Queensland is a state of Australia, in the northeast of the country. The capital city is Brisbane. It is the only Australian state with a unicameral legislature, known as the Queensland Parliament or the Legislative Assembly. A bicameral system existed until 1922 when the Legislative Council of Queensland was abolished.

Geography

• Borders
  • North The northernmost part of the state is the triangular Cape York Peninsula which points toward New Guinea. The western side of the peninsula is washed by the Gulf of Carpentaria, while its eastern side borders the Coral Sea which is an arm of the Pacific Ocean.
  • East The Eastern border is the Pacific Ocean
  • West To the west, Queensland is bordered by the Northern Territory, at the 138 deg. E. longitude, and to the south west by the north eastern corner of South Australia.
  • South by New South Wales. This border has three sections:
    • The watershed from Point Danger to the Dumaresq River
    • The river section involving the Dumaresq, the Macintyre and the Barwon
    • The 29th deg. S. latitude, over to the South Australian border.

• The State capital Brisbane, is located on the coast 100km by road north of the New South Wales border.
• The largest city by area in the world, Mount Isa, is located in Queensland. The city area is in excess of 40 000 km².
• Other regions of note include:
  • the Atherton Tableland
  • the Bunya Mountains
  • Carnarvon Gorge
  • the Darling Downs
  • Whitsunday Islands
  • Hinchinbrook Island
  • the Gold Coast having some the state's best beaches
  • the Great Dividing Range
  • Further afield is the Channel Country in the far south west.
• The state contains five World Heritage listed preservation areas.
  • Australian Fossil Mammal Sites at Riversleigh in the Gulf Country
  • Central Eastern Rainforest Reserves
  • Fraser Island
  • Great Barrier Reef
  • Wet Tropics of Queensland

Demographics

Population

Queensland's population is less centralized than the rest of the country. At 30 June 2001 the capital city represented 45.5% of the population; for the whole country, capital cities represented 63.8% of the total population.

As at 30 June 2003 the State's population was 3,796,800 and Brisbane's 1,733,200

Religion

Christian: 77% (Anglican: 24.6%, Catholic: 26.2%, Lutheran: 2.2%, Uniting Church: 10.8%, Other: 13.4%), Non-Christian: 0.9% (Buddhism: 0.2%, Hinduism: 0.1%, Other: 0.6%), No Religion: 14.9%, Not Stated: 6.9% (2002 census)

Economy

In 2001, Queensland has a Gross Domestic Product of A$115.53 billion, which per capita, equals A$31,000. Based on exchange rates (2003) this equals US$20,400, making Queensland the third-poorest state in Australia after Tasmania and South Australia.

Primary Industries:

• Bananas, Pineapples, wide variety of other tropical and temperate fruit and vegetables
• Cattle raising
• Cotton
• Mining - Bauxite; Coal; Copper
• Sugar Cane
• Wool

Secondary Industries

• Mostly further processing of primary produce
  • Bauxite (Weipa) to Alumina (Gladstone)
  • Copper Refining
  • Sugar Cane to Sugar Refining

Tertiary Industries

• Retail Trade
• Tourism

Government

Main article: Government of Queensland

Queen Elizabeth II is represented as head of state by the locally appointed Governor, Ms Quentin Bryce, AC. The elected head of government is the Labor Premier, the Hon Peter Beattie who appoints an Executive Council from the members of the Queensland Legislative Assembly of 89 members (MLAs). The Queensland State Parliament has been unicameral since 1922, when the Queensland Legislative Council was abolished.

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

Day to day law enforcement is the responsibility of the Queensland Police Service but the Australian Federal Police also have jurisdiction in federal matters.

History

• circa 120,000 BC Archaic Homo Sapiens inhabited Queensland
• circa 40,000 BC Modern Aboriginal Australians reached Queensland by boat
• 1824 Moreton Bay penal colony established at Redcliffe, just north of Brisbane
• 1825 Penal colony moved south and Brisbane is established
• 1839 Transportation of convicts ceases
• 1842 Free settlement is permitted
• 1859 Colony of Queensland formed
• 1862 Qld. western boundary changed from Longitude 141 deg. east to 138 deg. east
• 1863 First Chief Justice appointed (Sir James Cockle).
• 1864 Was an annus horribilis for Queensland:
  • In March, Major flooding of the Brisbane River invaded the centre of town
  • In April, Fires devasted the west side of Queen street (the main shopping centre)
  • In December, Another fire (Brisbane's worst ever) wiped out the rest of Queen street and adjoining streets
• 1865 First steam trains in Queensland (from Ipswich to Bigge's Camp (now Grandchester )).
• 1867
  • Qld. Constitution consolidated from existing legislation. Constitution Act 1867
  • Gold discovered in Gympie
• 1883 Queensland annexes Papua (later repudiated by British government)
• 1891 Great Shearers Strike leads to formation of the Labor Party
• 1899 World's first Labor Party Government (Premier Anderson Dawson lasted one week)
• 1901 Federation of Australia
• 1904 Women's suffrage in state elections
• 1909 University of Queensland established
• 1920 Qantas founded to serve outback Queensland
• 1922 Upper house of Parliament abolished
• 1928 Royal Flying Doctor Service of Australia makes first ever flight,departing from Cloncurry
• 1982 Commonwealth Games held in Brisbane
• 1988 Expo 88 held in Brisbane

Colleges and universities

• Bond University
• Central Queensland University
• Griffith University
• James Cook University
• Queensland University of Technology
• University of Queensland
• University of Southern Queensland
• University of the Sunshine Coast

See also

• Australian States and Territories
• Governors of Queensland
• Local Government Areas of Queensland
• List of Queenslanders
• Premiers of Queensland
• Protected areas of Queensland (Australia)
• List of Queensland highways

Towns and settlements

External links

• Government of Queensland
• Parliament of Queensland
• Premier of Queensland
• Independent and unofficial portal for Queensland
• Queensland Art Gallery
• South Bank Parklands
• Translink - Public Transport - Bus Train Ferry