Queensland Day is officially celebrated on 6 June as the birthday of the Australia

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

n state

States and territories of Australia

The Commonwealth of Australia is a union of six states and various territories. The Australian mainland is made up of five states and three territories, with the sixth state of Tasmania being made up of islands. In addition there are six island territories, known as external territories, and a...

 of Queensland

Queensland

Queensland is a state of Australia, occupying the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, south-west and south respectively. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean...

.

History

Moves towards statehood began with a public meeting in 1851 to consider separation from New South Wales

New South Wales

New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...

. As the push for separation gained momentum, Queen Victoria was approached to consider establishing a separate colony based at Moreton Bay

Moreton Bay

Moreton Bay is a bay on the eastern coast of Australia 45 km from Brisbane, Queensland. It is one of Queensland's most important coastal resources...

. The Queen gave her approval and signed the Letters Patent

Letters patent

Letters patent are a type of legal instrument in the form of a published written order issued by a monarch or president, generally granting an office, right, monopoly, title, or status to a person or corporation...

 on 6 June 1859. On the same day an Order-in-Council gave Queensland

Queensland

Queensland is a state of Australia, occupying the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, south-west and south respectively. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean...

 its own Constitution. Queensland became a self-governing colony with its own Governor, a nominated Legislative Council and an elected Legislative Assembly.

Now 6 June is celebrated by Queenslanders as the day when the new colony of Queensland was established.

With the word ‘Separation’ painted on its hull, the ship Clarence sailed into Brisbane

Brisbane

Brisbane is the capital and most populous city in the Australian state of Queensland and the third most populous city in Australia. Brisbane's metropolitan area has a population of over 2 million, and the South East Queensland urban conurbation, centred around Brisbane, encompasses a population of...

 on 10 July to be greeted by a jubilant crowd eagerly awaiting the news of separation. Clarence was welcomed with a 14-gun salute, a 'blue light' display and fireworks

Fireworks

Fireworks are a class of explosive pyrotechnic devices used for aesthetic and entertainment purposes. The most common use of a firework is as part of a fireworks display. A fireworks event is a display of the effects produced by firework devices...

.

On July 20, Queensland was informed that Sir George Ferguson Bowen

George Ferguson Bowen

Sir George Ferguson Bowen GCMG was a British colonial administrator whose appointments included postings to the Ionian Islands, Queensland , New Zealand, Victoria , Mauritius and Hong Kong....

 would be the State's first Governor. Celebrations resumed with fireworks, cannon fires, flag raisings and the sound of gun shots.

On 10 December 1859, Governor Bowen arrived in Brisbane to a civic reception in the Botanic Gardens. He officially marked the historic occasion of Statehood by reading a proclamation from the verandah of the Deanery of St. John's Cathedral

St John's Cathedral, Brisbane

St John's Cathedral is the Anglican cathedral of Brisbane and the metropolitan cathedral of the ecclesiastical province of Queensland, Australia...

.

Queenslander of the Year

Since 1981, Queensland Day has been celebrated as the official birthday. Celebrations provide an opportunity to acknowledge the outstanding achievements of Queenslanders with "Queenslander of the Year", "Young Queenslander of the Year" and "Community Spirit" awards.

