Queensland (Postal QLD), is a state of Australia, occupying the north-eastern corner of the mainland continent. It is neighboured by the Northern Territory to the west, South Australia to the south-west and New South Wales to the south. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean. The state is Australia's second largest by area, following Western Australia, and the country's third most populous after New South Wales and Victoria.
The area was first colonised by Indigenous Australians and Torres Strait Islanders, who arrived between 40 000 and 65 000 years ago, according to various dating methods. Later, Queensland was made a British Crown Colony that was separated from New South Wales on 6 June 1859, a date now celebrated annually as Queensland Day. The area that currently forms Brisbane was originally the Moreton Bay penal colony, intended as a place for recidivist convicts who had offended while serving out their sentences in New South Wales. The state later encouraged free settlement, and today Queensland's economy is dominated by the agricultural, tourist and natural resource sectors.
The population is concentrated in the south-east corner, which includes the capital Brisbane, Logan City, Ipswich, Toowoomba, and the Gold and Sunshine Coasts. Other major regional centres include Cairns, Townsville, Mackay, Rockhampton, Bundaberg, and Mount Isa. Queensland is often nicknamed the Sunshine State, since it enjoys warm weather and a sizable portion of the state is in the tropics.
Universities:
University of Queensland
Bond University
Central Queensland University
James Cook University
University of Southern Queensland
University of the Sunshine Coast
Griffith University
Queensland University of Technology
Australian Catholic University (Brisbane campus)
Tourism is Queensland's leading tertiary industry with millions of interstate and overseas visitors flocking to the Sunshine State each year. Queensland is a state of many contrasts that range from sunny tropical coastal areas, lush rainforests to dry inland areas.
The main tourist destinations of Queensland include:
Gold Coast
Sunshine Coast
Fraser Island
Brisbane
Whitsundays (Airlie Beach, Whitehaven Beach, Hamilton Island, Daydream Island)
Far North Queensland (Cairns, Port Douglas,The Daintree)
North Stradbroke Island and South Stradbroke Island
The Great Barrier Reef
Theme Parks:
The Gold Coast of Queensland is also sometimes referred to as "Australia's Theme Park Capital", with five major amusement parks:
Dreamworld
Movie World
Sea World
Wet 'n' Wild
WhiteWater World
There are also wildlife parks - Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary and Australia Zoo (home of Steve Irwin until his death on September 4, 2006).
The Q1, located on the Gold Coast, is the tallest residential tower in the world, when measured to the top of its spire. It was completed in September, 2005.
Q1 (meaning Queensland Number One) is a skyscraper located in Surfers Paradise, the tourism hub in Gold Coast, Australia.
At 322.5 metres (1,058 feet), Q1 is the world's tallest all-residential building, when measured to the top of its spire. However, Melbourne's Eureka Tower is taller, and hence the world's tallest, when measured to the height of its highest inhabitable floor and roof height.
Queensland is the second most popular overnight holiday destination in Australia for domestic travelers ($10.9 billion per year) with NSW taking the honours for 2006. Holidays in Queensland comprised of 18 754 000 combined visitor nights (23% Australian Market) with more than 60% of these room nights by residents from NSW and Victoria. Day visitors also contributed a further $2.5 billion.
The Sunshine Coast ($1.4 billion) and Tropical North Queensland ($1.3 billion) where Australia's most visited regional areas for overnight and day visitors (excluding major cities and the Gold Coast).
Disclaimer:
While every care has been taken in preparing this travel information for travelers, neither INeedAHotel.com, LLC nor its agents or employees including any member of the INeedAHotel.com, LLC staff, can accept liability for injury, loss or damage arising in respect of any statement contained therein.
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