[5] The suburb was established in 1975 from part of Parramatta Park and all of the area known as West Cairns.

The ship was built in Scotland in 1935 as a coastal steamer for the Adelaide Steamship Company and regularly visited Cairns, and entered service with the Royal Australian Navy in the World War II.

It also seeks to create social enterprises on Darnley Island and other locations where community members have migrated to, such as Cairns.

Assisted by funding of $9 million from the Queensland Government, construction commenced on the two sites in Manoora and Cooktown in July 2014.

[12][13] The school is specifically to provide support for disengaged and marginalised young people.

It is operated by Umi Arts, an Indigenous organisation established in 2005, to preserve and protect the culture of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.