Then and now
Our state has come a long way since 1859 when life was pretty hard going. From nothing in the bank, Queensland went on to become one of Australia's strongest economies, one of the world's favourite holiday destinations and the location of choice for millions of people and many businesses.
Here are a handful of then and now comparisons to show just how far we've come.
Queensland's budget: then and now
Then
Queensland started off with ninepence in its Treasury when it became a separate colony on 10 December 1859. This equates to 7/12d.
The first Parliament was on 29 May 1860. In that year, the government received $127,000 in taxation revenue and $230,000 in other receipts for total income of $357,000. It spent $360,000.
Now
Queensland is one of Australia's fastest growing economies with an economic growth rate that has exceeded national economic growth for the 12th consecutive year. Growth in the Queensland economy is forecast to accelerate to 4.25% in 2008-09. This contrasts with an overall easing in national growth to 2.75%.
The Queensland Government's 2008-09 budget includes revenue of $36.5 billion, including $10.1 billion in taxation revenue and expenditure of $35.7 billion.
Queensland's population: then and now
Then
Queensland's population of 23,520 at 31 December 1859 (excluding an unknown number of Indigenous people) accounted for 2.1% of Australia's population. In 1861 the ‘minimum estimate’ of the number of Indigenous people in Queensland was 60,000.
At the time of the first census in Queensland in 1861, less than a third (32.6%) of the population of 30,059 were born in Australia, 55.6% were born in United Kingdom and Ireland, 7.3% were born in Europe, 2.2% in Asia and 0.1% (31 people) in New Zealand.
Now
By 2008, the state's population had grown to 4.2 million or about 20% of the national total. The 2006 census found a total of 127,600 people identifying as being of Indigenous origin.
In 2006, three-quarters (75.2%) were born in Australia, 5.1% were from United Kingdom and Ireland, 3.8% from New Zealand, 3.3% from Asia and 2.8% from Europe.
Visitors to Queensland: then and now
Then
Queensland's first European visitors were explorers, convicts and settlers.
Now
Today Queensland is one of the world's most popular holiday destinations. Year ended March 2008 saw 18.3 million domestic visitors and 2.2 million international visitors holiday in Queensland.
Queensland's workforce: then and now
Then
In the 1860s, 45% of labour employed was in agriculture, 3% was in mining, 19% was in manufacturing, electricity and construction and 33% was in service industries.
Now
Since then, the biggest change has been the increase in the number and proportion of people in services. At the time of the 2006 census, 3% were in agriculture, 2% were in mining, 20% were in manufacturing, electricity and construction and 72% were in services.
Queensland schools: then and now
Then
There were 41 schools in Queensland in 1860. However, there were only two ‘national’ schools, one in Drayton and one in Warwick.
Now
There are more than 1700 schools in Queensland today.
Public hospitals in Queensland: then and now
Then
In 1860, Queensland had six public hospitals which treated a total of 421 in-patients. Hospitals were small, often about the size of a large house, and people tended to stay a long time.
Now
There are now 177 Public Hospitals in Queensland.
2007/2008 was a record year for emergency department attendances at Queensland public hospitals. Including the two new emergency departments at Robina and The Prince Charles Hospitals, which commenced services in 2007, there were 973 725 attendances at Queensland emergency departments during 2007/2008.
Cattle and sheep numbers in Queensland: then and now
Then
Queensland has always had far more cattle and sheep than people, with about 430,000 cattle and 3.4 million sheep in 1860.
Now
In 2005, Queensland had 11.7 million cattle and 4.9 million sheep.
Land under crop in Queensland: then and now
Then
In 1860-61, Queensland had 1357 hectares of land under crop. This is about 14 square kilometres.
Now
In 2005, Queensland had about 2.7 million hectares under crop.
Source: Information has been sourced from Office of Economic and Statistical Research, Queensland Treasury and research by the Department of Premier and Cabinet's Library.
Last reviewed 9 July 2008
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