Everything about Brisbane Queensland totally explained
Brisbane is the state
capital of
Queensland. Brisbane is the
third largest city in
Australia and most populous city of
Queensland. It is situated on the
Brisbane River on low-lying
Floodplain between
Moreton Bay and the
Great Dividing Range in
south-eastern Queensland. The local indigenous people knew the area as Mian-jin, meaning 'place shaped as a spike'. The city is named after
Sir Thomas Brisbane, the
Governor of New South Wales from 1821 – 1825.
The settlement at Brisbane developed after an abandoned initial
penal colony settlement at
Redcliffe, north. The colony moved to the current location of the
Brisbane central business district in 1825, and free
settlers were permitted from 1842. It was chosen as the capital when Queensland was proclaimed a separate colony in 1859.
A large portion of Brisbane is controlled by the
Brisbane City Council and also covers parts of several adjoining local government areas. In 1925, the City of Brisbane Act was passed by the
Queensland Government, abolishing 20 local government authorities in the city and forming the largest local authority in Australia, covering . The city played a central role in the
Allied campaign during
World War II as the
South West Pacific headquarters for
General Douglas MacArthur. More recently, Brisbane hosted the
1982 Commonwealth Games,
1988 World's Fair (Expo '88), and
2001 Goodwill Games.
History
Brisbane was inhabited before European settlement by the
Turrbal people whose ancestors migrated to the region from across the
Torres Strait. They knew the area as Mian-jin, meaning 'place shaped as a spike'. In 1823,
Governor of New South Wales,
Thomas Brisbane, instructed that a new northern
penal settlement be developed, and an exploration party led by
John Oxley further explored Moreton Bay and sailed up the
Brisbane River as far as
Goodna, some upstream from the
Brisbane central business district. Oxley recommended Red Cliff Point for the new colony, reporting that ships could land at any tide and easily get close to the shore. The party settled in
Redcliffe on
13 September 1824, under the command of Lieutenant Henry Miller with 14 soldiers, some with wives and children, and 29 convicts. However, this settlement was abandoned after one year and the colony was moved south to a site on the Brisbane River at
North Quay, south, that offered a more reliable water supply. Non-convict European settlement of the Brisbane region commenced in 1838.
German missionaries settled at Zions Hill,
Nundah, as early as 1837, five years before Brisbane was officially declared a free settlement. The band consisted of two ministers,
Christopher Eipper (1813-1894) and
Carl Wilhelm Schmidt, and lay missionaries whose names were Haussmann, Johann Gottried Wagner, Niquet, Hartenstein, Zillman, Franz, Rode, Doege and Schneider. They were allocated 260 hectares and set about establishing the mission, which became known as German Station. Free settlers entered the area over the following five years and by the end of 1840
Robert Dixon began work on the first plan of Brisbane Town in anticipation of future development.
Queensland was proclaimed a separate colony on
6 June 1859 with Brisbane chosen as its capital, although it wasn't incorporated as a city until 1902. Over twenty small municipalities and shires were amalgamated in 1925, to form the City of Brisbane which is governed by the
Brisbane City Council.
The Windmill in
Wickham Park and the Old Commissariat Store on William Street are considered to be the oldest surviving buildings in Brisbane. Both were built by convict labour in 1828.
The Windmill was originally used for the grinding of grain and a punishment for the convicts that manually operated the grinding mill. The Windmill tower’s other significant claim to fame, largely ignored, is that the first television signals in the southern hemisphere were transmitted from it by experimenters in April 1934 – long before TV commenced in most places. These experimental TV broadcasts continued until World War II.
The Old Commissariat Store, originally used partly as a grainhouse, has also been a hostel for immigrants and used for the storage of records. Built with Brisbane
tuff from the nearby Kangaroo Point Cliffs and sandstone from a quarry near today's Albion Park Racecourse, it's now the home of the Royal Historical Society of Brisbane. It contains a museum and can also be hired for small functions.
