Cafe was talk of town
In 1906 George Cominos opened Cominos Cafe (above) in Abbott Street, part of what would become the “Golden Block” of Cairns.
BORN on the Greek island of Kythera in 1884, George Cominos was just 16 when he arrived in Sydney and began working his way north.
In 1906 he opened Cominos Cafe in Abbott Street, part of what would become the “Golden Block”, the social and retail hub of Cairns.
Advertised as “Australia’s most modern cafe”, it became one of Cairns’ most iconic early businesses.
Spread over three floors, it was promoted as “the departmental cafe” and featured separate sections for meals, milk bar, cakes, pastries and breads, as well as a parcel service and a public telephone.
A mezzanine floor was used for functions, including weddings. Its rest rooms even included showers, especially appreciated by country clients on visits to Cairns.
In the busy Christmas season, the cafe employed up to 150 people.
George Cominos was a quiet philanthropist.
A percentage of all cafe takings went to the local ambulance committee.
He was also a Rotarian, a life member of the Cairns Chamber of Commerce, presi- dent of the Far North Queensland Greek Community and chairman of the Post War Migrant Organisation North Queensland branch.
In 1949, the businessman funded one of Cairns’ first tourism publications, The Northern Wonderland.
George Cominos died in 1962 and is one of a number of locals featured in current exhibitions at Cairns Museum.
To discover the history of Cairns, visit Cairns Museum and Cairns Historical Society in the former School of Arts building on the corner of Lake and Shields streets.
The Cairns Museum is open Monday to Saturday from 10am to 4pm.