As tourism hotspots are welcoming back domestic and international travellers, the famous Cape York Hotel of Cairns has closed its doors.
A pub has stood on the corner site for the past 124 years, and its colourful history has made it perhaps one of the most famous in Cairns.
Originally christened the Tramway Hotel when built by William John Hannaysee in 1898, it was acquired in 1920 by the McNamara family – only to be severely damaged in a cyclone later that year.
The current building brought its reopening in 1926, and in 1932 the McNamaras renamed it the National Hotel.
After 67 years holding the title, the family sold it in early 1987 to Cape York Shipping Company (CYSC) – only for it to be severely damaged in the largest LPG explosion in Australian history, in August that year, after a nearby LPG storage facility caught fire.
CYSC reopened it in November as the Cape York Hotel, rebuilt in its original design.
At some stage the historic hotel also became known for a resident spirit, thought to be female, who reputedly haunts one of the accommodation rooms.
Late 2016 a new lease was sold to a partnership of New Zealand couple Kylie Shand and Craig Hutchinson, with owners of the nearby Barrier Reef Hotel, Dennis and Donna Maher.
Over the coming years, operators Kylie and Craig oversaw a thorough restoration, highlighting period features such as the foyer stairway to the upper level, finished in rare exotic timbers, and the upstairs verandas, offering impressive views of Cairns.
But their original lease expired in 2021, and after more than a year of pandemic uncertainty, the New Zealand-born operators were thinking of returning home and opted to not renew.
The lease was put to market, but the tenants have now departed and having not secured new operators the doors have closed.
Occupying a commanding 1,414sqm corner lot on one of Cairns’ busiest arterial roads, it provides a public bar, commercial kitchen and dining area, gaming operation with 14 EGMs, function room and drive-through bottleshop.
Freehold co-owner Murray Moule is confident it won’t be long before a new operator kick-starts a new chapter in the history of the Cape York.
