CAIRNS  , a seaport of

Nares county, Queensland, Australia, 890 In. direct N.N.W. of Brisbane . Pop . (Igor) 3557 . The town lies parallel with the sea, on the western shore of Trinity Bay, with an excellent harbour, and a long beach, finely timbered . Cairns is the natural outlet for the gold-fields, tin-mines and silver-fields of the district and for the rich copper district of Chillagoe . A government railway, 48 m. long, runs to Mareeba, whence a private company's line continues to Mungana, roo m . W . There is also a line belonging to a private company connecting Chillagoe with Mareeba . In the vicinity of Cairns are extensive sugar plantations, with sugar mills and refineries;, the culture of coffee and tobacco has rapidly extended; bananas, pine-apples and other fruits are exported in considerable quantities and there is a large industry in cedar . The Barron . Falls, among the finest in Australia, are near Kuranda, 19 M. from Cairns . Cairns. became a municipality in 1885 .