Public funeral for Cairns kids on Saturday

A public funeral for eight children who were killed in far north Queensland will be held on Saturday at the Cairns Convention Centre.

Relatives of the four girls and four boys, aged between two and 14 years, have invited members of the community to the service at 10am on January 10.

The children will then be buried at Martyn Street Cemetery at Manunda.

The children were found dead in a house in the Cairns suburb of Manoora on December 19.

The mother of seven of the children and aunt to the eighth, Raina Mersane Ina Thaiday, 37, has been charged with eight counts of murder.

Her case will next appear in a Cairns court on January 30.

Plans have been made to demolish the house on Murray Street, Manoora, to make way for a permanent memorial for the children.