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Brisbane

*** Shopping-Tip: Brisbane
{{otheruses}}{{Infobox Australian City| name = Brisbane | image_map = Brisbane locator-MJC.png | name = Brisbane | latd=27|latm=28|latNS=S|longd=153|longm=02|longEW=E| jurisdiction = Queensland | location = Queensland | mayor = Campbell Newman | area = 1363 | time_zone= UTC10 AEST | utc_offset= +10 | time_zone_DST= | utc_offset_DST= | population_estimate_year = 2003 | population_estimate = 1,774,890 | population_estimate_rank = 3rd | population_density = 379.8 | }} '''Brisbane''' is the List of Australian capital cities capital and most populous city in the state of Queensland, Australia. Brisbane is situated at the heart of South East Queensland south east Queensland, Australia's fastest growing region. As of 2005, the [http://www.world-gazetteer.com/ World Gazetteer] estimated that Brisbane has a population of approximately 1.8 million, making it the third most populous urban area in Australia, behind Sydney and Melbourne, and the largest municipality. The city's name is IPA chart for English pronounced {{IPA|/ËˆbÉ¹Éªz.bÉ™n/}}.

History
{{Main|History of Brisbane}} Image:First-Queenslande-Government-House-2.jpg Old Government House, Queensland thumb|right|280px|The [[Old Government House, Queensland|old Queensland Government House in the Queensland University of Technology QUT Gardens Point Campus grounds (the original Queensland Government House).html" title="Meaning of old Queensland Government House.html" title="Meaning of thumb|right|280px|The [[Old Government House, Queensland|old Queensland Government House">thumb|right|280px|The [[Old Government House, Queensland|old Queensland Government House in the Queensland University of Technology QUT Gardens Point Campus grounds (the original Queensland Government House)">old Queensland Government House.html" title="Meaning of thumb|right|280px|The [[Old Government House, Queensland|old Queensland Government House">thumb|right|280px|The [[Old Government House, Queensland|old Queensland Government House in the Queensland University of Technology QUT Gardens Point Campus grounds (the original Queensland Government House) Image:MacArthur-Building.jpg MacArthur_Central, Brisbane thumb|right|280px|[[MacArthur Central, Brisbane|MacArthur Central, the Allied Pacific Headquarters of Douglas MacArthur General Douglas MacArthur during World War II.html" title="Meaning of MacArthur Central.html" title="Meaning of thumb|right|280px|[[MacArthur Central, Brisbane|MacArthur Central">thumb|right|280px|[[MacArthur Central, Brisbane|MacArthur Central, the Allied Pacific Headquarters of Douglas MacArthur General Douglas MacArthur during World War II">MacArthur Central.html" title="Meaning of thumb|right|280px|[[MacArthur Central, Brisbane|MacArthur Central">thumb|right|280px|[[MacArthur Central, Brisbane|MacArthur Central, the Allied Pacific Headquarters of Douglas MacArthur General Douglas MacArthur during World War II The area now known as Brisbane was inhabited before European settlement by the Turrbul and Jagera people whose ancestors originally migrated to the region from across the Torres Strait. In 1823 an exploration party led by John Oxley explored Moreton Bay and sailed up the Brisbane River as far as Goodna, Queensland Goodna, some 20 km upstream from what is now Brisbane central business district. Brisbane was named in honour of Thomas Brisbane Sir Thomas Brisbane, who was the Governors of New South Wales Governor of New South Wales. In 1824, the colonial administration of New South Wales decided to establish a penal settlement at what is now Redcliffe, Queensland Redcliffe, on the shores of Moreton Bay. This settlement was soon closed and moved to the present-day site of Brisbane. Non-convict European settlement of the Brisbane region commenced in 1838. Queensland was proclaimed a separate colony in June 1859 and Brisbane was chosen as its capital. However, Brisbane was not incorporated as a city until 1902. Over twenty small municipalities and shires were amalgamated to form the City of Greater Brisbane, now known simply as the Brisbane City Council City of Brisbane, in 1925. Due to Brisbane's proximity to the South West Pacific Area theatre of the World War II Second World War, the city played a prominent role in the defence of Australia. The city became a temporary home to thousands of Australian and United States American servicemen. In addition to this, the AMP Building (later called MacArthur Central, Brisbane MacArthur Central) was used as the headquarters of Douglas MacArthur General Douglas MacArthur, the chief of the Allied Pacific forces. Brisbane was host city for the very successful 1982 Commonwealth Games and for the equally successful World's Fair, Expo '88. These events in the 1980s were accompanied by a scale of public expenditure, construction and diplomacy not previously seen in the state of Queensland. In the decades since, the metropolis has become Australia's fastest growing city through migration from all continents and the Australian states and territories.

