Page 33 - Tropic Magazine Issue 15

TROPIC • COVER STORY

days just before the election campaign; I
am here again immediately after it. I am
delighted that my first official duty since
the re-election of the government is to
open this splendid civic centre in Cairns.
It will confirm your position as one of the
most prosperous and dynamic provincial
cities in Australia.”

GROWTH AND DEMAND

Back then, fewer than 40,000 people
lived in Cairns. A theatre space with
seating capacity for just over 600 guests
was more than adequate.
As the decades raced by and our
population boomed during the 1980s
and ‘90s, it became clear the city was
outgrowing the facility. In 1992, two
decades on from the initial planning
stages of the centre, the local council
commissioned a report into the
limitations and projected needs of the
theatre. That report would collect dust
on a shelf for another decade until a
full feasibility study into a new regional
performing arts centre was launched
in 2002. After much consultation, that
report explored four options:
• Option 1: upgrade the existing civic
theatre at a cost of $2.8 million
• Option 2: development of 1100 and 400
seat venues at a cost of $22.6 million
• Option 3: development incorporating
option 2 plus meeting rooms,
rehearsal space, restaurant, retail and
office spaces at a cost of $3.15 million
• Option 4: development
incorporating option 3 plus the co-
location of Grafton Arts Space at a
cost of $35 million

Cairns is rapidly
maturing as a city,
with a new character
and soul.

The report authors concluded option
3 was best based purely on financial
impacts, however option 4 would
deliver the best overall outcomes

33 • tropicnow.com.au