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Coordinates: 23°0′S 143°0′E / 23.000°S 143.000°E / -23.000; 143.000
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Template:Australia state or territory

23°0′S 143°0′E / 23.000°S 143.000°E / -23.000; 143.000 Queensland (abbreviated as Qld) is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. Situated in the northeast of the country, it is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, southwest and south respectively. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean. Queensland has a population of 4,580,700, concentrated along the coast and particularly in the state's South East. The state is the world's sixth largest subnational entity, with an area of 1,852,642 km2. The capital and largest city in the state is Brisbane, Australia's third largest city. Referred to as the 'Sunshine State', Queensland is home to 10 of Australia's 30 largest cities and is the nation's third largest economy.

Queensland was first occupied by Indigenous Australians and Torres Strait Islanders, who arrived at least 40,000 years ago.[1] The first European to land in Queensland was Dutch navigator Willem Janszoon in 1607. In 1770, Lieutenant James Cook claimed the east coast of Australia for the Kingdom of Great Britain. The colony of New South Wales was founded in 1788 by Governor Arthur Phillip at Sydney; New South Wales at that time included all of what is now Queensland, Victoria and Tasmania. Queensland was explored in subsequent decades until the establishment of a penal colony at Brisbane in 1824 by John Oxley. Penal transportation ceased in 1839 and free settlement permitted in 1842. Queensland was separated from New South Wales, forming a self-governing colony, on 6 June 1859, a date now celebrated state-wide as Queensland Day. Queensland achieved statehood with the Federation of Australia on 1 January 1901.

Queensland's Governor is Penelope Wensley, and the Premier is Campbell Newman of the Liberal National Party of Queensland. The state was named in honour of Queen Victoria,[2] who on 6 June 1859 signed Letters Patent separating the colony from New South Wales. Queen Victoria, who went on to become Britain's longest reigning monarch, chose an eponymous name for the colony over Cooksland, which had been suggested by the influential local Presbyterian minister John Dunmore Lang in honour of navigator James Cook.[3][4]

History

Main article: History of Queensland

The history of Queensland spans thousands of years, encompassing both a lengthy indigenous presence, as well as the eventful times of post-European settlement. Estimated to have been settled by Indigenous Australians approximately 40,000 years ago, the northeastern Australian region was explored by Dutch, Portuguese and French navigators before being encountered by Captain James Cook in 1770. The Australian Labor Party has its origin as a formal organisation in Queensland and the town of Barcaldine is the symbolic birthplace of the party.[5] The state has witnessed frontier warfare between European settlers and Indigenous inhabitants, as well as the employment of cheap Kanaka labour sourced from the South Pacific. June 2009 marked the 150th anniversary of its creation as a separate colony from New South Wales.[6] A rare record of early settler life in north Queensland can be seen in a set of ten photographic glass plates taken in the 1860s by Richard Daintree, in the collection of the National Museum of Australia.[7]

Geography

Main article: Geography of Queensland
Commonly designated regions of Queensland
The Great Barrier Reef, which extends along Queensland's northern coastline
A coral garden in Osprey Reef

Queensland borders the Torres Strait to the north, with Boigu Island off the coast of New Guinea representing the absolute northern extreme of its territory. The triangular Cape York Peninsula, which points toward New Guinea is the northernmost part of the state's mainland. West of the peninsula's tip, northern Queensland is bordered by the Gulf of Carpentaria, while the Coral Sea— an arm of the Pacific Ocean— borders Queensland to the east. To the west, Queensland is bordered by the Northern Territory, at the 138°E longitude, and to the southwest by the northeastern corner of South Australia.

In the south, there are three sections that comprise its border: the watershed from Point Danger to the Dumaresq River; the river section involving the Dumaresq, the MacIntyre and the Barwon; and 29°S latitude (including some minor historical encroachments below the 29th parallel) over to the South Australian border.

The state capital is Brisbane, located on the coast 100 kilometres (60 mi) by road north of the New South Wales border. The state is divided into several officially recognised regions. Other smaller geographical regions of note include the Atherton Tablelands, the Granite Belt, and the Channel Country in the far southwest.

Queensland has many places of natural beauty, including: the Sunshine Coast and the Gold Coast having some of the state's most popular beaches; the Bunya Mountains and the Great Dividing Range with numerous lookouts, waterfalls and picnic areas; Carnarvon Gorge; Whitsunday Islands and Hinchinbrook Island.

