To the south of the Trinity Inlet lies the Aboriginal community of Yarrabah. The Mulgrave River and Barron River flow within the greater Cairns area but not through the Cairns CBD. As agricultural changes and the White Australia policy impacted the Chinese population of Cairns, including its once thriving Chinatown declined.
To service the needs of suburbs further from the city centre, shopping complexes are also located at Mount Sheridan, Redlynch, Smithfield, and Clifton Beach. At the time of the 1995 amalgamation, Cairns City had a population of approximately 40,000 and Mulgrave Shire had a population of approximately 60,000. The old Cairns City Council chambers has been converted into a new city library. In a controversial decision, new Council chambers were constructed on previously contaminated land in the mainly industrial suburb of Portsmith at 119–145 Spence Street. Southside Cairns, situated in a narrow area between Trinity Inlet to the east and Lamb Range to the west, includes the suburbs of White Rock, Mount Sheridan, Bentley Park and Edmonton. The townships of Goldsborough, Little Mulgrave, and Aloomba are near Gordonvale, on the Mulgrave River. Several other small towns and communities within Cairns's jurisdiction are sparsely located along the Bruce Highway, the furthest being Bramston Beach, 81 km (50 mi) south of the Cairns CBD; the largest of these townships is Babinda, about 60 km (37 mi) from the city.citation needed