Queensland

Queensland

Coordinates: 23°0′S 143°0′E / 23°S 143°E / -23; 143 Queensland is a state of Australia which 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 state is Australia's second largest by area, following Western Australia, and the country's third most populous after New South Wales and Victoria.

The area was first occupied by Indigenous Australians and Torres Strait Islanders, who arrived between 40,000 and 65,000 years ago, according to various dating methods. Later, Queensland was made a British Crown Colony that was separated from New South Wales on 6 June 1859, a date now celebrated annually as Queensland Day. The area that currently forms Brisbane was originally the Moreton Bay penal colony, intended as a place for recidivist convicts who had offended while serving out their sentences in New South Wales. The state later encouraged free settlement, and today Queensland's economy is dominated by the agricultural, tourist and natural resource sectors.

The population is concentrated in South East Queensland, which includes the capital Brisbane, Logan City, Ipswich, Toowoomba, and the Gold and Sunshine Coasts. Other major regional centres include Cairns, Townsville, Mackay, Rockhampton, Bundaberg, Hervey Bay and Mount Isa. Queensland is often nicknamed the Sunshine State, since it enjoys warm weather and a sizeable portion of the state is in the tropics. The people of Queensland are colloquially known as 'Banana Benders' possibly because of the large banana plantations in the tropics.

Queensland is bordered to the north by the Torres Strait with Boigu Island off the coast of New Guinea representing the absolute northern extreme of the territory. The triangular Cape York Peninsula, which points toward New Guinea is the northernmost part of the state's mainland. The western side of the peninsula is washed by the Gulf of Carpentaria, while its eastern side borders the Coral Sea, an arm of the Pacific Ocean. The eastern border is the Pacific Ocean. To the west, Queensland is bordered by the Northern Territory, at the 138°E longitude, and to the south-west by the north-eastern corner of South Australia.

In the south, there are three sections that comprise its border: the watershed from Point Danger to the Dumaresq River; the river section involving the Dumaresq, the MacIntyre and the Barwon; and 29°S latitude (including some minor historical encroachments below the 29th parallel) over to the South Australian border.

The state capital is Brisbane, located on the coast 100 kilometres (60 mi) by road north of the New South Wales border. The fifth-largest city by area in the world, Mount Isa, is located in Queensland. The city area is in excess of 40,000 square kilometres (15,400 sq mi). The state is divided into several officially recognised regions. Other smaller geographical regions of note include the Atherton Tablelands, the Granite Belt, and the Channel Country in the far south-west.

Queensland has many places of natural beauty, including: the Sunshine Coast and the Gold Coast having some of the state's most popular beaches; the Bunya Mountains and the Great Dividing Range with numerous lookouts, waterfalls and picnic areas; Carnarvon Gorge; Whitsunday Islands and Hinchinbrook Island.

The state contains five World Heritage listed preservation areas: Australian Fossil Mammal Sites at Riversleigh in the Gulf Country, Central Eastern Rainforest Reserves, Fraser Island, Great Barrier Reef, and the Wet Tropics of Queensland.

Because of its size, there is significant variation in climate across the state. Low rainfall and hot summers are typical for the inland west, a monsoonal 'wet' season in the far north, and warm temperate conditions along the coastal strip. Inland and in southern ranges low minimum temperatures are experienced. The climate of the coastal strip is influenced by warm ocean waters, keeping the region free from extremes of temperature and providing moisture for rainfall.

However, most of the Queensland populace experience two weather seasons: a "winter" period of rather warm temperatures and minimal rainfall and a sultry summer period of hot, sticky temperatures and higher levels of rainfall.

The highest maximum temperature observed in the state is 49.5 °C (121.1 °F) at Birdsville on 24 December 1972 (The temperature of 53.1 °C (127.5 °F) at Cloncurry on 16 January 1889 is not considered official; the figure quoted from Birdsville is the next highest, so that record is considered as being official).

A smaller proportion of Queensland's population lives in the capital city than any other mainland state. As of June 2004 the capital city represented 45.7% of the population; for the whole country, capital cities represented 63.8% of the total population.

