General News
3 February, 2026
Pubs with plenty of cheer
FROM gold rush hotels to modern gastro-pubs, Cairns has always known how to socialise.
Early establishments along the Barbary Coast like the Empire Hotel (Barrier Reef Hotel) and the CBD-located Central Hotel were watering holes for workers and places of celebration.
For a century and a half, the public bars of Cairns have been more than places to buy a drink – they have been the living rooms of a growing tropical city.
From timber-and-iron pubs that shaded early pearlers and timber workers, to the lively, polished venues of today, Cairns’ bars trace the city’s changing rhythms: the boom of the port, the quiet resilience through cyclones, the long nights that followed festivals and the easy laughter of after-work catch-ups.
Meeting points
In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, a handful of hotels clustered around the wharves and the railway became meeting points for men who had come for work and stayed for the climate.
They were always informal information centres: who had a spare rope, where the next shipment was docking, which crew was heading inland. Over time, these venues expanded their role.
Women’s committees, sporting clubs and union meetings began to use upstairs rooms. Dances, fundraisers and memorial services stitched the pubs into civic life.
World War II brought a different energy – allied servicemen and local families packed the bars and music kept spirits buoyant.
Post-war prosperity ushered in the era of the grand public bar, where live bands, game nights and jukeboxes made the venue an entertainment hub.
Tourists arriving by sea added a cosmopolitan note. City bars adapted, offering menus and musical styles to suit visitors while still holding fast to local traditions.
Barbary Coast
Popular with the wharf workers was a well-known section of Cairns colloquially referred to as the “Barbary Coast”. It was popular among locals, blow-ins, ruffians and only adventurous of tourists. It had shall we say … a certain “reputation”.
Through the 1970s and 80s the bars became crucial social safety nets. In periods of economic uncertainty, they provided casual work, a place to seek advice and a familiar face over a counter.
Sporting triumphs and losses were digested here: a place where generations argued sport, politics and the best reef fishing spot over pints.
Regulars taught newcomers the rhythms of the town – who to call for a tow, where to find unlisted jobs, which family-owned fish and chip shop still did the best takeaway on a Friday night.
As Cairns celebrates 150 years, public bars have evolved into spaces that celebrate place-based identity – showcasing local beers, First Nations art on the walls and live music that blends traditional and contemporary forms.
They host community launches, charity drives and late-night rehearsals for festival acts.
Public bars
For many locals, the public bar remains the simplest civic institution: open to all, rooted in daily rituals of conversation, comfort and companionship.
If Cairns’ history were a tapestry, its public bars would be some of the busiest threads – humble, noisy, generous places where stories are traded and community is remade, night after night, generation after generation.
From 1929, you could take it or leave it, or turn a blind ear at W. T. Sperring’s Crown Hotel, corner Grafton and Shields Street Cairns, when “George and Schooner” opened their beaks and turned the air “blue”, to whoever ordered a drink at the bar.
Characters at best and larrikins in the true sense, George and Schooner learnt a few tricks of the publican’s trade, including how to avoid the chop.
