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Yet while they could reach consensus on the need for separation, whether a new colony would be free or unfree became a divisive issue. Lang and the majority of townspeople supporters favoured free immigration. The powerful [[Squatting (pastoral)|squatting]] fraternity was heavily reliant on cheap labour and so advocated a renewal of convict transportation. While urban growth in Brisbane and [[Ipswich, Queensland|Ipswich]] finally dictated for the former, there was still disagreement over where a new capital should be located. Brisbane, [[Cleveland, Queensland|Cleveland]], [[Gayndah]], [[Gladstone, Queensland|Gladstone]], Ipswich and [[Rockhampton]] were all potential candidates favoured by parochial interests. Brisbane eventually emerged victorious, and the reality of a new colony moved a step closer in 1856, when the British government agreed that the time was ripe to create a new northern colony.<ref name="mj" />
[[File:Letters Patent for Colony of Queensland 1859.jpg|thumb|Letters Patent issued by Queen Victoria on 6 June 1859 |alt=]]Among other things there was uncertainty over the location of a southern border. Lang was among many others who believed that the [[Northern Rivers]] should become part of a northern colony; the New South Wales Government disagreed, and when [[Queen Victoria]] finally signed the [[Letters patent|Letters Patent]] to create Queensland on 6 June 1859 at [[Osborne House]],<ref name="pdwq">{{Cite news |url=http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/queensland/proclamation-day-when-queensland-became-a-new-colony-20151209-gljss2.html |title=Proclamation Day, when Queensland became a new colony |author=David Gibson |accessdate=2 February 2016 |date=10 December 2015 |work=Brisbane Times |publisher=Fairfax Media |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170214214333/http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/queensland/proclamation-day-when-queensland-became-a-new-colony-20151209-gljss2.html |archive-date=14 February 2017 |url-status=live |df=dmy-all }}</ref> the border was fixed at [[28th parallel south|28 degrees south]].
The following month, unofficial news was received that the Secretary of State for the Colonies, Sir [[Edward Bulwer-Lytton]], had appointed Sir [[George Bowen]] to be the colony's first [[Governor of Queensland]]. Bowen had recently served as Britain's [[Lord High Commissioner of the Ionian Islands]] near Greece, and was to have a distinguished career in the Colonial Office. While both the Letters Patent and the Order-in-Council appointing Bowen as Governor were duly published by the New South Wales Government, separation could not be accomplished until the Letters Patent had also been published in Queensland. As Governor Bowen was due to arrive on 6 December 1859 with the Letters Patent formally proclaiming the new colony, a reception committee was organised as early as September to arrange the celebrations.<ref name=mj/>
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