On 9 December 2005, the population of Queensland officially reached 4 million. Queensland is the fastest growing state in Australia, with over 1,500 people moving to the state per week; 1,000 in the southern part of the state alone. Predictions show that Queensland will become Australia's second most populous state by the late 2020s. According to Queensland's Office of Economic and Statistical Research the estimated population of the state at the end of 2007 was 4,228,290 which is almost 20% of Australia's total.

In 2007, Queensland recorded a TFR of 2.09, the highest after 1977.

Queensland's economy has enjoyed a boom in the tourism and mining industries over the last twenty years. A sizeable influx of interstate and overseas migrants, large amounts of federal government investment, increased mining of vast mineral deposits and an ever expanding aerospace sector ensure that the state will remain Australia's fastest growing economy in the foreseeable future.

Between 1992 and 2002, the growth in the Gross State Product of Queensland outperformed that of all the other states and territories. In that period Queensland's GSP grew 5.0% each year, while growth in Australia's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) rose on average 3.9% each year. Queensland's contribution to the Australian GDP increased by 10.4% in that period, one of only three states to do so.

In 2003 Brisbane had the lowest cost of living of all Australia's capital cities. As of late 2005 Brisbane is the third most expensive capital for housing after Sydney and Canberra and just ahead of Melbourne by $15,000.

Primary industries include: bananas, pineapples, peanuts, a wide variety of other tropical and temperate fruit and vegetables, grain crops, wineries, cattle raising, cotton, sugar cane, wool and a mining industry including bauxite, coal, silver, lead, zinc, gold, and copper.

Secondary industries are mostly further processing of the above-mentioned primary produce: bauxite from Weipa is converted to alumina at Gladstone. There are also copper refining and the refining of sugar cane to sugar.

Major tertiary industries are the retail trade and tourism.

Tourism is Queensland's leading tertiary industry with millions of interstate and overseas visitors flocking to the Sunshine State each year. Queensland is a state of many contrasts that range from sunny tropical coastal areas, lush rainforests to dry inland areas.

Accommodation in Queensland caters for nearly 22% of the total expenditure, followed by restaurants/meals (15%), airfares (11%), fuel (11%) and shopping/gifts (11%).

Queensland is served by a number of National Highways and, particularly in South East Queensland, high quality motorways such as the M1.

Principal rail services are provided by Queensland Rail and Pacific National, predominantly along the coamajor ports including the Port of Brisbane and subsidiary ports at Gladstone and Townsville.

Brisbane Airport is the main international and domestic gateway serving the state. Gold Coast Airport and Cairns International Airport are the two next most prominent airports, both with scheduled international flights. Other regional airports, with scheduled domestic flights, include Great Barrier Reef Airport, Hervey Bay Airport, Mackay Airport, Mount Isa Airport, Proserpine / Whitsunday Coast Airport, Rockhampton Airport, Sunshine Coast Airport and Townsville Airport.

South East Queensland is governed by an integrated public transport system, TransLink, which provides bus, rail and ferry services. Regional bus and long-distance rail services are also provided throughout the State. Local bus services are also available in most regional centres.

Executive authority is vested in the Governor, who represents and is appointed by Queen Elizabeth II on the advice of the Premier. The current governor is Ms. Penelope Wensley, AO. The head of government is the Premier, who is appointed by the Governor but must have the support of the Legislative Assembly. The current Premier is Anna Bligh, of the Australian Labor Party. Other ministers, forming the Executive Council, are appointed by the governor from among the members of the Legislative Assembly on the Premier's recommendation.

The Queensland Parliament or the Legislative Assembly, is unicameral. It is the only Australian state with a unicameral legislature. A bicameral system existed until 1922, when the Legislative Council was abolished by the Labor members' "suicide squad," so called because they were appointed for the purpose of voting to abolish their own offices.

The judicial system of Queensland consists of the Supreme Court and the District Court, established by the Queensland Constitution, and various other courts and tribunals established by ordinary Acts of the Queensland Parliament.

In 2001 Queensland adopted a new codified constitution, repealing most of the assorted Acts of Parliament that had previously made up the constitution. The new constitution took effect on 6 June 2002, the anniversary of the formation of the colony of Queensland by the signing of Letters Patent by Queen Victoria in 1859.

