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Brisbane is the state capital of the Australian
state of Queensland and is the largest city in that
state. With an estimated population of approximately
2 million, it is also the third most populous city
in Australia.
The city is situated on the Brisbane River on a
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'.
Brisbane is named after Sir Thomas Brisbane, the
Governor of New South Wales from 1821 to 1825.
Brisbane's demonym is a Brisbanite.
The first European settlement in Queensland was a
penal colony at Redcliffe, 28 kilometres (17 mi)
north of the Brisbane central business district, in
1824. That settlement was soon abandoned and moved
to North Quay in 1825. Free settlers were permitted
from 1842. Brisbane was chosen as the capital when
Queensland was proclaimed a separate colony from New
South Wales in 1859.
At a municipal level, the city is governed by the
Brisbane City Council. 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.
The city played a central role in the Allied
campaign during World War II as the South West
Pacific headquarters for General Douglas MacArthur.
Brisbane is fast becoming a world city renowned for
its Culture, Architecture and its landscape. The
metropolitan area is surrounded by many national
parks, and contains many rivers, bays and inlets.
The main airport serving Brisbane is Brisbane
International Airport, located 14km north-east of
the CBD
Brisbane has hosted many large cultural and sporting
events including the 1982 Commonwealth Games, World
Expo '88 and the 2001 Goodwill Games. In 2008,
Brisbane was classified as a gamma world city+ in
the World Cities Study Group’s inventory by
Loughborough University.
Geography
Satellite Image of Brisbane Metropolitan Area from
the International Space Station.Brisbane is in the
southeast corner of Queensland, Australia. The city
is centred along 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 city of Brisbane is hilly. The urban area,
including the central business district, are
partially elevated by spurs of the Herbert Taylor
Range, such as the summit of Mount Coot-tha,
reaching up to 300 metres (980 ft) and the smaller
Enoggera Hill. Other prominent rises in Brisbane are
Mount Gravatt and nearby Toohey Mountain. Mount
Petrie at 170 metres (560 ft) and the lower rises of
Highgate Hill, Mount Ommaney, Stephens 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". Heavy rain had fallen continuously
for three weeks before 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.
Urban Structure
Brisbane central business district
with The Brisbane City Botanical Gardens on the
left.The Brisbane central business district (CBD)
lies in a curve of the Brisbane river. The CBD
covers only 2.2 km2 (0.8 sq mi) and is walkable.
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). The
city has retained some heritage buildings dating
back to 1820s, 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 is
now the home of the Royal Historical Society of
Brisbane. It contains a museum and can also be hired
for small functions. |