During
World War II, Brisbane central to the
Allied campaign when the AMP Building (now called
MacArthur Central) was used as the
South West Pacific headquarters for
General Douglas MacArthur, chief of the Allied Pacific forces. MacArthur had previously rejected using the University of Queensland complex as his HQ, as the distinctive bends in the river at St Lucia could have aided enemy bombers. Also used as a Headquarters by the American troops during World War II was the
T & G Building. Approximately 1,000,000 US troops passed through Australia during the war, as the primary coordination point for the
South West Pacific. In 1942 Brisbane was the site of a violent clash between visiting US military personnel and Australian servicemen and civilians which resulted in one death and several injuries. This incident became known colloquially as the
Battle of Brisbane.
The
Shrine of Remembrance, in
ANZAC Square, is Brisbane's main war memorial. The Shrine was dedicated on 11 November, 1930.
Brisbane staged the successful
Commonwealth Games during 1982, and
World's Fair (known locally as Expo '88) during 1988. These events were accompanied by a scale of public expenditure, construction and development not previously seen in the state of
Queensland.
Geography
Brisbane is in the southeast corner of Queensland, Australia. The city is centred around the Brisbane River, and its eastern suburbs line the shores of Moreton Bay. The greater Brisbane region is on the coastal plain east of the
Great Dividing Range.
The urban area is partially elevated by two large hills reaching up to,
Mount Coot-tha and
Mount Gravatt in the south.
Mount Petrie at and the smaller rises of
Enoggera Hill,
Highgate Hill,
Mount Ommaney,
Stephens Mountain,
Toohey Mountain and
Whites Hill are dotted across the city.
The city is on a low-lying
floodplain. Many suburban creeks criss-cross the city, increasing the risk of
flooding. The city has suffered two major floods since colonisation, in 1893 and 1974. The
1974 Brisbane flood occurred partly as a result of "
Cyclone Wanda". Non-stop heavy rain had fallen for three weeks prior to the
Australia Day weekend flood (26 – 27 January, 1974). The flood damaged many parts of the city, especially the suburbs of
Oxley,
Bulimba,
Rocklea,
Coorparoo,
Toowong and
New Farm. The
City Botanic gardens were inundated, leading to a new colony of
mangroves forming in the City Reach of the Brisbane River.
The Brisbane central business district lies in a curve of the Brisbane river. It covers only
and is navigable on foot. Central streets are named after members of the
royal family. Streets named after female members (
Adelaide,
Alice,
Ann,
Charlotte,
Elizabeth,
Margaret,
Mary) run parallel to
Queen Street and
Queen Street Mall (named in honour of
Queen Victoria) and perpendicular to streets named after male members (
Albert,
Edward,
George,
William).
Brisbane has a lower
inner city population density than Australia's two largest cities,
Sydney and
Melbourne, although constant
population growth is closing that gap. The lower population density reflects the fact that most of Brisbane's housing stock consists of detached houses. Early legislation decreed a minimum size for residential blocks resulting in few
terrace houses being constructed in Brisbane. The high density housing that existed came in the form of miniature
Queenslander-style houses which resemble the much larger traditional styles but are sometimes only one quarter the size. These miniature Queenslanders are becoming scarce but can still be seen in the inner city suburbs. Multi residence accommodations (such as apartment blocks) are relatively new to Brisbane, with few such blocks built before 1970, other than in inner suburbs such as
New Farm. Pre-1950 housing was often built in a distinctive architectural style known as a Queenslander, featuring timber construction with large
verandahs and high ceilings. The relatively low cost of timber in South-East Queensland meant that until recently most residences were constructed of timber, rather than brick or stone. Many of these houses are elevated on stumps (also called "stilts"), that were originally timber, but are now frequently replaced by steel or concrete.
The city has a density of 379.4 people per square kilometre, which is comparable to that of
Sydney. Recently the density of the city and inner city neighbourhoods has increased with the construction of apartments, with the result that the population of the central business district has doubled over the last 5 years.
Climate
Brisbane has a
humid subtropical climate (
Koppen climate classification Cfa) with hot, humid summers and dry, mild winters. From late Spring through to early Autumn, thunderstorms are common over the greater Brisbane area, with the more severe events accompanied by large damaging hail stones, torrential rain and destructive winds.
