvale established its own racecourse and club in 1916.
The Mulgrave Jockey Club’s growth and progress were finally secured when committee member William Cannon provided favourable financial terms for the club to purchase 100 acres of his land at Four Mile (Woree) for a new course.
Ironically, the town’s first racecourse had been established in the same vicinity 30 years earlier.
Renamed Cannon Park in 1934, the racecourse remains in use today.
