It was in present day Queensland that members of the Dutch ship, the Duyfken, came ashore in about 1606. However, it was quite some time later that the British decided to choose an area at Moreton Bay as a site for a penal settlement. The area was deliberately chosen for its remoteness.

In 1824 Lieutenant Miller arrived here, becoming the first commandant, and a year later he decided to move the settlement up the Brisbane River. This was the start of Brisbane, although Queensland did not really come into existence officially as a State until 1859, when it separated from New South Wales.

During the nineteenth century, various expeditions set about exploring the inland areas of Queensland, in search of its rivers, mountains and other natural features. Amongst these explorers were Thomas Mitchell, William Landsborough, Robert O'Hara Burke and William J.Wills.

By the mid 1870s, a clearer picture of Queensland's interior was beginning to emerge.

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