Rugby union in Queensland
Rugby union in Queensland has traditionally been one of the most popular professional and recreational team sports in the state. Rugby union was introduced in the British colony's capital Brisbane in 1876. Initially it struggled to gain a foothold due to the popularity of Australian rules there until it got its break in 1882 with the first inter-colonial matches against New South Wales, and the formation of the Northern Rugby Union. Between 1885 and 1887 it became the dominant code after the leading schools association decided to play it exclusively and after 1890 spread virtually unopposed throughout the colony.
Queensland Reds fans celebrate their title win in 2011
Brisbane Football Club in 1879, Queensland's first football club shortly after it returned to Australian rules following a 3 year experiment with rugby
1913 Qld Rep Rugby: Pat Murphy, Jimmy Flynn (2nd row 2nd from right), M J McMahon, R McManus, Hugh Flynn (Back row 3rd from right), Vin Carmichael, Tom Ryan, Bill Morrissey and Joe Russell (seated front).
HRH The Duke of Edinburgh greeting the Queensland Rugby Union team at Ballymore Stadium, XII Commonwealth Games
Australian rules football in Queensland
Australian rules football in Queensland was the first official football code played in 1866. The Colony of Queensland was the second after Victoria to adopt Australian rules football, just days after the rules were widely published. For two decades it was the most popular football code, however a strong desire for representative football success saw Queenslanders favour British football variants for more than a century. As a result, Queensland is one of the two states to the east of the Australian cultural divide described as the Barassi Line. 120 years later in 1986 Queensland was the first state awarded a licence to have a club, the Brisbane Bears, in the national (AFL) competition, also its first privately owned club. However the Gold Coast based Bears had a detrimental effect until the 1993 redevelopment of the Brisbane Cricket Ground (Gabba). In contrast the Bears transformation into a Brisbane and traditional membership based club resulted in enormous growth, and a tripling of average AFL attendances by 1996.
Australian football at Carrara Stadium on the Gold Coast 2011
Horatio Wills in 1859 shortly before he brought his footballing family to Queensland, including his son Tom Wills, founder of Australian football
Brisbane Football Club in 1879, Queensland's first football club formed to play Australian rules but experimented with soccer and rugby in its early years
Queen's Park playing field (now City Botanic Gardens) at the far end