Did you know?
- With an area of 1 727 000 square kilometres, Queensland is the second largest state in Australia, exceeded only in size by Western Australia. Queensland is nearly five times the size of Japan, seven times the size of Great Britain and two and a half times the size of Texas.
- Queensland is host to five of Australia's 11 World Natural Heritage areas including one of the Wonders of the World - the Great Barrier Reef. These include the Scenic Rim National Parks, Fraser Island, Riversleigh Fossil Fields, the Wet Tropics including Daintree National Park.
- More than half of Queensland's population lives outside the greater metropolitan area of Brisbane - a large proportion compared with the rest of highly urbanised Australia.
- About one-third of Queenslanders are migrants or the children of migrants. Most settlers in Queensland during the 19th century were from Britain and Europe. In recent years there have been an increasing number of new settlers from South-East Asia.
- Queensland is home to more than 4 million people.
- The average maximum and minimum temperatures for Brisbane are 25.3C and 15.7C. Variations in other centres include: Stanthorpe 21.6C and 8.8C, Mount Isa 32.4C and 18.3C and Cairns 31.8C and 22.7C.
- The vast majority of Queensland receives an average of between eight and nine hours sunshine every day.
- The multi-award winning Tjapukai Dance Theatre in Kuranda, North Queensland features in the 1997 Guinness Book of Records as the entry for the longest running show in Australia. That show ran from May 1987 to July 1996, with more than 7 000 performances and 1 200 000 visitors.
- Queensland has more than 1000 species of native vertebrates, many of them unique to the region.
- The first labour government in the world took office in Queensland in 1899.
- Renowned international airline Qantas (Queensland and Northern Territory Aerial Services) was established in Longreach, Queensland in 1920.
- 2008 marks the 20th Anniversary of World Expo 88 - a landmark event in the history of Brisbane which provided the launch pad for an exciting period of growth and development.
- There are over 200 national parks in Queensland, covering 6.5 million hectares.
- Four Queenslanders have been Prime Minister of Australia - Andrew Fisher (three times: 1908-1909, 1910-1913 and 1914-1915), Arthur Fadden (1941), Francis Forde (1945) and Kevin Rudd (2007 - current).
- Free education was implemented in Queensland in 1870.
- The first Queensland railway opened in July 1865, from Ipswich to Grandchester.
- XXXX beer is one of Queensland's proudest products and was established back in 1877.
- On 18 May 1907 women voted for the first time in a Queensland state election.
- Brisbane born pioneer aviator Charles Kingsford Smith and his colleagues completed the first air crossing of the Pacific, from San Francisco to Brisbane, in 1928.
- Australian poet Banjo Patterson's verse Waltzing Matilda was first sung publicly at the North Gregory Hotel in Winton, Queensland, on 6 April 1895.
- Queensland has the only State Parliament in Australia with one House, the Legislative Assembly. The Legislative Council (Upper House) was abolished in 1922.
- The Royal Flying Doctor Service commenced operating on 17 May 1928, when pilot Arthur Affleck flew the first flying doctor, Dr Kenyon St Vincent Welch, on the first official flight from Cloncurry to Julia Creek in response to an emergency call.
- The Australian Labour Party was formed in Queensland in 1891 following the bitter defeat of the shearer's strikes of 1890-91.
Last reviewed 14 October 2008
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