Brisbane << BRIHZ bayn or BRIHZ buhn >> (pop. 2,287,896; met. area pop. 2,526,238) is the capital of Queensland, a state of Australia. It lies in the southeastern corner of Queensland, near the northern border of New South Wales. Brisbane is the largest city in Queensland and one of the largest cities in Australia. It is a busy river port and a prosperous center of manufacturing and trade. Brisbane has a pleasant, subtropical climate with no extremes of temperature. July is the coolest month, and January is the warmest. The city and the river that runs through it were named for Sir Thomas Brisbane, the governor of New South Wales when Brisbane was established.
The greater Brisbane area.
The City of Brisbane consists of the Central Business District (CBD), about 190 mainland suburbs, and several islands and localities in Moreton Bay. It covers about 518 square miles (1,343 square kilometers) and is home to about 1,243,000 people. For statistical purposes, The City of Brisbane and additional outlying areas make up the Brisbane Greater Capital City Statistical Area (GCCSA), commonly called Greater Brisbane. The Brisbane GCCSA covers about 6,117 square miles (15,842 square kilometers). Among the local government areas that it includes are the cities of Brisbane, Ipswich, Logan, and Redland, as well as the Morton Bay Region. In addition to urbanized areas, Greater Brisbane includes small or rural communities whose residents regularly work, shop, or pursue recreation within the capital.
Brisbane’s city center is built on a series of low hills on the banks of the Brisbane River. The river winds through the heart of the city and flows eastward into Moreton Bay. Brisbane’s Central Business District (CBD), often called the City, occupies most of a peninsula made by a large bend of the Brisbane River. This area has modern multistory office buildings occupied by private businesses and government departments. During the 1990’s, this area became the focus of Brisbane’s new “cafe society,” with cafes and restaurants spilling out onto the pavement to make the most of Brisbane’s agreeable climate. The city’s main shopping area is the Queen Street Mall. Northeast of the CBD is Fortitude Valley. It is an important cultural and commercial trading area. Features of the area include the Chinatown development, built in the late 1980’s, and the Brunswick Street Mall.
Modern office buildings dominate Brisbane’s city center. Brisbane’s older residential suburbs feature wooden houses, built on stumps, with verandas and iron roofs. These elevated houses are known as Queenslanders. The raised construction made it easier to build the houses on hills and uneven land. It also helped keep out floodwaters, insects, and snakes. In Brisbane’s newer suburbs, which date from the 1960’s, houses typically are built of brick with concrete floors and iron or tile roofs.
Brisbane is noted for its urban sprawl—that is, the spread of suburban development over a large area. The Queensland government has identified urban sprawl as a major economic, environmental, and social problem. Since the 1990’s, it has worked with local government to control growth.
Brisbane has several buildings of historical interest. The Windmill on Wickham Terrace is one of Brisbane’s earliest structures. Built in 1827, its purpose was to grind grain. In 1828 or 1829, a treadmill was added to power the mill when the winds were calm or the windmill was being repaired. Convicts operated the treadmill as a form of punishment. Newstead, Ormiston, and Wolston houses are elegant colonial homes that have been preserved. King George Square, in the center of Brisbane, features the grand City Hall. Completed in 1930, City Hall took 10 years to build. A cluster of attractive modern buildings on the river’s southern bank houses the Queensland Cultural Centre, which includes a performing arts center, a museum, an art gallery, and the State Library of Queensland.
People.
About 70 percent of Brisbane’s residents were born in Australia. Of those born outside of Australia, the two main countries of birth are New Zealand and the United Kingdom. About 3 percent of Brisbane’s residents are Indigenous Australians (Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people). English is by far the language most commonly spoken. After English, Chinese and Vietnamese are the most-spoken languages.
Education.
The state provides free primary and secondary education. In addition to the state schools, there is a wide choice of private schools, run by church and independent organizations.
