The end came under a tree in Gladstone where independent MP Liz Cunningham held a press conference to announce she would back the National Party-led Coalition to form government just a week after Labor lost the 1996 Mundingburra by-election.

“I will advise Mr Rob Borbidge and then Governor Leneen Forde of my intention to support Rob Borbidge on the floor of the House on the matter of confidence votes and will further indicate that he can be confident also of my support with regards the financial Bills,” she told a large group of reporters.

It was a moment that changed Queensland dramatically yet Mr Borbidge, the man who it most directly affected, was caught unaware.

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The Opposition Leader was in his office on the ninth floor of Parliament House in Brisbane when his staff called out to him to watch the press conference which made him Premier of Queensland

“It feels just like yesterday,” he told the Bulletin this week, reflecting on the 25th anniversary of his rise to power.

“After we won Mundingburra it was clear that Labor would have a difficult job of governing and that we would be able to form government.

“Although we had a good relationship, Liz played her cards close to her chest so I found out that we would for government at the same time as everyone else.

“It was in that moment that I felt a mixture of relief and the weight of responsibility.”

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For Mr Borbidge, it was the day he had worked towards for nearly 16 years.

Elected to the seat of Surfers Paradise in 1980, he had spent years on the backbench or in junior posts through the late years of Sir Joh Bjelke-Petersen’s reign and premiers Mike Ahern and Russell Cooper.

Replacing Cooper as leader of the Nationals in late 1991, he went on front the party’s unsuccessful 1992 and 1995 election campaigns where the Coalition was unable in unseating Mr Goss’ government.

The latter election saw Labor lose a swag of electorates, leaving it with a one-seat majority.

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“After the 1995 election Wayne Goss called me up and said ‘you better come up to the executive building to talk about what needs to be put in place to change the government,” Mr Borbidge said.

“I took the call but I told him, ‘Wayne, I’m not as confident as you appear to be’ because there were still three or four seats in doubt which were swinging all over the place at the time.

“Of course Labor came good in the end.”

But Labor’s third term in office was cut short when the Court of Disputed Returns threw out the election result in the Townsville seat of Mundingburra and ordered a by-election.

Labor had won the seat by 16 votes but it was revealed that 22 defence force personnel had been unable to cast ballots.

The election re-run was a disaster for Labor, which disendorsed incumbent MP Ken Davies and instead preselected Townsville mayor Tony Mooney.

A furious Davies ran as an independent, slamming the Goss Government throughout the campaign.

Liberal candidate Frank Tanti ultimately won the February 3 by-election, leaving the Coalition and Labor with an equal number of seats.

It took a further nine days for Ms Cunningham, who held the balance of power, to publicly back Mr Borbidge.

Mr Goss, who died in 2014, admitted he was disappointed but not surprised the result.

“I suspect that many Queenslanders would be surprised, some even disturbed, that a government part way into a term could be brought down on the vote of one independent,” he said.

Mr Goss aid he bore no animosity toward Ms Cunningham and wished Mr Borbidge well.

Mr Borbidge said he remembered Mr Goss fondly.

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“On a personal level we had a good professional relationship and once they lost Mundingburra, Wayne resigned,” he said.

“You need to have a good relationship with the leader of the day and I always took the view that if you get too angry and bitter about things, you should quit.”

After five days of talks, an emotional Mr Goss met with Governor Leneen Forde and announced on Friday February 16 that he would resign his government’s commission the following Monday.

Once it was clear the Coalition would form government, Mr Borbidge and his deputy, Liberal leader Joan Sheldon, formed their ministry.

Two Gold Coasters emerged as frontbenchers: Robina MP Bob Quinn who became Education Minister and Emergency Services Minister Mick Veivers.

Former health minister Peter Beattie was elected to lead Labor in opposition.

Mr Veivers, who still lives on the Gold Coast, said he had fond memories of his time in government.

“We got a lot done when we were in government including new buildings and plenty of sporting facilities on the Gold Coast,” he said.

“Politics today is even more controversial today than it was back then with all the debates on climate change and the chorus which comes from minority groups which seems to have a big sway on major decisions now.

“It was not so back in our day.”

The Borbidge Government ultimately lasted just 28 months in office.

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The rise of One Nation and Mr Borbidge’s backing of Prime Minister John Howard’s strong gun control measures saw support for the Nationals decline dramatically.

Both proved to be major factors in the government’s defeat at the 1998 election when Mr Beattie led Labor back to power.

Despite its short life, Mr Borbidge says his government had a significant list of achievements he was proud of.

“There were substantial changes including a lot of work done in the areas of juvenile justice, the merger of Suncorp-Metway, the biggest capital works program on hospital and of course one of our most substantial achievements was building the M1,” he said.

“Queensland performed really well during the Asia economy meltdown but we were able to do a lot of infrastructure and work on industrial relations.”

The former premier, while disappointed in the election result, returned to his previous role as opposition leader and let the fight against Labor.

But his political career finally came to an end on the night of the 2001 state election when, following a landslide defeat, Mr Borbidge resigned from parliament.

In the 20 years since his political exit, Mr Borbidge has worked in business as well as played a key role in developing the legacy of the 2018 Commonwealth Games.