European settlement of the Mount Peter area began around 1882 and has been based on sugar cane farming and gold mining.

In 1904, Peter Petersen was farming cane at the top of what is now Mount Peter Road (see map). Peterson and his partners discovered gold and managed to keep their discovery private for nearly a decade. They mined the gold in their spare time and quietly sold their finds through Chinese gold merchants.

In 1914, news spread of the discovery of gold on the Petersen farm, and a minor “gold rush” to the area ensued. The “gold fever” didn’t last, but sugar cane farming has remained the main business for the Mount Peter district.

Today through the master planning process, Mount Peter will seek to make the transition from rural farmland to a residential and commercial hub for the southern corridor of Cairns.

     Opening of the Cairns-Mulgrave Tramway in May 1897
     at the Mulgrave Sugar Mill, Gordonvale
     (courtesy State Library of Queensland, no copyright)


     View of Gordon Street, Gordonvale, ca 1916
     (courtesy State Library of Queensland, no copyright)