Brisbane has three main universities—the University of Queensland, Griffith University, and the Queensland University of Technology. The oldest of these institutions, the University of Queensland, began holding classes in 1911. The Queensland Conservatorium, a major center for music studies, and the Queensland College of Art are part of Griffith University. The Australian Catholic University also has a campus in Brisbane. Other institutions of higher learning include several Technical and Further Education (TAFE) colleges, which provide adult and vocational education. Brisbane’s colleges and universities attract many overseas students.
The State Library of Queensland in the South Bank area of Brisbane is the main reference library in the city. It houses the John Oxley Library, a collection of materials on the history of Australia, and especially of Queensland.
Cultural life.
Brisbane is home to The Queensland Orchestra, Queensland Theatre Company, Opera Queensland, and Queensland Ballet. Theaters include the Brisbane Arts Theatre and the Queensland Performing Arts Centre. The Brisbane Entertainment Centre hosts large rock concerts, sporting events, and conferences. The Queensland Conservatorium presents musical concerts as well.
The Queensland Museum is Brisbane’s main museum. Its main campus, in the Cultural Arts Centre complex in South Bank, contains exhibits on natural history and cultural heritage. Brisbane’s modern Sciencentre is attached to the museum. The Queensland Art Gallery and the Queensland Gallery of Modern Art house major art collections.
Brisbane hosts several festivals, including the Queensland Music Festival and the annual Brisbane International Film Festival.
Recreation.
There are hundreds of parks in and around Brisbane. The most notable are the City Botanic Gardens, in the center of the city on the northern bank of the river, and the South Bank Parklands, developed at the site of the 1988 World Expo. The City Botanic Gardens were established in 1855. They feature palm and fig trees, a mangrove walk, a bamboo grove, and many native Australian trees and plants. The South Bank Parklands, along the banks of the river, feature a Nepalese temple, a cinema complex, and an artificial beach and swimming lagoon.
In 1976, the Brisbane Botanic Gardens were established about 4 miles (7 kilometers) from the city center. At the base of Mount Coot-tha, they include collections of bonsai, cacti, ferns, and native Australian plants from various climate regions. The Brisbane Cricket Ground is in the suburb of Woolloongabba. National Rugby League football teams play at the Suncorp Stadium. Eagle Farm Racecourse, in the suburb of Ascot, is a facility for horse racing.
Moreton Island, called Moorgumpin by Aboriginal people of the area, is a sand island off Queensland’s eastern coast. Moreton Island National Park covers over 95 percent of the island, which is part of the city of Brisbane. Moreton is popular for its sandy beaches, freshwater lagoons, and high sand dunes.
Economy.
Brisbane is a processing center for the raw materials produced in southeast Queensland. It is also Queensland’s major trading hub.
Business, financial, property, and sales services are important to the economy of Brisbane. Many people also work in the fields of education, health, and government services. The city has a substantial information technology industry and a strong commercial and residential construction industry. Houses now cover large areas that were once rich farmland.
Tourism is one of Brisbane’s major service industries. The city’s dry, warm winters attract many visitors. Other area attractions include the Sunshine Coast, north of Brisbane, and the Gold Coast, south of Brisbane. Both areas have many resorts and fine beaches suitable for swimming and surfing.
Brisbane has local bus and ferry services and a suburban railway system. A commuter catamaran (two-hulled boat) service called CityCat is popular with both residents and tourists. Long-distance railway and bus services connect Brisbane with other parts of Queensland and Australia.
Brisbane International Airport is about 8 miles (13 kilometers) northeast of the city’s central business district. Archerfield Airport is about 6 miles (10.5 kilometers) southwest of the CBD. In general, it handles smaller aircraft than does Brisbane International Airport. The Port of Brisbane is one of Australia’s busiest ports. It handles millions of tons of cargo each year. Brisbane has two major newspapers—the daily Courier Mail and the Sunday Mail.
Government.
