Innisfail, QLD 4860

I hear you. Something wrong with the people there.

Wow, I have softened on Innisfail per 2024. Like any small town there are good and bad people. When I was there I managed to meet most of the latter unfortunately

However it's these small towns that will respond the quickest with economic growth when the national economy recovers.

So yes, like the town itself, if you wipe away the film of dust, you might be surprised to see how good it is underneath all of the dirt.

Innisfail will never be another Port Douglas

Can't wait to get out of here!! good luck finding a job unless you are related to someone here.

Town is pretty ordinary.

A complete new council may help;;

Wonderful weather, can grow anything, picture perfect, and cheap place to buy and live, come on up and help displace the detractors

Gigantic council rates, most small businesses up for sale, decreasing real estate prices. I didn't make this up.

Affordable council rates ,struggling small business as in all over Australia, real estate prices over priced from years of slum land lording or geriatric owners , great weather, fertile soil ,grow anything, affordable housing, a few negative people still here waiting to move .

I wish you all the best. Please do plenty of research and test the water (remember what's in the river there) before giving the town your best.

Nice place to visit but...

What would singles and students do in a sleepy hollow!! and it certainly not trendy or stylish. Housing is expensive for what you get.
Only good for a visit. Innisfail is in the top 5 highest unemployment rate and top 10 poorest community in Australia.

We moved here ten years ago and haven't left!...Over this period I have noticed more people move here & renovate beautiful old homes. Mould: well this is everywhere in north qld.
Esthetically its such a beautiful area...Rainforest, waterfalls, huge mountains, deserted beaches, all surrounding a cute art deco township.
I believe in 10 years time

(Cont.)...that it will have evolved substantially, becoming a 'Mullumbimby' of the north.
I do agree it tends to get wet, yet again its part of the tropical lifestyle.
In regards to employment yes it is a small town but hopefully growth will occur..There is so much potential for tourism ie) waterfall capital of Australia/ great barrier reef/ rainforest (all within 30km of cbd) then Innisfail may finally take off.

Note: where in Australia can you be sitting on ur deck, hearing ur waterfall in the rainforest & be 5 mins drive to town?

Just moved my family of 6 here 2014... Tried finding a doctor/clinic that would accept the Medicare card as full fare for a Doc's visit. Went to five places and all want a co-payment of $65 on top of Medicare, for a visit, per person. On a low income but just a few hundred $ above the level to get a Health Care Card (with which the Doc's will accept Medicare only) I cannot afford to go anywhere with sick family members except the local hospital. One family member, sis-in-Law, is severely disabled and a new migrant who I need to 100% support for 2 years, as of 5 months ago. Medicare card for her but no Health Care Card. I myself am an elderly Vetarans Affairs Pensioner on a "Totally & Permanently Incapacitated" pension and as such am the only one accepted for no co-payment, but just don't have the $65 per head co-payment for each Doc's visit for my 3 kids (frequent asthma and pneumonia problems), wife and sis-in-Law.

5 Clinics and all say no except one, Mamu clinic, but I was quickly asked if I was indigenous and when replying "no", was told that the clinic was really for the latter. I said that this sounded very racist to me which they denied (???).

So, come to Innisfail, Far Nth Qld., but make sure you have money or the doctors visits will clean you out at $65 per person, even if the visit is only to refill prescriptions. Is this an example of uncaring money hungry doctors??? To be fair, I spoke to no doctor but only the mouthpieces manning the reception desks. The next task is to use my TPI medical card for a free visit to different doctors until I can speak to one face to face and try and get a Medicare bulk billing fee only, for my family. It's all bullshit what one has to go through sometimes and this is the first time it has been near impossible to find a doctor who will bulk bill.

Disagree with this review.

My brother and I are thinking of moving to Innisfail with the intention of buying a house and putting down roots.
We are both over 60 years of age and both are veterans on the DSP.
Can anyone give us a reason why we should not follow through with our plans?
Cheers Eamon
[email protected]

Dear Eamons. Be aware that looks deceive. Innisfail, on the surface is a beautiful looking old style town. That's where it ends.

Queensland has been said to have a very dysfunctional style government. By the time any real authority makes its way that far north it basically doesn't exist.

The local council charge way way way too much for what they do, and are fundamentally corrupt at heart.

The town does not appear to have any real functioning economy. What is there exactly?

The locals are too provincial often to make any real go of tourism. Sugar cane money goes straight to the multinationals, bypassing the town completely.

