General News
22 March, 2026
Concerns for park’s future
KURRIMINE BEACH residents are concerned the popular dry season fishing and camping destination will lose its council-operated caravan park to make way for new car and boat trailer parking to go with an upgraded boat ramp.
Work is scheduled to start in May on a state-funded $3.5 million upgraded double lane boat ramp at Kurrimine.
In the meantime, Cassowary Coast Regional Council has started a consultation process, including asking community members about future use of its neighbouring caravan park land.
Council will be responsible for constructing the new expanded car and trailer parking area for the upgraded boat ramp.
But the new parking area might take up part or all of the existing caravan park and “overflow” caravan and camping land on both sides of the boat ramp.
“Council is currently undertaking community consultation on the future use of the council-operated caravan park land at Kurrimine Beach,” a CCRC spokeswoman said.
“No final decision has been made.”
But locals, including the Kurrimine Beach Progress Association, believe council wants to get rid of the caravan park to save itself money as a depreciating asset.
“Everybody that we talk to regularly, everybody is astounded that they are trying to close the caravan park and they think it would be a big loss to the community,” Kurrimine Beach Progress Association president Michael Acheson told The Observer.
Since February, Mr Acheson has also taken on the caravan park’s caretaker role, to help ensure the park can stay open at least until a decision on its future is made. “I can pretty much guarantee you that it would be at least six or seven months of the year that it would be almost full,” he said.
“Currently it has 25 sites and two or three months ago they were using the whole of the overflow.
“You’d had, I wouldn’t say, unlimited, but it would have had at least another 10 sites available there, if not more. And they would fill for six or seven months of the year.”
Helen Walsh her and husband Terry ran the caravan park for 28 years.
She told The Observer council’s concept plan on its website shows much of Taifalos Park – where the caravan park overflow section currently is – will be taken up by, not only car and trailer spaces for the boat ramp, but also a road through the centre.
“Why are they putting a road in the middle of the park?” Mrs Walsh said.
“I mean, there’s no need for a road in the middle of the park. If you go to use one end for parking, you leave the rest of it alone,” she said.
“If they do that, they’re going to cut a lot of trees down. There are nice shade trees, big ones. It just seemed to me, it just seems stupid.”
The council spokeswoman said: “Council recognises that trees and open space in Taifalos Park are valued by the community. This is one of the reasons council is undertaking consultation, so residents can put forward their views on the concept, including any concerns relating to trees, open space and the broader use of the area.”
In a recent media release, council said its “adopted advocacy plan expresses a preference to accommodate approximately 50 vehicles and trailers, including provision for a dedicated rigging area.”
“To support this planning, council has developed a preliminary concept design within Taifalos Park that maintains space for the Kurrimine Beach fishing competition while exploring opportunities to increase and formalise trailer parking,” the release said.
The progress association is likely to meet soon on the issue and invite a council representative along to possibly explain why it would want to close a park that brings dozens of long-stay visitors to the area each year.
“You know those people, they support every business in town, as well as they shop in Innisfail, they shop in Tully, they go to Mission Beach, they’re in the whole Cassowary Coast area,” Mr Acheson said.
“There are people that come up to that caravan park that have been coming there for 30 odd years and they stay, some of them stay for two, three months,” he said.
Read More: Kurrimine Beach