The state contains six World Heritage listed preservation areas: Australian Fossil Mammal Sites at Riversleigh in the Gulf Country, Gondwana Rainforests of Australia, Fraser Island, Great Barrier Reef, Lamington National Park and the Wet Tropics of Queensland.

Climate

Because of its size, there is significant variation in climate across the state. Low rainfall and hot summers are typical for the inland west, a monsoonal 'wet' season in the far north, and warm temperate conditions along the coastal strip. Inland and in southern ranges low minimum temperatures are experienced. The climate of the coastal strip is influenced by warm ocean waters, keeping the region free from extremes of temperature and providing moisture for rainfall.[8]

There are five predominate climatic zones in Queensland,[9] based on temperature and humidity:

  • hot humid summer (far north and coastal)
  • warm humid summer (coastal elevated hinterlands and coastal southeast)
  • hot dry summer, mild winter (central west)
  • hot dry summer, cold winter (southern west)
  • temperate – warm summer, cold winter (inland southeast, e.g. Granite Belt)

However, most of the Queensland populace experience two weather seasons: a "winter" period of rather warm temperatures and minimal rainfall and a sultry summer period of hot, sticky temperatures and higher levels of rainfall.

The annual mean statistics[10] for some Queensland centres is shown below:

City Min. Temp Max. Temp No. Clear days Rainfall
Brisbane 15.7 °C (60.3 °F) 25.5 °C (77.9 °F) 113.1 1,149.1 mm (45.24 in)[11]
Mackay 19.0 °C (66.2 °F) 26.4 °C (79.5 °F) 123.0 1,570.7 mm (61.84 in)[12]
Cairns 20.8 °C (69.4 °F) 29.0 °C (84.2 °F) 89.7 2,006.3 mm (78.99 in)[13]
Townsville 19.8 °C (67.6 °F) 28.9 °C (84.0 °F) 120.9 1,136.7 mm (44.75 in)[14]

The highest maximum temperature observed in the state is 69.3 °C (157 °F). This temperature was recorded between 2003 and 2005 by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Aqua satellite.[15]

The lowest minimum temperature is −10.6 °C (13 °F) at Stanthorpe on 23 June 1961 and at The Hermitage on 12 July 1965.[16]

Demographics

See also: Demographics of Australia
State capital and most populous city, Brisbane, located in southeast Queensland.
Queensland has a less centralised population than other states, with significant populations in regional cities such as Townsville (above).
Queensland
population by year
1901 498,129
1954 1,318,259
1961 1,518,828
1971 1,851,485
1981 2,345,208
1991 3,029,950
2001 3,628,946
2007 4,181,400
2011 4,516,200
2021 6,553,300
2056 10,921,300
Source: Australian Bureau
of Statistics[17][18]

A smaller proportion of Queensland's population lives in the capital city than any other mainland state. As of June 2004 the capital city represented 45.7% of the population; for the whole country, capital cities represented 63.8% of the total population.

On 9 December 2005, the population of Queensland officially reached 4 million. According to Queensland's Office of Economic and Statistical Research the estimated population of the state at the end of 2007 was 4,228,290 which is almost 20% of Australia's total. For many years until 2008, Queensland was the fastest growing state in Australia. At its peak growth in 2007, it was estimated that over 1,500 people moved to the state per week including 1,000 to the southern part of the state alone and the state recorded a TFR of 2.1, the highest since 1977.[19] Queensland's growth rate has since been surpassed by Western Australia[20]).

Economy

Main articles: Economy of Queensland and Australian economy
Sugar canefields south of Childers. Queensland's climate is ideal for growing the crop.

Queensland's economy has enjoyed a boom in the tourism and mining industries over the past 20 years. A sizeable influx of interstate and overseas migrants, large amounts of federal government investment, increased mining of vast mineral deposits and an expanding aerospace sector have contributed to the state's economic growth. The 2008–09 saw the expansion slow to just 0.8% the state's worst performance in 18 years.[21]

Between 1992 and 2002, the growth in the Gross State Product of Queensland outperformed that of all the other states and territories. In that period Queensland's GSP grew 5.0% each year, while growth in Australia's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) rose on average 3.9% each year. Queensland's contribution to the Australian GDP increased by 10.4% in that period, one of only three states to do so.[22]

In 2003 Brisbane had the lowest cost of living of all Australia's capital cities. In late 2005 Brisbane was the third most expensive capital for housing after Sydney and Canberra and just ahead of Melbourne by $15,000.

