As the name suggests, Macalister Range is a long narrow mountainous locality containing the mountain range of the same name. The north of the locality extends to the
Coral Sea, but the bulk of the locality sits as the backdrop to
Cairns' Northern Suburbs on the coastal plain. Therefore the locality ranges from 0 metres above sea level (at the Coral Sea) through to 630 metres at Saddle Mountain with the bulk of the locality at altitudes of 200–400 metres. The locality consists mainly of undeveloped heavily forested land, most of which is within two national parks. At the far north of the locality, the land is within the
Macalister Range National Park while the bulk of the remainder is within the
Kuranda National Park. There is a small area of freehold land immediately west of Palm Cove, which is undeveloped. There are also some small areas reserved for other purposes by the Queensland Government, such as the Kuranda State Forest. The only roads in Macalister are not to provide access to the locality but to connect areas outside the locality. The
Captain Cook Highway runs along the coastline at the Coral Sea in the far north of the locality, while the
Kuranda Range Road (the unofficial name of a segment of the
Kennedy Highway) connects the suburb of
Smithfield in Cairns with
Kuranda on the
Atherton Tableland in the
Shire of Mareeba. The
Skyrail Rainforest Cableway passes over the southern end of Macalister Range; it commences at
Smithfield on the coastal plain up to
Barron Gorge and then to Kuranda. == History ==