General News
1 April, 2026
Sport uniting city for years
SPORT has always played a role in uniting Cairns.
SPORT has always played a role in uniting Cairns.
In the late 1800s, informal matches of cricket and rugby were held in cleared fields, often involving local settlers, police and even sailors in port.
By the 1920s, facilities like Barlow Park were taking shape, hosting athletics and rugby league.
Brothers and Kangaroos rugby league clubs fostered fierce, but friendly rivalries. The Cairns Australian Football League was formed in 1955, with the initial senior competition featuring two teams: Norths and Souths.
The 1999 founding of Cairns’ only national sporting team, the Cairns Taipans, brought professional basketball to the city, energising youth and cementing Cairns as a serious sporting destination.
Today there are more than 400 sport and recreational clubs and facilities across the Cairns region taking in competitive leagues in at least 30 sports, including netball, basketball, rugby league, AFL, soccer, baseball, tennis, cricket, vigoro, gymnastics, polocrosse, softball, netball, hockey, cycling and lawn bowls.
Joe Blake and the Taipans
“Joe Blake” is Australian slang for snake – fitting inspiration for the Cairns Taipans, named after one of the region’s deadliest species.
Founded in 1999, the Taipans secured a National Basketball League (NBL) licence and debuted in the 1999–2000 season.
Wearing navy, white and orange, they played their first game at the then-new Cairns Convention Centre and stood out as the league’s only not-for-profit team.
The Taipans reached their first finals series in 2004 and made their maiden grand final appearance in 2011, narrowly missing the championship. Over time, the team has become a much-loved fixture of Cairns’ sporting and social life, drawing strong local support each season.
Faces of angels but an eye on the ball
The St John’s football club was a formidable team associated with St John’s Church in Cairns.
In May 1909, to build up capacity and bring younger players along, the new junior St John’s (previously called the Wallabies) was formed with the whole of the club celebrating in the club hall overseen by the Right Reverend Dr Frodsham, Bishop of North Queensland.
“Smoko” (that is cake and tea) was served for the lads and about 35-40 players signed on.
Both teams had official photographs taken on the 16 October 1909. Rugby union was a popular sport in Cairns with many games played at the then-named Norman Park (Munro Martin Park)
Sport: a great friend maker with international flavour
In 1936, staff from Cairns’ Boland’s department store and Innisfail’s See Poys staged a spirited “friendly” sporting trifecta – cricket, tennis and vigaro – that captured more local attention than the England-Australia cricket test underway in Sydney.
The two major employers, both central to their communities, turned rivalry into camaraderie through sport.
See Poys narrowly won the men’s cricket match and claimed victory in tennis, while Boland’s triumphed convincingly in the women’s vigaro.
The day became a memorable celebration of teamwork, friendly competition and multicultural mateship, highlighting how sport can build lasting friendships across communities.