The city's highest recorded temperature was on
26 January 1940. On 19 July 2007, Brisbane's temperature fell below freezing point for the first time since records began, registering at the airport. Brisbane's wettest day was
21 January 1887, when of rain fell on the city, the highest maximum daily rainfall of Australia's capital cities. From 2006, Brisbane and surrounding temperate areas have experienced the most severe drought in over a century, with dam levels dropping below one quarter of their normal capacity. Residents have been mandated by local laws to observe
level 6 water restrictions on gardening and other outdoor water usage. Per Capita water usage is below 140 litres per day, giving Brisbane one of the lowest per capita usages of water of any Western city in the world.
Governance
local government entity, the
Brisbane City Council. Since the creation of the Brisbane City Council in 1925 the urban areas of Brisbane have expanded considerably past the City Council boundaries.
The City of Brisbane is divided into 26 wards, with each ward electing a Councillor as their community representative. The
Lord Mayor of Brisbane and Councillors are elected every four years by popular vote, in which all residents must participate. The current Lord Mayor of Brisbane is
Campbell Newman, who was elected to the position in March 2004 and re-elected in 2008.
Brisbane City Council is the largest local government body (in terms of population and budget) in Australia. The Council, formed by the merger of twenty smaller councils in 1925, has jurisdiction over an area of 1367 km². The Council's annual budget is approximately $1.6 billion, and it has an asset base of $13 billion.
The Brisbane
metropolitan area now covers parts of several adjoining
local government areas including
Moreton Bay,
Ipswich City,
Logan City and
Redland Shire.
Economy
Brisbane's economy has
white-collar and
blue-collar industries. White-collar industries include
information technology,
financial services,
higher education and
public sector administration generally concentrated in and around the
central business district and recently established office areas in the inner suburbs. Blue-collar industries, including
petroleum refining,
stevedoring,
paper milling,
metalworking and
QR railway workshops, tend to be located on the lower reaches of the Brisbane River and in new industrial zones on the urban fringe.
Tourism is an important part of the Brisbane economy, both in its own right and as a gateway to other areas of Queensland.
Since the late 1990s and early 2000s, the Queensland State Government has been developing technology and science industries in Queensland as a whole, and Brisbane in particular, as part of its "Smart State" initiative. The government has invested in several biotechnology and research facilities at several universities in Brisbane. The
Institute for Molecular Bioscience at the
University of Queensland (UQ) Saint Lucia Campus is a large
CSIRO and Queensland state government initiative for research and innovation that's currently being emulated at the
Queensland University of Technology (QUT) Campus at Kelvin Grove with the establishment of the
Institute of Health and Biomedical Innovation (IHBI).
The
Port of Brisbane is on the lower reaches of the Brisbane River and on Fisherman's Island at the rivers mouth, and is the 3rd most important port in Australia for value of goods.
Container freight,
sugar,
grain,
coal and bulk liquids are the major exports. Most of the port facilities are less than three decades old and some are built on reclaimed
mangroves and
wetlands. The Port is a part of the
Australia TradeCoast, the country's fastest-growing economic development area. Geographically, Australia TradeCoast occupies a large swathe of land around the airport and port. Commercially, the area has attracted a mix of companies from throughout the Asia Pacific region. Most major Australian companies, as well as numerous international companies, have contact offices in Brisbane, while numerous
electronics business haves distribution hubs in and around the city.
DHL Global's Oceanic distribution warehouse is located in Brisbane, as is
Asia Pacific Aerospace's headquarters.
Home grown major companies include
Suncorp-Metway Limited,
Flight Centre,
Sunsuper,
Orrcon,
Credit Union Australia,
Donut King,
Wotif.com,
WebCentral,
PIPE Networks,
Krome Studios,
Mincom Limited and
Virgin Blue.
Brisbane has a range of retail precincts, both in the central business district and in the suburbs. The
Queen Street Mall has
restaurants, cinemas, souvenir outlets and shopping centres, including:
Wintergarden,
Broadway on the Mall,
QueensPlaza,
Brisbane Arcade and
The Myer Centre.
The majority of retail business is done within the suburbs of Brisbane in shopping centres which include major department store chains. There are 3 major
Westfield shopping centres in Brisbane located in the suburbs of
Chermside,
Mt Gravatt and
Carindale. Other large shopping centres exist at
Indooroopilly,
Toombul,
Mitchelton and
Stafford.
