Yorkeys Knob is a coastal suburb of Cairns in the Cairns Region, Queensland, Australia.[2] In the 2021 census, Yorkeys Knob had a population of 2,794 people.[1]
| Yorkeys Knob Cairns, Queensland | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Yorkeys Knob Beach | |||||||||||||||
  Yorkeys Knob | |||||||||||||||
 | |||||||||||||||
| Coordinates | 16°49′25″S 145°42′58″E / 16.8236°S 145.7161°E | ||||||||||||||
| Population | 2,794 (2021 census)[1] | ||||||||||||||
| • Density | 201.0/km2 (520.6/sq mi) | ||||||||||||||
| Postcode(s) | 4878 | ||||||||||||||
| Area | 13.9 km2 (5.4 sq mi) | ||||||||||||||
| Time zone | AEST (UTC 10:00) | ||||||||||||||
| Location |
| ||||||||||||||
| LGA(s) | Cairns Region | ||||||||||||||
| State electorate(s) | Barron River | ||||||||||||||
| Federal division(s) | Leichhardt | ||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||
Yorkeys Knob is frequently listed as an unusual or humorous place name due to it including the word "knob" in its name.[3][4][5][6]
Geography
edit
Yorkeys Knob is a beachside suburb north of the Cairns CBD.[7]
Yorkeys Knob is a predominantly low-lying land (less than 10 metres above sea level) with the exception of the hill (known as Yorkeys Knob) rising to 60 metres on the coast at Yorkeys Point. The northern part of the suburb near the coast is residential, but the majority of the land use is rural, mainly used for growing sugarcane. There is a long, sandy beach along the Coral Sea.[7]
The Finfish Group operate a 17 hectare pond farm (called Ponderosa) which is capable of producing 350 tonnes of fish per annum. They principally raise giant grouper fish as they are fast growing with a high commercial value.[8]
The suburb is bounded by the Coral Sea to the north, Thomatis Creek to the east, Captain Cook Highway to the south, and Half Moon Creek to the north-west.[9]
History
editYorkeys Knob is situated in the Djabugay (Tjapukai) traditional Aboriginal country.[10]
Yorkeys Knob got its name from George Lawson,[11] a Yorkshire-born, Cairns-based beche-de-mer fisherman,[2][12] from his nickname Yorkey, and "knob" meaning a rounded hill.
On 10 June 1886, Yorkey Lawson reported the loss of a man and his wife from Green Island. They had left to visit the wreck of the Upolu, intending to return the same day. Lawson made a search for them, but was unable to find any trace of them, not even an accident. The pilot cutter was sent to search for the couple.[13]
Lawson built a homestead adjoining the Mount Buchan estate near what is now Yorkeys Knob.[when?] During the off-fishing season, he and his sons farmed pumpkins, sweet potatoes and paddy melons, but not successfully. Whatever the bandicoots and pigs didn't eat, the crocodiles did. Lawson used the mangroves near his homestead for the firewood and water needed for his beche-de-mer smoking station on Green Island.[14]
Yorkey's Knob State School opened on 18 February 1957.[15] It originally occupied a site on corner of Wattle Street and Cunningham Street (16°48′35″S 145°43′10″E / 16.8096°S 145.7194°E). The school relocated to its current site in 1980 and the former site was given to the Musgrave Shire Council (now Cairns Regional Council) to become a community centre (known officially since 1996 as Old School Park). The SES occupied the former schoolhouse while the former teacher's residence was used to house a caretaker. A new community centre was built on the site of the school's old tennis courts. The park and its facilities were managed the Yorkeys Knob Activities Group until August 2021, when the Cairns Regional Council took control.[16]
Locals are attached to the name, despite the reaction it sometimes gets ("knob" being a slang term for penis). In 2007, residents successfully prevented a developer from advertising a development as being at "Yorkeys Beach".[17][18]
Demographics
editAt the 2011 census, Yorkeys Knob had a population of 2,766 people.[19]
In the 2016 census, Yorkeys Knob had a population of 2,759 people.[20]
In the 2021 census, Yorkeys Knob had a population of 2,794 people.[1]
Heritage listings
editYorkeys Knob has a number of heritage-listed sites, including:
- Second Innisfail Court House, 40 Buckley Street (16°48′10″S 145°43′09″E / 16.8029°S 145.7193°E), relocated to Yorkeys Knob as a private residence [21]
Education
