The symbols of Queensland represent the Australian state 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 ...

and the

Queensland Government The Queensland Government is the state government of Queensland, Australia, a Parliament, parliamentary constitutional monarchy. Government is formed by the party or coalition that has gained a majority in the Queensland Legislative Assembly, ...

. The different symbols and emblems represent both the

state 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 ...

(the Commonwealth monarch, represented by the

State Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the type of political region or polity, a ''governor'' ma ...

) and the

government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a State (polity), state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive (government), execu ...

(the

Premier Premier is a title for the head of government in central governments, state governments and local governments of some countries. A second in command to a premier is designated as a deputy premier. A premier will normally be a head of govern ...

and Governor-in-Council). The official state emblems of Queensland are prescribed in the ''Emblems of Queensland Act 2005''.

State flag of Queensland

The state flag of Queensland is a British

Blue Ensign The Blue Ensign is a British ensign that may be used on vessels by certain authorised yacht clubs, Royal Research Ships and British merchant vessels whose master holds a commission in the Royal Naval Reserve or has otherwise been issued a wa ...

with the state badge on a white disc added in the fly. The badge is a light blue

Maltese Cross The Maltese cross is a cross symbol, consisting of four " V" or arrowhead shaped concave quadrilaterals converging at a central vertex at right angles, two tips pointing outward symmetrically. It is a heraldic cross variant which develope ...

with an imperial crown in the centre of the cross. The flag dates from 1876, with minor variations, and the badge was designed by William Hemmant, the Colonial Secretary and Treasurer of Queensland in 1876.

Queensland Badge

The current State Badge was approved on 29 November 1876 by the Governor of Queensland. The badge is officially described as “On a Roundel Argent a Maltese Cross Azure surmounted with a Royal Crown”.

Coat of arms of Queensland

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 ...

granted the Queensland coat of arms to the Colony of Queensland in 1893, making it the oldest state arms in Australia. It depicts Queensland's primary industries in the 19th century with a sheaf of wheat, the heads of a bull and a ram, and a column of gold rising from a heap of quartz. Two stalks of sugar cane which surround the state badge at the top, and below is Queensland's state motto, ''Audax at Fidelis'', which means "Bold but Faithful". In 1977,

Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 19268 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. ...

granted the supporting animals, the

brolga The brolga (''Antigone rubicunda''), formerly known as the native companion, is a bird in the crane (bird), crane family. It has also been given the name Australian crane, a term coined in 1865 by well-known ornithology, ornithologist John Gou ...

and the

red deer The red deer (''Cervus elaphus'') is one of the largest deer species. A male red deer is called a stag or Hart (deer), hart, and a female is called a doe or hind. The red deer inhabits most of Europe, the Caucasus Mountains region, Anatolia, Ir ...

Queensland Government crest

Since August 2012, the Queensland coat of arms has been used as the state government's corporate logo.

Queensland state motto and colour

Motto

"Audax at Fidelis" (''Bold but Faithful'')

Colour

In November 2003,

maroon Maroon ( , ) is a brownish crimson color that takes its name from the French word , meaning chestnut. ''Marron'' is also one of the French translations for "brown". Terms describing interchangeable shades, with overlapping RGB ranges, inc ...

was officially named as Queensland's state colour, after many years of association with Queensland sporting teams (most notably the

Queensland Maroons The Queensland rugby league team represents the Australian state of Queensland in rugby league football. Nicknamed the "Maroons" after the colour of their jersey, they play three times a year against arch-rivals New South Wales rugby league tea ...

and the

Brisbane Broncos The Brisbane Broncos are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in Red Hill, a suburb of Brisbane, Queensland. Founded in April 1987, the Broncos compete in the National Rugby League (NRL) and play their home games at ...

Emblems

Aquatic emblem

Barrier reef anemonefish (''

Amphiprion akindynos ''Amphiprion akindynos'', the Barrier Reef anemonefish, is a species of anemonefish that is principally found in the Great Barrier Reef of Australia, but also in nearby locations in the Western Pacific. The species name 'akindynos' is Greek, me ...

'') The Barrier Reef anemone fish was officially named as Queensland's aquatic emblem in March 2005.