Demographics
At the 2006 census the population of Brisbane was 1,763,131, making it the
third largest city in Australia. Brisbane recorded the largest growth rate of all capital cities in the last Census, with an annual growth rate of 2.2%
The Australian Census in 2006 showed that 1.7% of Brisbane's population were of indigenous origin and 21.7% were
born overseas. Approximately 16.1% of households spoke a language other than English, with the most common being
Mandarin,
Vietnamese and
Cantonese. The median population age across the city was 35 years. Brisbane is also home to numerous other
independent tertiary education providers, including the
Australian College of Natural Medicine, the
Brisbane College of Theology,
QANTM, as well as .
The majority of Brisbane's
preschool,
primary, and
secondary schools are run under the jurisdiction of Education Queensland, a branch of the
Queensland Government. There are also a large number of independent and
Roman Catholic run schools.
Culture
Arts and entertainment
Brisbane has a growing live music scene, both popular and classical. The
Queensland Performing Arts Complex consists of the Lyric Theatre, a Concert Hall, Cremorne Theatre and the Playhouse Theatre. The
Queensland Ballet,
Opera Queensland,
Queensland Theatre Company and other performance art groups stage regular performances in the different venues. The La Boite Theatre Company performs at the Roundhouse Theatre at Kelvin Grove. The Powerhouse complex, Twelfth Night Theatre and Brisbane Arts Theatre also stage productions throughout the year.
Along with
Beijing,
Berlin,
Birmingham and
Marseille, Brisbane was nominated as one of the Top 5 International Music Hotspots by
Billboard in 2007. There are also popular entertainment pubs and clubs within both the
City and
Fortitude Valley.
The
Queensland Museum is located at
South Bank. The
Queensland Gallery of Modern Art (GOMA), opened in December 2006, is one of the latest additions to the
South Bank area and houses some of the most well-known pieces of modern art from within and outside Australia. GOMA is the largest modern art gallery in Australia. GOMA holds the Asia Pacific Triennial (ATP) which focuses on contemporary art from the Asia and Pacific in a variety of media from painting to video work. In Addition, its size enables the gallery to exhibit particularly large shows — the
Andy Warhol exhibition being the largest survey of his work in Australia. GOMA also boasts Australia's largest purpose-built Cinémathèque. The Gallery of Modern Art is located next to the
State Library of Queensland and the
Queensland Art Gallery.
The
Brisbane Powerhouse in New Farm and the
Judith Wright Centre of Contemporary Arts on Brunswick Street in Fortitude Valley also feature diverse programs featuring exhibitions and festivals of visual art, music and dance.
Annual events
Major cultural events in Brisbane include the
Ekka (the Royal Queensland Show), held each August, and the
Riverfestival, held each September at
South Bank Parklands and surrounding areas. Warana, (meaning
Blue Skies), was a former spring festival which began in 1961 and was held in September each year. Run as a celebration of Brisbane, Warana was similar to Melbourne's
Moomba festival. In 1996 the
annual festival was changed to a Brisbane Festival.
The Brisbane International Film Festival (BIFF) is held in July/August in a variety of venues around Brisbane including the Regent Cinema in Queen Street Mall. BIFF features new films and retrospectives by domestic and international filmmakers along with seminars and awards.
The Paniyiri festival at
Musgrave Park (corner of Russell and Edmondstone Streets,
South Brisbane) is an annual Greek cultural festival held on the first weekend in May. The Brisbane Medieval Fayre and Tournament is held each June in
Musgrave Park.
The Valley Fiesta is an annual three-day event organised by the Valley Chamber of Commerce. It was launched by Brisbane Marketing in 2002 to promote Fortitude Valley as a hub for arts and youth culture. It features free live music, market stalls, food and drink from many local restaurants and cafés, and other entertainment.
The
Bridge to Brisbane fun run has become a major annual charity event for Brisbane.
Tourism and recreation
Popular recreation areas in Brisbane include the
South Bank Parklands,
Roma Street Parkland, and
City Botanic Gardens. The suburb of
Mount Coot-tha is home to a popular state forest, and the
Brisbane Botanic Gardens which houses the
Sir Thomas Brisbane Planetarium and the
"Tsuki-yama-chisen" Japanese Garden. Brisbane has over of
bicycle pathways, mostly surrounding the
Brisbane river and city centre, extending to the west of the city.
Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary and
Brisbane Forest Park, located in the city, are popular tourist destinations alongside the
Story Bridge adventure climb and
Portside Wharf.
Sport
Brisbane has hosted several major sporting events including the
1982 Commonwealth Games and the 2001
Goodwill Games. The city also hosted events during the
1987 Rugby World Cup,
1992 Cricket World Cup,
2000 Sydney Olympics, the
2003 Rugby World Cup and will host the Grand Final of the
2008 Rugby League World Cup. In 2005, then
Premier Peter Beattie announced plans for Brisbane to bid to host the
2024 Olympic Games.
Two of the city's major sporting venues are the
Sleeman Centre at
Chandler, and the stadium facilities of the
Queensland Sport and Athletics Centre in
Nathan. With the closure of the Milton Tennis grounds in 1994, Brisbane lacks a major tennis facility. In 2005, the State Government approved the
State Tennis Centre a new A$65 million tennis stadium. Construction of the Tennis Centre was started in May 2006, with a completion date scheduled for December 2008.
Brisbane has teams in all major interstate competitions, including:
Media
Brisbane has only one daily newspaper,
The Courier-Mail, and one Sunday paper,
The Sunday Mail, both owned by
News Corporation. Brisbane receives the national daily,
The Australian, and the
Weekend Australian, together with
Fairfax papers
Australian Financial Review, the
Sydney Morning Herald and
The Age. There are community and suburban newspapers throughout the metropolitan and regional areas, including
Brisbane News and
City News, many of which are produced by
Quest Newspapers.
mX, a free daily commuter newspaper, was launched in 2007, following the newspaper's success in Melbourne and Sydney. In 2007, Fairfax launched the
Brisbane Times, an online news site.
Brisbane is served by all five major television networks in Australia, which broadcast from the summit of
Mount Coot-tha. The three commercial stations,
Seven,
Nine, and
Ten, are accompanied by two government networks,
ABC and
SBS, with all five providing
digital television.
31, a community station, also broadcasts in Brisbane.
Optus,
Foxtel and
Austar all operate PayTV services in Brisbane, via
cable and
satellite means.
The
ABC transmits all five of its radio networks to Brisbane;
612 ABC Brisbane,
ABC Classic FM,
ABC NewsRadio,
Radio National, and
Triple J.
SBS broadcasts its national radio network. Brisbane is serviced by major commercial radio stations, including
4KQ,
4BC,
4BH,
97.3 FM,
B105 FM,
Nova 106.9, and
Triple M.
Infrastructure
Health
Brisbane is covered by
Queensland Health's "Northside" and "Southside" health service areas. Within the greater Brisbane area there are 8 major
public hospitals, 4 major
private hospitals, and smaller public and private facilities. Specialist and
general medical practices are located in the CBD, and most suburbs and localities. Private hospitals in Brisbane include
Greenslopes Private Hospital, Redlands Private Hospital,
Mater Private Hospital, Brisbane Private and RBH Private.
Transport
ferry services.
Trams serviced the city between
1885 and
1969, while
railway networks spread across Brisbane into the expanding nearby regions during the
1870s. Today, as Queensland's largest city and state capital, Brisbane has an extensive transportation network within the city, as well as connections to regional centres, interstate and to overseas destinations.
The use of urban public transport is still only a small component of total passenger transport, the largest component being travel by private car .
Public Transport in Brisbane is provided by bus, rail and ferry services. Bus services are operated by public and private operators whereas trains and ferries are operated by public agencies. The
Brisbane central business district (CBD) is the central hub for all public transport services with services focusing on
Queen Street Bus Station,
Roma Street and
Central railway stations, and various city ferries wharves. Brisbane's
CityCat high speed ferry service, popular with tourists and commuters, operates services along the
Brisbane River between the
University of Queensland and Brett's Wharf.
