Portal:Queensland

The Queensland Portal

Queensland (locally /ˈkwiːnzlænd/ KWEENZ-land, commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a state in northeastern Australia, and is 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, south-west and south, respectively. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and the Pacific Ocean; to the state's 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, and include tropical rainforests, rivers, coral reefs, mountain ranges and white 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 5.5 million, concentrated in South East Queensland, where nearly three in four reside. The capital and largest city in the state is Brisbane, Australia's third-largest city and comprising fully half of the state’s population. 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. 24.2% of the state's population were born overseas. The state has the highest inter-state net migration in Australia. (Full article...)

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Selected Article

Powderfinger is an alternative rock band based in Australia. The band formed in Brisbane, Australia, in 1989, and their lineup since 1992 has consisted of vocalist Bernard Fanning, guitarists Darren Middleton and Ian Haug, bassist John Collins, and drummer Jon Coghill.

Powderfinger became a commercial success with their third studio album Internationalist in 1998. Since then, they have released several hit singles and award-winning works; earning them a total of fifteen ARIA Awards. Numerous Powderfinger albums have reached platinum status multiple times, and rankings in the top 100 of Australian music charts. Odyssey Number Five, Powderfinger's most successful to date, earned over eight platinum certifications and ARIA Awards in five different categories.

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

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(Pictured left: A Billabong brand hat)

Billabong International is a clothing company traded on the Australian Securities Exchange since 11 August 2000. Billabong was founded in 1973 by Gordon and Rena Merchant. The name came from the same word billabong, which is a stagnant body of water attached to a waterway.

As well as the Billabong brand-name, the company sells surfwear and accessories under the Palmers Surf, Honolua Surf, Swell.com, Von Zipper, Kustom (footwear), Nixon, Xcel Wetsuits and Tigerlily brands, and also Element skate clothing and hardware. The brands are available at various surf and skateboard stores locations. (Full article...)

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Did you know (auto-generated)

... that in its two years of existence, the Hunter River Railway Company initiated construction on what would eventually become the Great Northern Railway connecting Sydney to Queensland?
... 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?

More did You Know?

...that a replica of the HMB Endeavour (pictured), the ship sailed by James Cook in his first discovery voyage to the Pacific Ocean, exists in Cooktown harbour?
...that the Christian mission founded by Florence Young on her brothers’ sugar plantation in Queensland led her to make annual trips to the Solomon Islands for twenty years?
...that the Queensland Court of Disputed Returns once heard an election dispute from a person who claimed that the Queensland Government was unconstitutional but who still wished to be elected to it?
...that in order to stem a population decline a "dollar block" promotion was held in the Queensland town of Jandowae where 38 parcels of land were sold for one dollar each?