Year	Queenslander of the Year	Young Queenslander of the Year	Community Spirit Award
2010	Dimity Dornan AM	Yassmin Abdel-Magied	Dr James Morton
2009	Sergeant Dimitrios (Jim) Bellos	Chiu-Hing Chan	Heather Nancarrow
2008	Graeme Wood	Homa Forotan	Karen Bartlett
2007	Professor Matthew Sanders	Lars Olsen	Jess Wellard, Alexandra Gasteen, Greg Nelson
2006	Professor Ian Frazer Ian Frazer Professor Ian Frazer is the Director of the Diamantina Institute. He is a creator of the HPV vaccine against cervical cancer; the second cancer preventing vaccine, and the first vaccine designed to prevent a cancer. .- Education:He was born in Glasgow, Scotland...	Leisel Jones Leisel Jones Leisel Marie Jones OAM is an Australian Olympic gold medalist swimmer. A participant in the 2000 Summer Olympics – at just 15 years old – and 2004 Summer Olympics, she was part of gold medal winning Australian team in the women's 4 × 100 metre medley relay at the Athens Games in 2004 and a gold...	Shenee Lea Geerin
2005	Dr Geoff Hill Geoff Hill Geoff Hill is a journalist and author based in Johannesburg, South Africa.-Biography:Geoffrey Rex Alexander Middleton Hill spent his childhood in Malawi, Rhodesia, and South Africa....	Alen-Igor O'Hran
2004	Dr Chris Sarra Chris Sarra Chris Sarra is an Australian educationalist. Hailing from Bundaberg in Queensland and the youngest of ten children, Sarra experienced first-hand many of the issues faced by indigenous students....	Leisl Packer
2003	Professor Alan Mackay-Sim	Alice Chang-Douglas
2002	John Eales John Eales John Eales AM is an Australian former rugby union player and the most successful captain in the history of Australian rugby.-Early life:...  AM	Danielle Begg
2001	Lloyd Hancock	Mark Farrell-Nikenbah
2000	Dr Aila Keto Aila Keto Aila Inkeri Keto AO is founder and President of the Rainforest Conservation Society in Queensland, Australia, now known as the Australia Rainforest Conservation Society....  AO	James Moody
1999	Margot Appleyard	Petros Khalesirad
1998	Betty Byrne Henderson AM	Tiffany Dudman
1997	Cedric Johnson AM	Perry Cross
1996	Christina Yeomans OAM	Tarita Botsman and Michael Kasprowicz Michael Kasprowicz Michael Scott Kasprowicz is a former Australian Test cricketer. He is a right arm fast bowler, effective outfielder and useful lower order batsman, and has enjoyed a successful career both in Australia and in the English county scene since making his debut for Queensland as a seventeen year old in...
1995	Dr Cherrell Hirst AO	Nicholas Gerathy
1994	Allan Border Allan Border Allan Robert Border AO is a former Australian cricketer. A batsman, Border was for many years the captain of the Australian team. His playing nickname was "A.B.". He played 156 Test matches in his career, a record until it was passed by fellow Australian Steve Waugh...  AO	Lana Higson
1993	Mary Lowe AM	John McColl and Kylie Buchanan
1992	Graham Jenkinson AM	Danae Sweetapple
1991	Leneen Forde AC	Roger Lord
1990	Dr Clem Jones Clem Jones Clem Jones AO a surveyor by profession, was the longest serving Lord Mayor of the city of Brisbane, Australia, representing the Australian Labor Party from 1961 to 1975.-Public life:...  AO	Aaron Maree
1989	Sister Angela Mary Doyle AO	Joanne Hein
1988	Sir Llewellyn Edwards Llewellyn Edwards Sir Llewellyn Roy Edwards, AC was the twelfth Chancellor of the University of Queensland, a Queensland state politician and state Liberal Party leader, as well as Chair and CEO of the 1988 World Exposition, Brisbane's World Expo '88...  AC
1987	Rev. Canon John Warby OAM
1986	Dr Russell Strong AL
1985	Iris Buntine OAM BEM British Empire Medal The Medal of the Order of the British Empire for Meritorious Service, usually known as the British Empire Medal , is a British medal awarded for meritorious civil or military service worthy of recognition by the Crown...
1984	Ron Grant Ron Grant Ron Grant may refer to:*Ronald Grant, President & Chief Operating Officer of AOL LLC*Ron Grant , former Grand Prix motorcycle road racer and tuner...  OAM
1983	Sir Edward Williams KBE KCMG
1982	Robin Gibson Robin Gibson Robin Gibson is an Australian architect, from Brisbane, Queensland.-Personal life:Robin Gibson was an Architecture student at the University of Queensland, and graduated with a Diploma of Architecture in 1954. During his years in university, he worked in a number of architectural offices in...
1981	Lady Cilento