The Letters Patent: The Birth of Queensland

The Letters Patent of 1859 stand as the founding legal instrument of Queensland. Issued by Queen Victoria, they gave effect to the long‑anticipated separation of the northern districts of New South Wales and formally created the new colony of Queensland.

The document set out not only the geographic extent of the colony, but also its system of governance—authorising the establishment of a Parliament, an Executive Council, and the office of Governor.

With the appointment of Sir George Ferguson Bowen as Captain General and Governor in Chief, the Letters Patent laid the constitutional foundations for Queensland’s development as a self-governing colony within the British Empire.

You can read the full document on the Queensland State Archives website: https://www.archivessearch.qld.gov.au/items/ITM3504310