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Queensland is Australia’s second-largest state, occupying the north-eastern corner of the continent. It stretches from the temperate regions of the south-east, where the capital Brisbane sits, all the way up to the tropical tip of Cape York Peninsula in the far north. The state covers roughly 1.85 million square kilometres, making it larger than most countries in the world. Its landscape is enormously varied, ranging from coastal beaches and reef systems along the Pacific shore to dry, flat outback plains that extend far into the interior. The Great Barrier Reef runs parallel to much of the coastline, stretching over 2,300 kilometres and representing one of the largest coral systems on Earth. Inland, the terrain shifts through fertile farming country, eucalyptus woodland, and eventually into the vast arid zones of western Queensland, where towns are sparse and distances between them can be immense. The climate also varies considerably across the state, with the south-east experiencing a subtropical climate with warm summers and mild winters, while the far north has a distinct wet and dry season, with heavy monsoon rains arriving between November and April each year.
The population of Queensland is around five and a half million people, with the majority living in the south-east corner, particularly in the Greater Brisbane region and along the Gold Coast and Sunshine Coast stretches of coastline. Brisbane became a fully independent city relatively recently in Australian historical terms, having begun as a British penal settlement in the early nineteenth century before gradually developing into a modern state capital. Outside of the south-east, the state has several significant regional centres, including Cairns in the far north, Townsville on the mid-north coast, and Toowoomba on the Darling Downs plateau west of Brisbane. Queensland has a significant Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander population, and many communities in the remote north and west maintain deep connections to Country and to cultural practices that pre-date European settlement by tens of thousands of years. The Torres Strait Islands, which sit between the northern tip of Queensland and Papua New Guinea, are home to the distinct Torres Strait Islander peoples, whose culture and identity are recognised separately from those of mainland Aboriginal Australians.
The economy of Queensland draws heavily on several key industries. Mining is particularly important, with the state holding substantial reserves of coal, bauxite, zinc, and other minerals. The Bowen Basin in central Queensland is one of the largest coal-producing regions in the world, and debates around the expansion of coal mining, particularly the development of new mines in the Galilee Basin, have been a source of ongoing political and environmental discussion both within Australia and internationally. Agriculture also plays a significant role, with the state producing large quantities of sugar cane, beef cattle, cotton, and tropical fruits. Tourism is another major part of the economy, with visitors drawn to the Great Barrier Reef, the rainforests of the Wet Tropics region near Cairns, the theme parks of the Gold Coast, and the outdoor lifestyle that the climate makes possible for much of the year. Like much of regional Australia, some parts of Queensland face challenges around access to healthcare, employment opportunities, and infrastructure, particularly in remote communities that are far from major urban centres.