The state of Queensland is represented in all of Australia's national sporting competitions and is also host to a number of domestic and international sporting events. The most popular summer and winter team sports are cricket and rugby league, respectively. The annual rugby league State of Origin series is a major event in the Queensland sporting calender.

Swimming is also a popular sport in Queensland, with a majority of Australian team members and international medalists hailing from the state. At the 2008 Summer Olympics, Queensland swimmers won all six of Australia's gold medals, all swimmers on Australia's three female (finals) relays teams were from Queensland, two of which won gold.

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Australian rules football in Queensland

Australian rules football in Queensland has a history which dates back to the 1860s. By the 1880s it was the most prominent football code in the state, but was overtaken by rugby by 1900. However, the sport continued to be played throughout the twentieth century, though the majority of the state was considered for much of the century to be well behind the Barassi Line.

Australian rules football's recent surge in popularity in south east Queensland is partly due to the success of the Brisbane Lions in the national Australian Football League competition.

In Queensland, the sport is typically referred to as "AFL", or less frequently "Australian Football", "Aussie Rules" or "Australian Rules".

Australian rules football was first played in Queensland in May 1866 when the Brisbane Australian Football Club (distinct from the Brisbane Bears or Lions clubs) was formed. The original aim was to keep cricketers fit in the winter months. By 1870 four more clubs had been created: Volunteer Artillery, Brisbane Grammar School, Civil Service and Ipswich, all adopting Victorian Rules over rugby football.

Brisbane Grammar played matches against Ipswich Grammar in Australian rules in the early 1870s. At the time, the game was governed from Melbourne, and was known as "Victorian Rules".

Queensland sent delegates to the Intercolonial Football Conference in 1883.

By 1883, there were more than 300 teams in South East Queensland.

In 1887, one of the most significant events in the history of the code occurred at this time. Independent Schools headmasters voted by 1 vote to adopt rugby football. The decision was influenced by the recent creation of a Queensland based governing body to govern rugby, and the majority of councillors objected on the basis that the reference of "Victorian" in the name of the sport did not represent the interests of Queenslanders. This dealt a significant blow to the sport and advantage to rugby union.

Despite the advances made by Queensland football, it was clear that Victoria was progressing faster than any other state. On 21 June, 1890, South Melbourne Football Club toured, playing against Queensland on Albion Park. The result of the match was a complete 6-17 to 1-0 humiliation which was felt by the players (behinds were recorded in the scores at the time but did not actually count until 1897). When Queensland defeated a New South Wales Rugby Union team shortly afterwards many of the former rugby players receded from the Australian football ranks and formed clubs of their own.

Although Australian rules was the most popular football code in Queensland by 1880, by the 1890s it had been overtaken by rugby union.

Information is scant on the following years as many of the competitions were disbanded, the state's top level competition went into indefinite recess.

The game was revived when the Queensland Football League (QFL) was formed in July 1903. The first premiership was held in 1904 with most games being played at Queen's Park, a sporting facility within the grounds of the Brisbane Botanic Gardens.

From 1905 to 1914 games were regularly played at the Brisbane Cricket Ground.

In 1908, Queensland again sent delegates to the Australasian Football Council, this time, fielding a side in the Jubilee Australian Football Carnival which saw all Australian states as well as New Zealand compete.

In 1914 a carnival to promote the code was held in Brisbane. The participating teams were Collingwood, Perth, South Adelaide and Cananore.

Between 1915 to 1919 the competition went into recess owing to World War I. Since the inception of the QFL, more than fifty teams have played in the premiership competition.

In August 1927 at a meeting of the Australian National Football Council it was decided that each of the state leagues were to include the words 'Australian National' in their names. Accordingly the QFL was renamed the Queensland Australian National Football League (QANFL) and football continued a steady growth in Brisbane.

Aussie Rules was introduced to Far North Queensland during both World Wars. In 1913, a team of servicemen briefly existed on Thursday Island. In 1944, a league of servicemen was formed around the Atherton Tableland. Teams represented included Wongabel, Wondelca, Kairi, Mareeba and Ravenshoe.

