Starting with the Gold Coast’s bright lights and Great Barrier Reef’s splendid underwater world, Queensland offers a piece of paradise to suit every traveller. Being home to more than 1,000 ecosystem types, the state is an absolute natural wonderland, like no other. Take a look below for 30 fun and incredible facts about Queensland.
1. The second-largest state in Australia is Queensland.
2. It occupies approximately 23% of the continent in the north-east and shares boundaries with New South Wales, South Australia, and the Northern Territory.
3. Covering 1,727,000 km2, it is seven times the size of Great Britain and the amount of geographical variation within the state definitely reflects that multiple countries could fit within its borders!
4. Queenslanders are famous for their outdoor lifestyle.
5. The Sunshine State is a well-deserved nickname for Queensland due to the great climate as well as the fact “beautiful one day, perfect the next”.
6. Whatever you do in Queensland it’s bound to be bathed in sunlight.
7. In fact, there are around 260 days of sunshine every year in Queensland, making it the ideal place for outdoor activities!
8. Unspoiled beaches and tropical islands are what Queensland is famous for.
9. There are rich mountainous rainforests, bushlands and creeks, and flat grounds perfect for farming as well as over 200 national parks across the state.
10. What are the state’s main agricultural products? Sugarcane, beef, wheat, cotton, wool, bananas, peanuts, pineapple, and citrus fruits, plus there’s mining exports and merchandises, including coal and metals.
11. Rooted in indigenous habitation and European settlement Queensland boasts a rich and diverse history.
12. There are 30,000 years old archaeological sites in the state, witnessing a time when trees dominated the grasslands and there were over 90 unique indigenous languages!
13. The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in Queensland have a range of Dreaming stories referring to the history of the state. They reveal outlines of settlement around the coastal areas and bays as well as extensive short and long-distance trading.
14. 4% of Queensland’s population is Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander People.
15. In the 1600s Europeans first saw Queensland.
16. Willem Jansz and Jan Carstens are the famous Dutch explorers who arrived at the Cape York Peninsula and the Gulf of Carpentaria correspondingly. It was the arrival of English Lieutenant James Cook that officially acknowledged European encounters.
17. In 1770 Cook arrived on the east coast of Queensland.
18. Queen Victoria signed Letters Patent and arranged the approval for the establishment of the new colony of Queensland on the 6th of June 1859.
19. James Nash discovered gold on the Mary River in 1867.
20. His endeavour initiated the gold rush which greatly shaped Queensland’s economy and population.
21. Geography is what makes Queensland’s such a charming state.
22. Queensland’s geography has flatlands, mountain ranges, rivers, and islands, plus spread-out outback grasslands that stretch on for days!
23. Queensland is home to over 4 million people, but surprisingly less than half inhabit Brisbane, the metropolitan hub.
24. The coast is where the majority of the state’s population can be found.
25. This expansive coast stretches on 7400km. It’s surrounded by the Gulf of Carpentaria, the Torres Strait, and the Coral Sea in the north and the South Pacific Ocean in the east.
26. The city is home to 5 of Australia’s 11 World Natural Heritage areas.
27. These 5 World Natural Heritage areas include the Scenic Rim National Parks, Riversleigh Fossil Fields, the Wet Tropics, Fraser Island, and the Great Barrier Reef.
28. The Great Barrier is visible from space and can be most easily accessed from Cairns and Port Douglas.
29. Fraser Island is the world’s largest sand island.
30. What else can a traveller do in Queensland? If you don’t want to snorkel or dive, head to the southeast to surf some of the state’s world-class breaks!
