What Does Qld Mean?

[Chief Engineer]

I see it when they refer to Australia.

[TaoJones]

Qld is short for Queensland, one of the Australian "states," or territories.

Queensland - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

TaoJones

[Sailabel]

queensland

[pdbms]

QLD = paradise

Of course I am a little biased

[Randy]

I'd have to agree QLD = paradise! and I'm not biased.

[Ocean Girl]

I thought the post said "WHAT DOES OLD MEAN" and I was gonna say
old means you wish that "anyone under thirty out there" thread would be pushed to the nether regions of the forum

[Irwin325]

OG did'nt want you to think that thread was to make anyone feel shale I say past there due date. As the OP of that thread I sail the area around you, I dock at South Shore on Clear Lake, TX. Just felt a little out of place as a young man with his own boat at my marina. Your boating resume looks great and would love to have you aboard for a nice sail sometime.

[Wayward Wind]

Qld? Isn't that the state where sharks not only swim in the waters, but wear strange uniforms on land and in boats. A state filled with smiling crocodiles and invisible jellyfish, all trying to kill you? A state I am now dreaming of migrating to while shivering in Sydney.

[Ex-Calif]

With a land mass about the size of the US contiguous states Australia only has 6 states and 2 territories.

New South Wales (NSW)
Victoria (Vic)
Queensland (QLD)
South Australia (SA)
Western Australia (WA)
Tasmania (TAS)
Northern Territory (NT)
Australian Capital Territory (ACT)

There are a few islands and such that are territorial as well.

[1960cjj]

Qld is starting to lose the tag "beautiful one day.....perfect the next." if the recent rain, flood, storms, etc that have been going on up there. If they could funnel some of the run off down through N.S.W and into Vic we would be very much grateful.

[Ocean Girl]

QLD sounds beautiful! any favorite pictures?

[Kiwikat]

I am lucky enough to live in Queensland (QLD) and I also enjoy a QLD (Quiet Little Drink).

Cheers

[bill good]

That's enough!! stop now. we can't afford any more people coming here. The Qld Gov is broke for the next 25yrs. The state was named 150yrs age after the then Queen of England after removing its self from New South Wales. Its all in the history books.

(Try to watch a "State of Origin" Football match & you will get some idea.)

regards Bill Goodward

[Wotname]

I have retreived these posts from some time back as I believe it is reasonable to share them again given the OP's question.

From Gord (15-07-08):

I had to look up “banana bender”:
"Alternate name for a resident of Queensland, Australia, where bananas grow, and people, with nothing better to do, put a bend in them."

And myself (15-07-08):

At the risk of hijacking Miss Lilly's thread, I should point out that Gord's source of information is a little dated in this instance.
For the record is has been many decades since Queenslanders bent bananas only when they had nothing better to do. It is not like that any more.

Although I have left the trade due to "bend out" which is a type of workplace stress (I am officially classed as "bent out"), my family is still bending as they have for generations.

The first bananas were bent in the late 19th century and soon became very popular all around the world. Right though to the 1950's almost all bent bananas originated from Queensland. However the demand out grew the supply and even with the benders working 24/7, the demand could not be met. Then came the machine bent banana, this alleviated the supply problem for some years although the best bends were (and still are) the hand bends. Queensland hand bent bananas still command premium prices on the world banana markets.

Around 1970, an act of parliment was ammended that allowed the export of the bending technology and the worldwide bent banana crisis was over.

More recent developments include GM bent bananas where selected benders donated their genes to be spliced into the actual banana trees - the so called "smart banana". These have taken off like wildfire and can be found growing in most tropical anchorages of the world.

What has this got to do with cruising you ask. Well look at it this way, part of cruising is the travelling to new destinations, meeting the locals and getting to know the local traditions. As Queensland is a popular cruising destination (like the Great Barrier Reef), I feel it is helpful for visting sailors to know some of the history of this fascinating place. Most Queenslanders never give this aspect of their history a second thought and like myself, would never think to mention it at all. I think it would be fair to say that most of you who have sailed in Queensland waters would not have heard any of this before.

That is, until Gord posted some basic information here on CF. Even noonsite (or wikipedia) does not carry this amount of detail.

Very few people eat straight bananas anywhere anymore - all thanks to the early Queenslanders who had nothing better to do with their time.

In that respect, I am still carrying on that great tradition - now back to boat refit and solvent fumes .

[1960cjj]

Sorry about this Bill but I hope there is room for two more. In a couple of years I aim to be up there cruising around in a new Lightwave 45. I have just about had enough of winters in Vic. 2 degree C mornings just don't do it for me.

Craig