Animal emblem

Koala The koala (''Phascolarctos cinereus''), sometimes inaccurately called the koala bear, is an arboreal herbivorous marsupial native to Australia. It is the only Extant taxon, extant representative of the Family (biology), family ''Phascolar ...

(''Phascolarctos cinereus'') The

koala The koala (''Phascolarctos cinereus''), sometimes inaccurately called the koala bear, is an arboreal herbivorous marsupial native to Australia. It is the only Extant taxon, extant representative of the Family (biology), family ''Phascolar ...

was officially named the animal or faunal, emblem of Queensland in 1971, after a newspaper poll showed strong public support. The Queensland Government introduced the poll due to a proposal by state tourism ministers for all states to adopt a faunal emblem.

Bird emblem

Brolga The brolga (''Antigone rubicunda''), formerly known as the native companion, is a bird in the crane (bird), crane family. It has also been given the name Australian crane, a term coined in 1865 by well-known ornithology, ornithologist John Gou ...

(''Grus rubicunda'') In January 1986 the brolga was announced as the official bird emblem of Queensland, after being on the coat of arms since 1977.

Floral emblem

Cooktown orchid (''Dendrobium phalaenopsis'') The Cooktown orchid became known as Queensland's floral emblem in 1959, during celebrations to mark the state's centenary. In 1968 the Cooktown orchid was featured on an Australian postage stamp.

Fossil emblem

Muttaburrasaurus ''Muttaburrasaurus'' was a genus of herbivorous iguanodontian ornithopod dinosaur that lived in what is now northeastern Australia sometime between 112 and 103 million years agoHoltz, Thomas R. Jr. (2012) ''Dinosaurs: The Most Complete, Up-to ...

'' Following a campaign from a group of twelve candidates, the '' Muttaburrasaurus langdoni'' big-nosed dinosaur became the state's first fossil emblem in October 2022.

Gemstone emblem

Sapphire Sapphire is a precious gemstone, a variety of the mineral corundum, consisting of aluminium oxide () with trace amounts of elements such as iron, titanium, cobalt, lead, chromium, vanadium, magnesium, boron, and silicon. The name ''sapphire ...

The sapphire, of any colour, is the state's gem emblem.

State tartan

Queensland tartan Designed by Jack Allen using seven basic colours to depict the State of Queensland. Colours: white represents the small amount of cloud in the winter time; azure represents the clear blue winter sky; royal blue represents the Coral Sea, blue in Hervey Bay, Whitsunday Passage and Hinchinbrook; yellow represents the tropical beaches of Queensland, sun and sand; green represents the mountain forests, hardwood forests, pine forests, the grazing fields and farms; lilac represents the flowers of the sugar cane; crimson represents the state's floral emblem, the Cooktown orchid. The then

Premier of Queensland The premier of Queensland is the head of government in the Australian state of Queensland. By convention the premier is the leader of the party with a parliamentary majority in the Legislative Assembly of Queensland. The premier is appointed ...

Peter Beattie Peter Douglas Beattie (born 18 November 1952) is an Australian former politician who served as the 36th Premier of Queensland, in office from 1998 to 2007. He was the state leader of the Labor Party from 1996 to 2007. Beattie was born in Syd ...

, "officially approved" the tartan in May 2000, and the registration notes in its entry in the

Scottish Register of Tartans The Scottish Register of Tartans (SRT) is Scotland's official non-ministerial government department for the recording and registration of tartan designs, operating since 5 February 2009. As a governmental body, SRT is headquartered at General ...

(SRT) as a district tartan declare that the then

Governor of Queensland The governor of Queensland is the representative of the monarch, currently King Charles III, in the state of Queensland. In an analogous way to the governor-general of Australia, governor-general at the national level, the governor Governors of ...

recorded its

threadcount Textile fibers, threads, yarns and fabrics are measured in a multiplicity of units. * A fiber, a single filament of natural material, such as cotton, linen or wool, or artificial material such as nylon, polyester, metal or mineral fiber, or human ...

State flag of Queensland

Queensland Badge

Coat of arms of Queensland

Queensland Government crest

Queensland state motto and colour

Motto

Colour

Emblems

Aquatic emblem

Animal emblem

Bird emblem

Floral emblem

Fossil emblem

Gemstone emblem

State tartan

See also

References

Sources

External links