Cairns Esplanade Olympic Torch Monument

The Cairns Esplanade Olympic Torch Monument stands as a slender steel spire, topped with a replica flame, rising near the water. It commemorates the two thousand Sydney Olympic torch relay runners who carried the flame through North Queensland in the year two thousand. During that journey, local runner Murray Stumer carried the torch right here along the Esplanade. He stumbled and fell, but he jumped back up to finish his leg, holding the torch high for the cheering crowds before the flame continued south.