qld.in - Queensland Sunshine State
The state of Queensland occupies the north-eastern section of Australia. It is bordered 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. Queensland is Australia’s second largest state by area, followed by Western Australia, and the country’s third most populous after New South Wales and Victoria.
Queensland was first occupied by Indigenous Australians and Torres Strait Islanders, who arrived between 40,000 and 65,000 years ago. Later, Queensland was made a British Crown Colony that was separated from New South Wales on 6 June 1859, a date now celebrated state-wide as Queensland Day.
The state capital of Queensland is Brisbane, which 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. Queensland later encouraged free settlement, and today Queensland’s economy is dominated by the agricultural, tourist and natural resource sectors.
Queensland’s population is concentrated in South East Queensland, which includes Brisbane, Logan City, Redland City, Ipswich, Toowoomba, and the Gold Coast and Sunshine Coast. Other major regional centres include Cairns, Townsville, Mackay, Rockhampton, Bundaberg, Hervey Bay, Ingham and Mount Isa.
Queensland is often nicknamed the Sunshine State, since it enjoys warm weather and a sizeable portion of the state is in the tropics.
Go now to: qld.in - Queensland Sunshine State Tourism Information
Indigenous Tourism Conference 2009
Many Tribes, One Country is the theme for this year’s Australian Indigenous Tourism Conference to be held in Townsville, Queensland from 24th - 27th March 2009.
The event showcases Indigenous tourism excellence around Australia and celebrates the industry’s success stories.
Keynote speakers include the Federal Minister for Tourism, Martin Ferguson; performer Ernie Dingo; chef Mark Olive; the chair of Desert Knowledge Australia, Fred Chaney; the chairman of Tourism Western Australia, Kate Lamont; Terri Janke, an Indigenous arts lawyer; and Shirley McPherson, chair of the Indigenous Land Corporation.
“AITC 2009 will address the key issues and needs that impact on Indigenous Tourism in Australia and the opportunities that exist for culturally authentic Indigenous tourism product, especially in the development; employment and training of Indigenous people which have a positive social and economic return to Australia and in particular regional Australia,” says Neville Poelina, chair of the Western Australian Indigenous Tourism Operators Committee Inc. (WAITOC).
Go now to: AITC 2009 -Townsville, Queensland - Australian Indigenous Tourism Conference 24 - 27 March 2009