Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
1982
Brisbane hosts the Commonwealth Games. Australia tops the medal tally, winning 107 medals over-
all. Matilda, a 13m-high winking kangaroo, was the mascot for the Games.
1990s
Queensland experiences rapid population growth - mostly from domestic migration - even while a
full-blown recession is underway, with high unemployment and huge bank and corporate collapses.
1992
After 10 years in the courts, the landmark Mabo decision is delivered by the High Court. Effectively,
this gives recognition to Indigenous land rights across the country.
1997
Warning of being 'swamped by Asians', Queenslander Pauline Hanson founds the anti-immigration
One Nation party. Popularity wanes following a 2003 fraud conviction.
2006.
The legendary 'Crocodile Hunter' Steve Irwin is killed by a stingray while shooting the wildlife docu-
mentary
Ocean's Deadliest
. His conservation work continues via the Steve Irwin Foundation.
2007
Peter Beattie, the longest-serving Labor premier in Queensland history, retires. His deputy, Anna
Bligh, becomes the state's first female premier. She is ousted by conservative Campbell Newman in
2012.
2008
On behalf of parliament, Australian prime minister Kevin Rudd (a Queenslander) delivers a moving
apology to Indigenous Australians for laws and policies that 'inflicted profound grief, suffering and
loss'.
2011
Powerful floods inundate vast areas of Queensland (including Brisbane), killing 35 people and caus-
ing billions of dollars in damages. Cyclone Yasi follows weeks later, devastating parts of north
Queensland.
2011
