The three Queenslands — Sir Samuel Griffith’s ‘ghost’ draft for a Queensland federation

Abstract

From 1890 to 1892, Sir Samuel Griffith, as Premier of Queensland, promoted a scheme under which Queensland would itself have been divided into a federation of initially three provinces — North, Central and South Queensland — and then two provinces, North and South Queensland. This startling idea would certainly have changed the map of Australia, probably permanently. At least at some points, the idea was expressed that each province would enter the Australian federation as a separate State and the Queensland federal government would simply be dissolved upon federation. The Bill to divide Queensland into a federation of two provinces passed the lower House of State Parliament but was defeated in the nominee Legislative Council. It then fell victim to the change of government consequent upon Griffith’s appointment as Chief Justice of Queensland, to the urgent problems presented by the economic depression, and even, from the conservative point of view, to the rise of labour in politics. Little has been known about this nearly successful plan until now. This article attempts to close that gap.