Print-friendly versionBelow are a number of historical commentaries that explain how the Queensland Constitution developed since the late 1700s when Queensland was first set up as a penal colony.
A history of Queensland's constitutional development (PDF, 143 KB) | (.doc, 155 KB)
Overview of Queensland's constitutional development. Includes descriptive timeline and explanation of the constitutional status of local government and how the separation of powers occurred in Queensland.
Constitutional themes and milestones since 1901 (PDF, 269 KB) | (.doc, 373 KB)
Queensland's constitutional development is divided into distinct phases, themes and major milestones associated with each phase.
Parliamentary terms (PDF, 189 KB) | (.doc, 267 KB)
This paper explores the principles of periodic parliamentary terms across Australian and international jurisdictions within all levels of government. It provides a history of changes to parliamentary terms in Queensland and the Commonwealth Parliament.
For more historical information about the Queensland Constitution see the following sections on the Queensland Parliament's website:
The Origins of the Queensland Parliament
Includes information about the separation of powers, the electoral system and the role of parliament.
Queensland Electoral and Parliamentary History : Key Dates and Events
A timeline from 1859 to 2005 of important dates in the history of Queensland's Parliament and Constitution.