Buchan, Queensland

Buchan is a coastal town in the locality of Palm Cove in the Cairns Region, Queensland, Australia.[1]

Not to be confused with Buccan, Queensland.

Buchan
Queensland
Buchan Street, 2018
Buchan
Coordinates16.7433°S 145.6683°E / -16.7433; 145.6683
Postcode(s)4816
Elevation5 m (16 ft)
Location27 km (17 mi) N of Cairns
LGA(s)Cairns Region
State electorate(s)Cook
Federal Division(s)Leichhardt

Geography

Buchan is a coastal town with sandy beaches north and south of Buchan Point. The Captain Cook Highway passes through the town.[2]

History
View from Buchan past Buchan Point towards Double Island, circa 1890

The town name is derived from Mount Buchan, named on 20 October 1873 by explorer George Elphinstone Dalrymple, after one of the districts of his native Aberdeenshire in Scotland.[1][3]

In the 1880s, there was a coconut palm plantation with over 600 trees owned by James Jamieson known as the Mount Buchan Estate. It was predicted to become a popular seaside retreat for the people of Cairns.[4] The palm trees along the beach areas gave it the nickname Palm Beach but, as that caused confusion with other places officially known as Palm Beach, it acquired the name Palm Cove, which is now the official name for the locality (although the town itself remains gazetted as Buchan).[5]

In April 1933, a number of families were living at Buchan Point while the men were working on the road from Cairns to Port Douglas (now the Captain Cook Highway). The families asked the Queensland Government to provide a school.[6] It is unclear when the school opened but in December 1933 the children of Buchan Point State School enjoyed a "breaking up" party at Hartley's Creek.[7] However, the school closed in February 1934.[8]

References
  1. "Buchan - town in Cairns Region (entry 4865)". Queensland Place Names. Queensland Government. Retrieved 28 December 2017.
  2. "Queensland Globe". State of Queensland. Retrieved 13 March 2018.
  3. "Mount Buchan - mountain in the Cairns Region (entry 4869)". Queensland Place Names. Queensland Government. Retrieved 13 March 2018.
  4. "Mr. Groom, M.L.A., on Cairns". Cairns Post. VII (430). Queensland, Australia. 26 June 1889. p. 2. Retrieved 14 March 2018 – via National Library of Australia.
  5. "Palm Cove". Queensland Places. Centre for the Government of Queensland, University of Queensland. Archived from the original on 13 March 2018. Retrieved 13 March 2018.
  6. "CAIRNS NOTES". Townsville Daily Bulletin. LV (88). Queensland, Australia. 13 April 1933. p. 8. Retrieved 13 March 2018 – via National Library of Australia.
  7. "HARTLEY'S CREEK SCHOOL PICNIC". Cairns Post (9950). Queensland, Australia. 23 December 1933. p. 12. Retrieved 13 March 2018 – via National Library of Australia.
  8. "Item ID13990, Buchan Point No.850 State School". Queensland State Archives. Retrieved 13 March 2018.
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