text set out their grievances and described the immense size of Queensland: being twelve times the area of England and Wales, and larger than France, Germany, Spain and Portugal combined. The State Library of Queensland holds the original petition, signed by over 3000 women who were in support of Central Queensland becoming a separate state. The petition was forwarded to Queen Victoria but was dismissed by the Premier of Queensland, Sir Samuel Walker Griffith. 20th century The City of Rockhampton was proclaimed in 1902. The rail connection south to Brisbane was completed in 1903, but it was not until 1921 that the northern connection to Mackay was finally completed. A railway west from Rockhampton was started in 1867 and by 1892 had reached the terminus at Longreach, away. This further strengthened Rockhampton's role as the port for the whole of Central Queensland. A passenger tramway began operating on 16 June 1909, making Rockhampton the only provincial city in Queensland to have a street tramway. Purrey steam trams ran on a number of routes throughout South Rockhampton, totalling of track. The discomfort of passengers riding in steam trams in a tropical climate in part led to their demise in 1939, replaced by a bus network run by the City Council. Strong shaking was felt in Rockhampton when the "Great Queensland Earthquake of 1918" occurred on 7 June 1918. The earthquake was felt from Mackay in the north, to Grafton in New South Wales, and west to Charleville. Estimated to have reached a 6.0 magnitude, the earthquake caused some damage to buildings including chimney stacks crumbling, plaster being dislodged from walls and ceilings, water tanks bursting and trees being uprooted. Houses and buildings experienced considerable swaying with crockery smashing on the floor and pictures falling off walls. The 1918 earthquake remains as the largest to have ever hit Queensland since European settlement. Restaurant proprietors, Emanuel, William and Nicholas Economos, trading as the Economos Bros., ran their business in East Street, Rockhampton. East Street was a bustling metropolis when the brothers opened their traditional Greek café in the 1920s. Previously known as the Australian Café, the brothers renamed it the Busy Bee Café. During the Second World War, a US army base was established outside the city; it hosted up to 70,000 servicemen en route to action in the Pacific and New Guinea. On 2 March 1949, Rockhampton was severely damaged by a