QUEENSLAND 



Queensland. State of the Aus- 

 tralian Commonwealth, the largest 

 and most northerly of the three 

 _ eastern states. 



More than two- 

 thirds of its area 

 ns within the tro- 

 pics. OfftheN.E. 

 coast from 30 to 

 75 m. distant lies 

 the Great Barrier 

 Reef, a c o n- 

 Queensland arms t i n u o u s coral 

 formation except opposite the river 

 mouths ; the E. side of the reef de- 

 scends steeply, the W. side gently 

 to a depth of some 60 ft. The rivers 

 fall into three groups. The Fitzroy, 

 Burdekin, and smaller streams, e.g. 

 the Brisbane, flow to the E. coast ; 

 the Flinders, the largest river in the 

 state, and Mitchell flow into the 

 Gulf of Carpentaria ; Cooper's 

 Creek and other streams drain 

 S.W. to the area of internal drain- 

 age in the heart of the continent. 

 The Great! Dividing or Main Range 

 is continued N. from New South 

 Wales at a lower elevation. The 

 highest peak in Queensland is Mt. 

 Bartle Frere, 5,438 ft. 



Varying in temperature between 

 60 and 80 F., Queensland has 

 usually rainless winters and rainy 

 summers. The S.W. is arid, semi- 

 desert scrubland, the W. slopes are 

 grassland or savanna where euca- 

 lypts alternate with scrub, the 

 E. slopes are forested mainly with 

 eucalypts, and the coasts are 

 heavily forested with typical man- 

 grove swamps along the shore. 

 Much of the W. falls within the 

 area where underground water is 

 tapped by artesian bores. 



Sheep rearing is important on 

 the downs hi the S. and in the 

 S.W. to the N.W. of Charleville. 

 Cattle are the main live stock ; 

 they thrive on all the coast lands, 

 and the dairy products, butter and 

 cheese, are important. The chief 

 crops are maize, sugar canes, and 

 tropical fniits, such as bananas 

 and pineapples, while the tobacco 

 and cotton crops are increasing. 

 Gold and tin are mined in con- 

 siderable quantities, and copper, 

 manganese, and iron ores obtained. 

 Coal mined at Ipswich and other 

 centres is mainly used as bunker 

 coal on the coasting steamers. 

 Thursday Island is a centre for the 

 pearl and beche-de-mer fishery. 

 Manufactures are confined almost 

 entirely to the production of food- 

 stuffs and articles of clothing. 



Normanton. Cooktown, Cairns, 

 Townsville, Mackay, Rockhamp- 

 ton, Maryborough, and Brisbane 

 are termini of rly. lines. It is 

 proposed to connect Charleville to 

 Camooweal with an inland line 

 across the W. Such a line would 



644O 



QUEENSLAND 



QUEENSLAND 



English Miles 



Queensland. Map of the most northerly state of the Australian Commonwealth 



ultimately joiri all the inland ter- 

 mini and would be extended to 

 Darwin, and so make a transcon- 

 tinental route. A number of im- 

 portant power and irrigation 

 schemes are being undertaken. 

 The former are in connexion with 

 Barren and neighbouring rivers 

 and a combined irrigation and 

 power scheme is that on the Upper 

 Dawson river. The governor, ap- 

 pointed by the British Government, 

 is assisted by a prime minister and 

 cabinet and legislative assembly 

 of 72 members elected for 3 years 

 on an adult suffrage. The upper 

 house was abolished in 1921. Al- 

 though Torres, Capt. Cook, and 

 Flinders visited the coasts, the 

 country was practically re-dis- 

 covered by Oxley in 1823: by 

 1859, when the : 

 colony was separ- ; 

 ated from New 

 South Wales, the 

 pop. numbered 

 25,000, and rapid 

 progress followed 

 the gold dis- 

 coveries, 1866- 

 79. Area 670,500 

 sq. m. Pop. 

 756,000. SeeAbor- 

 igines ; Australia ; 

 consult also 



Mining History of Queensland, 

 C. Parker, 1908; Queensland, 

 Politics during Sixty Years. C. A. 

 Bernays, 1919. 



Queensland, UNIVERSITY OF. 

 Australian university, situated at 

 Brisbane. It was established in 

 1909 as a university for the state. 

 The buildings, which face the river 

 at Brisbane, include the library 

 and the central technical college, 

 in addition to class rooms, labora- 

 tories, etc. In connexion with the 

 university are five residential col- 

 leges, four belonging to religious 

 denominations, and one for women. 

 The senate is the governing body ; 

 the faculties are arts, science, law, 

 medicine, engineering. Sir Samuel 

 McCaughey left over 200,000 to 

 the universitv. 



Queensland University. College buildings at Brisbane 



