Cairns Aquarium a celebration of Far North biodiversity
FEATURE
THE much-anticipated opening of the $54 million, 7,800 square metre Cairns Aquarium with its three-level Cairns Aquarium & Reef Research Centre, is being described as a significant celebration after years of hard work, underpinned by grit, determination and collaborations spanning hundreds of people from dozens of specialist firms.
This incredible journey began six years ago it was officially opened on Monday by Steven Ciobo, the Federal Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment.
As well as being the first aquarium built in Australia for 18 years, Cairns Aquarium is also the only one of its kind in the world to concentrate solely on showcasing the biodiversity of the Far North Queensland region’s rainforest and marine life.
And for the aquarium’s general manager, Julie Cullen, this has been one of the most exciting projects in her career.
“This is the first time I have seen an aquarium come out of the ground and I have been a part of it since preparing a profit and loss statement some time back.
“Few aquariums are built nowadays and although I have put in 12 hours a day at times and been here 24/7, I would not have had it any other way. It has been a real privilege to be part of this project,” she said.
Ms Cullen said like any project it has had its challenges – the official opening had to be pushed back to ensure the quality of the water was in place for the animals to strive on. “But I have worked with many outstanding people and learned a great deal in what has been a most rewarding time.”
The aquarium boasts a number of firsts. It is the only attraction of its kind to display a number of critically endangered or rarely seen endemic species including the emerald tree monitors, freshwater sawfish, Jardine River painted turtles, ribboned pipefish and the Oceanarium exhibit’s highlight, a school of scalloped hammerhead sharks.
And visitors will be able to journey through five geographical locations: the Wet Tropics, Cape York, Gulf Savanna, Great Barrier Reef and Coral Sea.”
More than 15,000 aquatic animals, fish, plants, and other organisms are housed within 71 live exhibits in the two-level facility that has been thoughtfully curated with engaging interpretative material and tours, providing visitors with an immersive, two-and-a-half-hour journey through 10 life-like and recreated habitats.
This includes river systems, creeks and streams, billabongs and flooded waterways, rainforest, forest floor, mangroves, Great Barrier Reef, dangers of the reef, ribbon reefs, and Coral Sea. A third level has corporate offices and plant and equipment.
Cairns Aquarium co-founder and director Daniel Leipnik said the Aquarium will enable people of all ages to see, touch and learn about the inhabitants of the Great Barrier Reef, which is extremely gratifying.
“When we visited the Reef six years ago we were amazed by the colours and variety of fish and coral but couldn’t help noticing the vast number of people who had made the journey, but for one reason or another, did not go into the water or venture off the islands while others were left wanting to see more.
“A Cairns city location was therefore the ideal place for an attraction of this kind to enhance people’s love of the Reef and marine world while providing absolutely everyone with a memorable experience irrespective of whether they travelled to the Reef or not,” said Leipnik.
It is inside the building that the magic truly begins as visitors follow the path of a drop of rain as it travels from the rainforest clad mountain range, joining creeks and streams that flow through the tropical rainforest, across the flooded plains and billabongs into the mangroves and the Great Barrier Reef before entering its final destination, the Coral Sea.
A total of 10 North Queensland ecosystems and 71 habitats have been meticulously researched and replicated throughout the aquarium to ensure that visitors will enjoy a 2.5-hour immersive journey where they are guaranteed to see and interact with some of the some of the rarest and most elusive animals on earth.
One of the most memorable visitor highlights is destined to be the aquarium’s 300,000 litre Deep Reef exhibit, which is the first of its kind in Australia, and only one of three in the world.
This 10m-metre high x 8.5-metre-wide exhibit replicates the reef “drop off”, providing visitors with a view of an incredibly beautiful ecosystem coupled with the diversity of the marine creatures that call it home. This is a view that is usually reserved for the eyes of highly experienced scuba divers, far offshore.
Cullen said the Aquarium’s culinary offering, Aqualuna, has already proved to be popular. The 220-seat contemporary Italian restaurant features a magnificent 70,000 litre floor to ceiling Under the Pier themed marine tank inside the restaurant while outdoors there is a rainforest themed Daintree Deck.
Restaurant patrons can sit back and watch a school of black tip reef sharks swim back and forth while enjoying the finest cuisine available in the Cairns CBD.
The aquarium is open 365 days a year: Saturday – Thursday 9.00am – 5.00pm with last entry at 4.00pm; Friday 9.00am – 7pm with last entry at 6.00pm
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