That’s how to make a splash
ONLY THREE MONTHS SINCE OPENING, CAIRNS AQUARIUM HAS ALREADY WELCOMED TENS OF THOUSANDS OF VISITORS, AND A KEY PART OF ITS SUCCESS IS GENERAL MANAGER JULIE CULLEN, WRITES HAYDEN SMITH
Like many children of her generation, Julie Cullen (above) was hellbent on becoming the next Jacques Cousteau — one of the pioneering scientists and storytellers of the deep.
“When I was a child, everyone wanted to be a marine biologist,” said the Cairns Aquarium general manager.
“I absolutely love being near the ocean. There is just something about it that’s important to me.”
For three months now, Mrs Cullen has watched on as wave after wave of visitors have flooded through the doors of the hottest new attraction in the Cairns CBD.
LIKE many children of her generation, Julie Cullen was hellbent on becoming the next Jacques Cousteau — one of the pioneering scientists and storytellers of the deep.
“When I was a child, everyone wanted to be a marine biologist,” said the Cairns Aquarium general manager.
“I absolutely love being near the ocean. There is just something about it that’s important to me.”
For three months now, Mrs Cullen has watched on as wave after wave of visitors have flooded through the doors of the hottest new attraction in the Cairns CBD. Cairns Aquarium is expected to welcome the 100,000th guest this weekend.
“We’re seeing a broad mix of people, which is what we anticipated,” Mrs Cullen said.
The former Sunshine Coast local has brought a unique skill set to the role, which first captured her attention almost seven years ago.
Born in Nambour, Mrs Cullen finished a marine biology degree, which at first she put towards “some very strange” jobs.
She started brewing beer, of all things, taking up roles at several breweries in the state’s southeast.
Then, in 2006, her career took a vastly different course when she accepted a sales and marketing position at UnderWater World, one of the Sunshine Coast’s best-known tourism drawcards.
Within months, Mrs Cullen was promoted to the aquari- um’s general manager.
After a four-year stint, she joined the Sunshine Coast’s peak tourism marketing body.
Some friends told her a new aquarium was in the pipeline in the state’s Far North and it wasn’t long before she reached out to Cairns Aquarium coowners Daniel Leipnik and Andrew Preston.
“I contacted them and said, ‘If you’re interested in talking about aquariums, then I’m here’,” she said.
When the general manager job was eventually offered to her, years later, it was a proposal too good to turn down.
“As much as I love the Sunshine Coast, this was just too much of an opportunity,” Mrs Cullen said.
She arrived in Cairns about 15 months ago to prepare for the aquarium’s grand — and drawn out — opening.
Mrs Cullen said the series of delays to the opening date was “incredibly frustrating on many fronts”.
“Everything kept being pushed back, we couldn’t bring the staff on that we needed,” she said.
“But we got to the end. Even though it wasn’t smooth, it wasn’t particularly difficult ei-
WHEN I’M HAVING A BAD DAY — OR NEED TO GET MY ZEN BACK — I CAN JUST GO AND SIT DOWN AND LOOK AT THE FISH. THE MOST EXCITING THING ABOUT THIS JOB IS THAT IT CHANGES EVERY SINGLE DAY. JULIE CULLEN
ther, because we were adaptable.”
She remembers being nervous and excited on the morning of September 18.
“The most exciting thing was to see that queue when we walked downstairs,” Mrs Cullen said.
“Once we were about to open the doors to the public, there was a heightened sense of expectation.”
She is confident in the aquarium’s long-term viability, saying there is plenty of room for growth.
“We’ve still got a lot of space that we can continue to develop — new exhibits, more interactive and 3D elements — which is really where we want to go next,” Mrs Cullen said.
“And the research and development side is going to take a whole different dimension for this aquarium and add a completely different focus.”
On the topic of regrets, she has but one.
“My only regret is that I’ve been here for 15 months and haven’t been to the Reef yet,” the Trinity Beach resident said.
But, in thousands of ways, the Great Barrier Reef has come to her.
“When I’m having a bad day — or need to get my zen back — I can just go and sit down and look at the fish,” she said. “The most exciting thing about this job is that it changes every single day.
“There’s always something different happening in the animal side of things.”
About 14,000 annual passes have already been issued by the aquarium and Mrs Cullen said the response from locals had been outstanding.
“It was a statement for Cairns and the people have really embraced it,” she said.
“We are not selling funeral insurance — don’t know how many times I say that to the staff.”