Daintree - Culture and History

Historically Daintree was first settled in the late 1870s and early 1880s by timbercutters who were searching for cedar trees in the rainforest. At the time there were large stands of cedar near the river and the loggers moved the felled timber down the river by constructing rafts from the logs. They were followed by dairy farmers and a butter factory was built in 1924. The economic focus later shifted to beef and today the mainstay of the local economy is tourism.