The Yammine family and Beba Kosa-Dana are just some of the 100 people moving to Cairns every week.

Revised population figures reveal more than 5000 people moved to Cairns in 2005-06, the strongest increase in more than 10 years.

Cairns's 4 per cent growth rate was almost double the Queensland average and the third strongest in the state behind Hervey Bay at 5.3 per cent and Mackay at 4.4 per cent. The region's previously calculated growth rate was about 3
per cent.

Architect Jacob Yammine, wife Jessica and son Jacob Jnr, 4, moved from Sydney to Cairns for a chance to spend more time as a family.

Mr Yammine considers himself lucky to have this luxury of time, particularly since the family welcomed daughter Annalise five months ago.

"Sydney is a very busy, all-consuming lifestyle but here I get to spend so much more time with my family. I've given myself a plan to live here for five to seven years but it might happen that I stay longer than that."

Beba Kosa-Dana, 57, always dreamed of moving to Cairns after emigrating from Germany nearly 25 years ago.

"I lived in Perth for nearly 20 years and as soon as my daughter moved to Melbourne for work that was my green light to take off," she said.

"When we left Germany my dream was to spend the rest of my life in a bikini and Cairns was the place to do it.

"It's absolutely beautiful here. I'm up as soon as I hear birds in the morning and life is so full."

Herron Todd White's Rick Carr said the new rate was significantly higher than previously thought after the figures were revised with statistics from the 2006 Census.

Mr Carr said demographic modelling showed the city would grow by another 4 per cent in the 2006-07 financial year taking the city's population to about 136,900.

 

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