Astronomy in Queensland in the nineteenth century was chiefly related to geodetic surveys in establishing the boundaries of the State. An event which attracted wider attention was the 1882 Transit of Venus. However the pursuit of astronomy for its own sake remained in the hands of a few amateurs such as Captain O'Reilly. On June 5th 1896, a group of people met in the School of Arts in Brisbane and agreed to purchase a 6 inch Grubb telescope for £70. On August 7th 1896, the first meeting of the Brisbane Astronomical Society took place. This Society declined over the years and last met on 30th September 1911. The Astronomical Society of Queensland was formed on June 4th 1927. Funds and property from the Brisbane Astronomical Society were legally transferred to the new body. A monthly Bulletin was started in 1933. During World War 2, the Society continued to function and in fact increased its membership, including temporary members from the armed forces of both the United States and Australia. In 1969 a separate organization, the Astronomers' Association Queensland was founded. The two organisations amalgamated in June 1978 to form the present AAQ, which was formally incorporated in June 1982 under the Religious, Educational and Charitable Organizations Act of 1861. The majority of members are and always have been 'armchair astronomers', interested in astronomy, its history and its discoveries and theories, content to attend a meeting, have fun at a field night, astrocamp or expedition, or dip into the Association's extensive library. Nevertheless, it has always been the case that an enthusiastic minority of members have made significant contributions to the science.

Some of the highlights and achievements of the Association and its members are:

11 November 1896 - Lunar occultation of 19 Capricorni.

1931 - Discovery of a variable star in Centaurus.

21 August 1931 - Lunar occultation of Antares.

1950 - Report of a Blue Moon.

13 September 1957 - Photographs of Red Aurora Type A, O emission at 6300 A.

1960 onwards - Members reported on lunar occultations and searched for Transient Lunar Phenomena. One member at present leads Australia in numbers of lunar occultations reported. Several members have specialized in asteroidal occultations; in the authoritative book "Asteroids II" 40 successful asteroidal occultations are reported (world-wide) of which 3 are by AAQ members.

1961 – Establishment of specialist sections within the organization for variable stars, astrophotography, etc.

1960 – 1965 - Two Schmidt telescopes were constructed. These played an important role in variable star work, including new suspect variables near the recurrent nova T Pyxidis.

1963 – 1978 - Visual and photographic observations of flare stars, jointly with the CSIRO. From 1978 international programs involving photoelectric observations of flare stars.

1969 - A telephone service was established to answer queries from the public.

August 1969 - The irregular variable 66 Ophiuci was reported to flare twice (a major discovery). One member became an enthusiast in flare star observation and has produced no less than four books on this subject. Two members have observed a considerable number of Southern Hemisphere cluster flare stars.

1970 - The first two Australian non-University observatories to use photoelectric photometry were constructed.

1972. A new meteor shower was recorded.

1972 – 1973 – A member developed Cold Camera Techniques.

October 1976 - A Solar Eclipse expedition comprising of 42 members travelled by bus to Victoria and successfully observed the total solar eclipse.

1982 - The AAQ organised the 10th National Australian Convention of Amateur Astronomers in Brisbane.

1985 - A member became the first Australian amateur astronomer to be elected a Member of the International Astronomical Union.

1985 - Several members successfully recorded the first photoelectric measurement of the occultation of a star by Neptune.

The Edward Corbould Research Fund was established in 1987 to support research in astronomy by members of the AAQ who are amateur or student astronomers, not necessarily resident in Queensland.

June 1988 - A number of members took part in observing the occultation of a 12th magnitude star by Pluto, one member travelling as far afield as Darwin. These measurements have assisted the world-wide effort to estimate Pluto's diameter.

1989 - The Kitty Kent Memorial Award for Service to the AAQ was established to distinguish members who had made outstanding contributions to the Association.

February 1991. Asteroid 5 Astraea was observed to occult the star SAO 96089.

October 1993 - A member used a CCD photometer to obtain data on two novae.

December 1993 - Asteroid Metis was observed to occult the star SAO 128628.

July 1994 - Several members observed the near Earth asteroid NF132.

July 1994 – The impacts of the fragments of Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 on Jupiter were observed by many members.

November 1994 - A member observed a four event grazing lunar occultation of the star ZC 2685.

1995 - A member established a period of around 210 days for the suspected long period eclipsing star HDE331015.

1996 and onwards - A regular programme of observing variable stars was established.

July 1997 - Occultation of the star TR176 by Triton was successfully observed by several members and Dr Wolfgang Beisker and Dr Evi Hummel of IOTA's European Section. The occultation was observed from Ipswich, The Gap, Bundaberg, Lochington, Ducabrook and Chillagoe.

February 1998 - Two members observed the total solar eclipse from the Caribbean.

22 May 1999 – A member discovers a nova (V382 Vel) in the constellation Vela.

15 May 2000 – A member discovers a supernova (SN 2000CJ) in NGC 6753.

21 June 2001 – Many members observe a total solar eclipse in Zimbabwe as part of an AAQ eclipse excursion.

August 2001 – The AAQ Lunar Observing Programme commences.

December 2002 – Many members participate in the AAQ eclipse expedition to Ceduna and successfully onserve the total solar eclipse.

12 June 2003 – A member discovers a supernova (SN 2003GD) in NGC 628.

26 November 2004 – A member records his 100,000th variable star observation.