Try your luck in a traditional Chinese gambling game, discover why the Chinese community once hijacked a governor and other intriguing stories as you walk the city’s original Chinatown.
The one-hour guided tour by the Cairns Museum and the Cairns and District Chinese Association Inc (CADCAI) start on Saturday (February 16) and continue on Sunday and Monday at 3.45pm each day.
Clive Skarott, president of the Cairns Historical Society, said it was the first time the two groups had worked together on such a project.
“Chinatown was an important part of the pioneering history of Cairns,” Mr Skarott said.
“In one small section of Grafton Street, which was then Sachs Street, you had major merchant firms, two temples, boarding houses, restaurants, a Chinese hospital and generations of families living and working.
“It’s a great snapshot of one of Cairns’ important pioneering communities.”
The cost of $20 per person covers the one-hour tour, followed by refreshments and a viewing of the Lit Sung Goong Collection, a significant display of more than 240 items from the temple, which operated in Cairns between 1886 and 1964.
Mr Skarott said the museum had trained volunteer translators and launched a Chinese language Museum Guide to coincide with an influx of Chinese guests during the 2019 Chinese New Year celebrations.
The tour start at the Cairns Museum, corner of Lake and Shields streets. For more information or bookings, visit www.cairnsmuseum.org.au.
