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Australian States: Queensland

FACT SHEET JANUARY 1995



The People - Government - Geography - Climate - Flora and fauna - Economy -
Tourism - Health - Education - Transport and communications

Queensland is Australias second largest state, covering 1 722 000 km2 and
the third most populous with more than 3 000 000 inhabitants - 17 per cent
of the nation's people.

It occupies 22.5 per cent of the continent in the north-east and has
boundaries with New South Wales, South Australia and the Northern Territory.
It is bounded by the Gulf of Carpentaria, Torres Strait and the Coral Sea in
the north, and the South Pacific Ocean in the east. The total coastline is
7400 km.

Brisbane, the capital, is in the south-eastern corner of the State with a
population of 1 327 000.

The People

Most settlers in Queensland during the 19th century were from Britain and
Europe. In recent years there has been an increasing number of new settlers
from South-East Asia. About one-third of Queenslanders are migrants or the
children of migrants.

The warm climate, a relaxed way of life and the economic prospects of
decentralised Queensland also attract residents from other parts of
Australia. Queensland's population growth in the year 1991-92 was 2.4 per
cent, compared with the national average of 1.4 per cent.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people comprise about 2.4 per cent of
the population and many who live in clan group communities retain their
traditional way of life.

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. Distance plays a part in the strength of
regional influences in Queensland. The Torres Strait islands are 2000 km
north of Brisbane. Cairns, the major city of the far north, is further from
Brisbane than is Melbourne, the capital of Victoria on the southern coast of
the continent.

The south-east corner is the most densely populated part of the State.

Government

Queensland is represented in the Federal Parliament by 25 (of 148) members
in the House of Representatives and 12 (of 76) Senators.

The Parliament of Queensland consists of the State Governor, representing
the Sovereign, and the Legislative Assembly, consisting of 89 elected
members.

Queensland's cities, towns and shires are run by 134 councils elected every
three years.

Geography

Queensland is essentially a state of great plains which merge into high
country of sharper relief to the east and north-west. To the north, the
country falls gradually to meet the coastal plain which reaches the Gulf of
Carpentaria as a broad tract of salt flats. The far north-west is occupied
by a rugged uplands region, rich in minerals. Eastward, the country rises
towards the Great Dividing Range which runs from the southern border to the
northern tip of the state and is the main watershed between the coastal and
inland rivers.

East of the Great Dividing Range, the country drops seaward in a jumble of
ranges separated by lowlands. This structure is continued in a chain of
mountainous offshore islands sitting on the continental shelf. Beyond them
is the Great Barrier Reef, a series of coral formations stretching for about
2000 km.

Climate

Queensland is known as Australia's "sunshine state" although weather
conditions vary greatly between the coastal plain and the inland.

Brisbane averages 7.1 hours of sunshine a day in winter. Inland, the days
are warm and sunny and the nights cold and frosty, particularly in the
south. Queensland's wet season is from December to March, when the northwest
monsoons sweep down from Asia and cyclones are most prevalent.

Annual rainfall can exceed 4000 mm in the north. In the north-west, Mount
Isa averages less than 400 mm a year and the average dwindles to about 200
mm in the south-west corner. Brisbane averages 1200 mm.

Flora and fauna

Queensland has more than 1000 species of native vertebrates. Of these, 86
are unique to the region. There are 572 species of birds and 1600 species of
fish. Many animals, such as the tree kangaroo, live only in specialised
habitats.

Vegetation in Queensland varies from tropical rainforest in coastal regions
to arid Mitchell grass downs in the south-west. Plant species vary from
banksias and eucalypts to tropical plants common throughout South-East Asia.

Economy

Mining, tourism and agriculture, are the three major industries. Queensland
accounts for 24 per cent of the total Australian mining production, 37 per
cent of Australia's beef production, and almost all of Australia's sugar
production.

Sugar is the main export crop. Other important crops are wheat, sorghum,
maize, cotton, tobacco and peanuts. Tropical fruits grow extensively along
the coast. Beef cattle and sheep dominate the livestock industries.

Coal is the most important mineral followed by copper, lead, bauxite and
zinc. There are major developments of bauxite near Weipa; copper,
silver-lead-zinc and phosphate rock in the north- west, centred on Mount
Isa; coal in the Bowen Basin of central Queensland and the Moreton Basin of
the south-east; nickel at Greenvale, north-west of Townsville; natural gas
and oil in the southern inland; and mineral sands along the southern
beaches.

Tourism

Queensland contains a number of Australia's top international destinations
such as Cairns, the Great Barrier Reef, the Gold Coast and the Whitsundays
and tourism injected $6.7 billion into the State's economy during 1993.

Queensland offers a great diversity of holiday and touring opportunities,
with the Great Barrier Reef, tropical islands, rainforest and wilderness,
open sandy beaches, and the vast outback, as well as the sophisticated
attractions of Brisbane and major towns.

International tourist numbers are expected to escalate from 1.5 million at
present to 3-4.5 million by the year 2000. In the year 2000, 1.5 million
visitors will be Japanese - double the present total.

Queensland has three international airports: Brisbane, Cairns and
Townsville.

Health

The State Health Department provides services including the supervision of
general hospitals, nursing homes, maternal and child health clinics,
community health centres, dental care for primary school children, youth
welfare and guidance clinics, geriatric care and services for the
intellectually handicapped.

People in isolated areas are served by the Royal Flying Doctor Service, the
Flying Surgeon and the Aerial Ambulance.

Education

There are eight universities, 32 colleges of Technical and Further Education
and 1730 state and private primary secondary and special schools. Education
in state schools is free while fees are charged in private schools.

Transport and communications

Queensland has modern transport and communication systems. The State's 10
011 km rail network is growing each year under a continuing development
program. In 1991-92 the railways carried nearly 41 million passengers and
more than 90 million tonnes of minerals and other freight. More than 130
regional airports and aerodromes complement three international airports.

Nineteen major ports dot the coast, the businest being the Port of Brisbane.
A total of 114 million tonnes of cargo was handled by all ports in the year
to June 1992.

In June 1993, there were more than 1 400 000 telephone services and
television is available to almost all Queensland homes. Viewers in and near
Brisbane have the choice of five channels, three commercial, one national
and one multicultural. Major regional centres also have access to the
commercial and national stations while some centres can also access the
multicultural channel.

Q-NET, Queensland's first multi-purpose satellite communications network,
uses the Aussat domestic satellite to extend education, health, emergency
and other services to mining settlements, Aboriginal missions, isolated
townships, homesteads and islands.

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