Mortont Bay convictransferred to the banks of the Brisbane River near the northern end of the Victoria Bridge
German missionaries establish the Zion Hill Mission (now Nundah) to bring Christianity to the Aborigines in Brisbane.
The Moreton Bay district is officially opened to free settlement.
Queensland's first newspaper, the Moreton Bay Courier is published. This later became The Courier, then the Brisbane Courier, and since 1933 The Courier-Mail
On 6 June, Queen Victoria signs the Letters Patent, approving Queensland becoming a separate colony to New South Wales, with its own representative government
In April, the first telegraph line in Queensland is established, revolutionising communication in the colony.
The Kanakas (Melanesian people from South Pacific) arrive in Queensland to work in Queensland's cane fields (until 1904).