County of Stanley, Queensland

History

Stanley was formerly a county in New South Wales between the establishment of Brisbane in 1826, and the formation of Queensland as a separate colony in 1859, and was officially established by proclamation on 27 February 1843. It was generally understood (though only somewhat formally defined) to include the land between the 27th and 28th parallels of latitude, Moreton Bay and the western ranges, covering an area of 1,724 square miles (4,470 km²). In 1852 it had a population of 2,000. Wheat, coffee, cotton and tobacco were described as being important crops. By 1863, the county had contracted to its present boundaries.

On 7 March 1901, the Governor of Queensland proclaimed new boundaries under the Land Act 1897, and Stanley was described as follows:

Bounded on the south by the county of Ward; on the west by the western boundaries of the parishes of Undullah, Ipswich and Chuwar to the Brisbane River, by that river and the Stanley River upwards to Oaky Creek, by that creek upwards to the west boundary of the parish of Byron [...] by the north boundaries of the parishes of Pine, Caboolture and Burpengary; and on the east by the Pacific Ocean,—including Moreton and Stradbroke Islands.