In 1952, the Brisbane Exhibition Ground hosted a VFL match between Essendon and Geelong and was the first official VFL match to be played under floodlights.

In 1955 a league was introduced to Townsville. In 1957 land was purchased in Cairns for the first dedicated field and competition began there. A league was also introduced to Mount Isa later.

Another VFL exhibition game was played at the Brisbane Cricket Ground in 1959, attracting a large crowd.

In 1964 the QANFL became the Queensland Australian Football League (QAFL), a limited liability company.

In the early 1970s, the first leagues appeared in Mackay, the Darling Downs, Rockhampton and Bundaberg.

Born and bred Queenslander Jason Dunstall debuted for the Hawthorn Football Club in 1985 and quickly became one of the greatest players in the game, despite remaining almost unknown in his home state. He briefly represented a Queensland State of Origin team which played in a low key game against New South Wales in Sydney.

In 1986 it was announced that teams from Brisbane (Brisbane Bears) and Perth (West Coast Eagles) would compete in the Victorian Football League (VFL) from 1987. Much of the Bears team remained South Australian players from the SANFL and Victorians from the VFL/AFL.

The Bears were hugely unsuccessful on the field, and with the admission of the successful Brisbane Broncos rugby league team into the New South Wales Rugby League, the popularity of Australian rules football plummeted, while the successful Broncos, made up primarily of local talent, thrived. The NSWRL had resisted the move for a team in Queensland for years but created the Broncos and the Gold Coast-Tweed Giants the very next season.

The admission of the Bears had a deletrious effect on the QAFL which weakened over the following years.

During this era, few local players, besides Jason Dunstall, were produced with the exception of Gavin Crosisca and Marcus Ashcroft who were successful at VFL level.

Demographic trends saw Victorian and South Australians (states where the code is extremely popular) migrating interstate in large numbers to Queensland. Support for Australian rules football grew, despite a lack of success from the Bears and support from fans.

1992 saw the debut for the Brisbane Bears of the most significant locally produced young talent to emerge from the state - Michael Voss. Although born in country Victoria, Voss spent most of his childhood in Queensland and represented the state at junior level where he shone, before going on to captaining the Brisbane Lions and becoming one of the all-time greats of the game. Voss was followed by a small number of players from Queensland to find their way into the newly named Australian Football League (AFL).

In 1993, the Brisbane Bears moved from Carrara Stadium on the Gold Coast to the Brisbane Cricket Ground. Interest, crowds and membership in the team increased considerably. Games between the Bears and popular Victorian sides Collingwood, Essendon and Hawthorn drew particular interest.

In 1995, the Bears made the AFL finals for the first time.

In 1996, six sell-out games at the Gabba caused the State Government to consider funding re-development of the ground, something that would be done several times over the following years to transform the small stadium into a world class venue.

After the 1996 season, the QAFL, having weakened significantly with the introduction of the Bears, finally went into receivership. A new governing body, the Queensland Australian Football Council, was formed in 1997, alongside a new premiership competition, Queensland State Football League (QSFL).

The Brisbane Lions began in 1996, when the AFL approved a merger between the Brisbane Bears and the formerly Melbourne based Fitzroy Football Club and on-field success increased substantially with the injection of Fitzroy players, further boosting the popularity of the code.

In a breakthrough for Australian Football in late 1990s, GPS schools in South East Queensland began playing Australian Rules for the first time since the turn of the century. Previously to this, South East Queensland private schools had been a staunchly rugby union stronghold since 1908. The Jason Dunstall Cup (named after champion Queensland product Jason Dunstall) was later begun, with independent schools such as BBC, ACGS, Nudgee College, Marist Brothers Ashgrove and Gregory Terrace represented with teams in the first division of the Queensland Independent Schools Australian Football League (QISAFL).

Also in the 1990s, the Cairns league experienced enormous growth financially on the back of gaming, with the Cazaly's social club quickly becoming the largest sporting club north of Brisbane. The Cazaly's Stadium received lights to play popular night football games and the western stand from the Gabba was transplanted to Cazaly's Stadium, enabling it to host AFL matches.