Primary industries include: bananas, pineapples, peanuts, a wide variety of other tropical and temperate fruit and vegetables, grain crops, wineries, cattle raising, cotton, sugar cane, wool and a mining industry including bauxite, coal, silver, lead, zinc, gold, and copper. Secondary industries are mostly further processing of the above-mentioned primary produce. For example, bauxite is shipped by sea from Weipa and converted to alumina at Gladstone.[23] There is also copper refining and the refining of sugar cane to sugar at a number of mills along the eastern coastline. Major tertiary industries are the retail trade and tourism.

Tourism

Tourism is Queensland's leading tertiary industry with millions of interstate and overseas visitors flocking to the Sunshine State each year. The industry generates $4.0 billion annually, accounting for 4.5% of Queensland's GSP.[24] Queensland is a state of many landscapes that range from sunny tropical coastal areas, lush rainforests to dry inland areas.

The main tourist destinations of Queensland include, Brisbane, Cairns, Port Douglas and the Daintree Rainforest, Gold Coast, the Great Barrier Reef, Hervey Bay and nearby Fraser Island, Townsville, Magnetic Island, North Stradbroke Island and South Stradbroke Island, Sunshine Coast, Hamilton Island, Daydream Island and the Whitsundays known for Airlie Beach and Whitehaven Beach.

Surfers Paradise skyline seen from the south.

The Gold Coast of Queensland is also sometimes referred to as "Australia's Theme Park Capital", with five major amusement parks. These are Dreamworld, Movie World, Sea World, Wet 'n' Wild and WhiteWater World.

There are numerous wildlife parks in Queensland. On the Gold Coast there is Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary at Currumbin and David Fleay Wildlife Park at Burleigh Heads. On the Sunshine Coast there is UnderWater World at Mooloolaba and Australia Zoo near Beerwah/Glass House Mountains, home of Steve Irwin until his death in 2006.

Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary at Fig Tree Pocket and Brisbane Forest Park at The Gap are located in Brisbane. North of Brisbane is Alma Park Zoo which is relocating to Logan City and Kumbartcho Wildlife Sanctuary which was originally called Bunya Park Wildlife Sanctuary.

Accommodation in Queensland caters for nearly 22% of the total expenditure, followed by restaurants/meals (15%), airfares (11%), fuel (11%) and shopping/gifts (11%).[25]

See also: Tourism in Brisbane

Transport

See also: Transportation in Australia
Cairns International Airport

Queensland is served by a number of National Highways and, particularly in South East Queensland, high quality motorways such as the M1. The Queensland government Department of Transport & Main Roads oversees the development and operation of main roads and public transport, including taxis and local aviation.

Principal rail services are provided by Queensland Rail and Pacific National, predominantly between the major towns along the coastal strip east of the Great Dividing Range.

Major seaports include the Port of Brisbane and subsidiary ports at Gladstone, Townsville and Bundaberg. There are large coal export facilities at Hay Point / Dalrymple Bay, Gladstone and Abbot Point. Sugar is another major export, with facilities at Lucinda and Mackay.

Brisbane Airport is the main international and domestic gateway serving the state. Gold Coast Airport, Cairns International Airport and Townsville Airport are the next most prominent airports, all with scheduled international flights. Other regional airports, with scheduled domestic flights, include Great Barrier Reef Airport, Hervey Bay Airport, Mackay Airport, Mount Isa Airport, Proserpine / Whitsunday Coast Airport, Rockhampton Airport, and Sunshine Coast Airport.

South East Queensland has an integrated public transport system operated by the TransLink Transit Authority, which provides services bus, rail and ferry services through contracted bus and ferry operators and Queensland Rail. The TransLink network operates a fare system which allows a single ticket to be used across all modes for the same price irrespective of the number of transfers made on the trip. Regional bus and long-distance rail services are also provided throughout the State. Local bus services are also available in most regional centres.

Governance

Main article: Government of Queensland
The Parliament House in Brisbane.

