General News
1 October, 2026
Shire history springs to life
THERE’S an old saying “there’s no future in history” which in a way is true, but history is very much the future for next year’s Douglas Shire Historical Society (DSHS) Calendar.
To celebrate this, the annual calendar launch took place at the Court House Hotel, Port Douglas on Wednesday 16 September. This building itself is steeped in local history.
This year’s launch is of particular importance with the upcoming 150th anniversary of the Douglas Shire’s formation taking place in 2027 and, as a result, features 12 historical photos of the Douglas Shire which have been digitally restored.
The photos have been selected by the Douglas Shire Historical Society and members have spent hundreds of hours painstakingly adding detail to faded memories.
“The result is stunning,” said DSHS media liaison officer Pam Willis-Burden.
“The committee have laboured over each photograph, bringing details to the forefront and the photos to life.”
As the DSHS Douglas 150th calendar was specifically created to mark 150 years of the Douglas Shire, it was published with the assistance of sponsors and the Douglas Shire Council.
The photographs are centred around the turn of the last century and include a beach-de-mer boat at Port Douglas, a cane train locomotive derailment, the old Daintree ferry tied up on the riverside, the Southern Cross on Four Mile Beach and Christmas Day on Low Isles.
“We launched the calendar naturally at the Court House Hotel with so much history. Now it is available for sale from the Court House Museum Port Douglas and With Sugar Port Douglas.” Ms Willis-Burden said.
“The calendars are a historical keepsake in themselves and make fabulous Christmas gifts.”
DSHS president Vivienne Ruffles said a lot of hard work had been put in by the committee.
“The process of sourcing and restoration of these photos has taken many hundredss of hours, collecting them, selecting them and then looking at them to see if they were suitable and good enough quality for reprint.”
Mayor Lisa Scomazzon, who attended the launch, said “the calender is great value and the historical society do a wonderful job of keeping our history alive in our Shire.”