Geography
Image:Brisbane map of city cbd.gif thumb|right|Map of Brisbane CBD Image:Brisbane_CBD.jpg Central Business District thumb|right|200px|View of part of Brisbane [[Central Business District|CBD — the Shrine of Remembrance, Brisbane Shrine of Remembrance, and Anzac Square, Brisbane Anzac Square, and Post Office Square, Brisbane Post Office Square and the General Post Office, Brisbane GPO — from Sofitel Hotel (formerly Sheraton Hotel) (which is located over Central railway station, Brisbane Central Station).html" title="Meaning of CBD.html" title="Meaning of thumb|right|200px|View of part of Brisbane [[Central Business District|CBD">thumb|right|200px|View of part of Brisbane [[Central Business District|CBD — the Shrine of Remembrance, Brisbane Shrine of Remembrance, and Anzac Square, Brisbane Anzac Square, and Post Office Square, Brisbane Post Office Square and the General Post Office, Brisbane GPO — from Sofitel Hotel (formerly Sheraton Hotel) (which is located over Central railway station, Brisbane Central Station)">CBD.html" title="Meaning of thumb|right|200px|View of part of Brisbane [[Central Business District|CBD">thumb|right|200px|View of part of Brisbane [[Central Business District|CBD — the Shrine of Remembrance, Brisbane Shrine of Remembrance, and Anzac Square, Brisbane Anzac Square, and Post Office Square, Brisbane Post Office Square and the General Post Office, Brisbane GPO — from Sofitel Hotel (formerly Sheraton Hotel) (which is located over Central railway station, Brisbane Central Station) Image:Brisbane_sat.jpg thumb|right|200px|Landsat image of the Brisbane region Brisbane central business district Brisbane city centre is situated in the southeast corner of Queensland, Australia, at a latitude and longitude of {{coor dm.html">Great Dividing Range, although the urban area is dotted by large hills reaching up to 300 metres such as Mount Coot-tha, Queensland Mount Coot-tha.html" title="Meaning of 28|S|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 Mount Coot-tha">Mount Coot-tha, Mount Gravatt, Queensland Mount Gravatt, Whites Hill, Queensland Whites Hill and Stephens Mountain, Queensland Stephens Mountain. Generally, the city is a low-lying floodplain and susceptible to severe flooding. Many suburban creeks also criss cross the city increasing the risk of localised flooding. This was demonstrated most poignantly in the aftermath of the 1974 Brisbane Flood 1974 Brisbane flood, which occurred partly as a result of "Cyclone Wanda". Continual non-stop heavy rain had fallen during the three weeks leading up to the flood, which occurred during the Australia Day weekend (26–27 January, 1974). The flood damaged many parts of the city, especially in the suburbs of Oxley, Queensland Oxley, Bulimba, Queensland Bulimba, Rocklea, Queensland Rocklea, Coorparoo, Queensland Coorparoo and New Farm, Queensland New Farm. The Brisbane City Botanic Gardens City Botanic gardens were also inundated, leading to a new colony of Mangrove mangroves to form in the City Reach of the Brisbane River. The Brisbane central business district is situated in a curve of a river. Covering only 2.2 square kilometres, it is easily walkable. The central streets are named for members of the House of Hanover. Streets named after female members: — (Adelaide - Alice - Ann - Charlotte - Elizabeth - Margaret - Mary) run parallel to (Queen Street / Queen Street Mall - named in honour of Victoria of the United Kingdom Queen Victoria) - and perpendicular to Streets named after male members (Albert - Edward - George - William). Brisbane has a lower inner-city population density compared with Australia's two largest cities, Sydney and Melbourne, although constant population growth occurring in Brisbane is closing the gap between Brisbane and Melbourne. This is a result of most of Brisbane's housing stock consisting of detached houses. There are few terrace houses in Brisbane and apartments dating before 1970 are relatively uncommon. Pre-1950 housing stock is often built in a distinctive architectural style known as a Queenslander (architecture) Queenslander, featuring large verandahs and built on timber or concrete stumps to maximise the circulation of cool air during summer months. Overall 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.{{ref|density}}

Climate
Brisbane has a subtropical climate with hot, moist summers and mild, dry winters. Brisbane is subject to high humidity, mainly from November through to April. Summer thunderstorms are common, and Brisbane frequently experiences hailstorms, cyclonic winds and more recently severe drought during the summer months. The highest recorded temperature in the city was 43.2 °C (109.8 °F) on the 26 January 1940, while the lowest was 2.3 °C (36.1 °F) on the 12 July 1894 and 2 July 1896. {{ref|climate}} The wettest day occurred on 21 January with 465 mm (18.3 in) of rain, the highest of any of Australia's capital cities. From late Spring through to early Autumn, Brisbane may experience severe thunderstorms with large damaging hailstones, torrential rain and destructive winds, some of can exceed 100 km/h. Each year, severe thunderstorms with large hailstorms are responsible for thousands of dollars worth of damage to some Brisbane suburbs. {| class="wikitable" style="width: 75%; margin: 0 auto 0 auto;" |+ '''Climate Table''' |- ! ! Jan ! Feb ! Mar ! Apr ! May ! Jun ! Jul ! Aug ! Sep ! Oct ! Nov ! Dec !Year |- ! Mean daily maximum temperature (Celsius Â°C) |29.4 |29.0 |28.0 |26.1 |23.2 |20.9 |20.4 |21.8 |24.0 |26.1 |27.8 |29.1 |25.5 |- ! Mean daily minimum temperature (Celsius Â°C) |20.7 |20.6 |19.4 |16.6 |13.3 |10.9 | 9.5 |10.3 |12.9 |15.8 |18.1 |19.8 |15.7 |- ! Mean total rainfall (Millimetre mm) |159.6 |158.3 |140.7 |92.5 |73.7 |67.8 |56.5 |45.9 |45.7 |75.4 |97.0 |133.3 |1146.4 |- ! Mean number of rain days |13.1 |13.5 |14.5 |11.3 | 9.6 | 7.9 | 7.2 | 6.7 | 7.4 | 9.3 | 9.9 |11.5 |122.0 |- | colspan="15" style="text-align: center;" | '''Source:''' [http://www.bom.gov.au/climate/averages/tables/cw_040214.shtml Bureau of Meteorology] |}