In 1999, the QSFL also went into voluntary liquidation, being replaced by a new organisation, AFL Queensland (AFLQ) in 2000. The new premiership competition was called the AFLQ State League. That year, Nick Riewoldt became the first Queensland produced player to be taken as number 1 pick in the AFL Draft, recognised as the best junior talent in the nation.

In 2001, a Women's Footy competition began in earnest.

Three successive premierships for the Brisbane Lions in 2001, 2002 and 2003 saw crowds to Australian Football League matches in Brisbane to grow to an average of over 30,000, and in terms of attendance and membership, the AFL team in 2003 was the most popular team of any football code in the state. However despite increasing television ratings and media exposure, Australian rules football remains overall less popular than rugby league in the state.

During the Lions premiership years, junior Aussie Rules numbers exploded in South East Queensland, and grew solidly right across the state.

From 2005, the growing local State League expanded to two divisions.

A record number of 13 Queenslanders were invited to attend the 2006 AFL Draft camp, representing 18% of the 72 camp invitees.

Although state league crowds have dwindled with the increase in support for the Brisbane Lions AFL team, a healthy crowd of 3,257 saw the Southport Sharks defeat Morningside in the 2005 AFLQ Grand Final at the Gabba, while a crowd of over 3,000 saw the Southport Sharks win back-to-back premierships in 2006 at Carrara.

In 2006, support for the Brisbane Lions waned substantially due to two successive seasons out of the finals. From 2005 to 2006 total memberships decreased from 30,027 to 26,429 and the average home crowd fell from 33,101 to 28,305.

The impact of the Brisbane Lions fall from grace was felt at grassroots level by the sport in Brisbane. From 2006, the much celebrated Jason Dunstall Cup was no longer contested by its former powerhouse schools - ACGS or BBC. Most other major private schools ceased playing the sport at the top level. Despite the decline of school competitions, local junior club numbers continued to grow.

Nevertheless, Queensland performed extremely well in the 2006 AFL Draft with a record 11 recruits, including 8 of the first 32 picks. Surprisingly, the majority of the movement was in the regional areas, with some picks from previously undrafted regional areas such as Townsville, Toowoomba and Mackay providing AFL talent.

The Gold Coast, where a hole had been left once the Brisbane Bears moved, has grown to become the 6th biggest urban area with nearly half a million people. In recent years, several bids were made for a new AFL franchise by the powerhouse Southport Sharks Australian Football Club, including attempts to lure a Melbourne based club in 2004. Many of these attempts were knocked back due to the city's many many failed sporting franchises. However demographic trends suggested a growing demand for Australian rules football and in 2005 a pre-season practice match between the Brisbane Lions and Essendon drew a surprise audience of 16,591. In response, the Australian Football League stepped up efforts to expand into the Gold Coast market. A series of pre-season games and a home and away match was scheduled at Carrara for 2006. In response, the rival NRL competition admitted a Gold Coast Titans franchise. Despite an average crowd of around 10,000 (comparatively low by AFL standards), the AFL officially announced a strategy to include a Gold Coast side in the next 5 years. A bitter turf war with the National Rugby League resulted over the use of Carrara stadium. In the same year, AFL CEO Andrew Demetriou was quoted to declare that the league would compete directly with the NRL for marketshare in Queensland.

In July 2006, with the backing of the local government and the AFL, the Kangaroos did a deal which saw them move their home games scheduled at Manuka Oval in Canberra to play a number of home games at Carrara Stadium on the Gold Coast in 2007. The AFL began a heavily subsidised grassroots participation program and pushed for the number of AFL games, including pre-season matches to steadily increase to ready the region for its own side. Relocation of the Kangaroos was seen by many to be the safest option for the AFL, and an existing Queensland Government deal prevented use of the Brisbane Cricket Ground for a second Queensland side until 2010. The AFL's plans were further complicated by growing competition in the market. The entry of several licences from other sports into the market as well as the proposed expansion of A-League put additional pressure on the league to fast-track the relocation of the Kangaroos.

