When was Queensland found?

Answer 1

The coastline of Queensland was first discovered when James Cook charted the eastern coast in 1770. However, at that stage, he named it New South Wales. It did not become a colony in its own right until 1859.

Answer 2

If you wish to consider the founding of Queensland from a European historical point of view:

The colony of the Moreton Bay District was founded in 1824 when explorer John Oxley arrived at Redcliffe with a crew and 29 convicts. The settlement was established at Humpybong, but abandoned less than a year later when the main settlement was moved 30km away, to the Brisbane River. Another convict settlement was established under the command of Captain Patrick Logan. On 10 September 1825, the settlement was given the name of Brisbane, but it was still part of the New South Wales territory.

In 1859, Queen Victoria signed Letters Patent, which declared that Queensland was now a separate colony from New South Wales. On 6 June 1859, the former Moreton Bay District was granted separation from New South Wales, and given the name of Queensland, with Brisbane as its capital city. June 6th is celebrated every year as Queensland Day, the day which marks the birth of Queensland as a self-governing colony. On 1 January 1901, Queensland became one of the six founding States of the Commonwealth of Australia.

The first to live in Queensland were, of course, the indigenous Australians, or Aborigines. Asian traders were known to frequent the far northern regions. The north-eastern Australian region was explored by Dutch, Portuguese and French navigators before Lieutenant James Cook charted the east coast in 1770.