Governance
{{main articles|Brisbane City Council and Government of Queensland}} Image:Brisbane City Hall.jpg Brisbane_City Hall.html" title="Meaning of thumb thumb|280px|right|[[Brisbane City Hall houses the Museum of Brisbane and offices of the Brisbane City Council..html" title="Meaning of 280px|right|[[Brisbane City Hall">thumb|280px|right|[[Brisbane City Hall houses the Museum of Brisbane and offices of the Brisbane City Council.">280px|right|[[Brisbane City Hall">thumb|280px|right|[[Brisbane City Hall houses the Museum of Brisbane and offices of the Brisbane City Council. Unlike most other Australian capital cities, the city of Brisbane is controlled by a single Local government in Australia local government entity, the Brisbane City Council. The city of Brisbane is divided into 26 wards, with each ward electing a Councillor as their community representative. The List of Mayors and Lord Mayors of Brisbane 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. 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 kmÂ². The Council's annual budget is approximately $1.6 billion, and it has an asset base of $13 billion [http://www.brisbane.qld.gov.au/BCC:STANDARD:1658601192:pc=PC_1297]. The Brisbane Metropolitan area metropolitan area covers parts of several adjoining Local government area local government areas including Beaudesert, Queensland Beaudesert Shire, Caboolture, Queensland Caboolture Shire, Gold Coast, Queensland Gold Coast City, Ipswich, Queensland Ipswich City, Logan City, Queensland Logan City, Pine Rivers Shire, Queensland Pine Rivers Shire, Redcliffe, Queensland Redcliffe City and Redland Shire, Queensland Redland Shire.

Economy
Image:BrisbaneByNight2004.jpg Brisbane River.html" title="Meaning of thumb thumb|right|280px|Brisbane city by night, looking north along the [[Brisbane River towards the central business district CBD..html" title="Meaning of right|280px|Brisbane city by night, looking north along the [[Brisbane River">thumb|right|280px|Brisbane city by night, looking north along the [[Brisbane River towards the central business district CBD.">right|280px|Brisbane city by night, looking north along the [[Brisbane River">thumb|right|280px|Brisbane city by night, looking north along the [[Brisbane River towards the central business district CBD. 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 areas in the inner suburbs. Brisbane has had the highest percentage growth in white-collar employment of Australia's 5 major cities since 2002. Blue-collar industries such as petroleum refining, stevedoring, paper milling, metalworking and Queensland Rail 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.

Image:Brisbane_from_air.jpg Virgin Blue.html" title="Meaning of thumb thumb|left|280px|High-res aerial view from a [[Virgin Blue Boeing 737 (click to :Image:Brisbane_from_air.jpg enlarge)..html" title="Meaning of left|280px|High-res aerial view from a [[Virgin Blue">thumb|left|280px|High-res aerial view from a [[Virgin Blue Boeing 737 (click to :Image:Brisbane_from_air.jpg enlarge).">left|280px|High-res aerial view from a [[Virgin Blue">thumb|left|280px|High-res aerial view from a [[Virgin Blue Boeing 737 (click to :Image:Brisbane_from_air.jpg enlarge). 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) Saint 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 with the establishment of the Institute for Health and Biomedical Innovation (IHBI). Major companies based in Brisbane include Suncorp-Metway Limited, Flight Centre, Orrcon, Virgin Blue, Boeing, Mincom, Austar, Subway (restaurant) Subway, Millers Retail and the Asia-Pacific operations of Red Hat. Some internet companies such as Wotif.com, Realestate.com.au, StandbyCars.com, Pipe Networks and WebCentral also base their operations in the city.

