Cairns Post Characters #31 : Chris Dahlberg

Chris Dahlberg and Denise Collins came to Daintree from Port Douglas at the end of the disastrous Pilot's dispute in November 1989.

Chris started at the Daintree River Cruise Centre as a boat driver/guide and saw his first crocodile several weeks later. It was a hard apprenticeship entertaining boat loads of tourists in the hottest part of the day in the hottest part of the year and not long after the truly repressive heat came the rains. It cooled things down but it seemed as if the rain would never stop and it went on until April.

Denise started as the receptionist at the Daintree River Cruise Centre meeting hundreds of tourists a day and many shared their thoughts with her. Some were disappointed with not seeing the promised wildlife, particularly crocodiles.

They decided to do something about it.


"It was during 1990 that the first information book went to press. The road to Daintree Village was only one lane with a one lane bridge and the road to the ferry was mud or dust depending on the season.
Hire car companies rewarded spies if they reported cars going over the Daintree River onto the gravel roads. The small ferry only ran 12 hours a day."

Tourists were confused by the term "Daintree".

The books helped to inform people about and how to enjoy Daintree. As they struck out on their own Chris and Denise helped other authors, sound recordists, film makers, TV shows and journalists promote Daintree by providing accommodation and by putting them on their early morning river trips.
Their B&B appeared on the front cover of the Australian and New Zealand B&B book and Denise appeared on the cover of the Cairns Post with an orphaned Flying-fox. Steve Parrish took a shot of the same flying-fox for one of his fast selling picture books.
Those events, starting with the first book, are what gave Daintree the reputation for seeing wildlife in the wild. The local zoos caught on and started things like "Breakfast with the Birds" and "Lunch with the Lorikeets".
Has a lot changed since 1989?
There are now some better bridges, more people can stay overnight and the Daintree River is now world renowned for it's dawn wildlife cruises and birdwatching. Chris and Denise started dawn river trips in 1992 and opened the first B&B in 1993 all on borrowed money. It was a close run thing with 18% interest rates so the B&B was sold to a foreign investor late in 1997.

Chris and Denise are responsible for some "firsts" for Port Douglas Daintree:

• First TAFE co-ordinator  (1986)
• First Daintree Tourism map. (1990)
• First tourist book about the Daintree River. (1990)
• First Daintree tourism guide book. (1991)
• First dawn wildlife tour on the Daintree River. (1992)
• First Bed and Breakfast licence in the Douglas Shire. (1993)
• First Daintree tourism operation website. (1994)
• First Daintree accommodation website. (1994)
• First independent Daintree tourism Website. (1994)
• Secretary Douglas Shire Catchment Coordinating Committee (1995)
• Keynote speaker Tourism Conference Barcelona (1999)
  
• Keynote speaker National Avicultural Convention (2001)
• First Daintree Wonga Map. (2006)
• First Daintree iphone websites. (2008)
• First Tropical North Queensland Mobile Phone website. (2009)
• First QR codes in Daintree/Port Douglas. (2010)
• First Daintree iPhone App (2011)
• First Cairns & Tropical North Queensland App (2011)

• First Android Apps for Port Douglas, Daintree & Cairns. (2012)
• First Douglas Tropical Innovation Award - Mobile Phone. (2012)
• First Responsive websites (2014)

  Chris Dahlberg and Denise Collins have a long association with Port Douglas Daintree:
"Port Douglas Daintree enjoys more apps than any similar small tourist town. These apps are just a sample of the free to air ones. We have been doing them since the launch of the iPhone."