Separation of Queensland

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Separation of Queensland
Map of Queensland at Separation in 1859
Date6 June 1859
LocationQueensland
TypeSeparation
MotiveDesire for better representation
OutcomeLand that forms the present-day State of Queensland was excised from the Colony of New South Wales

The Separation of Queensland was an event in 1859 in which the land that forms the present-day

State of Queensland in Australia was excised from the Colony of New South Wales and created as a separate Colony of Queensland
.

History

European settlement of Queensland began in 1824 when Lieutenant

New South Wales government in Sydney. Agitation soon commenced for the creation of a separate northern colony which could look after local interests, with the clamour being no less apparent in the fledgling township of Brisbane.[1]

Rev. John Dunmore Lang, 1888

In the vanguard of those seeking representative government was the Reverend

Australian Colonies Government Act, which enabled the creation of new Australian colonies with a similar form of government to New South Wales. In other words, they would have a bicameral parliament watched over by a vice-regal representative. Importantly, specifically mentioned were Port Phillip and Moreton Bay as districts which were likely to become colonies in the foreseeable future. The Act inspired Lang to renewed efforts, and between 1851 and 1854 he held nine meetings to gain further support for separation. He was, in fact, preaching to the converted as the inhabitants of the northern district had been increasingly neglected by the government in Sydney.[1]

Yet while they could reach consensus on the need for separation, whether a new colony would be free or unfree became a divisive issue. Lang and the majority of townspeople supporters favoured free immigration. The powerful

squatting fraternity was heavily reliant on cheap labour and so advocated a renewal of convict transportation. While urban growth in Brisbane and Ipswich finally dictated for the former, there was still disagreement over where a new capital should be located. Brisbane, Toowoomba, Cleveland, Gayndah, Gladstone, Ipswich and Rockhampton were all potential candidates favoured by parochial interests. Brisbane eventually emerged victorious, and the reality of a new colony moved a step closer in 1856, when the British government agreed that the time was ripe to create a new northern colony.[1]

Letters Patent issued by Queen Victoria on 6 June 1859

Among other things there was uncertainty over the location of a southern border. Lang was among many others who believed that the Northern Rivers should become part of a northern colony; the New South Wales Government disagreed, and when Queen Victoria finally signed the Letters Patent to create Queensland on 6 June 1859 at Osborne House,[2] the border was fixed at 28 degrees south.

The following month, unofficial news was received that the Secretary of State for the Colonies, Sir

Lord High Commissioner of the Ionian Islands near Greece, and was to have a distinguished career in the Colonial Office. While both the Letters Patent and the Order-in-Council appointing Bowen as Governor were duly published by the New South Wales Government, separation could not be accomplished until the Letters Patent had also been published in Queensland. As Governor Bowen was due to arrive on 6 December 1859 with the Letters Patent formally proclaiming the new colony, a reception committee was organised as early as September to arrange the celebrations.[1]

George Ferguson Bowen and Lady Diamantina Bowen
The so-called Queensland Separation Flag, flown in Brisbane on 10 December 1859 to mark Queensland's separation from New South Wales
The Proclamation of Queensland document, proclaimed by Governor George Bowen, 10 December 1859

Inclement weather intervened meaning Governor Bowen did not arrive until the evening of 9 December 1859. The following day Governor and Lady Bowen were welcomed by an estimated crowd of 4,000 exultant colonists when they stepped ashore at the Botanic Gardens in Brisbane.[3] They were then conveyed by carriage to the temporary Government House, a building which now serves as the deanery of St John's Cathedral. After ascending to the balcony, the resident Supreme Court Judge, Justice Alfred Lutwyche administered Governor Bowen's oath, after which the Queen's Commission was read to the assembled throng by the newly appointed Colonial Secretary, Robert Herbert. The formalities concluded with the proclamation of the Letters Patent being read by Governor Bowen's acting private secretary, Abram Moriarty, who was to become the new colony's first civil servant after being appointed Under Colonial Secretary on 15 December 1859.[1]

The Letters Patent were published in the inaugural issue of the Queensland Government Gazette on 10 December 1859, and this has given rise to confusion over whether 10 December 1859 should be remembered as Separation Day or Proclamation Day. The former may be preferred, for it was only with the publication of the Letters Patent in Queensland that separation became a legal reality, though it can be equally accepted that this was also an official proclamation of their content.[1]

On 10 December 1859, Bowen also appointed an Executive Council to operate as a provisional government until a parliament had been elected. Under the terms of separation, however, it was left for Sir William Denison, Governor of New South Wales, to appoint 11 members to the first Queensland Legislative Council in May 1860 for a term of five years. Bowen was to appoint their successors for life, and from the outset the nominee character of the Upper House proved highly unpopular. Attempts to amend the Constitution to make the Upper House elected were to continue until the Legislative Council was finally abolished in 1922.[1]

However, the

Queensland Legislative Assembly had 26 elected members sat for the first time on 22 May 1860.[4] In Queensland's first parliament, there was little evidence of the party politics, which would not begin to emerge until the second elections were held in 1863. Instead, they acted with a considerable degree of unanimity to pass legislation that set Queensland on its future course. The agenda largely revolved around land and immigration, primary and secondary education, extension of voting rights, state aid to religion, the census, transport, primary industry and the provision of labour.[1]

Commemoration

Queensland Day is celebrated on 6 June every year, the anniversary of Queen Victoria signing the Letters Patent to create Queensland on 6 June 1859.

Separation Day was celebrated as a public holiday on 10 December from 1860 to 1920.[5]

In 2009, Queensland celebrated its sesquicentenary, known as Q150.

In 2009, as part of the

Q150 Icons of Queensland for its role as a "Defining Moment".[6]

See also

References

  1. ^
    State of Queensland. Archived
    from the original on 23 April 2019. Retrieved 10 February 2015.
  2. ^ David Gibson (10 December 2015). "Proclamation Day, when Queensland became a new colony". Brisbane Times. Fairfax Media. Archived from the original on 14 February 2017. Retrieved 2 February 2016.
  3. The Moreton Bay Courier. Vol. XIV, no. 810. Queensland, Australia. 13 December 1859. p. 2. Archived
    from the original on 25 February 2022. Retrieved 13 February 2017 – via National Library of Australia.
  4. ^ "The birth of modern Queensland". Queensland State Archives. 19 November 2015. Archived from the original on 14 March 2016. Retrieved 2 February 2016.
  5. ^ Roberts, Katy (9 December 2016). "Separation Day: the "true birth of Queensland"". State Library of Queensland. Archived from the original on 11 May 2021. Retrieved 25 February 2022.
  6. ^ Bligh, Anna (10 June 2009). "PREMIER UNVEILS QUEENSLAND'S 150 ICONS". Queensland Government. Archived from the original on 24 May 2017. Retrieved 24 May 2017.

Attribution

State of Queensland under CC-BY 3.0 AU licence (accessed on 10 February 2015, archived
on 10 February 2015).

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Separation of Queensland.
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