=Commerce
= Image:QueenStMall.jpg Queen_Street Mall, Brisbane thumb|right|280px|[[Queen Street Mall, Brisbane|Queen Street Mall, Brisbane CBD..html" title="Meaning of Queen Street Mall.html" title="Meaning of thumb|right|280px|[[Queen Street Mall, Brisbane|Queen Street Mall">thumb|right|280px|[[Queen Street Mall, Brisbane|Queen Street Mall, Brisbane CBD.">Queen Street Mall.html" title="Meaning of thumb|right|280px|[[Queen Street Mall, Brisbane|Queen Street Mall">thumb|right|280px|[[Queen Street Mall, Brisbane|Queen Street Mall, Brisbane CBD. Major shopping areas throughout the Brisbane Central business district CBD consist of shopping centres and malls — large multi-leveled buildings containing hundreds of individual stores. The Queen Street Mall, Brisbane Queen Street Mall offers a range of restaurants, souvenirs and award winning shopping centres, including: Wintergarden, Brisbane Wintergarden, Broadway on the Mall, Brisbane Broadway on the Mall, Queens Plaza, Brisbane Queens Plaza and the Myer Centre, Brisbane Myer Centre. In Fortitude Valley, Queensland Fortitude Valley (which is popularly known as 'the Valley'), the Brunswick Street mall hosts bustling pedestrian markets on Saturday and Sunday mornings, and is home to restaurants and cafÃ©s, and to Brisbane's Chinatown precinct. Most of these stores are usually the central or headquarter stores of their other franchises in the city. For a full listing of shopping centres in Brisbane CBD, and Brisbane suburbs, see the Brisbane, Queensland section of the List of shopping centres in Australia article

Demographics
The population of the Brisbane City is estimated at 957,010 (as of June 2004). Brisbane has an estimated urban population of 1.8 million as of 2005. Brisbane City Council is the most populous Local Government Area in Australia. Brisbane's Central business district CBD is also Australia's densest. Brisbane boasts Australia's highest rate of capital city population growth, and has maintained the title of the fastest growing city for close to 20 years. The urban population reportedly grew by 11.5% between 1999 and 2004. The last Australian Census in 2001 showed that 1.7% of Brisbane's population are of indigenous origins, while 21.0% were born overseas. Approximately 13.5% of households speak a language other than English, with the most common being Chinese, Vietnamese and Italian. The median age across the city is 32 years old.{{ref|demographics}}

Education
Image:University_of_Queensland.jpg University of Queensland.html" title="Meaning of thumb thumb|right|280px|The Forgan Smith Building and the Great Court [[University of Queensland.html" title="Meaning of right|280px|The Forgan Smith Building and the Great Court [[University of Queensland">thumb|right|280px|The Forgan Smith Building and the Great Court [[University of Queensland">right|280px|The Forgan Smith Building and the Great Court [[University of Queensland">thumb|right|280px|The Forgan Smith Building and the Great Court [[University of Queensland Brisbane, like many other Australian capitals, is home to many large, multi-campus universities and colleges. Australian universities based in Brisbane are the University of Queensland (one of the Group of Eight (Australian universities) Group of Eight), the Queensland University of Technology and Griffith University. Other universities which have campuses in Brisbane include the Australian Catholic University, Central Queensland University, James Cook University, the University of Canberra, the University of New South Wales and the University of Southern Queensland. Brisbane has a number of government subsidised TAFE colleges that provide nationally accredited Diplomas and Certificates in a number of trades, as well as specific job based skill sets and arts. These TAFE colleges include the The Bremer Institute of TAFE Bremer Institute of TAFE, Brisbane North Institute of TAFE, Moreton Institute of TAFE, Southbank Institute of TAFE and the Yeronga Institute. Other independent tertiary education providers include the Australian College of Natural Medicine, the Brisbane College of Theology, QANTM and Jschool: Journalism Education & Training. Brisbane is covered under the jurisdiction of Queensland Education regarding public primary and high schools.

Culture
Brisbane has a strong cultural identity in art, sculpture, literature, poetry and music, which dates back to the late 1800s. Brisbane also significantly raised its global profile as the host city of the 1982 Commonwealth Games and the very successful Expo '88 World Expo '88. The South Bank Parklands, Brisbane South Bank Parklands which were later established on the former Expo '88 site, are now an a thriving mix of Brisbane's relaxed lifestyle and culture.

=Popular culture
= {{main|Popular entertainment in Brisbane}} Brisbane has a vibrant live music scene and has produced notable bands. Brisbane's nightlife today is a thriving and varied mix of pubs, clubs, themed bars, and various other venues. There are two main areas of focus: "The City" (CBD) and "The Valley" (Fortitude Valley).

=Arts in Brisbane
= {{main|Classical culture of Brisbane}} Classical culture is also well represented in Brisbane, with museums, theatres, performing arts and creative arts. Brisbane is the birthplace of a number of internationally acclaimed singers, musicians and actors, and well as having produced a number of significant Australian authors and sculptors.

=Sport
= {{main|Sport in Brisbane}} Brisbane has a strong and proud and long time tradition in sport, and is also the birthplace of many of Australia's notable sportsmen and sportswomen. Some sporting highlights have been: * The first ever Tied test tied test in the history of Cricket happened in Brisbane in 1960 at the Brisbane Cricket Ground ''(The Gabba)''. * The first ever Rugby league Rugby League State of Origin match was held in Brisbane in 1980 at Suncorp Stadium Lang Park. * Brisbane was the host city for the 1982 Commonwealth Games. * Brisbane was the host city for the 2001 Goodwill Games.

