The State of Queensland is so large that weather conditions vary significantly. From the Channel Country in the far west of the state where it seldom rains, to the far north where the rain is torrential in the monsoon season.The enormous distances that separate communities in the outback gave birth to the now famous Flying Doctor Service.In remote stations it can be several hours driving to the nearest centre for provisions of any kind.Thank goodness that telecommunications are being upgraded in the outback, as this service has been unsatisfactory in the past,owing to a lack of funding from successive governments.The people in the bush deserve the support of the people in the city because they are doing a fine job in spite of the difficult circumstances. City dwellers could not imagine living 300 kms from their nearest neighbour.!!!

Queensland is a State with huge natural resources.Originally, the prime gold producing area of the State was Mt. Morgan,40 kms west of Rockhampton.But when resources of gold began depleting in this area,lo and behold, they found huge deposits of copper underneath the original gold platform.It was in 1863 when gold was first found in the Northern Cape area on the Palmer River.This 'rush' instigated the settlement at Cooktown on the Endeavour River.An estimated 17,000 Chinese miners worked on the Palmer River Field.At that time they were in direct competition with the European miners and this gave rise to considerable aggravation between the Parties.Following these outbreaks of violence the Queensland Government amended the Goldfields Act by introducing a Poll Tax to be paid by all Chinese who entered Queensland, and prohibited them from working the fields until they had been in the state for 3 years.To further dampen their desires the Government also increased import duty on rice.