The Central Queensland Territorial Separation League was formed in

Rockhampton Rockhampton is a city in the Rockhampton Region of Central Queensland, Australia. In the , the population of Rockhampton was 79,293. A common nickname for Rockhampton is "Rocky", and the demonym of Rockhampton is Rockhamptonite. The Scottish- ...

in 1889 with the aim of agitating for separation of the

Central Queensland Central Queensland is an imprecisely-defined geographical division of Queensland ( a state in Australia) that centres on the eastern coast, around the Tropic of Capricorn. Its major regional centre is Rockhampton. The region extends from the Cap ...

region from the (then) colony of

Queensland Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...

. The Separatists’ main complaints were the perceived under-representation of the Central region in the colonial Parliament, located in

Brisbane Brisbane ( ; ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the States and territories of Australia, state of Queensland and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia, with a ...

, some to the south of Rockhampton, and the use of Central Queensland taxes and finances to fund the Queensland Government. Agitation for the division of Queensland into two or three smaller colonies had been a political question in the colony ever since Queensland separated from

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

in 1859. Earlier, unsuccessful, political movements for Central Queensland

secession Secession is the formal withdrawal of a group from a Polity, political entity. The process begins once a group proclaims an act of secession (such as a declaration of independence). A secession attempt might be violent or peaceful, but the goal i ...

from Queensland had been launched in the 1860s and 1870s. George Curtis (1845–1922), a prominent Rockhampton auctioneer and landholder, became the first president of the CQTSL and was elected to the

Legislative Assembly of Queensland The Legislative Assembly of Queensland is the sole chamber of the unicameral Parliament of Queensland established under the Constitution of Queensland. Elections are held every four years and are done by full preferential voting. The Assembly ...

(the lower house of the Queensland Parliament) in 1893 where he used his position to agitate for the aims of the CQTSL in Parliament.

Archibald Archer Archibald Archer M.L.A., J.P., (18 March 1820 – 6 February 1902) was a Queensland politician, a Member of the Queensland Legislative Assembly, and Treasurer of Queensland, Treasurer of Queensland. He was one of the Archer brothers, an ear ...

and John Ferguson visited England as a deputation on behalf of the Central Queensland Territorial Separation League in 1892. They met with Lord Knutsford, who preferred that to Sir Samuel Griffith's provincial district resolutions were carried in the Queensland Legislative Assembly. The CQTSL’s campaign was ultimately unsuccessful. When the Australian colonies federated in 1901, the new nation’s

Constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organization or other type of entity, and commonly determines how that entity is to be governed. When these pri ...

placed the power to further divide colonies (or

States State most commonly refers to: * State (polity), a centralized political organization that regulates law and society within a territory **Sovereign state, a sovereign polity in international law, commonly referred to as a country **Nation state, a ...

as they now became) in the hands of the parent colony or state, with no avenue for referral to the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

Government. Further movements for the establishment of a new state in Central Queensland, with Rockhampton as the capital, occurred in the 1950s.

Women’s Central Queensland Territorial Separation League

Supplementing the Central Queensland Territorial Separation League, the women of Rockhampton established their own separation league in October 1892. The inaugural meeting of the Women’s Central Queensland Territorial Separation League was held at the

Rockhampton School of Arts Rockhampton School of Arts is a heritage-listed former school of arts at 230 Bolsover Street, Rockhampton City, Rockhampton, Rockhampton Region, Queensland, Australia. It was designed by William (Walter) Cherry built in 1894 by Walter Adam ...

and attended by 200 women. The League resolved to add support to the efforts of their husbands, brothers and friends to help influence the movement. Their main focus was preparing a

petition A petition is a request to do something, most commonly addressed to a government official or public entity. Petitions to a deity are a form of prayer called supplication. In the colloquial sense, a petition is a document addressed to an officia ...

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in January 1901. Her reign of 63 year ...

. The introductory text set out their grievances and described the immense size of Queensland: being twelve times the area of England and Wales, and larger than France, Germany, Spain and Portugal combined. They also pointed out that the capital Brisbane was at the extreme south-east of the huge colony. The petitioners felt the far-flung administrative arrangement disregarded the central portion of the state while using local revenue for the benefit of

and Southern Queensland. There were no paid canvassers used to solicit signatures for the petition. The League members undertook the task voluntarily, canvassing through populated areas as well as bush districts. One such woman, Margaretta Ramm went to great lengths riding considerable distances alone between towns and homesteads despite difficult conditions including a torrential downpour, her horse being bogged over the fetlocks and losing her way. The petition measured over 33 metres in length and was signed by around 4000 women. The signatories were aged 21 and above. A later report of League Women’s Committee stated that had the age been reduced to 18 years, another 2000 names could have been added. A copy of the original Women's Central Queensland Territorial Separation League petition is held by the

State Library of Queensland State Library of Queensland (State Library) is the state public reference and research library of Queensland, Australia, operated by the Government of Queensland, state government. The Library is governed by the Library Board of Queensland, whi ...

. It is considered a treasure of the

John Oxley Library State Library of Queensland (State Library) is the state public reference and research library of Queensland, Australia, operated by the state government. The Library is governed by the Library Board of Queensland, which draws its powers from ...

and too fragile to be handled.

References

External links

* {{coord, 23, 26, 22.97, S, 144, 53, 09.69, E, display=title, region:AU_type:city_source:GNS-enwiki History of Queensland Central Queensland Proposed states and territories of Australia

Women’s Central Queensland Territorial Separation League

See also

References

External links