Landmarks
Image:The-Windmill-1.JPG The_Windmill.html" title="Meaning of thumb thumb|left|150px|[[The Windmill.html" title="Meaning of left|150px|[[The Windmill">thumb|left|150px|[[The Windmill">left|150px|[[The Windmill">thumb|left|150px|[[The Windmill Image:ShrineofRemembranceBrisbane120106.jpg Shrine_of Remembrance, Brisbane thumb|200px|[[Shrine of Remembrance, Brisbane|Shrine of Remembrance and the 'Eternal Flame' at Anzac Square, Brisbane Anzac Square — Ann Street faÃ§ade.html" title="Meaning of Shrine of Remembrance.html" title="Meaning of thumb|200px|[[Shrine of Remembrance, Brisbane|Shrine of Remembrance">thumb|200px|[[Shrine of Remembrance, Brisbane|Shrine of Remembrance and the 'Eternal Flame' at Anzac Square, Brisbane Anzac Square — Ann Street faÃ§ade">Shrine of Remembrance.html" title="Meaning of thumb|200px|[[Shrine of Remembrance, Brisbane|Shrine of Remembrance">thumb|200px|[[Shrine of Remembrance, Brisbane|Shrine of Remembrance and the 'Eternal Flame' at Anzac Square, Brisbane Anzac Square — Ann Street faÃ§ade {{main|List of Brisbane landmarks and other Brisbane articles}} Brisbane has many important and historical buildings and structures, some of which date back to colonial times. Brisbane also has many beautiful gardens and parklands. For a listing of articles about Brisbane's landmarks, and also other articles about Brisbane, please click on the above title.

Tourist destinations
Image:Story-Bridge-from-Eagle-Pier-Brisbane.jpg Story_Bridge, Brisbane thumb|right|350px|[[Story Bridge, Brisbane|Story Bridge as seen from the Eagle Street Pier.html" title="Meaning of Story Bridge.html" title="Meaning of thumb|right|350px|[[Story Bridge, Brisbane|Story Bridge">thumb|right|350px|[[Story Bridge, Brisbane|Story Bridge as seen from the Eagle Street Pier">Story Bridge.html" title="Meaning of thumb|right|350px|[[Story Bridge, Brisbane|Story Bridge">thumb|right|350px|[[Story Bridge, Brisbane|Story Bridge as seen from the Eagle Street Pier Image:South-Bank-Parklands.jpg South Bank Parklands, Brisbane thumb|right|280px|Entrance to the [[South Bank Parklands, Brisbane|South Bank Parklands.html" title="Meaning of South Bank Parklands.html" title="Meaning of thumb|right|280px|Entrance to the [[South Bank Parklands, Brisbane|South Bank Parklands">thumb|right|280px|Entrance to the [[South Bank Parklands, Brisbane|South Bank Parklands">South Bank Parklands.html" title="Meaning of thumb|right|280px|Entrance to the [[South Bank Parklands, Brisbane|South Bank Parklands">thumb|right|280px|Entrance to the [[South Bank Parklands, Brisbane|South Bank Parklands Popular with tourists are the rockclimbing cliffs which are located at the southern approach to the Story Bridge at Kangaroo Point, Queensland Kangaroo Point, as well as the more than 27 km of bicycle pathways which line both sides of the river east and west of the city centre. Another new Brisbane attraction is the Story Bridge Adventure Climb {{ref|storybridgeadventures}}. The Story Bridge is one of only three legally climbable bridges in the world. Also popular with tourists are the South Bank Parklands, Brisbane South Bank Parklands, which are located on the site of Expo '88 World Expo '88. The South Bank Parklands is famous for firework displays that attract thousands of spectators. Tourists and locals alike frequent the beautiful bougainvillea lined Riverside Walkway at all times of the year and flock to the area during music and arts festivals. Restaurants, Theatres and Beaches make South Bank a great place to spend a day just minutes away from public transport. Other popular areas for tourism and recreation include the Roma Street Parkland, the Brisbane City Botanic Gardens (a colonial era botanic gardens founded in 1855 in the Brisbane CBD), and the Mount Coot-tha state forest (which includes a lookout over the city), the Brisbane Botanic Gardens, Mount Coot-tha Brisbane Botanic Gardens (contemporary Botanical gardens botanical gardens) and also the Thomas Brisbane Sir Thomas Brisbane Planetarium. Also popular are Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary and Brisbane Forest Park, Queensland Brisbane Forest Park.

Annual events in Brisbane
Annual events held in Brisbane are also drawcards for tourists. Image:Riverfestival.jpg Riverfestival frame|[[Riverfestival|River''festival'' sign at South Bank Parklands, Brisbane South Bank Parklands.html" title="Meaning of River''festival''.html"_title="Meaning of frame|[[Riverfestival|River''festival''">frame|[[Riverfestival|River''festival'' sign at South Bank Parklands, Brisbane South Bank Parklands">River''festival''.html"_title="Meaning of frame|[[Riverfestival|River''festival''">frame|[[Riverfestival|River''festival'' sign at South Bank Parklands, Brisbane South Bank Parklands * The Ekka (the Royal Queensland Show) is held in August, at the Brisbane Exhibition Ground (also known as the '''RNA Showgrounds''') * Riverfestival River''festival'' is held in September at South Bank Parklands, Brisbane South Bank Parklands and surrounding areas. This event includes the spectacular '''River''fire''''' which includes 30 minutes of non-stop pirotechniques and fireworks from Brisbanes 3 major bridges (including from the Victoria Bridge, Brisbane Victoria Bridge), boats and buildings.

