Editing Queensland (section)

===Independent governance===
[[File:StateLibQld 2 93580 Parade of troops in Queen Street, Brisbane, March, 1900.jpg|thumb|Parade of troops in Brisbane, prior to departure for the [[Second Boer War|Boer War]] in South Africa]]
[[File:Groupe de Kanakas dans une exploitation de canne à sucre du Queensland.jpg|thumb|[[Kanaka (Pacific Island worker)|Kanaka workers]] in a sugar cane plantation, late 19th century]]
A public meeting was held in 1851 to consider the proposed [[separation of Queensland]] from New South Wales. On 6 June 1859, Queen Victoria signed letters patent<ref>{{cite web|title=Documenting Democracy|url=https://www.foundingdocs.gov.au/item-did-60.html|access-date=27 November 2021|website=[[Museum of Australian Democracy]]|archive-date=3 March 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220303143343/https://www.foundingdocs.gov.au/item-did-60.html|url-status=live}}</ref> to form the separate colony of Queensland as a [[self-governing colony|self-governing]] [[Crown colony]] with [[responsible government]]. [[Brisbane]] was selected as the capital city. On 10 December 1859, a proclamation was read by [[George Bowen]], the first [[Governor of Queensland]], formally establishing Queensland as a separate colony from New South Wales.<ref name="q150">{{cite web|url=https://www.osr.qld.gov.au/historical-information/revenue-history-timeline/static-timeline.shtml|title=Q150 Timeline|publisher=Queensland Treasury|access-date=28 October 2011|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110903032933/https://www.osr.qld.gov.au/historical-information/revenue-history-timeline/static-timeline.shtml|archive-date=3 September 2011}}</ref> On 22 May 1860 the first Queensland election was held and [[Robert Herbert]], Bowen's private secretary, was appointed as the first [[Premier of Queensland]].

In 1865, the first rail line in the state opened between [[Ipswich, Queensland|Ipswich]] and [[Grandchester]]. Queensland's economy expanded rapidly in 1867 after James Nash discovered gold on the [[Mary River (Queensland)|Mary River]] near the town of [[Gympie]], sparking a gold rush and saving the Colony of Queensland from near economic collapse. While still significant, they were on a much smaller scale than the gold rushes of Victoria and New South Wales.

Immigration to Australia and Queensland, in particular, began in the 1850s to support the state economy. During the period from the 1860s until the early 20th century, many labourers, known at the time as [[Kanakas]], were brought to Queensland from neighbouring Pacific Island nations to work in the state's sugar cane fields. Some of these people had been kidnapped under a process known as [[blackbirding]] or press-ganging, and their employment conditions constituted an allegedly exploitative form of indentured labour. [[Italian Australians|Italian immigrants]] entered the sugar cane industry from the 1890s.<ref>{{cite book|first=John|last=Rickard|title=Australia: A Cultural History|year=2017|pages=173|publisher=Monash University |isbn=978-1-921867-60-6}}</ref>

During the 1890s, the six Australian colonies, including Queensland, held a series of referendums which culminated in the [[Federation of Australia]] on 1 January 1901. During this time, Queensland had a population of half a million people. Since then, Queensland has remained a [[federated state]] within Australia, and its population has significantly grown.