After two years of resisting the AFL's push for their relocation, the Kangaroos finally officially rejected the AFL's $100 million proposal. This was despite threats from the league to pull financial assistance from the club and cancel the Gold Coast home game agreement if they don't move. The failure of the AFL to secure a stadium deal for Carrara with the Queensland Government was seen as one of the deciding factors. In response, the AFL vowed to proceed with a 17th licence for an expansion club on the Gold Coast, to be admitted by 2010 or 2011, likely to be a franchise involving the financially strong local Southport Sharks Football Club.

A consortium was selected by the AFL and the GC17 made an official bid for the licence with criteria defined by the league.

In 2007, there were around 3,300 senior players in Queensland, with a total of 74,626 participants. Although the overall participation per capita is around 2%, the sport is growing faster in Queensland than any other Australian state.

Over the years, Queensland has produced an array of talent for elite leagues such as the Australian Football League, such as Jason Dunstall, Marcus Ashcroft, Gavin Crosisca, Scott McIvor, Danny Dickfos, Che Cockatoo-Collins, Steven Lawrence, Clark Keating, Trent Knobel, Clint Bizzell, Brett Backwell, Brett Voss, Michael Voss, Mal Michael and Robert Copeland.

The Queensland state team, known as the Maroons has played interstate representative matches against all other Australian states, as well as selecting State of Origin teams as both Queensland and later as part of a combined "Allies" side.

In inter-league matches since 1991, Queensland has defeated both Tasmania and the Australian Capital Territory, and has performed well against more accomplished states such as Western Australia without winning.

The Queensland under-18 representative side is known as the Scorpions.

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Queensland state rugby league team

The Queensland rugby league team or The Maroons represent the Australian state of Queensland in rugby league football. Known as the Maroons in reference to the colour of their jersey, they currently play in Australia's annual three-match State of Origin series against the New South Wales team. Like the NSW Origin side, the team is purely representative, with players usually chosen from clubs in National Rugby League and England's Super League.

Queensland first played rugby league against New South Wales in the new code's first year of 1908. New South Wales won every match between the two states until 1922, when the Maroons, with Cyril Connell playing at halfback, got their maiden victory. This was the start of Queensland's only golden period before the introduction of State of Origin.

As the twentieth century progressed, New South Wales proved to be the dominant team. The powerful New South Wales Rugby League premiership attracted many Queenslanders south of the border, and the "residential" selection policy meant that the Maroons would often be disadvantaged against New South Wales teams containing many Queenslanders playing in the New South Wales club competition.

In the 1970s Queensland only won four matches, and it was decided that if New South Wales won the first two games of the 1980 series that there would be a State of Origin selection policy for the last game. This meant that selection would be based on the state a player made his senior debut in, not the state that he currently played in. Queensland's first truly representative team won the first State of Origin match 20-10 on 8 July 1980. After Queensland lost the first two games in 1981 the third match was again a State of Origin match. Queensland also won this game, and all subsequent series have been played under State of Origin rules.

Queensland's overall record in interstate clashes in non-State of Origin matches was 54 wins, 8 draws and 159 losses in 221 games.

Between 1908 and 1979 Queensland also played matches against a number of touring Test teams. In 1983 the Queensland team toured Papua New Guinea and Great Britain.

In the inaugural State of Origin match in 1980, Queensland surprised all in a commanding 20-10 win over New South Wales. Arthur Beetson and Chris Close were the stars for Queensland, but Kerry Boustead scored Queensland's first ever try. This saw the new State of Origin rules applied a fairer game, saw it again in 1981. In 1981, legendary captain Arthur Beetson was ready to play before injury ruled him out, so he became coach of the team, and would remain so for the next three years. It seemed that State of Origin might still be dominated by New South Wales with the Blues ahead 15-0, but a remarkable comeback by Queensland saw them defeat New South Wales 22-15 with young captain Wally Lewis and Chris Close the stars of the comeback win. This match gave rugby league officials the impetus to decide that 1982 should have 2 State of Origin matches and a decider if required.

In 1982, for the first time all three matches of the interstate series were played using 'origin' selection rules. New South Wales won their first State of Origin match in Game One, but this was not enough to stop Queensland winning the second and third games with Mal Meninga, Rod Morris and captain Wally Lewis the heroes for Queensland of the series. The next year New South Wales again won the first game, but Queensland dominated the series winning the final two games with Wally Lewis being the saviour for Queensland. In 1984, Queensland won the first two games for the series, dominating the series, with Kerry Boustead and Wally Lewis the stars of the series, New South Wales won the final match.