Media
Brisbane has only one daily newspaper, ''The Courier-Mail'', and one Sunday paper, ''The Sunday Mail (Brisbane) The Sunday Mail'', both owned by News Corporation. Brisbane also receives the national daily, ''The Australian'', and the ''Weekend Australian'', in addition to Fairfax papers ''Australian Financial Review'', the ''Sydney Morning Herald'' and ''The Age''. There are also numerous community and suburban newspapers throughout the metropolitan and regional areas, including ''Brisbane News'' and ''City News'', many of which are produced by Quest Newspapers (which is also owned by News Corporation.) Image:Mount-Coot-tha-and-TV-Towers.jpg Mount_Coot-tha.html" title="Meaning of thumb thumb|right|280px|[[Mount Coot-tha and the Television Towers.html" title="Meaning of right|280px|[[Mount Coot-tha">thumb|right|280px|[[Mount Coot-tha and the Television Towers">right|280px|[[Mount Coot-tha">thumb|right|280px|[[Mount Coot-tha and the Television Towers Brisbane is served by all five major television networks in Australia, which broadcast from the summit of Mount Coot-tha. The three commercial stations are Seven Network Seven, Nine Network Nine, and Network Ten Ten while the two government stations are the Australian Broadcasting Corporation ABC and Special Broadcasting Service SBS. Briz 31, a community station, also broadcasts in Brisbane. The major networks operate digital television in the Brisbane area. Brisbane is serviced by several major radio stations: The Australian Broadcasting Corporation ABC transmits all five of its radio networks to Brisbane: *612 ABC Brisbane, part of the ABC Local Radio network. *ABC Classic FM *ABC NewsRadio *Radio National *Triple J The other major Radio Stations to be broadcast in Brisbane are: *4BC *4BH *4KQ *River 94.9 *Family Radio 96.5 FM *97.3 FM *B105 105.3 FM *Nova 106.9 FM *Triple M 104.5 In addition to the government and commercial stations above, Brisbane has the following community stations: 4ZZZ, BayFM 100.3, multicultural 4EB and the radio station for the print handicapped 4RPH, 98.9 FM for the Best Country (it was the first indigenous radio station in a capital city), 101FM (Logan), 4OUR (Caboolture), 997FM (Redcliffe), Switch 1197 AM, 96.5 FM Family, 4MBS Classic FM 103.7 and 4TAB (betting). Special Broadcasting Service SBS also broadcasts its national radio network to Brisbane. WorldAudio National Radio 2 transmits on 1620AM (City) and 1629AM (North). Radio Brisvaani provides a voice to the Indian community with Hindi language service on 1701AM.

