Location : North Eastern Mainland Australia.

Capital City : Brisbane.

Size : 1,727,200 Square Kilometres (666,873 Square Miles).   Second largest State (Not including Northern Territory)

Length Of Coastline : 7,400 Kilometres (4,598 Miles)

Highest Point : Mount Bartle Frere (1,612 Metres or  5,289 Feet)

Average Annual Temperatures - Brisbane :

January Maximum - 29.2 Degrees Celsius or 84.6 Degrees Fahrenheit.
July Maximum - 20.6 Degrees Celsius or 69.1 Degrees Fahrenheit.

Average Annual Rainfall - Brisbane : 1,190 Millimetres or 47.6 Inches.

Brisbane is Australia's fastest growing city and the urban sprawl is spreading to the North and South rapidly. Many people who have lived in Southern States are moving to Queensland for their retirement.  Brisbane is also becoming the centre of many national companies who have chosen to set up their headquarters in Queensland.  The rapid population growth has outpaced the infrastructure needed to support the population base, and many changes need to be made in the very near future, especially in areas, such as water and basic utility supplies.

Queensland can be broken up into distinct areas, with the South East corner (much of which is called the "Darling Downs") being very fertile and a production area for many cereal crops and cotton.  Also the bulk of Australia's peanuts are grown in Queensland in an area known as the "South Burnett".  Together with the "Darling Downs" and the "South Burnett" , there are also the "Burnett" and the "Granite Belt" which are famous for their fruit growing, and wine making.  Outside the South East area very little cultivation is done, except as fodder for livestock.  The South East corner takes up about one quarter of the State.  The exception is that there is also some considerable agriculture in the North on an area known as the "Atherton Tablelands" where many grain crops are grown along with tropical fruits.

There is a large fishing industry based in Queensland, both in the sports fishing (Deep Sea) and commercial fishing areas.  The North East and the Gulf of Carpentaria are well known for their prawning (shrimp) catches, and the export of those is an important part of Queensland's economy.  Also many well known people come to Queensland, from all over the world, purely to engage in sports fishing, mainly because of the highly sort after Marlin, which is found in the waters off the Queensland coast.

About half of the State is utilised for cattle stations (ranches in USA), and Queensland beef is some of the best produced in the world.  There is a large trade in beef, and much of rural Queensland depends on the beef industry.

The remaining quarter of the State is basically dry and desolate, being desert, and of very little use.  However when the heavy rains fall in the North, the inland rivers run South and regenerate the land yet again.  That water eventually finds its way into Lake Eyre in South Australia (A normally dry salt lake), and the land dries out until the next flooding rains in the North.  It is impossible to predict and sometimes it can be annual, and at others it can be years between these flooding rains.  Those who choose to live and try to make a living in that part of the State gamble annually on the rains falling.  Much of Cape York, and far Western Queensland is very sparsely inhabited.  You can drive for half a day and not see another person.

Queensland is possibly Australia's tourist capital, with world known beaches both North and South of Brisbane (Sunshine Coast to the North and Gold Coast to the South).  There are numerous tourist spots along the coast, as well as the inland.  Some of the better known ones are, "The Stockman's Hall Of Fame" at Longreach in mid Western Queensland", "The Great Barrier Reef" off the North East Queensland coast, (Popular diving and deep sea fishing area), "The Tropical North" with resorts at Cairns and "Port Douglas".  There are also many resort islands on "The Great Barrier Reef" , including "The Whitsunday Islands" and the largest sand island in the world, "Fraser Island".  Many historical tours, and of course what is probably Australia's last great adventure trip, a drive (Four Wheel Drive needed) to the Northern most tip of the mainland on Cape York.  No matter where you go, there is always something to do, but if you keep away from the tourist resorts, a journey to Queensland can be much cheaper, than that which may be advertised.

Queensland is a naturally mineral resource State, with enormous reserves of high quality coking coal in Central Queensland, most of which is exported.  There are also large reserves of bauxite (used to make aluminium) at Weipa on Cape York.   Gladstone, a town on the lower part of the coast is a heavy industry town and much of the bauxite is sent there to the processing plants.  Oil is found in South Western Queensland, and there are a number of oil fields in that area.   There are also large reserves of lead, silver and zinc, in the far North Western city of Mount Isa.  Recent discoveries of large deposits of zinc ore to the North East of Mount Isa, suggest that mining and mineral exports will continue to be a mainstay of the Queensland economy for many years.  Queensland is probably second only to Western Australia, in the value to Australia of mineral exports. There are some opals found in the Southern West, but they are not of the quality of the ones found in New South Wales or South Australia.

Some of the world's oldest dinosaur fossils have been found in Queensland, especially near the Central Queensland town of Muttaburra.  This dinosaur has been given the name,"Muttaburrasaurus."

For some strange reason, anyone who lives (or comes from) Queensland is known as a "Banana Bender", although the truth is that a lot of Australia's bananas are actually grown on the mid Northern New South Wales coast.  Queensland is also known as "The Sunshine State."

If any State is different from the rest of Australian States, then it is Queensland.  People in Queensland seem to develop their own styles, and even way of talking or communicating.  They use different words for the same objects, and if one listens closely, it is easy to tell that an individual comes from Queensland. Queensland is also the only State with a single House of Parliament, all other States have members of an Upper and Lower House. All legislation must pass through both houses to become law, whereas in Queensland the government of the day is virtually unrestricted by the review of legislation from an Upper House.

Having spent more than half my life in Queensland, I guess it is fair to say that I am now a Queenslander.