The Brisbane City Council, made up of a lord mayor and 26 councillors, governs the City of Brisbane. The city is divided into 26 wards (electoral districts). Each ward consists of a number of suburbs. Voters in each ward elect a city councillor to represent their interests. Voters from all 26 wards elect the lord mayor. Greater Brisbane includes additional local government areas, each with its own elected mayor and council.
History.
Two Aboriginal clans—the Jagera and the Turrbal—inhabited what is now Brisbane City at the time of European colonization. The Turrbal name for the Brisbane area is Meeanjin (also spelled Meanjin). In 1821, Sir Thomas Brisbane became the British governor of New South Wales, the name then used to describe eastern Australia. In 1823, he sent Surveyor General John Oxley to explore several locations, including Moreton Bay. Oxley was looking for a place to establish a penal (prison) settlement for hardened criminals. On Oxley’s recommendation, Governor Brisbane sent a group of soldiers and convicts to establish a penal colony at Redcliffe, north of present-day Brisbane, in 1824. The settlement was moved to the site of Brisbane in 1825.
From 1826 to 1830, Captain Patrick Logan, the commandant of the penal settlement, and Allan Cunningham, a botanist, led expeditions to explore the surrounding countryside. Logan discovered limestone at Limestone Hills (present-day Ipswich, southwest of Brisbane) and established a convict settlement there to process it.
In 1839, Brisbane ceased to serve as a penal colony. The British government officially opened the area to free settlers in 1842. During the 1840’s and 1850’s, Brisbane grew slowly. The city’s population reached about 5,000 by 1859. That year, part of New South Wales became the self-governing colony of Queensland, and Brisbane was chosen as its capital.
In 1874, the first permanent bridge across the Brisbane River opened. This structure, the Victoria Bridge, aided commerce between the northern and southern river banks. A railway between Brisbane and Ipswich was completed in 1875. By 1881, the total population of the Brisbane area was about 47,000. Ten years later, it was more than 100,000. In 1893, Brisbane experienced a disastrous flood that carried away part of Victoria Bridge. The bridge reopened in 1897. That same year, an electric tram system began operation.
In the late 1890’s, the government of Queensland created special missions and reserves for Aboriginal peoples. Most of Brisbane’s Aboriginal inhabitants were forced to move to these areas, where white “protectors” imposed controls over their lives.
During the early 1900’s, Brisbane continued to develop as a center of trade and industry. The University of Queensland, the first university in the state, was founded in 1910, and the first classes were held in 1911 in Brisbane. In 1924, the City of Brisbane Act expanded the city boundaries to cover about 376 square miles (975 square kilometers). During the Great Depression of the 1930’s, construction of the Story Bridge, Brisbane’s most spectacular river bridge, employed hundreds of people. The bridge was completed in 1940.
From 1942 to 1944, Brisbane served as the headquarters for the Allies’ southwest Pacific campaign against the Japanese during World War II (1939-1945). Increased industry, immigration, and suburban growth marked the years following the war.
In 1965, the Queensland government began to lift restrictions that it had imposed on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as part of its policy of protection. For example, Aboriginal people were no longer forced to live on missions and reserves. Since the 1970’s, many people with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander ancestry have moved to Brisbane.
In January 1974, another major flood occurred. To help control flooding, construction of the Wivenhoe Dam upstream from the city on the Brisbane River began in 1976 and was completed in 1985. The dam also created a lake that provides a water supply for parts of southeastern Queensland and a place of recreation. However, very heavy rains in late 2010 and early 2011 again led to flooding in the region.
Brisbane hosted the 1982 Commonwealth Games, a multisport event held every four years. Six years later, the city hosted the World Expo 1988 world’s fair. Also during the 1980’s, Brisbane’s transport system underwent major improvements. The suburban railways service became electrified. In 1986, the Gateway Bridge opened.
The major international events held in Brisbane contributed to the urban growth and development that continued through the 1990’s and early 2000’s. The population passed 2 million by the time of the 2016 census. In 2021, the International Olympic Committee selected Brisbane as the host city for the 2032 Summer Olympic and Paralympic Games.