Small businesses, like in all other areas are suffering, especially in Innisfail. The big 5 of Coles, Woolworths, Bunnings, McDonald's and Kmart seem to be the only thing that function long-term.

Health wise, the hospital is a complete joke. I wouldn't trust that lot with treating a light graze or mosquito bite. They f&&k things up regularly but seem to have a way of convincing the regulatory body that things are totally fine. They aren't.

Death and taxes. Why not have both?

And finally, the locals. When I was there, the idea of hearsay was a really important thing. If people believe something about you, despite not being true, they will still run with it regardless. Uneducated and herd like if you ask me. Some of them have nothing in their lives except for idle talk.

The other observation I made about the locals is that they only really acknowledge other long termers there, if you are from somewhere else you are an outsider, permanently.

Innisfail has a huge methamphetamine problem, like a lot of regional towns. I used the think the place should called Kathmandu, given how much ice was regularly seen there.

So, in conclusion. If you want to read Thomas Eliot's "The Wasteland" and really know what it is like to live and feel what he is describing, Innisfail is waiting for you. The town is forgotten and empty, an open sore that eventually devours you, full of false promises and misery.


"In this decayed hole among the mountains
In the faint moonlight, the grass is singing
Over the tumbled graves, about the chapel
There is the empty chapel, only the winds home.
It has no windows, and the door swings,
Dry bones can harm no one.
Only a cock stood on the rooftree
Co co rico co co rico
In a flash of lightning. Then a damp gust
Bringing rain"

Gratis.

If you want a tropical paradise try Cairns, Port Douglas or Babinda / Tully. They are not perfect but they still have a pulse.

mould, mosquitoes and monsoon.. I used to live there and remember being able to swat and kill 5 mosquitoes in one hit. Don't miss the rid.

Try Darwin for mould and sand flies, it's called hygiene looking after your environment .

A garlic bulb a day will keep the mosquitoes away ... and people

Agree with you 100 percent.

There are some places completely devoid of decency and respect.

yes I/ve talked to R.E.Agents there and they seem to be a/holes.and the Council...too.what they want 2.5 k a year..rates for .what..it.s not Pt Piper....I think their noses r up their bums/,,doesn.t seem they have a life..

Good tenants, good rate of return, poor capital appreciation currently, just spoiled by slum lords with sub standard property ,

Yes a timely trip back to the stone age when large reptilian predators used to tear through the jungle before being wiped about by the ice age.....

A lovely place and the Indian restaurant has got a new cook ! Bonus, the fresh caught prawns on the river park is always a favorite .

Apologies for comparing Innisfail to Jurassic Park. That place had something exciting happen there once.

When Innisfail gets a stronger local economy it will bloom. It's just that I cannot see that happening during the nation wide recession and housing crash.

Electricians,plumbers,painters , all flat out , banana farmers crying all the way to the bank, things are a lot better in innisfail than people think .its just the old cry in their beer brigade that always miss the bus , there everywhere.

Oh Ted how you jest? Exactly what evidence do you have that the town has a functioning economy? Wouldn't electricians and painters have decided not to charge huge rates that nobody can afford?

In the mid summer's heat a haze descends over the town. Then and there you will see how dead and ugly a rural town can be.

"That hollow place where martyrs weep and angels play with sin". (Bob Dylan, Dirge.)

Dirty little town ..rubbish every wear litters the town ..schools with mold over there buildings looked like they havnt been washed for years and bissnesses that never return your calls .would hate to think of the bissness lost in that town ..found its easer to go to Cairns for you bissness..you get alot more intelligence from ppl

Peter Christiansen, if you are going deride people for being unintelligent , at least learn to spell.
I have not lived in Innisfail, but have visited and understand the difference, having lived and worked in many parts of Australia.
It seems to me that Innisfail has plenty going for it, not the least of which is the wonderful Crown Hotel.

Peter Christiansen, if you are going to deride people for being of low intelligence , at least learn to spell.
I have not lived in Innisfail, but have visited and I am aware that the two things can be very different, having lived and worked in many areas of Australia. It seems to me that Innisfail has plenty going for it, not least of which is the wonderful Crown Hotel.

I should also note that I love the outdoors, camping etc... Innisfail still not for me.

