Portal:Queensland

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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 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. 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

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

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Bank of Queensland at Maleny

Bank of Queensland (BOQ), one of the oldest financial institutions in Queensland, Australia, is a retail bank with a network of almost 270 branches, including 152 in Queensland, 52 in New South Wales, 23 in Victoria and 34 in Western Australia. Following the Home Building Society and Pioneer mergers, it now has more than 650,000 customers. In 2007, customer satisfaction with the bank was placed at 88%.

In 1874, the Brisbane Permanent Benefit Building and Investment Society was established as the first permanent building society formed in Queensland. The Society incorporated in 1887. The company amalgamated with City and Suburban Building Society in 1921. The company amalgamated with Queensland Deposit Bank a decade later. The company received a licence to operate as a trading bank in 1942. 1971 saw the bank become a publicly traded company listed on the Australian Stock Exchange. In 2011, the bank experienced a profit slump due to lending losses from the 2010–2011 Queensland floods. (Full article...)

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Did you know (auto-generated)

... that despite being described in 1840, the chestnut-backed buttonquail was only confirmed in Queensland in 2020?
... 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 the Bremer River served as an important navigation route for the towns of Ipswich and Brisbane?
...that when the Tower of Terror II (pictured) at Dreamworld opened on 23 January 1997, it was the tallest and fastest roller coaster in the world?
...that the extinct Gastric-brooding frog genus was unique because it contained the only two known frog species that incubated the prejuvenile stages of their offspring in the stomach of the mother?
... that the University of Queensland is the oldest university in Queensland?