A first-half try from winger Dane Gagai combined with the Johnathan Thurston penalty which opened the scoring in the 14th minute proved enough for the visitors to head back to Queensland for the second of the three matches with a 1-0 lead.
New South Wales, who had scored the first try of the match through second row Boyd Cordner in the 25th minute, launched waves of attacks at the end of the scoreless second half but were unable to break the line of maroon shirts.
"I think the boys were outstanding tonight," said Queensland captain Cameron Smith, who was making his 37th appearance in an Origin match to break former team mate Darren Lockyer's record.
"Origin is not about the best plays, or how much talent you've got, it's about how tough you are when the going gets tough and I thought the boys just really dug in deep."
The Blues will be left ruing halfback Adam Reynolds's missed conversion after Cordner had crashed over the line from a flat James Maloney pass.
Their 4-2 lead did not last until halftime with a sweeping move down the right sending Gagai over in the corner for what turned out to be the winning points three minutes before the break.
The series was originally conceived in the 1980s to mitigate the financial muscle of the Sydney clubs by allowing New South Wales-based Queenslanders to represent the state where they grew up rather than where they played.
Queensland have dominated State of Origin since 2006, however, with the Blues only managing to win one series in 2014, which ended a run of eight successive titles for their rivals.
More than 80,000 fans were on hand to witness the series opener on Wednesday and packed houses can be expected for game two at Lang Park in the Queensland capital of Brisbane on June 22 as well as the final match back in Sydney on July 13.
(Reporting by Nick Mulvenney, editing by Ken Ferris)
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