Executive authority is vested in the Governor, who represents and is appointed by Elizabeth II on the advice of the Premier. The current governor is Ms. Penelope Wensley, AO. The head of government is the Premier, who is appointed by the Governor but must have the support of the Legislative Assembly. The current Premier is Campbell Newman of the Liberal National Party. Other ministers, forming the Executive Council, are appointed by the governor from among the members of the Legislative Assembly on the Premier's recommendation.

The Queensland Parliament or the Legislative Assembly, is unicameral. It is the only Australian state with a unicameral legislature. A bicameral system existed until 1922, when the Legislative Council was abolished by the Labor members' "suicide squad" so called because they were appointed for the purpose of voting to abolish their own offices.[26] The Parliament is housed in the 19th century Parliament House and 20th century Parliamentary Annexe in Brisbane. The state's politics are traditionally regarded as being conservative relative to other states.[27][28][29][30][31]

The judicial system of Queensland consists of the Supreme Court and the District Court, established by the Queensland Constitution, and various other courts and tribunals established by ordinary Acts of the Queensland Parliament.

In 2001 Queensland adopted a new codified constitution, repealing most of the assorted Acts of Parliament that had previously made up the constitution. The new constitution took effect on 6 June 2002, the anniversary of the formation of the colony of Queensland by the signing of Letters Patent by Queen Victoria in 1859.

Local government

Main article: Local government in Queensland

Local government is the mechanism by which towns and districts can manage their own affairs to the extent permitted by the Local Government Act 1993–2007. Queensland is divided into 73 local government areas which may be called Cities, Towns, Shires or Regions.[32]

Each area has a council which is responsible for providing a range of public services and utilities, and derives its income from both rates and charges on resident ratepayers, and grants and subsidies from the State and Commonwealth governments.[33]

Universities

Bond University in Robina

The state's first university, the University of Queensland was established in 1909. It was moved to St Lucia in 1945, where it remains today. The University of Queensland ranks amongst the top 100 universities in several global rankings.

James Cook University was setup in 1970 to become the first tertiary education institution in North Queensland. Griffith University was established in the Brisbane suburb of Nathan in 1971. Bond University was established in 1987 as a not-for-profit university, the first of its type in Queensland and is located at Robina on the Gold Coast. In the Brisbane central business district at Gardens Point the Queensland University of Technology was opened in 1989.

In the following decades the Central Queensland University, University of Southern Queensland and the University of the Sunshine Coast were established. The Australian Catholic University also operates a campus in Brisbane.

Sports

The Brisbane Broncos are one of the most successful teams in the National Rugby League competition
The Queensland Bulls take part in Australia's domestic cricket tournaments
Main article: Sport in Queensland

The state of Queensland is represented in all of Australia's national sporting competitions and is also host to a number of domestic and international sporting events. The most popular winter and summer team sports are Rugby league, Rugby union and cricket, respectively. Rugby league football's annual State of Origin series is a major event in the Queensland sporting calendar, with the Queensland Maroons in 2012 winning a record seventh series in a row. The Brisbane Broncos are the state's most successful team of any sport, having won 3 premierships in the NRL rugby league era and 6 in total during their 23 year existence.

Queensland's dominance is not restricted to rugby league. The early part of this century saw the AFL's Brisbane Lions claim a hat-trick of premierships between 2001–2003 inclusive, and coming so close to a record-equalling fourth, whilst recently Brisbane Roar FC won back to back A-League titles in the 2010/11 and 2011/12 season . Just four years after being branded "the joke of rugby union", the Queensland Reds won its first Super Rugby title in July 2011. The Queensland Firebirds were also an outstanding team in 2011, going undefeated in the Netball ANZ Championship to win the Grand Final.

Swimming is also a popular sport in Queensland, with a majority of Australian team members and international medalists hailing from the state. At the 2008 Summer Olympics, Queensland swimmers won all six of Australia's gold medals, all swimmers on Australia's three female (finals) relays teams were from Queensland, two of which won gold.

