The
Central Queensland Territorial Separation League was formed in
RockhamptonRockhampton is a regional city and Local Government Area located in Queensland with the 2006 census recording the Rockhampton Statistical Subdivision population to be around 74,531,5 people...
in 1889 with the aim of agitating for separation of the
Central QueenslandCentral Queensland is an ambiguous geographical division of Queensland that centres on the eastern coast, around the Tropic of Capricorn. Its major regional centre is Rockhampton and the Capricorn Coast and the area extends west to the Central Highlands at Emerald, north to the Mackay Regional...
region from the (then) colony of
QueenslandQueensland is a state of Australia that occupies the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory to the west, South Australia to the south-west and New South Wales to the south. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean...
. The Separatists’ main complaints were the perceived under-representation of the Central region in the colonial Parliament, located in
BrisbaneBrisbane is the state capital of the Australian state of Queensland and is the largest city in that state. With an estimated population of approximately 2 million, it is also the third most populous city in Australia....
, some 700 kilometres to the south of Rockhampton, and the use of Central Queensland taxes and finances to fund the Queensland Government.
Agitation for the division of Queensland into two or three smaller colonies had been a political question in the colony ever since Queensland separated from
New South WalesNew South Wales is Australia's most populous state, located in the south-east of the country, north of Victoria, south of Queensland and east of South Australia...
in 1859.
The
Central Queensland Territorial Separation League was formed in
RockhamptonRockhampton is a regional city and Local Government Area located in Queensland with the 2006 census recording the Rockhampton Statistical Subdivision population to be around 74,531,5 people...
in 1889 with the aim of agitating for separation of the
Central QueenslandCentral Queensland is an ambiguous geographical division of Queensland that centres on the eastern coast, around the Tropic of Capricorn. Its major regional centre is Rockhampton and the Capricorn Coast and the area extends west to the Central Highlands at Emerald, north to the Mackay Regional...
region from the (then) colony of
QueenslandQueensland is a state of Australia that occupies the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory to the west, South Australia to the south-west and New South Wales to the south. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean...
. The Separatists’ main complaints were the perceived under-representation of the Central region in the colonial Parliament, located in
BrisbaneBrisbane is the state capital of the Australian state of Queensland and is the largest city in that state. With an estimated population of approximately 2 million, it is also the third most populous city in Australia....
, some 700 kilometres to the south of Rockhampton, and the use of Central Queensland taxes and finances to fund the Queensland Government.
Agitation for the division of Queensland into two or three smaller colonies had been a political question in the colony ever since Queensland separated from
New South WalesNew South Wales is Australia's most populous state, located in the south-east of the country, north of Victoria, south of Queensland and east of South Australia...
in 1859. Earlier, unsuccessful, political movements for Central Queensland
secessionSecession is the act of withdrawing from an organization, union, or especially a political entity.-Secession theory:...
from Queensland had been launched in the 1860s and 1870s.
George Curtis (1845-1922), a prominent Rockhampton auctioneer and landholder, became the first president of the CQTSL and was elected to the
Queensland Legislative AssemblyThe Queensland Legislative Assembly is the unicameral chamber of the Parliament of Queensland. Elections are held approximately once every three years. Voting is by the Optional Preferential Voting form of the Alternative Vote system...
(the lower house of the Queensland Parliament) in 1893 where he used his position to agitate for the aims of the CQTSL in Parliament.
The CQTSL’s campaign was ultimately unsuccessful. When the Australian colonies
federatedThe federation of Australia was the process by which the six separate British self-governing colonies of New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania, Victoria and Western Australia formed a federation...
in 1901, the new nation’s
ConstitutionThe Constitution of Australia is the supreme law under which the Australian Commonwealth Government operates. It consists of several documents. The most important is the Constitution of the Commonwealth of Australia...
placed the power to further divide colonies (or States as they now became) in the hands of the parent colony or state, with no avenue for referral to the
BritishThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe. It is an island country, spanning an archipelago including Great Britain, the northeastern part of Ireland, and many small islands...
Government.
Further movements for the establishment of a new state in Central Queensland, with Rockhampton as the capital, occurred in the 1950s.
See also
- Proposals for new Australian States
A number of proposals for the creation of additional states in Australia have been made in the past century, however to date none have been added to the Commonwealth since Federation in 1901...
- State of North Queensland
Throughout the years, there have been many calls for the division of the Australian state of Queensland into a New State. Many proposals have been drawn up, regarding the borders, name and the debate over which city will become the capital .-History:...
- Central Queensland
Central Queensland is an ambiguous geographical division of Queensland that centres on the eastern coast, around the Tropic of Capricorn. Its major regional centre is Rockhampton and the Capricorn Coast and the area extends west to the Central Highlands at Emerald, north to the Mackay Regional...
- Regions of Queensland
The Regions of Queensland refers to the geographic areas of the Australian state of Queensland. Due to its large size and decentralised population, the state is often divided into regions for statistical and administrative purposes. Each region varies somewhat in terms of its economy, population,...