In 1985, Queensland saw their first ever series loss to New South Wales, for the first time, New South Wales were dominate through the series. Queensland's poor performance could be seen as Arthur Beetson retiring as coach or New South Wales halfback Steve Mortimer in good form. Queensland lost the first two matches but won the third match. Under new coach, Wayne Bennett, the 1986 series saw Queensland play a lot better but the scoreboard didn't show, Queensland lost all 3 games, only by small margins for each game, but the fact was New South Wales had whitewashed Queensland.

In 1987, looking for redemption, Queensland lost the first game to New South Wales, but managed to win the last two games giving Wayne Bennett his first series win. Allan Langer debut in the 1987 series saw Queensland win their first series since 1984, Langer went on to play 34 games for Queensland. In the exhibition match fourth game of 1987 in the USA, Queensland couldn't manage to win. In 1988, the introduction of Queensland based clubs for the first grade competition Brisbane Broncos and Gold Coast, saw more wealth of talent for Queensland. In 1988 and 1989 it was Allan Langer and Wally Lewis's formidable halves partnership that had them dominate both series winning all 6 matches and not letting New South Wales win. Wayne Bennett won the 1988 series while returning coach Arthur Beetson won the 1989 series.

In 1990, the New South Wales team managed to win their first game since 1987, and going on to defeat the Queensland team 2-1 in the series, giving Queensland coach Arthur Beetson his first ever series loss with the team. In 1991, it was Queensland legend Wally Lewis, now known as the King, last series. With a new coach, Grahame Lowe, Queensland won the first game, before New South Wales won the second. With Lewis's last game, the decider, the Queensland team managed to win the game by two points and give Lewis the perfect sendoff.

For the series 1992 to 1994 it seemed that Wally Lewis was sorely missed, losing a record three series in a row. With veteran Mal Meninga taking over as captain, Lowe continuing as coach, the Queensland team were unable to show any spark against New South Wales. They were able to win a game in each of the series in 1992, 1993, and 1994. The King Wally Lewis took over coaching for the Queensland team in 1993 and 1994, the QRL hoping he would revive some spark to the team.

In 1995, the Queensland team was noticeably hampered being unable to select players from the Super League teams, most notably the Brisbane Broncos. With new coach and former Queensland captain Paul Vautin, the Queensland team were apparently going to be belted by the New South Wales team. It was not to be. In one of the biggest upsets in Origin history, the baby Queensland team defied all betting odds and whitewashed the New South Wales team 3-0. In 1996, New South Wales got their revenge and whitewashed the Queensland team. In 1997, during the Super League War and the rival Super League Tri-series with another Queensland, New South Wales and New Zealand representative teams. Queensland were unable to win the series ending Vautin's reign as coach.

In 1998, Queensland re-employed Wayne Bennett as coach of the team who only wanted a one year stint at the team. With the Super League War over, Queensland was able to pick a great side again. Allan Langer returned in style in a man of the match appearance guiding the Queensland team to a close 24-23 win in the first game. New South Wales won the second, but Queensland dominated the third and won. With new coach and former Queensland player Mark Murray at the helm the Queensland team won the first before losing the second. In controversial circumstances, Queensland were locked up at 6 all at half-time, scored with 8 minutes to go making it 10-6 seemingly wrapping up the game, but New South Wales scored and missed the conversion to finish the game 10-all, making it the first drawn game and series in State of Origin history. Queensland won the series by retaining the drawn shield. 2000 was a forgettable series, captain Gorden Tallis was sent from the field for dissent to referee Bill Harrigan in a 20-16 loss in Game One. Queensland lost Game Two 28-10 before suffering their worst ever State of Origin defeat 56-16 in Game Three to cap a 3-0 wipewish of the series.

