- This article is about the Australian city. For other uses of Brisbane, see Brisbane (disambiguation).
Brisbane is the capital city of the state of Queensland, Australia. The city's name
is pronounced "BRIZ-buhn", IPA:
/ˈbɹɪzbən/. The City of Brisbane has around 940,000 inhabitants, while the surrounding metropolitan
area population is around 1.73 million.
Geography and climate
Brisbane is situated in the southeast corner of Queensland, an hour north of the Gold Coast by road or rail at latitude 27°28′S, longitude 153°02′E. The city straddles the Brisbane River, and its eastern suburbs line the shores of Moreton Bay. The greater Brisbane region lies on the coastal plain east of the Great Dividing Range.
Some of the major centres in greater Brisbane are:
- Ipswich - A coal mining township and home of the
Queensland Rail workshop. Ipswich's population has nearly doubled since 1994. Population:
129,000.
- Logan City - A high-growth area in the
Brisbane-Gold Coast corridor. Population: 171,292.
- Redcliffe - Famous for brown sandy beaches and one
of the longest bridges in the Southern Hemisphere which connects the outskirts of the city to the Redcliffe Peninsula.
Population: 51,723.
- Caboolture - A dairy farming region to the north of Brisbane. Population: 115,386.
- Pine Rivers - Brisbane's northern shire. Population: 133,778.
- Redland - A shire overlooking Moreton Bay on the east of Brisbane. Population: 124,000.
Brisbane has a subtropical climate with warm, mild winters and hot, moist summers. Brisbane is subject to high humidity, mainly from
November through to April. Summer thunderstorms are common, and Brisbane
frequently experiences severe thunderstorms, containing hail and severe winds, during
summer months.
Climatic averages:
- Mean January maximum temperature — 29 °C (85 °F)
- Mean January minimum temperature — 21 °C (69 °F)
- Mean July maximum temperature — 20 °C (69 °F)
- Mean July minimum temperature — 10 °C (49 °F)
- Mean annual rainfall — 1146 mm (45.1 inches)
- Wettest month on average — January, 160 mm (6.3 inches)
- Driest month on average — August, 46 mm (1.8 inches)
Historical extremes:
Demographics
The population of the City of Brisbane is estimated at 938,384 (as of June 2003).
Together with surrounding Local Government Areas,
Brisbane has an estimated metropolitan population of 1,733,200 as of 2003. Brisbane City
Council is the most populous Local Government Area in Australia and is one of the largest cities in the world in terms of
geographic area. Brisbane boasts Australia's highest rate of capital city population growth. The metropolitan population
reportedly grew by 10.5% between 1998 and 2003.
Economy
Brisbane has a diverse and vibrant economy with many sectors and industries represented in the city's total production of
goods and services. Both white-collar and blue-collar industries are present, with white-collar industries such as information technology, financial services, higher education
and public sector administration generally concentrated in and around the
central business district and recently
established office parks in the outer suburbs. Blue-collar industries such as 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.
During 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" campaign. 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) St Lucia Campus is a large
CSIRO and Queensland state government initiative for research and innovation that is
currently being emulated at the Queensland University of Technology (QUT) Campus at Kelvin Grove. According to the
state government this QUT facility is intended to cross-fertilise with the UQ facility and make Brisbane a science and research
hub of Australia and the region.
Government
Unlike most other Australian capital cities that have their urban areas controlled by dozens of different municipal
authorities, Brisbane is controlled by the Brisbane City Council, the largest local government body (in terms of population) in Australia. The
Council, formed by the merger of many small councils in 1925, has jurisdiction over most of
the inner and outer suburbs, borders the Caboolture, Logan and Pine Rivers shire Councils.
The area of Brisbane city is split into 26 wards, which each elect a council member as a representative. The Lord Mayor is
also elected by a popular vote, in which all residents must participate. Voting occurs every four years.
On 27 March 2004, former civil engineer Campbell Newman defeated incumbent Lord Mayor Tim Quinn in mayoral elections. Newman is a member of the Liberal Party and is only the second Liberal Lord Mayor
of Brisbane.
History
The city is named for Sir Thomas Brisbane (1773–1860), British
soldier and colonial administrator born in Ayrshire, Scotland.
In 1823, the explorer John Oxley
landed at the Brisbane River and named it after Sir Thomas Brisbane, Governor of New South Wales and astronomer. In 1824, the first convict colony was established at Redcliffe Point. Only one year later, the colony was moved south from Redcliffe to a peninsula of the Brisbane River, called "Mean-jin" by the local Turrbul inhabitants. The settlement was originally
named "Edenglassie" but subsequently re-named after the river. The colony was originally established as a "prison within a
prison" - a settlement, deliberately distant from Sydney, to which convicts who
re-offended while serving their sentences could be sent as punishment. It soon garnered a reputation, along with Norfolk Island, as being one of the harshest penal settlements in all of
New South Wales.
