Today....6th June....is Queensland Day. What a great day to celebrate this state that I live in! And why today? I pulled this off the Queensland Government website to explain:
Queensland Day itself acknowledges the birth of Queensland as a self-governing colony, the anniversary of the date on which Queen Victoria signed documents granting Queensland the right to its own representative government and appointing Queensland’s first Governor, Sir George Bowen.
So what do I love about living in Queensland? I have brainstormed my top ten list. I wonder if any other Queenslanders can add their own ideas:
1) Sunshine! Hey...it's not called the Sunshine State for nothing! Ok, so we have had too much lately and are currently running short of water...but hey....there is nothing like a Queensland blue sky in the middle of winter and a hot balmy night in the middle of summer!
2) The beaches! Any are fine. I love Coolum Beach and most of the Sunshine Coast ones, but the Gold Coast is supposed to be the tourism mecca of Australia so they are ok, too! Just watch for stingers and crocodiles if you visit the ones in the northern part of the state.
3) The people! I'm bias but we are friendly and happy most of the time! And our driving is not as scary as our southern counterparts.....I wouldn't even dream of driving in Sydney for fear of my life and my car! Lol!
4) All things maroon! I'm not a footy fan but I've put this in for the males in my house who are!
5) The Glasshouse Mountains and Australia Zoo! I've spoken in another post about my love of these mountains and their proximity to Australia Zoo, but if you haven't been I strongly recommend a visit cause the zoo is amazing and so are the mountains.
6) Powderfinger! Another thing I've posted about before, but any place that produces talent like Powderfinger has to be doing something right! ;)
7) Mangoes! I know that you can get these anywhere in Australia, but thank goodness for Bowen - Qld birthplace of the very best mango around. And perhaps I should be putting bananas in here, too as most of the country's banana crops are in Queensland....so we found out after Cyclone Larry toppled Innisfail and most of us were paying up to $10 a kilogram for a bunch!
8) Brisbane! Any place that can be lovingly nicknamed 'Bris-Vegas' and get away with it can't be too bad! And situated on the Brisbane River with the entire Southbank distract a stone's throw away means that there is plenty to see and do. I stumbled across this I Love Brisbane blog which I just love to check in on, too.
9) The wildlife. Did you know that the koala is the Queensland fauna emblem? No, you don't see koalas in the city, but I live in the suburbs and they are around! In fact, my work is situated in a koala corridor. It is not uncommon to see them in trees around the buildings. Just the other day I had to side-step koala poo while walking down a path. I also have a friend who lives about 3 minute's drive from my place on an acreage block, who sees them in her yard periodically. That said, we also get the most amazing birds here. Lorikeets, galahs, cockatoos, kookaburras are all regular visitors to our area and anyone who says that magpies are ugly just hasn't heard them warble! And lizards have also taken up residence in my yard. I especially love the little blue tongues...once I realise that they have legs and are not snakes!
10) Number 10 is tricky. I can think of so many things. I originally started off by saying 'the overall lifestyle' but then I thought...what about the Moreton Bay bugs to eat?....what about the fact that AB Banjo Paterson wrote Waltzing Matilda in outback Queensland?....what about all the authors from Queensland?.....the famous swimmers?....the actors (Geoffrey Rush!), singers (Keith Urban)?......what about the Great Barrier Reef which is the most amazing place to visit or the rainforests from as south as the Gold Coast hinterland to as north as the Daintree? So pick one and add it to number ten for me, will you!?
Happy Queensland Day to my state!
