Daintree Village was a timber-cutters settlement, created in the 1870s as a base on the Daintree River to log red cedar from the area. The first settlers were John Steuart and Jack Shewan, later joined by Frank Osborne and Heinrich Fischer.
The only way into Daintree Village was by river until 1933 when a road was built from Mossman. It didn’t stop the village flourishing when the sawmill was built in 1922, with a school, butter factory, and shops opening.
Earlier times were less successful with settles forfeiting their land and businesses in the 1880s when they found the area was subject to flooding. Only a few settlers remained by 1889.
In 1895, a big flood caused lives to be lost and houses, crops and stock to be swept away. By 1910, only three permanent settlers remained. Steuart, Shewan, and Osborne.
Today, Daintree Village is easily accessible and only 10 minutes passed the turn-off to the Daintree Ferry and onto Cape Tribulation. There is a hotel, accommodation, general store, and a visitor information centre.
Travelling during times of reduced tourism and restricted travel, we came across a number of places that were not operating fully or were closed. Daintree Village was quiet and seemed to be affected.
The Big Barramundi 
is in the village in front of a takeaway shop, however, the takeaway was not operating when we were there in 2021.
Across from the hotel The Daintree Riverview Lodges 
was similarly quiet and with their museum at the front closed.
A small picnic area is near the main street with a free BBQ if you want an option to cater for yourself. There are some picnic tables at the Daintree River nearby with views of the river but there is no BBQ there.
For nearby brown signs, see the Daintree Village Visitor Information Centre .
To Get There