Private settlement near the area was forbidden for many years, and the colony was sluggish in development. As the inflow of
new convicts decresed steadily, the population began to decline. Finally, in 1842, the area
was opened up for free settlement and settlers took advantage of the abundance of timber in the area. Grazing and farming took
hold quickly on the fertile land of the coastal plain, but the convict colony was
eventually closed.
By 1869 almost all of the Turrbul people had died. The few remaining survivors escaped the region with the help of a settler,
Tom Petrie.
Queensland was formally established as a colony separate from New South Wales in 1859 and became
self-governing. Brisbane was declared the capital, but it was not until 1902 that it was
officially designated a city. Severe flooding in the 1890's devastated the city and
destroyed the first of several versions of the Victoria Bridge. Even though gold was discovered north of Brisbane, around Maryborough and Gympie, most of the
proceeds went south to Sydney and Melbourne. The city remained an underdeveloped, regional outpost, with comparatively little of the grandiose
Victorian architecture evident in the southern cities.
In 1924, the City of Brisbane Act was passed, amalgamating many small local government
areas to form the Brisbane City Council in 1925.
During World War II, many US forces were stationed in and around the city, and, for a time, it was the headquarters for General
Douglas MacArthur, Supreme Allied Commander, South West Pacific
Area. Many buildings and institutions around Brisbane were given over to the housing of military personnel, with the University of Queensland converted to a barracks.
Brisbane marked the northern point of the "Brisbane Line" - a controversial defence proposal, allegedly formulated by the Menzies government, that would, upon a land invasion of Australia, surrender the entire continent bar
the populated costal strip south of Brisbane. to the Japanese. The evidence for the existence of this plan remains a matter of
contention, with trade unionists and other critics using it as evidence
of Menzies' supposed enemy sympathies. There is very little doubt that the wholesale defence of the entirety of Australia's vast
and sparesely populated countryside would have been highly impractical, but it seems unlikely that any Australian government
would surrender the entirety of Northern Queensland without a fight.
On November 26 and November 27, 1942 conflict broke out between US and Australian servicemen stationed in Brisbane. By the time the
violence had been quelled one Australian soldier was dead, and hundreds of Australian and US servicemen, and a small number of
civilians were injured. Thousands of soldiers were involved in the battle on both sides. This incident, which was heavily
censored at the time and apparently was not reported in the US at all is known as the Battle of Brisbane.
Brisbane has been inundated by three severe floods of the Brisbane River —
in 1864, 1893 and 1974.
Events
Tourism
Popular areas for tourists in the city include the Southbank
Parklands (the site of Expo 88) and the recently developed Roma Street Parklands. Major shopping precincts exist throughout
the CBD, in the Queen Street Mall and in Fortitude
Valley. Brisbane is also home to Botanic Gardens in the CBD, rockclimbing cliffs at Kangaroo Point, riverside bikeways,
lookouts at Gravatt, Mount Petire, and Mount Coot-that, which includes a lookout over the city, Botanic Gardens, and the Sir
Thomas Brisbane Planetarium.
Landmarks
Brisbane is home to many traditional and modern landmarks. Here are some of Brisbane's finest:
- Story Bridge - One of Australia's finest
bridges and a true Queensland and Brisbane landmark. The bridge is the home of the River Festival and is beautifully lit up by
night. Bridge climbs are becoming a major tourist attraction.
- Central Plaza 1 & 2 - Currently Brisbane's tallest
inhabited office building and second-tallest structure, and the third highest skyscraper in Queensland. Central Plaza 1 sits at
174m, 571ft and was constructed in 1988. It has been a feature landmark in Brisbane City ever since that date. Designed by
famous japanese architect Kisho Kurokawa modelled on a split shard of crystal.
- Waterfront Place - The Waterfront Place is the second
tallest building in Brisbane. At 162m, the tower also houses many restaurants, cafes and bars at the ground level, the Waterfront
Place is the most recognisable tower in the Brisbane skyline.
- State Law Building - With its unique design, the State Law Building is known locally as 'Gotham City' because of its
similarities to buildings in the Batman series. The refurbishment was designed by a local female architect from Conrad &
Gargett.
- Brisbane City Hall - The Brisbane City Hall was the most expensive building in Australia until the creation of the
Sydney Opera House. At night, the Brisbane City Hall is lit up for a spectacular view.
- Lang Park - Known these days as Suncorp Stadium, the stadium is
the home of Queensland Rugby League and has been for many years. Recently reconstructed, the stadium is recognised as one of the
greatest sporting venues in Australia.
- Treasury Casino - Housed, as the name suggests, in the old Treasury building, the casino has an attractive Edwardian
sandstone facade.
- ANZ Stadium - The third largest sporting arena in Queensland (after Suncorp Stadium and The Gabba), ANZ Stadium has a
great history. Historic events that have happened at the ground include the 1982 Commonwealth Games and the 2001 Goodwill
Games.
