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

The players of Queensland Roar FC compete in the A-League, the premier domestic football (soccer) competition in Australia. It was founded in 2004, and the Queensland Roar were one of the eight inaugural clubs to participate in the new competition. The A-League competition consists of a regular season and a finals series of the top four teams, with the premiership being awarded to the club who finishes on top of the table in the regular season, and the championship to the winner of the Grand Final.

The Roar have missed the finals in both of the A-League seasons to date, finishing sixth in 2005–06 and fifth in 2006–07 on goal difference to Sydney FC, who finished fourth. Queensland have had four players compete for them who have been capped at international level - three for Australia and one for China. This includes the current record-holder for goals for the Australian national team, Damian Mori, who is the current equal-leading goalscorer for the Roar.

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Selected images

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

Selected business

New Hope Coal is an Australian coal-mining and energy company with its headquarters in Brisbane, Queensland. The company's operations include New Acland Mine, Jeebropilly Mine, New Oakleigh Mine and Queensland Bulk Handling. New Hope Coal is 61.11% owned by Washington H. Soul Pattinson.

New Hope's first export shipment, 17,332 tonnes of Bundamba coal, was aboard MV "Floret" which sailed from the Maynegrain grain terminal at Pinkenba on 10 September 1980. At first the company met domestic demand however by 1986 New Hope's market mix had about-faced to 90 per cent export and 10 per cent domestic sales. On 18 July 2008, New Hope entered into an agreement to sell its New Saraji Coal Project to BHP Billiton Mitsubishi Alliance (BMA) for A$2.45 billion. (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 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?

More did You Know?

... that Mount Bellenden Ker, Queensland's second highest peak, holds the record for the highest rainfall in a calendar year of 12,461 mm in 2000?
...that Lamington National Park contains the most northern stand of Antarctic Beech in Australia?
...that Urangan Pier (pictured) which was built between 1913 and 1917, originally to a length of 1107 metres, served as an extension to the Hervey Bay railway line?
... that the Queensland Ambulance Service is the fourth-largest ambulance service in the world?