Land reclamation by silt from the Cairns dredge, 1918

1918-06-13

Explore 1918 industrial history in Cairns as silt from harbour dredging is pumped ashore for land reclamation, documented in The Northern Herald in 1918.

Historical names: Cairns waterfront; Trinity Inlet; Harbour Board reclamation. A photograph published in The Northern Herald (Cairns) on 13 June 1918, page 35, captioned “Land reclamation by silt from the Cairns dredge.” Silt pumped ashore from harbour dredging was used to reclaim land behind Cairns’ developing concrete wharves — part of the Harbour Board’s early 20th-century port improvements during the Trinity Bay dredge era. Published in The Northern Herald (Cairns), Thursday 13 June 1918, page 35. The image is a photograph of a Trove screen and is intentionally retained as historical documentation; attribution is to The Northern Herald via Trove / National Library of Australia. The exact reclamation footprint is approximate.