- The Skyneedle -
Originally built for the World Expo '88 which was held in Brisbane, the Skyneedle stands 88m from the ground and in special
events it is able to beam lights like a lighthouse and can be seen from more than 60km away. The Skyneedle was about to be
relocated to it's new destination which would have been Disneyworld in Tokyo, but a local
hairdresser bought the rights to claim it Brisbane's own and also relocated the famous Queensland Monument 500m away from it's
original location in South Bank. The copper canopy below was originally a gift to Expo 88 from MIM Holdings.
- The Gabba - Sporting venue for the Queensland Bulls (Cricket) and the Brisbane
Lions (Aussie Rules) and was also home of football
matches of the Sydney 2000 Olympics.
- Brisbane Exhibition Ground - Operated by the RNA (Royal National Agricultural and Industrial Association of
Queensland), the showgrounds are home to the annual RNA Show, better known as the Ekka which attractions more than 600,000
visitors every year. The showgrounds are also periodically used for other large events.
- Queensland Museum - Brisbane is home of the Queensland Museum which is located at the South Bank Parklands.
- AMP Place - Brisbane's first 'true' skyscraper at 130m and built in
1978 in an area of the CBD that was still mainly wharves, it set a benchmark for new towers that proceeded it.
- Riverside Centre - A modern, heritage-listed building
which hosts weekend markets and is also the location of several well-known restaurants, as well as the Brisbane Stock Exchange.
Designed by Harry Seidler in 1986.
Some buildings under construction, as of 2005:
- Aurora Tower - This major construction will become Brisbane's tallest building once finished completion in early 2005.
Featuring Residential and Commercial status, and standing at a height of approximately 207m, it will be an official landmark set
by the City Council and Lord Mayor.
- Riparian Plaza - The Riparian Plaza is modelled after the San Siro
Stadium in Milan by Harry Seidler, an Australian architect who worked and trained with Walter Gropius, Burley Griffin and Lloyd
Wright. Riparian will stand 200m to roof and 248m to spire.
Entertainment
Brisbane has a thriving performing arts culture, housed in
theatres such as La Boite's Roundhouse Theatre in Kelvin Grove, the Optus Playhouse and Lyric theatre at Southbank, the Powerhouse in New Farm, the Brisbane Arts
Theatre on Petrie Terrace and the recently opened "Judith Wright Centre"
in Fortitude Valley.
Brisbane's CBD, in particular the fashionable
Queen Street Mall, has a wide range of restaurants, thousands of award winning
Shopping Centres, Night Clubs, music and souvenirs.
South Bank Parklands is built on the former World Expo site and is famous for the firework displays it hosts at various times
of the year. It is also a tourist attraction, featuring the beautiful Riverside Walkway and musical and arts festivals.
Close to Brisbane
- The Gold Coast about 70 km south-east of
Brisbane. It is a major tourist zone with approximately 40 km of beaches, as well as theme parks, canals and mountain
hinterland.
- The Sunshine Coast is a collection of beachside communities backed
by a subtropical hinterland.
- Toowoomba is a garden city located inland and 700 m above sea level on the
Great Dividing Range.
- Ipswich, Queensland is a satellite city located
approximately 40 km South-West of Brisbane and is well known for its Queensland Rail Workshop in the North of the town.
Media
Brisbane is served by six broadcast television stations: ABC, Seven, Nine, Ten, SBS, and community television station Briz 31.
In addition to the community radio station 4ZZZ, there are nine commercial radio
stations in Brisbane: 4BC, 4BH, 4TAB, 4KQ, B105 FM, Triple M, NEW 97.3, River 94.9 and NovaFM.
The ABC transmits all five
of its radio networks to Brisbane: 612 ABC,
Radio National, Triple J,
Newsradio and ABC Classic FM. SBS also broadcasts its national radio network to Brisbane.
Sport
Brisbane's local sporting teams are:
Colleges and universities
A number of tertiary education institutions have campuses in Brisbane, or in the surrounding areas:
Airports
Suburbs
See the list of Brisbane suburbs.
Interesting facts
Originally the neighbouring city of Ipswich was intended to be the capital of Queensland but Ipswich proved too far inland to
allow access by large ships and so Brisbane was chosen as the capital instead.
Within the Brisbane CBD, the central streets are named for members of the House of Hanover. Streets named after female members (Ann, Adelaide, Charlotte, Elizabeth, Margaret, Mary)
run parallel to Queen Street, and perpendicular to streets named after male members (Albert, Edward, George). See Streets of Brisbane.
Ipswich as the Capital of Queensland was chosen after Charters Towers in North Queensland,Construction and planning to make
Carters Towers the states capital wwas well under way when the Gold Mining boom suddenly ran dry which shocked and dismayed many
people as hte estimated reserve of gold was put close to 150 years, Ipswich was then chosen and rejected because to the
transportation problems involved,in the 1800's transportation was a primary consideration in locating many of the Capital
cities.
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