Promoting an active and progressive community for all. Website: www.malanda.info

Only the Cairns Outback captures the magic of the Outback like no other destination possibly can. It is a region of spectacular rock formations, world famous caves and wild ranges. It is also a region of ghosts! A sense of yesteryear clings to the historic village of Irvinebank, tucked away in the hillsides. The stampers, the smelters, the turn of the century tin battery, are all living museums. But there is another story to be told. The story of the people. The miner, eeking out a living. The politician. Unionists. Scandals. Corruption. The adventurer seeking gold. An indigenous people. The entrepreneur, who built himself an empire. And the tinny jangle of bells, as the cameleer trudges wearily behind his team. Nostalgia hangs over the region like a fine mist. The backdrop to all this, is the great Australian bush. Plant life, which adapted over eons, to live in the dry tropics. Isn't this the experience you have always promised yourself! www.cairnsoutback.com