Infrastructure

Public transport
{{main articles|Brisbane Transport, CityTrain, CityCat and TransLink (Brisbane) services}} Image:BrisbaneBus.jpg Brisbane City Council.html" title="Meaning of thumb thumb|right|280px|A natural gas powered [[Brisbane City Council bus.html" title="Meaning of right|280px|A natural gas powered [[Brisbane City Council">thumb|right|280px|A natural gas powered [[Brisbane City Council bus">right|280px|A natural gas powered [[Brisbane City Council">thumb|right|280px|A natural gas powered [[Brisbane City Council bus Image:Brisbane_Central_platform.jpg Queensland_Rail thumb|right|280px|[[Queensland Rail|QR CityTrain, Central railway station, Brisbane Central Railway Station.html" title="Meaning of QR.html" title="Meaning of thumb|right|280px|[[Queensland Rail|QR">thumb|right|280px|[[Queensland Rail|QR CityTrain, Central railway station, Brisbane Central Railway Station">QR.html" title="Meaning of thumb|right|280px|[[Queensland Rail|QR">thumb|right|280px|[[Queensland Rail|QR CityTrain, Central railway station, Brisbane Central Railway Station Image:NewCityCat.JPG CityCat.html"_title="Meaning of thumb thumb|right|280px|[[CityCat_catamaran ferry.html" title="Meaning of right|280px|[[CityCat">thumb|right|280px|[[CityCat catamaran ferry">right|280px|[[CityCat">thumb|right|280px|[[CityCat catamaran ferry Brisbane has a relatively comprehensive public transport system by Australian standards, with regular services in the inner city and with improving service levels in outer suburb destinations. The services have become increasingly popular due to rising Gas fuel costs. The system consists of a suburban rail network, bus services and ferries. The rail services are operated by CityTrain, a division of Queensland Rail, while the bus system, and the high speed CityCat as well as the Cityferry, Brisbane Cityferry are operated by Brisbane Transport, a business arm of the Brisbane City Council. Buses that serve the regional areas outside the City of Brisbane boundaries are operated by private sector companies contracted by the State Government. The Central business district CBD, like most cities, serves as the central hub for all public transport services; with Queen Street Bus Station, Brisbane Queen Street Bus Station for Buses, Roma Street railway station, Brisbane Roma Street and Central railway station, Brisbane Central stations for trains, and North Quay for Ferries. Various smaller transfer transportation hub hubs, such as the Cultural Centre Busway Station, Brisbane Cultural Centre Busway Station are located at various strategically placed points of public importance and public interest in the city, including the Queensland Cultural Centre, South Bank Parklands, Brisbane South Bank Parklands and shopping malls which are usually within dense population centres. The large CityTrain urban rail network consists of 7 suburban lines and covers mostly the west, north and east sides of the city. It also provides the route for an AirTrain (Brisbane) AirTrain service between the City and Brisbane Airport (the AirTrain, itself, is owned by a company). While CityTrain services also cover Inter-city rail interurban services to both coasts, the southern part of the rail network does not enter through any major suburbs or districts. This is mainly due to the placing of major freeways such as the South-East Freeway and the M1 motorway, as well as lack of early planning on southern Brisbane growth. To this day, the easiest way to reach most of the Southern area via public transport is via bus. To deliver workable public transport to areas outside of the metropolitan train lines, the Busways were established to deliver unrestricted bus travel throughout the southern (and to a lesser note the northern) corridors of the city by providing roads where only buses are permitted. Two busways have opened in recent years in Brisbane — the South-East Busway, Brisbane South-East Busway and the Inner-Northern Busway, Brisbane Inner-Northern Busway, with two more busways and new rail lines planned. Public transport has been the only infrastructure that Brisbane has typically always improved and maintained, especially as it struggles to keep up with rapid population growth. An integrated ticketing system for public transport services has recently been established under the name Translink (Brisbane) TransLink. TransLink is a State Government agency responsible for ticketing and the co-ordination of public transport services in the South-East Queensland region. Under the TransLink system, passengers pay common fares on all modes of public transport. TransLink tickets are accepted on both government- and privately-owned buses, trains and ferries. In 2006, Translink (Brisbane) Translink will also be introducing a smartcard-based ticketing system, which is currently being trialled in Redcliffe, Queensland Redcliffe, a city located 30 minutes to the north of Brisbane. In December, 2005, a 6 month probational period began on all night public transport services on Friday and Saturday nights, under the name of TransLink (Brisbane) services#NightLink Trial NightLink. For further information about this service, and also about the Free Loop bus service for the Central Business District CBD, see the TransLink (Brisbane) services page. Two major cab companies operate in Brisbane; Yellow Cabs (whose vehicles are painted orange), and Black and White Cabs. Both companies offer same rate service, as well as pickup from anywhere in the metropolitan and regional areas of Brisbane via bookings or permanent cab ranks. As well as standard taxis, both provide Maxi-Taxis, designed to fit up to 10 people as well as disability access. Most cabs now are also fitted with Satellite Navigation and EFTPOS debit/credit card facilities. Brisbane's massive population growth has seen great strains placed upon 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.

Roads
Since Brisbane was never designed to accommodate a large urban population, its road system was planned specifically around large and spacious suburban areas. Densely packed suburbs now rely on several main road corridors that split through and between these areas and provide the only link to the CBD and other areas of Brisbane. Logan Road, Moggill Road, Old Cleveland Road and Gympie Road are but a few of these multi-lane corridors that come out of the CBD and snake through the suburbs. As a result, traffic congestion has become a major problem and it was the promise of a new underground road system, nicknamed TransApex, that helped current Lord Mayor of Brisbane Lord Mayor Campbell Newman to win the 2004 local government election. Image:MoggillRd.jpg thumb|left|280px|Moggill Rd, Taringa. Bypasses such as the very successful Inner City Bypass and the future Airport Link and North South Bypass Tunnel (NSBT) will help to circulate traffic away from the city areas and main roads via limited-access roads above the ground that have higher speed limits and exits to particular suburbs. Existing high speed cross-suburban motorways such as the Western Freeway (Brisbane) Western Freeway/Centenary Highway provide alternative routes to main roads and connect up to main highways and other arterial roads. In total, the twisting Brisbane River is crossed by seven road bridges, three railway bridges and two pedestrian bridges. Route signage is achieved by means of a system of Metroads, consisting of the most important arterial roads in metropolitan Brisbane including most motorways, and less important State Routes. Multiple freeways connect Brisbane to other cities, including the Pacific Motorway Pacific Motorway, the Bruce Highway and the Ipswich Motorway, all of which are part of the National Highway (Australia) National Highway System. Brisbane is approximately 1000kms away from Sydney, the closest major capital city.

