The settlement at Cairns developed in the mid 1870s as a port for access by track to the gold and tin mining areas to the west. The town was surveyed in 1876. Settlement expanded and by 1885 the Cairns Post was circulating and a Progress Association had formed. The paper’s editor suggested to the Progress Association that residents be invited to subscribe to a School of Arts. More than 130 pounds were subscribed by October 1885. The Premier of Queensland, Sir Samuel Griffiths, became the patron, and a committee and trustees were elected by the end of that year. A  reading room was established in a building in Lake Street where subscribers could enjoy English newspapers and periodicals as well as those from Queensland and other colonies. Early in the next year a new building was opened by the Governor. A lending library was added in 1887, and the following year ideas for a museum were discussed. Nothing eventuated at that time because of a recession during which the School of Arts closed.

It re-opened in February 1897 and the following year technical classes commenced. The museum commenced in 1908 with the exhibit of an aboriginal stone axe. The collection grew over the years and continued to be run by the School of Arts until after the First World War. The School of Arts sponsored the formation of an Historical Society in 1958 to encourage research into the history of Far North Queensland. The Cairns City Council assumed responsibility for the building and library in 1977. The library continued to operate until 1980 when it was moved to other premises. In that year the Historical Society opened the Cairns Museum staffed by volunteers.

The gracious two storied building with an upstairs verandah is located in the centre of town on the corner of  Lake and Shields Streets. It was extensively renovated in 1984. The historical museum occupies the first floor, and the ground floor is occupied by commercial businesses.

Reference:

Historical Events in the Development of North Queensland. Selected works by S.E. Stephens, vol 1, An Historical Society of Cairns Publication, 1988

Jennex, G., A Short History of Cairns, Publication of the Historical Society, Cairns North Queensland Incorporated, 1999.