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Description
Brisbane is the third largest city in Australia, as well as the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Queensland, and is claimed to have the highest rate of population growth of any Australian capital city. It is set close to the Pacific Ocean, and is situated on the Brisbane River on plains between Moreton Bay and the Great Dividing Range in south-eastern Queensland.
Claim to Fame
The Windmill and the Old Commissariat Store share the distinction of being the two oldest buildings in Brisbane, both 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 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.
Brisbane staged both a successful Commonwealth Games during 1982, and 2008 marks the 20th Anniversary of World Expo 88 - a landmark event in the history of Brisbane which provided the launch pad for an exciting period of growth and development not previously seen in the state of Queensland.
Climate
Brisbane has a humid subtropical climate with hot, humid summers and dry, mild winters. From 2006, Brisbane and surrounding temperate areas have experienced the most severe drought in over a century, as supplying dam levels dropped below one quarter of their normal capacity. As a result, 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, making Brisbane have the lowest per capita usage of water of any Western city in the world.
Hot Spots
Popular recreation areas in Brisbane include the South Bank Parklands, Roma Street Parkland, and City Botanic Gardens. The suburb of Mount Coot-tha is also home to a popular state forest and the Brisbane Botanic Gardens, which also house the Sir Thomas Brisbane Planetarium and the "Tsuki-yama-chisen" Japanese Garden. Brisbane contains over 27 km of bicycle pathways, mostly surrounding the Brisbane river and city centre, but also extending to the west of the city. Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary and Brisbane Forest Park are also located in the city, and are popular tourist destinations alongside the Story Bridge adventure climb and Portside Wharf.
Brisbane has a growing live music scene, both popular and classical, and 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 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. Its size enables the gallery to exhibit particularly large shows — the Andy Warhol exhibition being the largest survey of his work in Australia.
Brisbane, also known as Brisvegas to the locals, is a city definitely worth visiting and a great place to set up base while you explore south-east Queensland. Head an hour or two south to Surfers Paradise and the Gold Coast Hinterlands, or up north to the Glass House Mountains and Sunshine Coast.
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