Brisbane
From The UCSC Wikipedia Trust Project
Template:OtherusesTemplate:Infobox Australian PlaceBrisbane (pronounced Template:IPA) is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Queensland, as well as the third largest city in Australia, with a greater metropolitan population of just under two 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.
More recently, Brisbane hosted the 1982 Commonwealth Games and 1988 World's Fair, and also the Goodwill Games in 2001.
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History
built by convicts in 1828 — the heritage notice at the Windmill states that it is Queensland's oldest surviving building
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. To these people the area that would become Brisbane was known as Mian-jin, which means 'place shaped like a spike' [6].
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.
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 which is governed by the Brisbane City Council.
Historic buildings include The Windmill, which was built by convicts in 1828. According to the heritage notice at the Windmill, it is Queensland' oldest surviving building. 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.[7]
Brisbane staged both a successful Commonwealth Games during 1982, and World's Fair during 1988. These events 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 centres, receiving large numbers of migrants from other Australian states and territories. Despite strong economic growth, Queensland government statistics show unemployment rates of over 12% amongst migrants to Brisbane statistical division from interstate and overseas.[8]
Geography
with New Farm Park in the foreground.
Brisbane city centre is situated in the southeast corner of Queensland, Australia, at a latitude and longitude of Template:Coor dm. 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.
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 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. The high density housing that did exist came in the form of miniature Queenslander-style houses which resemble the much larger traditional styles but are sometimes only 1/4 the size. These miniature Queenslanders are becoming scarce but can still be seen in the inner city suburbs. 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.[9]
Climate
Brisbane has a typical subtropical climate with hot, humid summers and dry, mild winters. From late Spring through to early Autumn, thunderstorms are common over the greater Brisbane area, with the more severe events accompanied by large damaging hail stones, torrential rain and destructive winds.
The city's highest recorded temperature was 43.2 °C (109.8 °F) on the 26 January 1940, while the lowest temperature of 2.3 °C (36.1 °F) was recorded on 12 July 1894 and 2 July 1896.[10] Brisbane's wettest day was 21 January 1887, when 465 mm (18.3 in) of rain fell on the city, the highest maximum daily rainfall of any of Australia's capital cities. Presently Brisbane and surrounding areas temperates are experiencing the most severe drought in over 100 years, as supplying dam levels have dropped below one quarter capacity. As a result, residents are mandated by local laws to observe water restrictions on gardening and other outdoor water usage. [11]
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mean daily maximum temperature (°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 (°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 monthly rainfall (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 | |
| Source: Bureau of Meteorology | ||||||||||||||
Governance
Unlike other Australian capital cities, a large portion of the greater metropolitan area of Brisbane is controlled by a single local government entity, the Brisbane City Council. Since the creation of the Brisbane City Council in 1925 the urban areas of Brisbane have expanded considerably past the City Council boundaries.
The City of Brisbane is divided into 26 wards, with each ward electing a Councillor as their community representative. The 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 km². The Council's annual budget is approximately $1.6 billion, and it has an asset base of $13 billion.[12]
The Brisbane metropolitan area now covers parts of several adjoining local government areas including Beaudesert Shire, Caboolture Shire, Gold Coast City, Ipswich City, Logan City, Pine Rivers Shire, Redcliffe City and Redland Shire.
Economy
Brisbane's economy has white-collar and blue-collar industries. White-collar industries include 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. Blue-collar industries include petroleum refining, stevedoring, paper milling, metalworking and 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.
Since 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" initative. 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 of Health and Biomedical Innovation (IHBI).
Brisbane is also considered one of the major business hubs in Australia. Most major Australian and International companies have either a major or minor contact office in Brisbane. Many electronics companies also take advantage of the strategic port and airports by choosing to have distribution hubs in the city. LG, Panasonic, Samsung are just a few practical examples. DHL Global have their Oceanic distribution warehouse located in Brisbane, while Asia Pacific Aerospace their headquarters.
The Port of Brisbane is 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.[13] 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. The Port is a part of the Australia TradeCoast, the country's fastest-growing economic development area, is a marketing partnership between the Queensland Government, the city of Brisbane, Brisbane airport and its seaport, originally proposed by a UK marketer who had also developed the Amsterdam airport Area zone. Geographically, Australia TradeCoast occupies a huge swathe of land around the airport and port. Commercially, the area has attracted a mix of companies from throughout the Asia Pacific region.
