# List of Queensland's Q150 Icons

The Queensland's Q150 Icons list of cultural icons was compiled as part of Q150 celebrations in 2009 by the Government of Queensland, Australia. It represented the people, places and events that were significant to Queensland's first 150 years.

## History

A list of 300 nominations for Queensland cultural icons was compiled by the Queensland Government, organised into 10 categories, and then the Queensland public were invited to vote to produce a final list of 150 icons. The final list was announced on 10 June 2009 by the Queensland Premier Anna Bligh, as part of the Q150 celebration of Queensland's foundation.

## State shapers

This list is for people and organisations that are significant to Queensland.
| 1 | Yungaba Immigration Centre |
| 2 | Steve Irwin |
| 3 | Surf Lifesavers |
| 4 | Sir Joh Bjelke-Petersen |
| 5 | Leslie Thiess |
| 6 | Founders of Qantas |
| 7 | Clem Jones |
| 8 | Eddie Mabo |
| 9 | State Emergency Service |
| 10 | John Flynn |
| 11 | Charles Kingsford Smith |
| 12 | James Cook |
| 13 | Royal Agricultural Society of Queensland |
| 14 | Isolated Children's Parents Association |
| 15 | Wayne Bennett |

## Influential artists

| 1 | Bee Gees |
| 2 | Powderfinger |
| 3 | Geoffrey Rush |
| 4 | Keith Urban |
| 5 | Oodgeroo Noonuccal (Kath Walker) |
| 6 | Steele Rudd |
| 7 | Judith Wright |
| 8 | Billy Thorpe |
| 9 | Hugh Lunn |
| 10 | Savage Garden |
| 11 | Gladys Moncrieff |
| 12 | Graeme Connors |
| 13 | William McInnes |
| 14 | David Malouf |
| 15 | Charles Chauvel |

## Sports legends

| 1 | Wally Lewis |
| 2 | Cathy Freeman |
| 3 | Pat Rafter |
| 4 | Rod Laver |
| 5 | Allan Border |
| 6 | Greg Norman |
| 7 | Susie O'Neill |
| 8 | Dick Johnson |
| 9 | Allan Langer |
| 10 | Gunsynd |
| 11 | Mal Meninga |
| 12 | Grant Hackett |
| 13 | Matthew Hayden |
| 14 | Kieren Perkins |
| 15 | Mick Doohan |

## Locations

| 1 | Australia Zoo (Sunshine Coast Hinterland) |
| 2 | Australian Stockman's Hall of Fame (Longreach) |
| 3 | Surfers Paradise |
| 4 | Bundaberg Rum Distillery |
| 5 | Big Pineapple (Nambour) |
| 6 | South Bank Parklands (Brisbane) |
| 7 | Noosa |
| 8 | Breakfast Creek Hotel (Brisbane) |
| 9 | Yatala Pie Shop |
| 10 | Barcaldine Tree of Knowledge |
| 11 | Paronella Park (North Queensland) |
| 12 | Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary (Brisbane) |
| 13 | Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary (Gold Coast) |
| 14 | Great Dividing Range |
| 15 | Darling Downs |

## Natural attractions

| 1 | Great Barrier Reef |
| 2 | Fraser Island |
| 3 | Glass House Mountains |
| 4 | Whitsundays |
| 5 | Daintree Rainforest |
| 6 | Outback Queensland |
| 7 | Carnarvon Gorge |
| 8 | Stradbroke Island |
| 9 | Lamington National Park |
| 10 | Bunya Mountains |
| 11 | Moreton Bay |
| 12 | Barron Falls |
| 13 | Springbrook National Park |
| 14 | Magnetic Island |
| 15 | Undara Lava Tubes |

## Structures and engineering feats

| 1 | Story Bridge (Brisbane) |
| 2 | Kuranda Scenic Railway (Cairns) |
| 3 | XXXX Brewery (Brisbane) |
| 4 | Brisbane City Hall |
| 5 | Skyrail Rainforest Cableway (Cairns) |
| 6 | Gateway Bridge (Brisbane) |
| 7 | Lang Park (Brisbane) |
| 8 | Q1 (Gold Coast) |
| 9 | The Gabba (Brisbane) |
| 10 | The University of Queensland Great Court |
| 11 | St John's Cathedral (Brisbane) |
| 12 | Old Museum (Brisbane) |
| 13 | Qantas Hangars (Longreach and Cloncurry) |
| 14 | Hornibrook Bridge (Redcliffe) |
| 15 | Burdekin Falls Dam |

## Defining moments

| 1 | World Expo '88 (1988) |
| 2 | 1974 Queensland floods |
| 3 | Qantas takes to the air (1920) |
| 4 | 1982 Brisbane Commonwealth Games |
| 5 | Mabo High Court of Australia decision (1992) |
| 6 | Fitzgerald Inquiry (1987–89) |
| 7 | Queensland proclaimed as a new colony (1859) |
| 8 | Gold discovered in Queensland (1858) |
| 9 | World Heritage listing of the Wet Tropics (1988) |
| 10 | Queensland wins its first Sheffield Shield (1995) |
| 11 | Bellevue Hotel and Cloudland demolished (1979 and 1982) |
| 12 | Queensland the first with free education |
| 13 | Australia's first Aboriginal Parliamentarians: Neville Bonner (1971) |
| 14 | All chained up for women's rights (1965 at Regatta Hotel) |
| 15 | Railway comes to Queensland (1865) |

## Innovations and inventions

| 1 | Royal Flying Doctor Service |
| 2 | Cervical cancer vaccination (Professor Ian Frazer) |
| 3 | Polio treatment |
| 4 | Blue Care (formerly Blue Nurses) |
| 5 | School of the Air |
| 6 | Billabong |
| 7 | Lamington |
| 8 | Kids Alive - Do the Five |
| 9 | Lucas' Pawpaw Ointment |
| 10 | Weis Fruit Bar |
| 11 | Immune system research wins Nobel Prize |
| 12 | Southern Cross windmills |
| 13 | Tilt train |
| 14 | Dingo fence |
| 15 | wotif.com.au |

## Events and festivals

| 1 | Ekka (Brisbane) |
| 2 | State of Origin series |
| 3 | Birdsville Races |
| 4 | RiverFire (Riverfestival) |
| 5 | Woodford Folk Festival |
| 6 | Carnival of Flowers (Toowoomba) |
| 7 | Country Music Muster (Gympie) |
| 8 | Indy (Gold Coast) |
| 9 | Apple and Grape Harvest Festival (Stanthorpe) |
| 10 | B&S Balls |
| 11 | Beef Australia (Rockhampton) |
| 12 | Brisbane to Gladstone yacht race |
| 13 | Mount Isa Rodeo |
| 14 | Paniyiri Greek Festival (Brisbane) |
| 15 | Noosa Triathlon |

## Typically Queensland

| 1 | Backyard BBQs |
| 2 | Queenslander house |
| 3 | XXXX beer |
| 4 | Bundy Rum (and bear) |
| 5 | Sunshine |
| 6 | Bowen mango |
| 7 | Summer afternoon storms |
| 8 | "Waltzing Matilda" |
| 9 | Macadamia nut |
| 10 | Maroon |
| 11 | Jacaranda tree |
| 12 | Cane fields |
| 13 | Cane toad |
| 14 | Thongs |
| 15 | Mud crab |