Little is known about the early days of football in Far North Queensland.

This rare photograph of one Cairns Association Football team is held by John Oxley Library (SLQ).  

The most important political figure at the time, A. J. Draper, became mayor in 1891 and remained in post for seven terms in that office. Wealthy and well-connected socially (family background) Draper’s aggressive stance on issues of public importance achieved many benefits for the immigrant community.

Church of England minister Ernest Gribble, followed his father, Reverend John Gribble, plans to curb the degradation of the local Indigenous peoples forced to exist in fringe camps, where their traditional lands had been appropriated by settlers (see J. Hodes, 1997 Darkness and Light Yarrabah 1889 – 1910).