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Brisbane (pronounced /'b??z.b?n/)
is the capital and most populous city
of the Australian state of Queensland,
and is the third largest city in Australia,
with a population of just under 2 million.
It is a city set close to the Pacific
Ocean, and is situated beside the Brisbane
River on plains between Moreton Bay
and the Great Dividing Range in south-eastern
Queensland.
Named in honour
of Sir Thomas Brisbane, the city grew
from a harsh penal colony established
in 1824 at Redcliffe, 40 km to the north.
The colony was moved to Brisbane in
1825 and free settlers were permitted
from 1842. It was chosen as the capital
of Queensland when it was proclaimed
a separate colony in 1859. The city
developed slowly until after World War
II, when it played a central role in
the Allied campaign as the South West
Pacific headquarters for General Douglas
MacArthur. Brisbane staged a successful
Commonwealth Games in 1982 and World's
Fair in 1988. In the new millennium,
it is Australia's fastest growing city
and the second fastest in the developed
world.
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, some 20 km upstream
from what is now Brisbane central business
district.
The AMP Building (now the MacArthur
Central building), was the Allied Pacific
Headquarters of General Douglas MacArthur
during World War II (photo taken in
1938)In 1824, the colonial administration
of New South Wales established a penal
settlement at what is now Redcliffe,
on the shores of Moreton Bay. However,
the Redcliffe settlement was abandoned
after only one year and the colony was
moved south to a peninsula on the Brisbane
River (today the Brisbane CBD), which
offered a more reliable water supply.
Non-convict European settlement of the
Brisbane region commenced in 1838.
Queensland
was proclaimed a separate colony in
June 1859 and Brisbane, which was named
in honour of Sir Thomas Brisbane (who
was, at that time, Governor of New South
Wales), was chosen as its capital. However,
Brisbane was not incorporated as a city
until 1902. Over twenty small municipalities
and shires were amalgamated, in 1925,
to form the City of Greater Brisbane,
now known simply as the City of Brisbane.
Historic buildings include
The Windmill, which is Brisbane's oldest
building. Built by convicts, the Windmill
was originally intended for the grinding
of grain. Another historic building
is the Shrine of Remembrance, which
was dedicated on 11 November 1930. The
Shrine of Remembrance is Brisbane's
main memorial of remembrance to Australia's
war dead.
During World War II, Brisbane
played a central role in the Allied
campaign when the AMP Building (now
called MacArthur Central) was used as
the South West Pacific headquarters
for General Douglas MacArthur, the chief
of the Allied Pacific forces. Approximately
1,000,000 US troops passed through Australia
during the war, as the primary coordination
point for the South West Pacific.[2]
Brisbane staged a successful
Commonwealth Games during 1982, and
the successful Expo '88 World's Fair
in 1988. These events in the 1980s were
accompanied by a scale of public expenditure,
construction and development not previously
seen in the state of Queensland.
In the new millennium,
Brisbane is one of Australia's fastest
growing and most multicultural centres,
receiving large numbers of migrants
both internationally and from other
Australian states and territories.
Brisbane city centre is
situated in the southeast corner of
Queensland, Australia, at a latitude
and longitude of 27°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 Great Dividing Range, although
the urban area is dotted by large hills
reaching up to 300 metres such as Mount
Coot-tha, Mount Gravatt, Whites Hill
and 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. 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".
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, Bulimba, Rocklea, Coorparoo
and New Farm. The City Botanic gardens
were also inundated, leading to a new
colony of mangroves to form in the City
Reach of the Brisbane River.
Map of Brisbane CBDThe 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 and
Queen Street Mall (named in honour of
Queen Victoria) and perpendicular to
streets named after male members (Albert,
Edward, George, William).
Brisbane has a lower inner
city population density than Australia's
two largest cities, Sydney and Melbourne,
although constant population growth
occurring in Brisbane is closing the
gap between Brisbane and Melbourne.
The lower population density reflects
the fact that most of Brisbane's housing
stock consists of detached houses. Early
legislation decreed a minimum size for
residential blocks resulting in few
terrace houses being constructed in
Brisbane. Multi residence accommodations
(such as apartment blocks) are relative
newcomers to Brisbane, with few such
blocks built before 1970, other than
in inner suburbs such as New Farm. Pre-1950
housing stock was often built in a distinctive
architectural style known as a Queenslander,
featuring timber construction with large
verandahs and high ceilings. The relative
cheapness of timber in South-East Queensland
meant that until recently most residences
were constructed of timber, rather than
brick or stone. Many of these houses
are elevated on stumps (incorrectly
referred to as stilts), that were originally
timber, but are now frequently replaced
by steel or concrete.
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
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