Queensland

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Queensland
flag coat of arms
flag coat of arms
( Details ) ( Details )
Basic data
Capital : Brisbane
Area : 1,730,650 km²
Residents : 4,965,000 (Dec 2017)
Population density : 2.87 inhabitants per km²
ISO 3166-2 : AU-QLD
Time zone: AEST ( UTC +10)
The highest point: Mount Bartle Frere 1,622 m
Official Website: www.qld.gov.au
politics
Governor : Paul de Jersey
Prime Minister : Annastacia Palaszczuk ( laboratory )
Parliament seats: 28 ( House of Representatives )
12 ( Senate )
map
Indonesien Papua-Neuguinea Western Australia Northern Territory South Australia Australian Capital Territory Jervis Bay Territory Tasmanien Victoria Queensland New South WalesQueensland in Australia
About this picture

Queensland [ ˈkwiːnzlənd ], QLD for short, is an Australian state with the capital Brisbane .

geography

In the state of Queensland, around 4.7 million people live in an area of ​​1,730,650 square kilometers . Queensland is the second largest state in Australia after Western Australia; it is about five times the size of Germany .

Next to New South Wales , Queensland is the state with the largest number of Aborigines . There live 26 percent of the entire Aboriginal population of Australia (see also Indigenous Peoples of Australia-Oceania ).

Queensland is located in the northeast of the Australian continent in the time zone Australian Eastern Standard Time . The capital is Brisbane with 1.73 million inhabitants. Other larger cities in Queensland are Gold Coast / Tweed (527,660 inhabitants), Townsville (145,099 inhabitants), Cairns (111,916 inhabitants), Toowoomba (95,262 inhabitants) and Rockhampton (64,437 inhabitants).

Several Queensland nature reserves are part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site . These are the Great Barrier Reef , Fraser Island, and the Wet Tropics of Queensland . The Gondwana rainforests of Australia share Queensland and New South Wales .

history

Traces of settlement have been found in Queensland 15,000 to 30,000 years ago. The discovery of the Cape York Peninsula in the north by Dutchman Willem Jansz in 1606 is considered the first time Europeans have entered. The area has belonged to New South Wales since 1824 and was established as a colony of its own by Queen Victoria on December 10, 1859 . The first elections took place in 1860.

On June 26, 1879, the Torres Strait Islands and the Whitsunday Islands were assigned to Queensland.

Queensland became a state of Australia ('Australian Commonwealth') on January 1, 1901.

At the turn of 2010/2011, Queensland was hit by severe flooding , as well as in early 2019.

politics

Queensland is a parliamentary monarchy and is divided into 53 administrative areas. The current constitution came into force on June 6, 2002.

Elizabeth II is represented as head of state by Paul de Jersey , the governor of Queensland. Prime Minister Annastacia Palaszczuk ( Australian Labor Party ) is the head of government. For the legislation the 89 elected members of are Legislative Assembly of Queensland responsible. Queensland is the only state in Australia with a unicameral system . The members of the Queensland Legislative Council, formerly the state's second chamber, voted for the body to be abolished in 1922.

economy

Important economic fields of activity are sugar cane cultivation , mining ( coal deposits ), tourism in the area of ​​the Great Barrier Reef as well as cattle and sheep breeding in the interior. The Geological Survey of Queensland tracks carbon dioxide storage and geothermal energy projects in coastal areas.

traffic

Airport train in Brisbane

The Queensland railroad has mostly a gauge of 1067 mm ; an exception is the standard gauge line from Brisbane to the south , which was commissioned in the 1930s . The state has its own rail and infrastructure company, Queensland Rail , which operates high-speed railways in metropolitan areas and tourist trains. Companies organized under private law such as Aurizon or Pacific National are responsible for freight transport .

Regions

Regions on the mainland

Brisbane

Queensland is divided into five main regions, Tropical North, Subtropical Coast, Outback, Brisbane and Brisbane.

The Tropical North region includes Cairns, the Daintree Rainforest, the Atherton Tablelands and the almost uninhabited Cape York Peninsula. Cape York is the northernmost point on mainland Australia.

The more densely populated subtropical coast stretches from Hervey Bay in the south to Townsville in the north. Due to its proximity to the Great Barrier Reef, this region is a very important hub for tourism in Australia.

The outback to the west of the coast is characterized by a very low population density. Here are the Simpson Desert , Strzelecki Desert and Sturt's Stony Desert . The most important towns in this vast region are Mount Isa , Cloncurry , Longreach and Charleville .

The urban area around Brisbane is one of the most developed regions on the continent. The Gold Coast is the commercial center, the Sunshine Coast is characterized by long sandy beaches and the mountainous hinterland is known for a variety of national parks.

The state capital Brisbane is the industrial, commercial and financial center of Queensland. With over two million inhabitants, the metropolis is the third largest city in Australia after Sydney and Melbourne .

Torres Strait Islands

Queensland Relief Map

The " Torres Strait Islands " belong to Queensland . The archipelago lies between Australia and Papua New Guinea, north of the Cape York Peninsula . In 2000 the over 250 islands had a total of about 6700 inhabitants.

The archipelago became part of the state of Queensland on June 26, 1879. On July 1, 1991 the "Torres Strait Islands Regional Authority (TSRA)" was founded. The Torres Strait Islands received their political autonomy on May 29, 1992.

The Chairmen of the Torres Strait Islands Regional Authority TSRA are:

  • Getano Lui, Jr., July 1, 1994-March 1997
  • John Abednego, March 1997 - April 19, 2000
  • Terry Waia, April 19, 2000 - May 2004
  • John Toshie Kris, since May 2004

Barrier Reef / Whitsunday Islands

The Barrier Reef / Whitsunday Islands are east of the cities of Airlie Beach and Shute Harbor in Queensland in the Pacific between the coast of Queensland and the Great Barrier Reef .

The Barrier Reef / Whitsundays Islands consist of a total of 74 subtropical islands; the larger ones are: Whitsunday Island , Hayman Island , Hook Island , Haselwood Island, Hamilton Island (with an airport), Dent Island , Longs Island , Lindeman Island , Shaw Island and Sir James Smith Group . Only 17 of the islands are inhabited, some with exclusive hotel resorts. Most of the islands have national parks.

By June 26, 1879, they were politically assigned to Queensland.

climate

Subtropical vegetation

The south of Queensland has a subtropical, warm, sunny climate with mild winters. Further north, the climate is slowly becoming tropical. From January to April the tropical summer begins here with rain and occasional tropical cyclones that come over land . After Cyclone Larry had already caused considerable damage in March 2006, Cyclone Yasi devastated large parts of the coastal region between Cairns and Townsville in the night of February 2 to 3, 2011 and also penetrated deep into the interior.

The average temperatures in summer are between 21 ° C and 29 ° C, in winter between 10 ° C and 26 ° C, the water temperatures in summer 29 ° C, in winter 19 ° C. In the region of the tropical north of Queensland, temperatures of 24 to 31 ° C can be expected in summer and 17 to 26 ° C in winter.

Universities

Web links

Commons : Queensland  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files
Wiktionary: Queensland  - explanations of meanings, word origins, synonyms, translations
 Wikinews: Queensland  - on the news
Wikivoyage: Queensland  Travel Guide

Individual evidence

  1. 3101.0 - Australian Demographic Statistics, Dec 2017 , accessed June 20, 2015.
  2. Australia: There is a unicorn swimming in the street
  3. regions in Queensland www.in-australien.com
  4. Cyclone "Yasi" hits Australia with full force Der Spiegel