AdrianH

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.