Tully, Queensland

The township of Tully in 1927

Cardwell Shire Council Chambers in Tully, 1930

Butler Street, looking west, 1935

Dyirbal (also known as Djirbal) is a language of Far North Queensland, particularly the area around Tully and Tully River Catchment extending to the Atherton Tablelands. The Dyirbal language region includes the landscape within the local government boundaries of Cassowary Coast Regional Council and Tablelands Regional Council.[4]

The Tully River area was slowly settled once Cardwell, to the south, was established. The river was renamed in 1872 in honour of William Alcock Tully, then under-secretary for public lands and chief commissioner of crown lands in Queensland and later Surveyor General of Queensland. The first settlers were the nephews of James Tyson, who raised beef cattle. It was not until the government constructed a sugar mill in 1925 that the town began to develop.[5]

Augustinian priests based in Innisfail began to conduct Roman Catholic services in Tully in 1926. Vicar Apostolic of Cooktown John Heavey laid the foundation stone for a church dedicated to St Clare of Montefalco in May 1926. St Clare's Catholic School was established in 1928 by the Sisters of the Good Samaritan. A separate Tully Parish of the Roman Catholic Vicariate Apostolic of Cooktown, now the Roman Catholic Diocese of Cairns, was established in 1935.[6]

Tully was originally within the Cardwell Division, which became the Shire of Cardwell in 1903. The first headquarters for the division/shire were in older town of Cardwell. In 1929, the decision was taken to relocate the shire council's headquarters to the newer but more populous town of Tully. The first council meeting held in Tully was in June 1929. A new shire chambers was built in 1930 on the south-east corner of Bryant and Morris Streets.

Tully remained the administrative centre for the Shire of Cardwell, until the shire was amalgamated into the Cassowary Coast Region in 2008. The regional council has its headquarters in Innisfail.

At the 2011 census, Tully had a population of 2,436.[7] At the 2016 census, the population was 2,390.[1]

In 2019, Tully became the inaugural winner of a Loud Shirt Day competition to find Queensland's Loudest Town. Inspired by a local story, and facing strong competition from other regional Queensland towns, members of the community rallied together to raise $13,410 to support services provided to young people with hearing loss.[8]

Tully has a number of heritage-listed sites, including:

• 17 Mars Street: Tully State School[9]
• 69 Bryant Street: Tully Court House[10]

Butler Street, Tully, with Mount Tyson in the background with low cloud, 2016

Tully has a tropical rainforest climate (Köppen climate classification Af). This is due to its strong exposure to the southeasterly trade winds. With an average annual rainfall exceeding 4,000 millimetres (160 in), and the highest-ever annual rainfall in a populated area of Australia (7,900 millimetres (310 in) in 1950), Tully is arguably the wettest town in Australia. A rivalry exists between Tully and the nearby town of Babinda for that title.

Although Tully's average rainfall is less than that of Babinda,[11] a giant gumboot, the "Golden Gumboot", was erected in Tully in 2003, as a monument to the town's high rainfall. It also serves as a museum, documenting past floods, as well as displaying the rainfall for the current year.

In March 2015, a farm at Tully tested positive for the soil-borne Panama disease.[17][18] Follow-up testing confirmed the results. One of the strains of the disease affects all types of bananas and has previously only been detected in the Northern Territory. Harvesting continued on the property with strict protocols allowing the farm to continue to operate and distribute product without posing a threat.[19]

Outside experts were brought in to review Biosecurity Queensland's performance 15 February to 24 May 2021. Their assessment credits BQ with quick and effective response which is being emulated by other countries. Thus far TR4 continues to be contained to the Tully Valley only and containment is thought to be possible as long as accidental human movement and transport in flowing water can be halted.[18]

The Cassowary Coast Regional Council operates the Dorothy Jones Library at 34 Bryant Street, Tully.[20]

The Tully branch of the Queensland Country Women's Association meets at the CWA Hall at 5 Plumb Street.[21]

St Claire of Montefalco Catholic Church is at 13 Mars Street. It is within the Tully Parish of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Cairns.[6]

View towards Tully from the south on the Bruce Highway. The rising steam is from the Tully Sugar Mill, 2016

Tully Railway Station is a prominent station on the main North Coast Railway Line, situated just over halfway between Townsville and Cairns. In December 1924, Tully was connected with both Townsville and Innisfail.[22]

Tully is the hometown to Indigenous boxer and 2008 Olympian, Paul Fleming.[24]

Tully Tigers, is the local Rugby League club. One of their most famous juniors is former Cowboys forward Peter Jones. Tully was once one of the biggest sporting hubs in Far North Queensland, but since the economic crisis has hit, they are looking for more and more ways to support their clubs.

Tully is the last place reclusive All Black rugby player Keith Murdoch has been sighted.[25]

The Golden Gumboot is in the park on corner of Butler Street and Hort Street. Built in 2003, the Gumboot is 6.1 metres long and 7. 9 metres high. The height corresponds to highest annual rainfall in a populated area of Australia, which occurred in Tully in 1950. There is an internal spiral staircase to the top of the boot which provides views of the town. A fiberglass green tree frog is climbing the side of the boot. There is a museum beside the boot with the history of the town's floods.[26]

The Australian Army's Combat Training Centre – Jungle Training Wing (CTC-JTW), is located on the outskirts of Tully. JTW are the Australian Army's experts in jungle warfare. Their primary role is to deliver basic and advanced jungle warfare training to dismounted combat team sized organizations. JTW are heavily engaged in international exercises, often providing training to regional allies, as their level of expertise is highly regarded in the international military community.[27]

• Lisa Camilleri, squash player
• Kim Carroll, soccer player
• Jake Clifford, rugby league player
• Andrew Cripps, politician
• Paul Fleming, boxer
• Aila Keto, environmentalist
• Russell Kiefel, actor
• Shane Knuth, politician
• Ted Lindsay, politician
• Max Menzel, politician
• Joel Riethmuller, rugby league player
• Craig Teitzel, rugby league player

• Kareeya Hydro Power Station
• List of tramways in Queensland

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Tully, Queensland.

• University of Queensland: Queensland Places: Tully
• Tully Sugar Limited