You paint a good and not so good picture of Innisfail, which is fair enough...but it certainly does not warrant a ONE star rating ("terrible") I would think - that is unfair and unnecessary, in your quick summary in the end you are only listing the negatives. I hope you are not one of those "the glass is half empty" persons. It gave me a laugh when I read "It is very humid and it rains a lot!" - well, that happens when you are in the wet tropics :) I have heard that is nothing compared to places like Darwin in the wet season.
Council rates may be high these days but you could have mentioned that you can get a modest 3br home for 200k. So that is certainly more appealing than paying an average of $450k in Brisbane (even more closer to CBD), making an extra $25pw in rates compared to Brisbane still very appealing for those contemplating a move to Innisfail from that perspective. Anyway, your review was an interesting read, thank you.

We've have lived in numerous regional towns in North Queesland and Interstate, Innisfail has been the friendliest. Perhaps you were having a bad day or few... Certainly doesn't deserve a rating like this. We are relatively new to Innisfail, coming upto 1 year, people are very friendly here - no clickiness from what we've experienced, you must remember your dealing with real people here in Innisfail, they are regional/country folk, they will almost always return a smile or give you a helping hand, but like anywhere in any town, if your mind is closed to a certain place or thing, then you will shut out all the good stuff!
As for the rates, they are the relatively the same in all regional areas in Qld- too high many may say and perhaps they are right, but it's necessary to meet our ever growing expectations on services and facilities. You are right about Goondi being a wonderful school, our children attend Goondi school and we are proud of their attendance there.
The council services haven't been an issue for us, the staff at the Johnstone Shire hall are very helpful, including the staff at the library, they run a free story and craft time for families under 5 every fortnight, so if your new to the area with children this is a great way to start connecting.
Your also talking about a community that is still recovering from a fairly destructive cyclone, needless to say many of the rainforest trees were stripped bare and many unfortunate losses (these cyclones occur in many other places of Australia (we don't get hail up here or the regular & sudden violent storms like in SE Qld.
Logging however ceased thank goodness in the area many, many years ago. We are one of the very few areas in the world with beautfull World Heritage listed rainforest.
And last but not least, the rain - yes it does rain a fare bit here and you do get a few mosquitos (most places do) but the kids love to play in the rain, it's a wonderful experience for them and it cools us off in the summer. There would certainly be no rainforest without rain, and no cassowaries and other wonderful creatures for that matter. We don't have to water issues here like most other places in Australia, Innisfail & It's surroundings is what it is, we beleive it's a very special place in the world, there is no need to jump on a plane and go on a holiday anywhere else, you can drive in any direction for a maximum of 2 hours and experience everything Australia has to offer, including the outback, the reef, even ticker rainforests, amazing waterfalls, beautifull resort and many wildlife park experiences, you can even see the cows being milked up the road.
Your eyes need to be open.

I moved here from Melbourne when my partner got a job here so we decided to give it a go....its nearly 10 months and I totaly agree with your comments. The place just looks and feels derelict to me. We drove through Atherton the other day and stopped to have a look around and I was impressed with the place. Way better than Innisfail.

buying a property in innisfail was a massive mistake for me... Prices have fallen by about 20% in recent years and we lost tens of thousands. We were lucky enough to sell our house. Most houses up there have been on the market for years and there is still a massive over supply. I thank god that I don't live there anymore, the people were weird and the town has nothing to offer.

Good riddance , try falling prices in Sydney and Melbourne , what about Darwin for loosing 10 years of capital appreciation, if you start with sub standard property you get sub standard tenants it's easy .

Im thinking about investing there and Im in Sydney. After reading these posts, Im not sure if I should go ahead. After all, I dont want to end up with repairing and managing the investment property by myself.

What year was this review written?

@Coastal delights - that's what's so annoying about these reviews, there's no dates attached. Could be this year, could be ten years ago.

Wineries? This sounds to me like a tourist promotion.

1. Caboose
NORTH AMERICAN
a railway wagon with accommodation for the train crew, typically attached to the end of the train.

Yes sir Red wagon at the end and likely to remain on the end, financially , socially and emotionally . Just does not get what moves a community forward ,very sad.

I'm thinking of moving there and I wonder how receptive they would be to a single mum?

bridgetp2 Single mum wouldn't be a problem in Innisfail. Be prepared to go to Cairns from time to time when you need certain things. Innisfail doesn't have much choice for shopping. It does have the basics though and more than some tiny towns. The pace of life is slow.

@Ted Norman. Are you on the local council? You seem to be hell bent on shooting down any and all criticism of the town to a point that comes across as highly disingenuous. People are entitled to their views, and the fact there are a considerable number of people on here voicing their concerns lends credence to the fact there are issues in the area, no matter how much you may way to jackboot up and down policing the site. You're actually undermining your own arguments by your strident and oft-repeated tone of delivery.