Queensland Queen Victoria signed Letters Patent to form the separate colony of what is now Queensland. Brisbane was appointed as the capital city. On 10 December 1859, a proclamation was read by British author George Bowen, whereby Queensland was formally separated from the state of New South Wales. As a result, Bowen became the first Governor of Queensland. On 22 May 1860 the first Queensland election was held and Robert Herbert, Bowen's private secretary, was appointed as the first Premier of Queensland. Queensland also became the first Australian colony to establish its own parliament rather than spending time as a Crown
Bank of Queensland owned subsidiary in 1982. In 1991 BOQ acquired Stowe Electronic Switching Pty Ltd and renamed it Queensland Electronic Switching Pty Ltd. In 1999, Bank of Hawaii bought 5.8 m shares (approx. 10%) in Bank of Queensland. Two years later Bank of Hawaii sold its 6.2 m shares and 5.4 m convertible notes in Bank of Queensland to refocus on its operations in Hawaii. BOQ acquired the equipment financing business of UFJ Bank in Australia and New Zealand in 2003. The bank also acquired ATM Solutions. In 2004, BOQ opened branches in New South Wales, Victoria, and the Australian Capital Territory.