History of Queensland

The human history of Queensland encompasses both a long Aboriginal Australian presence as well as the more recent European settlement. Before being charted and claimed for Great Britain by Lieutenant James Cook in 1770, the coast of north-eastern Australia was explored by Dutch, Portuguese and French navigators. Queensland has experienced dynamic growth since its separation from the Colony of New South Wales in 1859.

50,000 to 60,000 years ago, Aboriginal people arrived in Australia by boat or by land bridge. The most likely route was from Southeast Asia across the Torres Strait. During the next ten thousand years, the Aboriginal people travelled over most of the continent.

Around 25,000 years ago, an ice age began with a rapid drop in the temperature of the earth of eight degrees. The climate changes lasted over 10,000 years. The land bridges from Southeast Asia and to Tasmania became inhospitable. Food was difficult to find and this led to the origin of seed-grinding technology.

About 15,000 years ago, global temperatures warmed and rainfall increased along the eastern coast of Australia. The inland of Queensland, also receiving rainfall, again became habitable. Coastal lands decreased due to rising sea levels and tropical rain forests spread. The Kalkadoon people of the inland central gulf region, dug wells 10m deep to maintain their supply of freshwater.

From 10,000 years until European arrival, the favourable warmer climate allowed the development of semi-permanent villages in the northern rainforests, the far western regions and around Moreton Bay. Along the Barron River, and on the islands of Moreton Bay, large huts (djimurru), capable of housing thirty to forty people were built. However, due to recurrent droughts and floods, the dominant hunter-gatherer lifestyle persisted in most areas of Queensland.

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