Innisfail Court House (former)

Overlooking the marina at Yorkey’s Knob, north of Cairns is a private home with an interesting past. This high set timber building was once the Innisfail Courthouse and government offices, built in 1921. Despite being relocated from Innisfail in 1988, its significance rests in the in-built ventilation systems incorporated into typical Queensland timber and tin construction methods. The building replaced an 1880’s structure destroyed in the 1918 cyclone in Innisfail. Adaptations against further cyclone damage included the use of steel bolts to anchor the roof to the walls and the walls to the floor beams, which were bolted to the stumps. Internal ventilation included regulating fanlights, ceiling vents and louvered openings on both sides of the roof or in the gable ends, with fleches on the roof redirecting hot air from the ceilings. A series of low-level hinged flaps allowed cool air into the rooms. Relocation has been part of the history of this building, being moved from its original site on the corner of Edith and Rankin Streets Innisfail, to 8 Edith Street in 1938 and adapted for use as the Innisfail Police Station. This is now a private home and not publically accessible.