The
Citytrain urban rail network consists of 10 suburban lines and covers mostly the west, north and east sides of the city. It also provides the route for an
Airtrain service under joint public/private control between the City and
Brisbane Airport. Since 2000, Brisbane has been developing a network of busways, including the
South-East Busway and the
Inner-Northern Busway, to provide faster bus services. "
TransLink", an integrated ticketing system operates across the public transport network.
The Brisbane River has created a barrier to some road transport routes. In total there are six road bridges, mostly concentrated in the inner city area. This has intensified the need for transport routes to focus on the inner city. There are also three railway bridges and one pedestrian bridge. The
Eleanor Schonell Bridge (originally named The Green Bridge) between the University of Queensland and
Dutton Park is for use by buses, pedestrians and cyclists. There are currently multiple tunnel and bridge projects underway as part of the
TransApex plan. For further information about Brisbane's bridges, see the article
Bridges of Brisbane.
An extensive network of
pedestrian and
cyclist pathways have been created along the banks of the
Brisbane River to form a
Riverwalk network.
Brisbane is served by several
freeways. The
Pacific Motorway connects the central city with the
Gold Coast to the south. The
Ipswich Motorway connects the city with Ipswich to the west via the southern suburbs, while the
Western Freeway and the
Centenary Freeway provide a connection between Brisbane's inner-west and the outer south-west, connecting with the Ipswich Motorway south of the Brisbane River. The
Bruce Highway is Brisbane's main route north of the city to the rest of the State. The Bruce Highway terminates 1700 km away in
Cairns and passes through most major cities along the Queensland coast. The
Gateway Motorway is a private
toll road which connects the Gold Coast and Sunshine Coasts by providing an alternate route avoiding Brisbane's inner city area. The tollroad crosses the Brisbane River to the east of the city over the
Gateway Bridge. The Gateway Motorway connects with Bruce Highway and the Pacific Motorway. A duplicate of the bridge is planned to be built in parallel to cope with the area's growing population. The Port of Brisbane Motorway links the Gateway to the Port of Brisbane, while Inner City Bypass and the Riverside Expressway act as the inner ring freeway system to prevent motorists from travelling through the city's congested centre.
Brisbane's population growth placed strains on South East Queensland's transport system. The State Government and Brisbane City Council have responded with infrastructure plans and increased funding for transportation projects, such as the
South East Queensland Infrastructure Plan and Program. Most of the focus has been placed on expanding current road infrastructure, particularly tunnels and bypasses, as well as improving the public transport system.
Brisbane Airport (IATA code:
BNE) is the city's main airport, the third busiest in
Australia after
Sydney Airport and
Melbourne Airport respectively. It is located near Eagle Farm, north-east of the city centre and provides domestic and international passenger services.
Archerfield Airport (in Brisbane's southern suburbs) acts as a
general aviation airport.
Utilities
Water storage, treatment and delivery for Brisbane is handled by
SEQ Water, which sells on to Brisbane Water for distribution to the greater Brisbane area. Water for the area is stored in one of three dams;
Wivenhoe,
Somerset and
North Pine. As of
13 May 2005, Brisbane has enforced
water restrictions due to drought. This has also led to the State Government announcing that recycled sewage will be pumped into the dams once the pipeline is complete in 2009.
Electricity and
gas grids in Brisbane are handled by
Energex (electricity), and
Origin Energy (gas), with each company previously holding a monopoly on domestic retail supply. Since
July 1,
2007 Queensland regulation changes have opened up the retail energy market, allowing multiple companies to resell both gas and electricity.
Metropolitan Brisbane is serviced by all major and most minor telecommunications companies and their networks. Brisbane has the largest number of enabled
DSL telephone exchanges in Queensland. An increasing number are also enabled with special hardware (
DSLAMs) which enable high speed
ADSL2+ internet access. The Brisbane CBD also features a complete underground
fibre optics network, with numerous connections to the inner suburbs provided by various service providers.
Telstra and
Optus provide both high speed internet as well as
Pay TV through their cable services for the bulk of the city's metropolitan area. Both of these providers also host wireless networks with
hotspots within both the inner and suburban areas.
In addition,
3 Mobile,
Telstra,
Optus and
Vodafone all operate both
2.5G,
3G and
3.5G mobile phone networks citywide.
Further Information
Get more info on 'Brisbane Queensland'.
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