Portal:Queensland

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The Queensland Portal

Queensland (locally /ˈkwiːnzlænd/ KWEENZ-land, commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a state in northeastern Australia, the second-largest and third-most populous of the Australian states. 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 the Pacific Ocean; to its north is the Torres Strait, separating the Australian mainland from Papua New Guinea, and the Gulf of Carpentaria to the north-west. With an area of 1,723,030 square kilometres (665,270 sq mi), Queensland is the world's sixth-largest subnational entity; it is larger than all but 16 countries. Due to its size, Queensland's geographical features and climates are diverse, including tropical rainforests, rivers, coral reefs, mountain ranges and sandy beaches in its tropical and sub-tropical coastal regions, as well as deserts and savanna in the semi-arid and desert climatic regions of its interior.

Queensland has a population of over 5.3 million, concentrated along the east coast, particularly in South East Queensland. The capital and largest city in the state is Brisbane, Australia's third-largest city. Ten of Australia's thirty largest cities are located in Queensland, the largest outside Brisbane being the Gold Coast, the Sunshine Coast, Townsville, Cairns, Ipswich, and Toowoomba. 28.9% of the state's population were immigrants. (Full article...)

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Moreton Bay is a bay on the eastern coast of Australia 45 km from Brisbane, Queensland. The bay extends some 125 km from Caloundra in the north almost to Surfers Paradise in the south. The bay's southern navigation entrance is the Gold Coast Seaway and it is 35 km across at its widest point. It is separated from the Pacific Ocean by a chain of three sand islands - Moreton Island in the north, North Stradbroke Island, and South Stradbroke Island in the south. Tipplers Passage is the main channel on the western coast of South Stradbroke Island. The Gold Coast Seaway is at the southern extent of Moreton Bay, before the Gold Coast Broadwater.

It is one of Queensland's most important coastal resources. The waters of Moreton Bay are a popular destination for recreational anglers and are used by commercial operators who provide seafood to market. The Port of Brisbane coordinates large traffic along the shipping channel which crosses the northern section of the bay. The bay serves as a safe approach to the airport and reduces noise pollution over the city to the west of the runway. A number of barge, ferry and water-taxi services also travel over the bay. Moreton Bay has been the site of conflict between indigenous Australians and early European settlers. It contains environmentally significant habitats and large areas of sandbanks. Many parts of the mainland foreshore and southern islands are settled.

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Image 1Hill Inlet at the Whitsunday Islands. (from Queensland)
Image 2Government House, seat of the Governor (from Queensland)
Image 3Parade of troops in Brisbane, prior to departure for the Boer War in South Africa (from Queensland)
Image 4Cricket game at The Gabba, a 42,000-seat round stadium in Brisbane (from Queensland)
Image 5Parliament House, seat of the Queensland Parliament (from Queensland)
Image 6Cargo ships at the Port of Gladstone, Queensland's largest commodity seaport (from Queensland)
Image 7The Mossman River, flowing through the Daintree Rainforest in Far North Queensland (from Queensland)
Image 8Brisbane, capital and most populous city of Queensland (from Queensland)
Image 9Gold mine at Ravenswood in North Queensland. Mining is one of the state's major industries (from Queensland)
Image 10Fighting between Burke and Wills's supply party and Aboriginal Australians at Bulla in 1861 (from Queensland)
Image 11Lake McKensie, K'gari (Fraser Island) (from Queensland)
Image 12The Gold Coast, Queensland's second-largest city and a major tourist destination (from Queensland)
Image 13Blackbirded South Sea Islanders on a Sugarcane plantation in Queensland. (from Queensland)
Image 14Kanaka workers in a sugar cane plantation, late 19th century (from Queensland)
Image 15Noosa Heads on the Sunshine Coast, Queensland's third largest city and a major tourist destination (from Queensland)
Image 16Passenger train at Oxley railway station on the Ipswich/Rosewood line within the Queensland Rail City network (from Queensland)
Image 17The Great Court at the University of Queensland in Brisbane, Queensland's oldest university (from Queensland)
Image 18Köppen climate types in Queensland (from Queensland)
Image 19The Ekka (the Royal Queensland Exhibition) is held each August at the Brisbane Showgrounds. (from Queensland)
Image 20Captain James Cook claims the east coast of Australia for the Kingdom of Great Britain at Possession Island in 1770 (from Queensland)
Image 21Aftermath of the 1861 Cullin-La-Ringo massacre in which 19 settlers were killed by Aboriginal people, the deadliest attack on settlers in the frontier wars (from Queensland)
Image 22Skyline of the Brisbane central business district. Brisbane is a global city and the state's largest economic hub. (from Queensland)
Image 23The Great Barrier Reef, which extends along most of Queensland's Coral Sea coastline (from Queensland)
Image 24Returned World War II soldiers march in Queen Street, Brisbane, 1944 (from Queensland)
Image 25Queen Elizabeth II Courts of Law, headquarters of the Supreme Court of Queensland and District Court of Queensland (from Queensland)
Image 26The McPherson Range at Lamington National Park in South East Queensland (from Queensland)
Image 27Commonly designated regions of Queensland, with Central Queensland divided into Mackay and Fitzroy subregions (from Queensland)

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Opera Queensland is an opera company based in Brisbane, Queensland. The company was founded with funding from the Queensland State Government in 1981, then under the name Lyric Opera of Queensland, after the Queensland Opera Company was closed in December 1980.

It is after Opera Australia the second largest opera company in Australia. Each year the company presents at least three major operatic productions in Brisbane and numerous smaller productions, concerts and tours of operatic and lighter musical material in other venues throughout Queensland. As a partner in The Opera Conference, the national partnership of professional opera companies, Opera Queensland is actively involved in commissioning and presenting new productions. Opera Queensland is a "State flagship company" member of the Australian Major Performing Arts Group. (Full article...)

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Did you know (auto-generated)

... that Lachlan Murdoch was forced to resign as a director of Prime Media Group because the company owned a radio station on Queensland's Sunshine Coast?
... that despite being described in 1840, the chestnut-backed buttonquail was only confirmed in Queensland in 2020?

More did You Know?

...that Innisfail (pictured) was once named Geraldton but in 1910 was renamed to avoid confusion with the town of the same name in Western Australia?
...that the BuzzSaw SkyLoop roller coaster features the tallest inversion in the Southern Hemisphere and the second highest inversion worldwide of its type?
...that the clock in the South Brisbane Town Hall, installed in 1904, was the first electrically-driven clock in Australia?
...that LGBT rights in Queensland were advanced when civil partnerships became legal for same-sex couples from 23 February 2012?