Cairns (), is a major city on the east coast of Far North Queensland in Australia. The city is the 5th most populous in Queensland and 14th overall in Australia. Cairns was founded in 1876 and named after William Wellington Cairns, Governor of Queensland from 1875-1877. It was formed to serve miners heading for the Hodgkinson River goldfield, but experienced a decline when an easier route was discovered from Port Douglas. It later developed into a railhead and major port for exporting sugar cane, gold and other metals, minerals and agricultural products from surrounding coastal areas and the Atherton Tableland region. The estimated residential population of the Cairns urban area in 2014 was 146,778. The region has experienced an average annual growth rate of 2.8% over the last 10 years.