For the freshest of produce at a local’s rate, look no further for all your groceries and pantry essentials.
White Whale Roasters
The White Whale story began in 2010 when Ali (an environmental scientist), and Steve (a carpenter) took the plunge, leaving secure jobs behind to chase their dreams of business ownership in the form of a coffee roastery and espresso bar– madness they all said!
The move came with exponential risk, but they were determined to establish the previously non-existent coffee culture in Cairns, with lofty ambitions of taking a leading role in the development of Far North Queensland’s specialty coffee scene.
The first six months saw them liquidate all their assets, selling anything they could to generate the cash needed to fund their grand idea, knowing that banks would never get behind it.
After training under renowned roasters like Peter Wolff, Ali and Steve opened Industry One Coffee in a small industrial warehouse in Bungalow, Cairns. They immediately put Cairns’ first La Marzocco (a four-group FB80 at that!), imported directly from the United States, and a second-hand 1988 LN-series Probat roaster shipped up from Victoria to work.
Far from the flocks of tourists heading to the Great Barrier Reef, Industry One peddled great-tasting coffee matched with thoughtful customer service, and soon grew a loyal following amongst tradies, local businesspeople, and coffee enthusiasts alike.
In 2013, Ali and Steve welcomed their son Lewis into the world. As their family expanded so too did the business, prompting Ali and Steve to relocate operations to the current Portsmith location in 2014.
2019 marked a new and significant beginning for the business, with the decision to rebrand to White Whale Coffee Roasters.
Realising that the Industry One brand was geographically insignificant, Ali and Steve sought out a name and brand that could put Far North Queensland’s specialty coffee scene on the map.
The brain-child of Steve, ‘White Whale’ carries with it layers of nuance. On one hand, ‘White Whale’ is a nod to Migaloo (meaning ‘white-fella’ in the Badjala language of the Butchulla people), a famed albino whale that travels past Cairns on its annual migration. ‘White Whale’ is also a subtle yet important reminder to be conscious of our relationship with and impact on our oceans and our natural environment – an ethos that is interwoven into the foundation of the business.
Over a decade on, our passion remains steadfast – to roast and serve the very best coffee in Cairns, and to provide the Australian coffee community with superb specialty coffee. Through coffee, White Whale hopes to make a positive difference to people, communities and our environment.
Coffee that does good.
White Whale Coffee Roasters | Specialty Coffee | Cairns, Queensland
Tropical Reef Shipyard
Tropical Reef Shipyard has a 100m, 3000 tonne capacity slipway catering for a wide variety of vessel types. As the largest slipway north of Brisbane, Australia and one of the largest in the Pacific, when combined with our deep water berths and outfit/repair wharves, we are able to cater to many different size vessels. In addition to the large slipway, the shipyard also has a floating dock facility capable of docking vessels up to 350 tonnes. This allows for slipway or afloat repairs of vessels.
The yard is fully equipped with Cranes up to 100 tonnes, Elevated Work Platforms, Commercial Spray Machines, Water Blasters up to 40,000psi and workboats to 3 tonne bp to assist with vessel movements, amongst many other industry specialised equipment.
The full machine workshop includes repairs and rebalancing of propellers, which is carried out in-house.
Our onsite store allows for the provision of essential stock items, which assists with a fast turnaround of vessels.
The combination of our skilled staff and contractor base ensures we provide you with full customer service.
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