Airports
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at Brisbane Airport Brisbane Airport, owned by the Brisbane Airport Corporation and located north-east of the city, is the biggest airport in Australia in terms of land size. Brisbane Airport is the third busiest in the country, although predictions have been made that it will overtake Melbourne as the second busiest in Australia within the next three years. Separated into domestic and international terminals, Brisbane Airport has frequent passenger and freight flights, providing direct flights to every capital city in Australia as well as most destinations in Asia, Oceania, and the Middle East. The second largest airline in Australia, Virgin Blue Airlines, is headquartered in Brisbane, while other major airlines Qantas and Jetstar both fly from Brisbane Airport. The AirTrain (Brisbane) AirTrain provides a link between the Domestic and International Terminals at Brisbane Airport and the city, taking approximately 20 minutes to travel from Central railway station, Brisbane Central Station to the Brisbane Airport stations. A $58 million dollar Direct Factory Outlet (DFO) shopping mall has opened at Brisbane Airport providing discount shopping within a kilometre of the terminals. The location of the shopping mall, on the only road leading to Brisbane Airport, has been a source of irritation to both airline passengers and discount shoppers alike, with complaints that the resultant heavy traffic, being shared between the two, is causing major traffic delays. According to a letter in the "Courier-Mail" newspaper, this has been especially detrimental for at least one airline passenger, because the traffic delay caused the passenger to be late "checking in" and this consequently caused the passenger to miss the flight that the passenger was booked on. Archerfield Airport is located in Brisbane's southern suburbs and used only by light aircraft and general aviation. Other local airports can be found at Caboolture, Queensland Caboolture and Redcliffe, Queensland Redcliffe.

Seaports
The Port of Brisbane is located 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 {{ref|port}}. 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. Historically, Brisbane's port facilities were located as far upstream as the central business district. The economic region near the river mouth including the port, airport and refineries is known as the Australia TradeCoast. It is anticipated that 8% or more of Brisbane's jobs will be located here in coming years.

References
{{commons|Category:Brisbane}} #{{note|density}}[http://www.abs.gov.au/Ausstats/abs@.nsf/0/83DDE980E589FB5FCA256889000F8EBD?Open Population Growth] ''Australian Bureau of Statistics'' Accessed October 14, 2005. #{{note|climate}}[http://www.bom.gov.au/climate/averages/tables/cw_040214.shtml ABM] ''Australian Bureau of Meteorology.'' Accessed October 14, 2005. #{{note|demographics}} [http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@census.nsf/4079a1bbd2a04b80ca256b9d00208f92/6714103d8b354507ca256bbf0000dbf9!OpenDocument Demographic Statistics] ''Australian Bureau of Statistics'' #{{note|port}}[http://www.btre.gov.au/statistics/maritime/aust_sea_freight.aspx Australian Sea Freight] ''Australian Department of Transport and Regional Services'' #{{note|storybridgeadventures}} [http://www.storybridgeadventures.com.au Story Bridge Adventure Climb]

Sister cities
*Kobe, Japan (July 1985) *Auckland, New Zealand (August 1988) *Shenzhen, People's Republic of China (June 1992) *Semarang, Indonesia (January 1993) *Kaohsiung, Taiwan (September 1997) *Daejeon, South Korea (17 June 2002) *Chongqing, China (2005) *Nice, France (no longer active due to French South Pacific Nuclear Testing) Brisbane does not have any sister city relationships with any North American, South American or African cities. Check [http://www.brisbane.qld.gov.au/BCC:STANDARD:928382335:pc=PC_71 Brisbane BBC Standard] for an official listing of Brisbane's sister cities.

Trivia
Brisbane is sometimes called by shorter versions of the name - "Brissie", "Brissy" and "Brizzie", as well as "Bris Vegas" and "Brisneyland".

External links

- Brisbane official website
- ourbrisbane.com — Brisbane website.
- Brisbane city information
- Brisbane city centre on Google Maps
- World-Guides.com Brisbane city information
- Historical Brisbane River Map
- Lonely Planet city guide
- BrisBites — history of Brisbane and its suburbs
- Brisbane and the Brisbane region
- City of Brisbane information
- Terra Galleria — Brisbane picture gallery
- Brisbane Weather
- History of the Turrbal people
- Skyneedle Information
- Brisbane City streets map
- Image of the proposed Brisbane Tennyson Tennis Complex
- North South Bypass Tunnel
- Proposed Airport Link
- Image of Brisbane {{AustralianCapitalCities}} {{CoorHeader|27|28|17|S|153|01|18|E|type:city}} Category:Brisbane * Category:Australian capital cities Category:Coastal cities Category:Host cities of the Commonwealth Games af:Brisbane bg:Ð‘Ñ€Ð¸Ð·Ð±ÐµÐ¹Ð½ ca:Brisbane da:Brisbane de:Brisbane es:Brisbane eo:Brisbano fa:Ø¨Ø±ÛŒØ²Ø¨ÛŒÙ† fr:Brisbane gd:Brisbane gl:Brisbane ko:ë¸Œë¦¬ì¦ˆë²ˆ id:Brisbane is:Brisbane it:Brisbane he:×‘×¨×™×–×‘×™×™×Ÿ nl:Brisbane ja:ãƒ–ãƒªã‚¹ãƒ™ãƒ³ no:Brisbane nn:Brisbane pl:Brisbane pt:Brisbane ro:Brisbane simple:Brisbane fi:Brisbane sv:Brisbane zh:å¸ƒé‡Œæ–¯ç? '''Brisbane''' is the capital city of the state of Queensland, Australia. Brisbane is situated near the coast in the southeast corner of Queensland. {{catmore}} Category:Australian capital cities Category:Cities in Queensland see Portal:Australia

*** Shopping-Tip: Brisbane