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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
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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
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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
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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
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had 26 elected members sat for the first time on 22 May 1860. 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
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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.
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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.
161:, 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
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the following year and continued to operate as a penal establishment until 1842, when the remaining convicts were withdrawn and the district opened to free settlement. By then squatters had already established themselves on the
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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
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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.
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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
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130:. 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
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153:. Lang's call for the creation of a northern colony in 1844 was defeated in the Council by 26 votes to seven, and matters were held in abeyance until 1850 when the
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administered
Governor Bowen's oath, after which the Queen's Commission was read to the assembled throng by the newly appointed Colonial Secretary,
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Inclement weather intervened meaning
Governor Bowen did not arrive until the evening of 9 December 1859. The following day Governor and
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fraternity was heavily reliant on cheap labour and so advocated a renewal of convict transportation. While urban growth in Brisbane and
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is celebrated on 6 June every year, the anniversary of Queen Victoria signing the Letters Patent to create Queensland on 6 June 1859.
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Among other things there was uncertainty over the location of a southern border. Lang was among many others who believed that the
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finally dictated for the former, there was still disagreement over where a new capital should be located. Brisbane,
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The following month, unofficial news was received that the Secretary of State for the Colonies, Sir
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Land that forms the present-day State of Queensland was excised from the Colony of New South Wales
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were welcomed by an estimated crowd of 4,000 exultant colonists when they stepped ashore at the
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The Proclamation of Queensland document, proclaimed by Governor George Bowen, 10 December 1859
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should become part of a northern colony; the New South Wales Government disagreed, and when
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can be equally accepted that this was also an official proclamation of their content.
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Separation Day was celebrated as a public holiday on 10 December from 1860 to 1920.
509:. Vol. XIV, no. 810. Queensland, Australia. 13 December 1859. p. 2.
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celebrations, Queensland being proclaimed a new colony was announced as one of the
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In the vanguard of those seeking representative government was the Reverend
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684:"Item ID1431995, Transcript of the Proclamation of Queensland document"
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in Brisbane. They were then conveyed by carriage to the temporary
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was an event in 1859 in which the land that forms the present-day
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The Letters Patent were published in the inaugural issue of the
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European settlement of Queensland began in 1824 when Lieutenant
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In 2009, Queensland celebrated its sesquicentenary, known as
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661:"Item ID1431975, The Proclamation of Queensland document"
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been increasingly neglected by the government in Sydney.
471:"Proclamation Day, when Queensland became a new colony"
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Letters Patent issued by Queen Victoria on 6 June 1859
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This Knowledge (XXG) article was originally based on
388:of Queensland for its role as a "Defining Moment".
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560:"Separation Day: the "true birth of Queensland""
308:, a building which now serves as the deanery of
535:. Queensland State Archives. 19 November 2015.
638:(2008) by Dr Murray Johnson published by the
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255:Lord High Commissioner of the Ionian Islands
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501:"ARRIVAL & RECEPTION OF HIS EXCELLENCY"
726:States and territories established in 1859
521:– via National Library of Australia.
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15:
253:. Bowen had recently served as Britain's
596:"PREMIER UNVEILS QUEENSLAND'S 150 ICONS"
149:, representative for Moreton Bay in the
678:images of original handwritten document
646:licence (accessed on 10 February 2015,
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230:to create Queensland on 6 June 1859 at
28:Map of Queensland at Separation in 1859
513:from the original on 25 February 2022
481:from the original on 14 February 2017
343:, to appoint 11 members to the first
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151:New South Wales Legislative Council
122:, far distant from the seat of the
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450:from the original on 23 April 2019
159:Australian Colonies Government Act
85:in Australia was excised from the
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558:Roberts, Katy (9 December 2016).
469:David Gibson (10 December 2015).
105:, commanding a detachment of the
721:1859 establishments in Australia
635:"The birth of modern Queensland"
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572:from the original on 11 May 2021
533:"The birth of modern Queensland"
434:"The birth of modern Queensland"
61:Desire for better representation
353:Queensland Legislative Assembly
109:, founded a convict outpost at
345:Queensland Legislative Council
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329:Queensland Government Gazette
141:Rev. John Dunmore Lang, 1888
565:State Library of Queensland
341:Governor of New South Wales
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731:19th century in Queensland
716:History of New South Wales
282:Queensland Separation Flag
234:, the border was fixed at
124:New South Wales government
89:and created as a separate
736:Pre-Separation Queensland
688:Queensland State Archives
665:Queensland State Archives
439:Queensland State Archives
249:to be the colony's first
87:Colony of New South Wales
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380:In 2009, as part of the
79:Separation of Queensland
17:Separation of Queensland
701:images of transcription
506:The Moreton Bay Courier
650:on 10 February 2015).
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251:Governor of Queensland
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600:Queensland Government
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267:George Ferguson Bowen
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107:40th Regiment of Foot
245:, had appointed Sir
243:Edward Bulwer-Lytton
91:Colony of Queensland
741:1850s in Queensland
640:State of Queensland
444:State of Queensland
348:abolished in 1922.
310:St John's Cathedral
226:finally signed the
83:State of Queensland
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398:Queensland borders
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155:British Parliament
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477:. Fairfax Media.
432:Johnson, Murray.
147:John Dunmore Lang
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691:. Retrieved
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693:10 February
670:10 February
623:Attribution
592:Bligh, Anna
576:25 February
517:13 February
454:10 February
204:Rockhampton
167:Moreton Bay
157:passed the
37:6 June 1859
746:Q150 Icons
710:Categories
543:2 February
485:2 February
404:References
386:Q150 Icons
298:Lady Bowen
53:Separation
45:Queensland
269:and Lady
196:Gladstone
188:Cleveland
184:Toowoomba
176:squatting
111:Redcliffe
648:archived
570:Archived
537:Archived
511:Archived
479:Archived
448:Archived
392:See also
132:Brisbane
42:Location
200:Ipswich
192:Gayndah
180:Ipswich
97:History
66:Outcome
642:under
610:24 May
128:Sydney
58:Motive
695:2015
672:2015
612:2017
578:2022
545:2016
519:2017
487:2016
456:2015
382:Q150
375:Q150
265:Sir
202:and
165:and
77:The
50:Type
34:Date
126:in
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Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
