THE Great Barrier Reef has topped the list of 150 Queensland icons nominated by Queenslanders as the State celebrates its 150th birthday.
The reef joins Queensland's sporting greats Wally Lewis, Dick Johnson, Susie O'Neill and Cathy Freeman on the list.
To the surprise of some, Labor Premier Anna Bligh also announced that former Nationals premier Sir Joh Bjelke-Petersen - the State's longest serving leader - was also a Queensland icon.
However, former Labor premier Peter Beattie did not make the cut.
Long considered a cultural backwater, Queenslanders named as icons include novelist David Malouf, recent Tony Award winner Geoffrey Rush, Aboriginal poet Oodgeroo Noonuccal (Kath Walker) and rocker Billy Thorpe.
http://www.news.com.au/story/0,27574,25614938-29277,00.html