In 2001, Wayne Bennett again took over after their humiliating 3-0 loss in 2000. Queensland won the first game decisively however injuries saw them lose the second game and those injuries were still there for Game Three. This saw coach Bennett take a huge risk, bringing out of retirement Allan Langer to make a miraculous comeback. Although some thought Langer couldn't rise to the challenge, the great halfback inspired Queensland to a win in the final game 40-14. In 2002, Langer again returned however Queensland were thumped in Game One 32-4. Queensland won Game Two 26-18 in spite of a horror debut by winger Justin Hodges who gifted New South Wales two tries via ingoal mistakes. The third game proved to be Langers final game, but a miraculous last minute try by back rower Dane Carlaw saw Queensland draw level with New South Wales 18-all. The game could have be won by Queensland if Lote Tuquri had converted the Carlaw try, but the conversion was wide thus resulting in the second drawn series in Origin history with Queensland retaining the shield.

With the 2003 series, began the New South Wales dominance of Origin. New South Wales won a hard fought first game 25-12 before disposing of Queensland 27-4 in Game Two. The Queensland team took their anger out by flogging New South Wales in the dead rubber third game 36-6. Queensland however could not stop New South Wales taking the 2004 series 2-1 even with new coach Michael Hagan, when Brad Fittler came out of representative retirement for New South Wales to help them defeat Queensland. Game One was notable for being the first State of Origin game to go into Golden Point extra time, with Shaun Timmins kicking the winning field goal for New South Wales to win 9-8. Queensland won Game Two 22-18 on the back of an incredible try to winger Billy Slater the game in which Fitter returned. New South Wales wouldn't be denied in Game Three, winning 36-14 on the back of an inspirational performance by Fittler. The 2005 series again was not much better for Queensland in spite of a Game One win in Golden Point extra time due to an intercept try to Matthew Bowen off a wayward Brett Kimmorley pass. Queensland however failed to dominate the series losing the final two matches to lose again to New South Wales after halfback Andrew Johns made a memorable return for the final two games. Queensland's 2005 series loss marked their third straight series defeat to New South Wales.

In 2006, former Queensland great Mal Meninga took the helm of coach and he took a big risk in Game One to have 7 debutantes against a formidable New South Wales side. This showed in the opening 30 minutes where mistakes were made and New South Wales dominated on the scoreboard. A comeback in the second half wasn't enough to win, New South Wales getting home 17-16 on the back of a field goal in the final moments by halfback and last minute Blues replacement Brett Finch. This put coach Meninga and captain Darren Lockyer under intense criticism by New South Wales media. The second game however saw the fired up Queensland team defeat New South Wales easily 30-6. In the third and deciding game, Queensland found themselves down 14-4 with 9 minutes to go after some controversial refereeing decisions. However a miraculous comeback started by Johnathan Thurston and Brent Tate and an intercept try by Lockyer saw them steal the win and the series.

In 2007, Queensland were the bookies' favourites for the first time in a long time. Queensland were down 18-6 at half time but came back with 19 unanswered points to win the first game by a score of 25-18. Queensland went on to win the second game 10-6 and win the series. This was Queensland's first win in 12 attempts at Telstra Stadium.

As part of the 25 year celebrations in 2005, Queensland named 25 legends for each year before that.

Queensland have named their best 17.

Team for the 2008 State of Origin, Game 3.

It was announced that Karmichael Hunt would start at fullback and Ashley Harrison start at 2nd row and Billy Slater and Sam Thaiday moving to the bench, before the start of Game II.

Since 1988 a Queensland Residents team has been selected from players in QRL competitions (as opposed to the National Rugby League or its antecedents).

The Queensland Residents team has played a New South Wales Residents (consisting of New South Wales players not in the top grade competition) team since 1994 as a curtain-raiser to one of the State of Origin matches. Queensland has won the Residents game in 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999 and 2003.

Each year since 2003 the Queensland Residents team has played Western Australia. Queensland has the matches in 2003 and 2004, both of which were played in Perth. Western Australia will travel to the Sunshine Coast in Queensland to play the match in 2005.

The Queensland Residents team under took a number of overseas tours between 1988 (when the Brisbane Broncos were formed) and 1995. They have toured New Zealand (1988, 1990, 1992), Papua New Guinea (1989, 1995), France (1989), Fiji (1992, 1993), Western Samoa (1993), Tonga (1993) and South Africa (1994).

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