editYorkeys Knob State School is a government primary (Prep-6) school for boys and girls at 26-38 Clinton Street (16°48′51″S 145°43′22″E / 16.8142°S 145.7227°E).[22][23] In 2018, the school had an enrolment of 252 students with 19 teachers (16 full-time equivalent) and 13 non-teaching staff (8 full-time equivalent).[24]
There are no secondary schools in Yorkeys Knob. The nearest government secondary school is the Tropical North Learning Academy (formerly Smithfield State High School) in neighbouring Smithfield to the west.[25]
Amenities
edit
Yorkeys Knob Community Hall is at 58 Wattle Street (16°48′35″S 145°43′11″E / 16.80966°S 145.71964°E). It seats up to 80 people and is operated by the Cairns Regional Council.[26]
Yorkeys Knob SES Facility is in the former schoolhouse at Old School Park at 58-64 Wattle Street (16°48′35″S 145°43′10″E / 16.8096°S 145.7194°E), adjacent to the community hall.[27]
Half Moon Bay Marina is a 3.8-hectare (9.4-acre) marina (16°48′06″S 145°43′00″E / 16.8018°S 145.7168°E).[28] At the marina are the Yorkeys Knob Boating Club (16°48′07″S 145°43′04″E / 16.8019°S 145.7177°E).[29] There is a public boat ramp at the marina (16°48′05″S 145°43′06″E / 16.8014°S 145.7184°E); it is managed by the Cairns Regional Council.[30]
Half Moon Bay Golf Club is located at the western end of Wattle Street (16°48′32″S 145°43′00″E / 16.8089°S 145.7168°E), and is a short but challenging layout which features a number of water hazards. It is 5,129 metres long and par is 70.[31]
The swimming area is at the northern end of Sims Esplanade. It is patrolled for six months of the year by Surf Lifesaving Queensland, and has a stinger net to protect swimmers from box jellyfish (Chironex fleckeri). The safest swimming is between the flags placed by the lifesavers; there have been drownings around the rocks a short distance away. There are barbecue and picnic facilities, plus public toilets and showers.[32]
There are a number of parks in the area:
- Haling Park (16°48′46″S 145°43′08″E / 16.8128°S 145.7190°E)[33]
- Old School Park, corner of Wattle Street and Cunningham Street (16°48′33″S 145°43′10″E / 16.8091°S 145.7195°E)[16]
- Ray Howarth Park (16°48′28″S 145°43′05″E / 16.8079°S 145.7181°E)[33]
Wildlife
edit
The golf club is a very good bird-watching location, with masked lapwings, bush stone-curlews, a range of kingfishers, rainbow lorikeets and sea eagles fairly easy to find. Between the 12th and 13th holes lies Ray Howarth Park, which is home to a huge colony of flying foxes, which you can see heading out searching for food in the early evenings. During the day they hang upside down from the mangrove's trees, and make an almighty din. When the melaleucas are in flower you will find them gorging on nectar in the trees at the northern end of Sim's Esplanade.[citation needed]
A small bush track near the State school offers a chance to see a variety of birdlife, monitor lizards, and many skinks. Along the beach you will find pied oyster catchers, bush stone-curlews, ghost fiddler crabs and sand-bubbler crabs. At the rocks at the end of the beach keep an eye out of the beach tree skink scampering around the rocks looking for lunch, while you also watching for a pod of bottlenose dolphins that sometimes visit the small bay on the northern side of the groyne.[citation needed]
Transport
editYorkeys Knob is serviced by Sunbus seven days a week. The normal service, the 112, runs hourly Monday to Sunday. This service runs to the Smithfield shopping centre, the nearest large shopping complex, where there is a connection on the 120 to Cairns City. A direct service, the 113, is available during the peak periods, travelling to Cairns in the mornings and back to Yorkeys in the late afternoon.[citation needed]
Attractions
editCairns Go Kart Track is on the corner of Walker Street and the Captain Cook Highway (16°50′56″S 145°42′51″E / 16.8490°S 145.7143°E).[34][35]
References
edit- ^ a b c Australian Bureau of Statistics (28 June 2022). "Yorkeys Knob (SAL)". 2021 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 28 February 2023.
- ^ a b "Yorkeys Knob – suburb in Cairns Region (entry 48956)". Queensland Place Names. Queensland Government. Retrieved 6 March 2022.
- ^ "What the Fakfak? These are the world's rudest places". www.escape.com.au.
- ^ Bennett, Mel (11 April 2019). "The wackiest town names in Queensland".
