State of Queensland, Australia — Towns & Travel Guide

What is State of Queensland known for?

Queensland is best known for its warm coast, its coral reefs and the tropical north of the country. The state runs along the Coral Sea and the Pacific Ocean, with Brisbane as its capital, and reaches inland to savanna and desert far from the water. Reefs define its shoreline.

Beaches and rainforest crowd the coast while the dry interior stretches west toward the Northern Territory.

Where is State of Queensland?

Queensland fills the north-eastern corner of the continent, its long coast facing the Coral Sea and the Pacific Ocean. Coral reefs line that shore. To the north the Torres Strait separates the state from Papua New Guinea, while the Gulf of Carpentaria bites into the coast in the north-west.

Inland, Queensland borders the Northern Territory to the west, South Australia to the south-west and New South Wales to the south, one of the largest state divisions on earth. The country turns dry as it runs from the sea. The coast and the interior are two different worlds.

Along the shore lie tropical rainforests, mountain ranges and white sandy beaches, warmed by the tropical north. Reef and rainforest meet the sea. Beyond the ranges the land opens into savanna and then desert, a semi-arid interior stretching west toward the Gulf of Carpentaria and the Northern Territory.

Brisbane sits on the southern coast, the capital and the point most arrivals reach first. Sea on one side, desert on the other.

What is State of Queensland like?

Queensland lives outdoors, and its culture follows the warm coast. Brisbane and the coastal strip set the tone, a life of beaches, reefs and open air under the tropical north's long summers. The reef is part of the identity.

Coral reefs and white sandy beaches draw people to the Coral Sea shore, and the water shapes daily life across the state's tropical and sub-tropical coast far more than the dry inland does. Inland the story changes. West of the ranges lies cattle country, savanna and desert reaching toward the Gulf of Carpentaria and the Northern Territory, a slower world of stations and long roads.

That contrast, between reef coast and dry interior, runs through how Queensland sees itself. Two climates, one state. The tropical shore and the semi-arid outback each leave their mark on the character of the place.

What is the history of State of Queensland?

Queensland was established in 1859, when it was separated from New South Wales to the south and set up as its own colony. Brisbane became its seat. The new colony grew along the Coral Sea coast and spread inland across the savanna and the tropical north over the decades that followed.

From that division grew the second-largest of the country's states, its history fixed on the coast where Brisbane still stands as the capital.

What is the climate of State of Queensland?

Queensland is the tropical state, warm through most of the year along its coast. The Coral Sea shore stays hot and humid in summer, with heavy wet-season rain in the tropical north and milder, drier winters toward Brisbane. Inland it bakes.

West of the ranges the savanna and desert run hot and dry, a semi-arid interior far from the sea's damp reach.

How do you get to State of Queensland?

Most arrivals to Queensland come through Brisbane, the state capital and its main point of entry near the coast. Flights land by the sea. From the city, road and rail run north along the Coral Sea toward the reefs and the tropics, south toward New South Wales and west into the savanna interior.

The coast carries most of the traffic. Brisbane is where the state opens for travellers.