I came to the museum on a tight time frame, so I didn't get to linger as much as I would have liked. Starting with the top floor, the museum provides an introduction to the traditional custodians of the local lands, rivers and seas before introducing you to stories of colonisation, industry, World War experiences and social history. It's a small, intimate(?) Museum well worth the visit.

Found this museum while walking around Cairns and expected the usual "municipal museum." It greatly exceeded expectations. The staff were welcoming and very helpful, even helping me find areas of my interest that I had missed. The focus is primarily on the European settlement of the area, and it does a phenomenal job of explaining and illustrating that aspect, giving an idea of what life was like at each of the stages, and the factors both motivating and challenging that phase, with a wide range of artifacts to help illustrate what is explained. There is much less about the First Nations (aboriginal) inhabitants. There is a small section about the original inhabitants, and there is a larger section devoted to aboriginal citizens today and contributions since European settlement. Definitely worth a visit if you are interested in the history, and well worth the very modest price.

My wife and I found this museum and decided to check it out. We’ve been in a number of museums during this trip to Australia and have learned a lot about the country in general. This was a nice change as the displays focus on Cairns history. There are a lot of artifacts and information boards. The staff was very friendly. I recommended this.

The Cairns Museum was great –one of these small local museums that do a very good job at telling their unique story. The top floor was all about the people who have settled and lived in Cairns from 1907 through now, and they told the stories via photos of a person and a vignette about what they did. Good blend of male/female, whites, aboriginal, Europeans and I thought it gave a good flavor of the town. The next floor was displays around themes like dressing, cooking, safety, home life, work, etc.. more photos and the tools that people used with explanations; the home life part was very interesting to see the rather primitive washing machines from the 1950s, the wooden screened cabinets with the four legs set into metal rings, filled with kerosene to keep the ants out. Very evocative section. The docent in the room was very informative and pleasant. They have a veranda on the second floor as part of the museum and originally when they told me oh, don’t miss the veranda, I thought “yeah, right – it’s a trillion degrees and you want me to sit outside” but when I saw the door I went outside. Well, I was 100% wrong.! There was a pleasant breeze, ceiling fans, white wicker furniture, and a very nice view over Main Street and the trees. I talked to the same docent later on and she explained that the key in Cairns is to get up high so that you get a breeze; and that’s why a lot of the houses (Queenslanders) are raised and have lots of windows to let the breezes come through. Okay, I was convinced. I would definitely recommend this museum if you want to learn about the history of the town.