- ^ "Weird place names – only in Australia". Explore Travel. 11 March 2021.
- ^ "These Are The Weirdest Town Names In Australia". www.gq.com.au.
- ^ a b "Layers: Locality; Mountains and ranges; Contours; Watercourses". Queensland Globe. Queensland Government. Retrieved 12 May 2024.
- ^ FinFish Group (24 August 2015). "Presentation to Joint Select Committee: Inquiry into Opportunities for Expanding the Aquaculture Industry in Northern Australia". Australian Government. Archived from the original on 6 May 2018. Retrieved 6 May 2018.
- ^ "Queensland Globe". State of Queensland. Retrieved 6 May 2018.
- ^ "First people cultural history". Cairns Regional Council. Archived from the original on 9 April 2020. Retrieved 23 June 2020.
- ^ "The Early History of Yorkeys Knob". Yorkeys Knob Information. Archived from the original on 19 August 2016.
- ^ Williams, Mary T (1986), The Knob - a history of Yorkey's Knob, M. Williams (published 1988), ISBN 978-1-86252-622-8
- ^ The Cairns Post, 10 June 1886
- ^ "The History Of Yorkeys Knob". www.yorkeysknob.com. Retrieved 12 May 2024.
- ^ Queensland Family History Society (2010), Queensland schools past and present (Version 1.01 ed.), Queensland Family History Society, ISBN 978-1-921171-26-0
- ^ a b "Council takes over management of the community centre" (PDF). Yorkeys Knob Activities Group. August 2021. Archived (PDF) from the original on 20 March 2022. Retrieved 21 March 2022.
- ^ Moore, Michael (7 October 2007). "What a Knob". Cairns Blog. Retrieved 25 April 2024.
- ^ "What's with the weird place name?". The Courier-Mail. 9 November 2015. Retrieved 25 April 2024.
- ^ Australian Bureau of Statistics (31 October 2012). "Yorkeys Knob (State Suburb)". 2011 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 30 December 2014.
- ^ Australian Bureau of Statistics (27 June 2017). "Yorkeys Knob (SSC)". 2016 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 20 October 2018.
- ^ "Innisfail Court House (former) (entry 602500)". Queensland Heritage Register. Queensland Heritage Council. Retrieved 7 July 2013.
- ^ "State and non-state school details". Queensland Government. 9 July 2018. Archived from the original on 21 November 2018. Retrieved 21 November 2018.
- ^ "Yorkeys Knob State School". Yorkeys Knob State School. 18 February 2020. Archived from the original on 6 March 2022. Retrieved 20 March 2022.
- ^ "ACARA School Profile 2018". Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority. Archived from the original on 27 August 2020. Retrieved 28 January 2020.
- ^ "Queensland Globe". State of Queensland. Retrieved 20 March 2022.
- ^ "Community Halls". Cairns Regional Council. 30 May 2022. Retrieved 24 April 2024.
- ^ "Emergency services facilities - Queensland". Queensland Open Data. Queensland Government. 18 November 2020. Archived from the original on 24 November 2020. Retrieved 24 November 2020.
- ^ "Marinas - Queensland". Queensland Open Data. Queensland Government. 18 November 2020. Archived from the original on 24 November 2020. Retrieved 24 October 2020.
- ^ "Building areas - Queensland". Queensland Open Data. Queensland Government. 17 November 2020. Archived from the original on 23 October 2020. Retrieved 17 November 2020.
- ^ "Recreational Boating Facilities Queensland". Queensland Open Data. Queensland Government. 12 November 2020. Archived from the original on 22 November 2020. Retrieved 22 November 2020.
- ^ "Course Information". Half Moon Bay Golf Club. Archived from the original on 11 March 2018. Retrieved 6 May 2018.
- ^ "Yorkey's Knob Foreshore Park". Cairns Regional Council. 22 September 2017. Archived from the original on 6 May 2018. Retrieved 6 May 2018.
- ^ a b "Land for public recreation - Queensland". Queensland Open Data. Queensland Government. 20 November 2020. Archived from the original on 22 November 2020. Retrieved 22 November 2020.
- ^ "Landmark Areas - Queensland". Queensland Open Data. Queensland Government. 18 November 2020. Archived from the original on 21 November 2020. Retrieved 21 October 2020.
- ^ "Cairns Kart Hire, Laser Tag, Escape Rooms". Cairns Kart Hire and Laser Tag. Archived from the original on 7 March 2022. Retrieved 20 March 2022.
External links
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