Brisbane

Geography Brisbane is situated in the southeast corner of Queensland at Latitude: 27° 28' S, Longitude: 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.

Weather Subtropical climate with warm, mild winters and hot, bright summers .

Demographics The City of Brisbane has a population of 1,627,535 (census 2001).

Economy

Government

History The city is named after Sir Thomas Brisbane[?] (1773-1860), British soldier and colonial administrator born in Ayrshire, Scotland. In 1823, the explorer John Oxley[?] discovered the Brisbane River and in 1824, the first convict colony was established at Redcliffe Point[?]. Only one year later, the colony was moved from Redcliffe[?] further upstream to North Quay[?], which is now part of Brisbane's CBD. In 1842, the area was opened for free settlement, while the convict colony was closed. When Queensland separated from New South Wales in 1859 and became a colony by itself, Brisbane was declared the state capital, but it was not until 1902 that Brisbane was officially declared a city. In 1924, the City of Brisbane Act was passed , which gave Brisbane a local government, which took up its work in 1925. During World War II, US troops were stationed in the city, and it became the headquarters for General Douglas MacArthur, the Allied Commander of the South-West Pacific region.

Events

• 1982 Commonwealth Games.
• 1988 Expo 88[?].
• 1991 International Convention of Lions Clubs International.
• 2000 Goodwill Games[?]
• 2003 International Convention of Rotary International[?].

Tourism Sights to see in the city's centre include Southbank Parklands[?] (the site of Expo 88[?]) and the recently developed Roma Street Parklands[?]. The [CityCat] ferry service runs along the Brisbane River from the University of Queensland St Lucia campus to New Farm Park, and is an easy way to get from one side of town to the other. The outer suburbs of Brisbane are also home to:

• Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary[?], which displays many native Australian animals, and will offer you the chance to have your photo taken with a Koala (Suburb: Fig Tree Pocket).
• XXXX brewery, one of Australia's most famous beers (Suburb: Milton).
• The Botanical Gardens near the Queensland University of Technology on Gardens Point.

Entertainment Brisbane has a thriving performing arts culture, housed in theatres such as 'La Boite' in Milton, the Optus Playhouse[?] at Southbank[?], the Powerhouse theatre[?] in New Farm Park and the recently opened 'Judith Wright Complex', also in New Farm.

Brisbane CBD (central business district), in particular the fashionable Queen Street Mall, has a wide range of restaurants, and shops selling clothes, music and souvenirs.

Sport

• Rugby League - Brisbane Broncos
• Australian Rules Football - Brisbane Lions
• Soccer - Brisbane Strikers[?]

Colleges and universities A number of tertiary education institutions have campuses in Brisbane, or in the surrounding areas:

• Griffith University[?]
• Queensland University of Technology
• University of Queensland

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)

Suburbs

External links

• http://www.brisbane.qld.gov.au
• http://www.ourbrisbane.com
• http://www.cityofbrisbane.info

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