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Queensland

Queensland is located at the north-eastern corner of Australia and is joined by the Northern Territory to the west, South Australia to the south-west and New South Wales to the south. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean. Queensland is Australia's second largest by area, following Western Australia, and the country's third most populous after New South Wales and Victoria. Brisbane was originally the Moreton Bay penal colony, intended as a place for convicts who had offended while serving out their sentences in New South Wales. The State later encouraged free settlement, and today Queensland's economy is dominated by the agricultural, tourist and natural resource sectors.

Queensland's population is concentrated in the south-east corner, which includes the capital Brisbane, Logan City, Ipswich, Toowoomba, and the Gold and Sunshine Coasts. Other major Regional Centres include Cairns, Townsville, Mackay, Rockhampton, Bundaberg, and Mount Isa. Queensland is often nicknamed the Sunshine State, since it enjoys warm weather and a sizable portion of the state is in the tropics.

In 1859 the northern portion of New South Wales was constituted a separate colony under the title of Queensland. AS early as the year 1822, the existing settlements in New South Wales were considered by the authorities to be inadequate to accommodate the increasing number of prisoners constantly arriving in Port Jackson. It was therefore deemed advisable to make an examination of the coast and inlets to the northward, particularly in the vicinity of Port Curtis, with a view to finding a suitable locality for the establishment of a branch colony. Brisbane was established in 1825 as a penal settlement for the more intractable convicts.

The convict settlement was broken up about the middle of 1839, and the way was thus left clear for free settlers. The first of these arrived in Brisbane in 1840. In 1841 the population of Moreton Bay numbered exactly 200, and of these only 67 were free. In 1842 the export of wool was 1,800 bales. In the returns of 1844 the population is given as 471 ; and the stock consisted of 660 horses, 13,295 cattle, and 184,651 sheep. Moreton Bay was opened to free settlement; and to provide the requisite holdings for expected immigrants, Brisbane was proclaimed a land district.

In the early days of free settlement a struggle, which continued for over twenty years, was begun between the squatters and the selectors for the possession of the public lands of the colony. This fight for the soil may be considered as having been definitely determined in favour of the selectors by the passing of the Crown Lands Alienation Acts of 1866 and 1868. Another question which gave rise to constant rancor was the employment of convict, as against free labor. Emigration from Great Britain of free colonists of a superior class was also encouraged, with a view to the counteraction of the evils arising from the convict system.

The aborigines continued to give the colonists trouble during the early years of the settlement. A new track had been formed to the Darling Downs, and along this route the blacks showed themselves especially bold and hostile. At a point on the road which led from Ipswich to the mountains they boldly attacked a caravan of bullock drays, and the drivers and attendants fled for their lives. With the outbreak of the gold fever in 1852, there was a heavy exodus of population from the northern districts to Victoria. As happened in all the other colonies, ordinary business of all kinds was paralysed, and those who could not go to the diggings themselves organised and supported expeditions for vigorously prospecting all parts of the occupied districts which were regarded as likely to be gold-bearing. However, nothing substantial came of the researches made at this time in the Moreton Bay District, and it was long believed that northern Australia was destitute of rich deposits of the precious metal, an erroneous idea that was afterwards amply dissipated.

The Royal Letters Patent creating the colony of Queensland were issued on 13 May, 1859. The first Governor appointed by the Crown to the superintendence of the young province was Sir George Ferguson Bowen, who arrived in Brisbane by the war corvette "Cordelia," on the 10th December, 1859, and, on landing, formally proclaimed the colony, amidst universal jubilation. The territory over which Governor Bowen had been appointed to> rule was noble as regards area and magnificent in point of resources. It extended for 1,300 miles from north to south, and 900 miles from east to west, including great varieties both of soil and climate, and furnishing the products both of the temperate and torrid zones. It occupied the north-eastern portion of the continent, and comprised an area of 668,497 square miles, being thus more than twice the size of New South Wales and nearly eight times that of Victoria.

The Torres Strait Islands are situated between Australia and New Guinea. There are over 100 islands within the region; approximately 20 of them are occupied. Each island within the Strait has its own name and distinct language. The people of the Torres Strait are of Melanesian origin and have occupied the islands for many thousands of years. The Strait was named after Luis Vaez de Torres, a Spanish adventurer who visited the area in 1606. The Torres Strait Islanders became part of Queensland in 1879 following the passage of legislation by the Queensland and British parliaments.

By 1891, wool had become an enormous industry in Australia. The pay rates and conditions under which shearers worked fuelled discontent which erupted into the shearers' strike when a Darling Downs Station employed non-union men. Thousands of shearers refused to work. The potential for revolution dissolved when Aborigines, Kanaka Islanders and Chinese immigrants were enlisted to work for even cheaper wages. The strike is remembered as an event that created camaraderie among Australian workers from all backgrounds and launched labor politics.

Queensland today has one of the strongest economies in Australia. The State has prospered through agriculture, mining and, more recently, tourism. The third most populous state, Queensland in 2003-04 attained a growth rate above the average Australian rate for the eighth consecutive year. As at June 2005, Queensland's population was estimated to be 3,963,968.

Today, Queensland welcomes people from interstate and overseas with ideas, skills and initiative to share a quality of life that ranks with the best in the world. A relaxed lifestyle, affordable homes and easy commuting make Queensland one of Australia's most attractive places to live and work. With up-to-date technology and services, the lowest taxes in Australia and plenty of space to develop and expand, Queensland is the preferred location for many new businesses each year. The people of Queensland enjoy an outdoor lifestyle with world class beaches and waterways, national parks, rainforests and tropical reefs. Our pleasant climate (average summer temperatures of 25 degrees Celsius, average winter temperatures of 15 degrees Celsius) means that Queenslanders enjoy more winter sunshine and warmth than most other Australian states. Queensland's enviable lifestyle ensures that its current population of over 4.5 million continues to grow and prosper.