This thesis examines the history of colonial settlement through the prism of modern sociological analysis similar to that used in studies of regional communities today.1 By using a sociological approach we gain a very different understanding of colonial development from that which emerges when more traditional historiographic approaches are used. The study focuses on ethnic groups, leadership and social capital formation within community organizations. Not-for-profit community organizations were the life blood of isolated settlements in colonial Queensland. In the absence of a well-established State, organizations such as local councils, Schools of Arts, Benevolent Societies and educational institutions provided essential services to residents, fostered the development of social networks and collaborative relationships, ensured community cohesion and facilitated the flow of information, expertise and resources that were vital to social and economic progress. Then, as now, these local groups eased the transition of migrants from homeland to new community by facilitating interactions with others from different cultural traditions and by providing opportunities for new arrivals to become part of the local decision making process.