Major professional teams include:

Events include:

See also

Lists:

References

  1. ^ Australia. "Dreaming Online: Indigenous Australian Timeline". Dreamtime.net.au. Retrieved 4 August 2010.
  2. ^ Place Names[dead link]
  3. ^ "Dictionary of Australian Biography". Gutenberg.net.au. Retrieved 4 August 2010.
  4. ^ "Queensland Government – Q150". Q150.qld.gov.au. 11 June 2010. Retrieved 4 August 2010.
  5. ^ Karl Bitar. "Labor History: Timeline: Foundations: Colonial Origins". Retrieved 24 August 2010.
  6. ^ "Queensland's History". Qld.gov.au. 29 January 2009. Retrieved 4 August 2010.
  7. ^ Richard Daintree's glass plates, National Museum of Australia
  8. ^ National Climate Centre. "Australian Government, Bureau of Meteorology – Climate of Queensland". Bom.gov.au. Retrieved 4 August 2010.
  9. ^ "Australian Government, Bureau of Meteorology – Australian climatic zones". Bom.gov.au. Retrieved 4 August 2010.[dead link]
  10. ^ "Australian Government, Bureau of Meteorology – Climate statistics for Australian locations". Bom.gov.au. 19 July 2010. Retrieved 4 August 2010.
  11. ^ "Brisbane Regional Office". Climate statistics for Australian locations. Bureau of Meteorology. Retrieved 26 September 2010.
  12. ^ "Mackay M.O." Climate statistics for Australian locations. Bureau of Meteorology. Retrieved 26 September 2010.
  13. ^ "Cairns Aero". Climate statistics for Australian locations. Bureau of Meteorology. Retrieved 26 September 2010.
  14. ^ "Townsville Aero". Climate statistics for Australian locations. Bureau of Meteorology. Retrieved 26 September 2010.
  15. ^ "The Hottest Spot on Earth".
  16. ^ "Rainfall and Temperature Records: National" (PDF). Bureau of Meteorology. Retrieved 14 November 2009.
  17. ^ "ABS.gov.au". ABS.gov.au. Retrieved 4 August 2010.
  18. ^ "ABS.gov.au". ABS.gov.au. Retrieved 4 August 2010.
  19. ^ "3301.0 – Births, Australia, 2008". Australian Bureau of Statistics. Retrieved 10 January 2010.
  20. ^ Tara Ravens (2 July 2008). "Couriermail.com.au". Couriermail.com.au. Retrieved 4 August 2010.
  21. ^ Tom Dusevic (17 December 2009). "Queensland falls back with the pack". The Australian. News Limited. Retrieved 10 January 2010.
  22. ^ "1387.3 – Queensland in Review, 2003". Australian Bureau of Statistics. Retrieved 10 January 2010.
  23. ^ "Gladstone". Comalco.com. Rio Tinto Aluminium. Retrieved 11 January 2010.
  24. ^ "About TQ – Profile". Tourism Queensland. Retrieved 6 January 2010.
  25. ^ "Tourism related information and statistics". Discoverqueensland.com.au. Retrieved 4 August 2010.
  26. ^ Wanna, John (2003). "Queensland". In Moon, Campbell; Sharman, Jeremy (eds.). Australian Politics and Government: The Commonwealth, the States and Territories. Cambridge, United Kingdom: Cambridge University Press. p. 47. ISBN 0-521-82507-5. Retrieved 15 November 2011.
  27. ^ Daly, Margo (2003). The Rough Guide To Australia. Rough Guides Ltd. p. 397. ISBN 978-1-84353-090-9.
  28. ^ Penrith, Deborah (2008). Live & Work in Australia. Crimson Publishing. p. 478. ISBN 978-1-85458-418-2.
  29. ^ Why Labor struggles in Queensland
  30. ^ George Megalogenis, "The Green and the Grey", Quarterly Essay, Vol. 40, 2010, p69. Available at: http://books.google.com.au/books?id=BHQzwqY1b90C&pg=PA121&dq=quarterly+essay+trivial+pursuit&hl=en&sa=X&ei=BLFqT8zAGYKaiAep6KTpBQ&ved=0CDEQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=quarterly%20essay%20trivial%20pursuit&f=false.
  31. ^ "Australia ready for first female leader". BBC News. 25 June 2010.
  32. ^ Local Government Act 1993, s.34. (Reprint 11E, as in force at 22 November 2007.)
  33. ^ Department of Local Government, Sport and Recreation (Queensland) (26 July 2007). "Rates and valuations". Retrieved 5 April 2008.

External links

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