Home grown major companies from Brisbane include Suncorp-Metway Limited, Flight Centre, SunSuper, Orrcon, Credit Union Australia, Donut King, Wotif.com, WebCentral, PIPE Networks, Mincom Ltd. and Virgin Blue are headquartered in Brisbane, while the city has regional presences of Alcan, Boeing, Red Hat.[14]
Brisbane has many shopping centres. The Queen Street Mall has restaurants, souvenirs and shopping centres, including: Wintergarden, Broadway on the Mall, Queens Plaza, Brisbane Arcade and The Myer Centre. The majority of consumer commerce is generally done within the suburbs of Brisbane, via massive shopping centre hubs which include major departments chains. There are 4 major shopping centres in Brisbane located in the suburbs of Chermside, Indooroopilly, Mt Gravatt and Carindale. Smaller, yet significant shopping centres are also littered around the other suburbs of 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
| Brisbane Population by year |
||
|---|---|---|
| 1825 | 47 | (convict settlement) |
| 1831 | 1,241 | |
| 1839 | 2,212 | |
| 1846 | 6,257 | (free settlement) |
| 1851 | 8,375 | |
| 1891 | 104,276 | (gold rush) |
| 1925 | 260 000 | |
| 1950 | 442,000 | |
| 1960 | 603,000 | |
| 1970 | 798,000 | (interstate migration) |
| 1980 | 1,067,000 | |
| 1990 | 1,303,000 | |
| 2000 | 1,591,000 | |
| 2004 | 1,810,943 | (2005 estimate) |
The population of Brisbane city is estimated at 971,757 (as of June 2005).[15] Greater Brisbane has an estimated urban population of 1.81 million. Brisbane City Council as Australia's largest (by area) predominantly urban Local Government Area, is the most populous LGA in Australia. Brisbane is claimed to have Australia's highest rate of capital city population growth. The urban population reportedly grew by 11.5% between 1999 and 2004 [2].
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.[16]
taken from the Sofitel Hotel)
Education
Brisbane has multi-campus universities and colleges including the University of Queensland (A member of the Group of Eight), 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 the Sunshine Coast and the University of Southern Queensland.
Brisbane also has TAFE colleges including the Bremer Institute of TAFE, Brisbane North Institute of TAFE, Metropolitan South Institute of TAFE and the Southbank Institute. Other independent tertiary education providers include the Australian College of Natural Medicine, the Brisbane College of Theology, QANTM, Brisbane College of Photography and Art as well as Jschool: Journalism Education & Training.
Brisbane is covered under the jurisdiction of Education Queensland regarding public primary and high schools. For information about schools in Brisbane, see the List of schools in Queensland article.
Culture
Arts and entertainment
Brisbane has a thriving live music scene, as well as museums and theatres, performing arts and creative arts within the city and suburbs. It is the birthplace of internationally acclaimed singers, music bands, authors, actors, artists, sculptors and fashion designers. Many of Brisbane's singers and musicians (both popular and classical) have performed overseas, and have received international awards and recognition. There are also popular entertainment pubs and clubs within both the City and Fortitude Valley— as well as theatres and museums which are located within the city, South Bank, the South Bank Parklands and Brisbane suburbs. For information about the rock and pop singers and musicians, and also about clubs and pubs, please see the Popular entertainment in Brisbane article. For information about opera singers, classical musicians, actors, artists and sculptors, and also about theatre venues, art galleries and museums, please see the Classical culture of Brisbane article.
Annual events
Major cultural events include the Ekka (the Royal Queensland Show) is held each year in August, at the Brisbane Exhibition Ground, Riverfestival (which includes Riverfire), is held each year in September at South Bank Parklands and surrounding areas; Warana, (meaning Blue Skies), was a former spring festival which began in 1961 and was held in September each year. Run as a celebration of Brisbane, Warana was similar in many ways to Melbourne's Moomba festival. Warana was changed, in 1996, to a biennial Brisbane Festival, as a lower key event with a focus on the performing arts. Also, the Paniyiri festival at Musgrave Park (corner of Russell and Edmonstone Streets, South Brisbane) an annual Greek cultural festival held on the first weekend in May. Also in Musgrave Park the Brisbane Mediaeval Fayre and Tournament is held each June.