Travel expert
Read about the city
Brisbane and Gold Coast are Australia's favorite resort cities. Here, there is almost a guarantee of good weather, bathing and all the entertainment you can imagine, for which not least the Gold Coast is so famous.
However, Brisbane has much more than the beaches to offer. There are several art museums, and if you want to go back to the early development of the area, there are preserved buildings from the 19th century. If you suddenly want to go to the beach, it can also be fulfilled in the very center of the city where the inviting South Bank Parklands are located.
Australia's magnificent scenery is never far from anywhere in the big country, nor from Brisbane. From here many will probably choose a boat trip on Moreton Bay, where the area's first penal colony was located.
Other attractions
- Land Administration Building: This is one of Brisbane's large buildings from around the year 1900. The house was built 1899-1905 to house various public bodies in Queensland including the Prime Minister of the State. One could also visit the Queensland National Art Gallery here.
- The Old Government House: Old Government House was built 1860-1862 as the residence of Sir Bowen and family. Bowen was Queensland's first governor. The house was replaced by a new and more modern governor's residence in 1910, and then it was converted into an administration building for the University of Queensland.
- Story Bridge: This beautiful bridge was opened in 1940 spanning the Brisbane River as Australia's longest cantilever bridge. It has a length of 777 meters/2,550 feet and connects suburbs to the north and south of the city. The bridge is named after the John Douglas Story.
- Government House: This is the official residence of the Governor of Queensland, representing the Australian Monarch. The house was built as a residence for Johann Heussler in 1865, and it has housed governors since 1910. On special occasions, the beautiful house is open to the public.
- Newstead House: This is Brisbane's oldest surviving residential house. It was built in 1846 as the residence of Patrick and Catherine Leslie. Today, there is a museum on site, and events such as concerts in the house's garden are also arranged.
- South Brisbane Town Hall: This is the old town hall of South Brisbane that was established as an independent town in 1888. The town hall was opened in 1892 and it was a town hall until 1925 when South Brisbane became part of Brisbane. Today, the old town hall is used for education purposes.
- Central Railway Station: Central Railway Station is Brisbane's interesting main railway station. The first station opened in 1889, and since then both the railway station and the city's railway network have been significantly expanded.
- Brisbane Arcade: This is a beautiful shopping arcade built 1923-1924. The arcade connects the streets of Adelaide Street and Queen Street, and there are fine shops facing both streets and on two floors in the arcade itself.
- ANZAC Square: ANZAC Square is named after the Australian and New Zealand troops who fought in 1916 as a combined force with the Turks at the Battle of Gallipoli. The letters represent the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps, and in the square you can see an ANZAC memorial, the Shrine of Remembrance, with an eternal flame. In continuation of ANZAC Square you can see the park Post Office Square with the city's fine post office from 1872.
- St. Andrew Uniting Church: This church was completed in 1905 as a parish church for the neighborhood's Presbyterian congregation, and it is one of Australia's best examples of a Romanesque-Byzantine-inspired church building.
- Cathedral of St. Stephen: This is Brisbane's Catholic Cathedral and thus the seat of the city's archbishop. The foundation stone was laid for the cathedral in 1863, but it took several decades with a step-by-step expansion before the church was completed. Today, the church is beautifully locaed between modern high-rise buildings.
- Queen Street Mall: Queen Street Mall is Brisbane's premier business district. A stroll here, with its variety of shops and restaurants gives a good impression of the city's modern buildings and the daily life in Brisbane.
- All Saints Anglican Church: This 1869 church is one of Brisbane's most evocative constructions. You find the small church building between the modern high-rise buildings, and it has a simple and beautiful interior.
- Queensland Cultural Center: In the South Bank district, there are several exciting cultural institutions to visit. The most important are the art museums Queensland Art Gallery and Queensland Gallery of Modern Art, the State Library of Queensland and the Queensland Museum.
- City Botanic Gardens: Along the winding course of the Brisbane River in the city's modern business district, this botanical garden is like a true oasis. It was landscaped in 1865 and there are many ancient plants besides a wealth of flowers.
History overview
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The city of Brisbane is named after Sir Thomas Brisbane who was governor of New South Wales 1821-1825. When the European settlement was established in 1824, it was a prisoners' colony at the governor's decision. The original location was 28 kilometers/17 miles north of the current town center, at what is today Redcliffe, but as early as 1825 Brisbane was moved to a place where the business district is now, due to more stable water supply.
The following decades, the settlement was a prisoners' colony without a planned urban development, but in 1842 free settlement was opened in Brisbane. Development started, residence houses were built, and population increased from 829 in 1846 to 6,000 in 1859. That same year, Brisbane was chosen as the capital of the state of Queensland.
In the latter half of the 19th century, most things from the penal colony's status were erased with the construction of many large and stately buildings symbolizing Brisbane's and Queensland's strengthened economy and political status. When Australia was formed in 1901, Queensland was the fastest growing nation in population and development, and Brisbane was the locomotive for growth.
The 1930s poverty and depression, which hit Brisbane like many other, led to city stagnation, and there were many shelter neighborhoods where the poorest had to live.
During World War II, the city grew and the population reached 750,000. The growth was not least due to the thousands of American soldiers stationed in the city in connection with the establishment of one of General Douglas MacArthur's military headquarters in Brisbane.
After World War II, the economy boomed in Brisbane, where new businesses and suburbs arose with great speed. In the 1980s, the city was almost redefined through hosting both the Commonwealth Games (1982) and the World Exhibition (1988), which led to a great deal of construction activity, modernization of infrastructure, among other things, and the establishment of a number of new cultural institutions.
The large holiday resort of the Gold Coast is located south of Brisbane, and the tourism industry has contributed to the positive development of the city in recent decades. Today, around 1.8 million people live in Brisbane's urban area, making it Australia's third largest city. The Gold Coast is characterized by modern hotels, apartments and lots of entertainment.
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