Port Douglas, Qld

We’re often to be seen piling out of the car to ‘check out’ a country cemetery. So much of a town’s history can be found in those time-worn tombstones. Often though, leaving us with more questions than answers.

For cemetery ‘enthusiasts’ the Port Douglas one is up there for interest. An hour’s drive north of Cairns, the tourist hot spot of Port Douglas is at the tip of a small peninsula with Port Douglas Road being the main artery, about 5.5kms long. The walk from the Bruce Highway down to Macrossan Street in the heart of town is one of constant fascination and I’ve lost count of the number of times we’ve taken this delightful tropical walk past sumptuous resorts then strolled back along 4 Mile Beach. About halfway along is the local cemetery. Neat as a pin and always well mown the older headstones are blackened in the way that they tend to in the tropical climate. And walking by, it’s hard not to ignore the inscriptions. Stories of bloody murder, treacherous weather and decorated with giant clamshells. Good heavens, tie all these together and one would have a fabulous novel of a hard life under the swaying coconut palms.