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| Tambo Dawn |
Queensland has always been different and never properly understood by southerners.
We identify by our distance from the capital (Brisbane), more strongly than by any other factor. The further we live from Brisbane, the more militant and contrarian our opinions.
I learned this when working in regional administration in Mt Isa. We talked bitterly about BFBs (Bastards from Brisbane) and saw our main function as opposing every suggested initiative that came from Central Office.
This identity by region probably derived from the history. Unlike other mainland states, Queensland was settled district by district, from the productive inland to the coast, rather than from the capital outwards.
The east/west railway links were completed before the north/south Brisbane/Cairns link.
Soldiers embarking for Gallipoli (and the western front) in World War One, did so on steamers from ports like Rockhampton as well as from Brisbane.
Prior to the Second World War, many Queenslanders lived out their lives in their own regional areas without ever travelling to the capital. The distances and the state of the roads saw to that.
This geographical history underpins our political consciousness, and creates an electoral environment beyond the ken of journalists in NSW and Victoria.
Every now and again, this lack of comprehension is revealed by the commentary, as demonstrated by the collapse of Labor in 2012 - and again yesterday.
Having said that, Queensland can surprise from the other side of the political spectrum.
Remember Red Ted Theodore?
Remember the shearer’s strike?
