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
Queensland June 1961 and at The Hermitage (near Warwick) on 12 July 1965. Temperatures below are, however, generally uncommon over the majority of populated Queensland. Queensland is less centralised than most other Australian states, with 50% of the population living outside the state capital, and 25% living outside the South East Queensland urban agglomeration. Queensland is home to many regional cities, the most populous being the Gold Coast, the Sunshine Coast, Townsville, Cairns, Toowoomba, Mackay, Rockhampton and Bundaberg. For decades, Queensland has consistently been the fastest-growing state in Australia, while Western Australia has grown faster in the 2010s. At its peak