North Queensland or the Northern Region is the northern part of the state of Queensland

Queensland

Queensland is a state of Australia, occupying the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, south-west and south respectively. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean...

 in Australia

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

. Queensland is a massive state, larger than most countries, and the tropical northern part

Tropical North Queensland

Tropical North Queensland is general term referring to varying regions of the northern part of the Australian state of Queensland. The generally accepted definition is an area from about the city of Mackay north to the tip of Cape York....

 of it has been historically remote and undeveloped, resulting in a distinctive regional character and identity.

Townsville is the largest urban centre in North Queensland, leading it to be regarded as an unofficial capital.

Geography

There is no official boundary that separates North Queensland from the rest of the state. Unofficially it is usually considered to have a southern border beginning south of the Mackay Region southern boundary, but historically it has been as far south as Rockhampton

Rockhampton

Rockhampton can refer to:* Rockhampton, Queensland is a city in Queensland, Australia* Rockhampton City, Queensland, a suburb of Rockhampton, Queensland* Electoral district of Rockhampton, Queensland, Australia...

. To the north is the Far North Queensland

Far North Queensland

Far North Queensland, or FNQ, is the northernmost part of the Australian state of Queensland. The region, which contains a large section of the Tropical North Queensland area, stretches from the city of Cairns north to the Torres Strait...

 region, centred around Cairns and out west is the Gulf Country

Gulf Country

The Gulf Country is the name given to the region of woodland and savanna grassland surrounding the Gulf of Carpentaria in north western Queensland and eastern Northern Territory on the north coast of Australia...

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A coastal region centred around its largest settlement is the city of Townsville which is often considered the unofficial 'capital' of North Queensland. Townsville is the location of a major seaport handling exports from mines in Mount Isa and cattle exports from coastal and inland areas. The region also contains a bulk sugar exporting terminal at Lucinda

Lucinda, Queensland

Lucinda is a coastal town in the state of Queensland, Australia, located at the southern entrance to Hinchinbrook Channel near the town of Ingham. A sugar-exporting town, Lucinda is noted for its 6km-long sugar jetty, the world's largest bulk sugar loading facility...

 in the region's north. Mackay

Mackay, Queensland

Mackay is a city on the eastern coast of Queensland, Australia, about north of Brisbane, on the Pioneer River. Mackay is nicknamed the sugar capital of Australia because its region produces more than a third of Australia's cane sugar....

 is Australia's sugar capital and produces the most sugar in Australia

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

 and is shipped at Mackay Harbour. Mackay is also one of Australia's biggest coal exporters as it is close to Queensland's major mines. Dalrymple Bay, south of Mackay is another port where coal and sugar is exported. It also contains the inland city of Charters Towers

Charters Towers, Queensland

Charters Towers is a city in northern Queensland, Australia. It is located 137 kilometres inland from Townsville on the Flinders Highway. In 2006 the population was 7,979 people, some 450 fewer than in the 2001 census. During the last quarter of the 19th century the town boomed as the rich gold...

 and the coastal towns of Ayr

Ayr, Queensland

Ayr is a town in Queensland, Australia near the delta of the Burdekin River, named after the Scottish town of Ayr by the settlers from the United Kingdom...

 and Ingham

Ingham, Queensland

Ingham is a town in the Great Green Way region of North Queensland, Australia. The town was founded in 1864, gazetted a shire in 1879, and is the service centre for many sugarcane plantations, pioneered in the 1870s by William Ingham, for whom the town is named...

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Other Communities in North Queensland include Home Hill

Home Hill, Queensland

Home Hill, Queensland is a town in Queensland, Australia at the delta of the Burdekin River. It is a sugarcane growing area with underground water supplies to irrigate crops. At the 2006 census, Home Hill had a population of 2,907.- Geography :...

, Sarina

Sarina, Queensland

Sarina is a town in central Queensland, Australia. It is situated south of the city of Mackay, and approximately north of the city of Rockhampton. At the 2006 census, Sarina had a population of 3,285....

, Bowen

Bowen, Queensland

Bowen is a town on the eastern coast of Queensland, Australia. At the 2006 census, Bowen had a population of 7,484.-Geography:Bowen is located on the north-east coast of Australia, at exactly twenty degrees south of the equator. In fact, the twentieth parallel crosses the main street...

, Airlie Beach

Airlie Beach, Queensland

Airlie Beach is a town in the Whitsunday Region of Queensland, Australia. At the 2006 census, the suburb of Airlie Beach itself had a population of 2,751. The greater Whitsunday region had a population of approximately 31,000...

 and Proserpine

Proserpine, Queensland

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State of North Queensland

Throughout the years, there have been many calls for the formation of a new State. Many proposals have been drawn up, regarding the borders, name and the debate over which city will become the Capital. The Queensland Parliament, however, has consistently denied any efforts for the formation of the new state.