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QueenslandThe Great Dividing Range separates the fertile coastal strip from vast interior plains. The Great Artesian Basin (376,000 sq mi/973,840 sq km) in the interior provides water for a large livestock-raising area. Queensland produces sugarcane (the chief crop), cotton, wheat (grown mostly on the Darling Downs), and tropical fruits. In addition, the state is Australia's leading producer of beef.
Mining is also important, especially copper, coal, lead, zinc, and bauxite. Oil and natural gas were discovered in the 1960s and are being exploited. Manufacturing has gained importance in the last 30 years, as has tourism. The Great Barrier Reef, Sunshine Coast, and Gold Coast are extremely popular attractions.
Almost half of Queensland's people live in the Brisbane metropolitan area. In 1994 the state decided to amalgamate three cities with their shires; Gold Coast, Cairns, and Ipswich were merged with Albert Shire, Mulgrave Shire, and Moreton Shire, respectively, making Gold Coast Australia's second largest municipality after Brisbane.
In 1770, Capt. James Cook explored the coast of Queensland (then called Moreton Bay). Originally under the authority of New South Wales, Queensland served as a penal colony from 1824 to 1843. The area was separated from New South Wales and made a British colony in 1859. Queensland was federated as a state of the Commonwealth of Australia in 1901. The state government consists of a governor (the nominal chief executive), who is appointed by the British crown on advice of the cabinet; a premier and a cabinet; and a unicameral legislature (the upper house voted itself out of existence in 1922).
The Columbia Encyclopedia. Copyright © 2001-09 Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.
- Queensland, University of
Queensland, University of, at Brisbane, Australia; founded 1909. It has faculties of agriculture, architecture and planning, arts, business studies, commerce and economics, education, social w...
- Bundaberg
Bundaberg, city (1991 pop. 38,074), Queensland, E Australia, on the Burnett River. It is a sugar-refining center and a port.
- Rockhampton
Rockhampton, city (1991 pop. 55,768), Queensland, E Australia, on the Fitzroy River. It is a rail center and, with its port at Port Alma, the principal trade center for the pastoral and mining...
- Gold Coast, city, Australia
Gold Coast, city (1991 pop. 256,275), Queensland, E Australia, on the Pacific Ocean. The city, a major resort, stretches for many miles along the coast and extends into New South Wales. In 199...
- Mackay
Mackay, city (1991 pop. 40,250), Queensland, NE Australia on the Pioneer River. A port city, Mackay exports sugar, beef, and coal.
- Thursday Island
Thursday Island (1991 pop. 2,652), Queensland, NE Australia, N of Cape York Peninsula, in Torres Strait. It is the administrative and commercial center of the Torres Strait Islands.
- macadamia
Macadamia, name for the nut of the Macadamia ternifolia, an evergreen tree native to Australia, but cultivated in Hawaii. The nuts, also called Queensland nuts, are eaten roasted or raw. The m...
- Cape York Peninsula
Cape York Peninsula, 280 mi (451 km) long, N Queensland, Australia, between the Gulf of Carpentaria and the Coral Sea. It is largely tropical jungle and sparsely populated. The Northern Penins...
- Darling Downs
Darling Downs, tableland, 27,610 sq mi (71,510 sq km), SE Queensland, Australia, W of the Great Dividing Range. Settled in 1840 by sheep grazers, this grassland region has become an important ...
- Moreton Bay
Moreton Bay, inlet of the Pacific Ocean, 65 mi (105 km) long and 20 mi (32 km) wide, Queensland, E Australia, nearly enclosed by Moreton and Stradbroke islands. Receiving the Brisbane River, t...
