Around the World in 106 Days with

Ray & Claire!!

Part 23 – Brisbane

Brisbane is the capital and

most populous city in the

Australian state of Queensland.

Known as the Sunshine State, Queensland has a wide range of terrain; from unusual tropical forest, broad expanses of dusty country, ragged peaks of the

Great Dividing Range to rolling hills and great beaches and, of course, the Great Barrier Reef

Queensland was proclaimed a separate colony on 6 June 1859, with Brisbane chosen as its capital, although it was not incorporated as an actual city until

1902. Over twenty small municipalities and shires were amalgamated in 1925, to form the City of Brisbane which is now governed by the Brisbane

City Council

Brisbane has always been seen as something of a poor cousin to Sydney and Melbourne: a sleepy country town hiding behind a big city façade. In recent years, however, Brisbane has become one of the most desirable places to

live in Australia and its population now stands at nearly 2 million

Prior to European settlement, the Brisbane area was inhabited by the Turrbal and Jagera people, whose ancestors migrated to the region from across the

Torres Strait and they knew the area as Mian-jin, meaning "place shaped as a spike”.

Brisbane was named after Sir Thomas Brisbane who

was Governor of New South Wales from 1821 to 1825

and it was he who ordered that a new northern penal

settlement be developed at Red Cliff Point, for difficult convicts from the Botany Bay colony in New South

Wales.

In 1824, the fist party of the hardest cases of

prisoners, convicted of further crimes since coming

to Australia, arrived here from Sydney.

The Moreton Bay area was initially explored by Navigator and cartographer Captain Matthew Flinders in 1823. After struggling with inadequate water

supplies and hostile Aboriginal groups, though, the colony was relocated to safer territory on the banks of the Brisbane River - which is now the centre of

the city - before the whole colony idea was abandoned in 1839. Moreton Bay was then thrown open to free settlers in 1842, an action that

marked the beginning of Brisbane’s rise to prominence and the beginning of the end for the region’s Aboriginal peoples

Australia has been subjected to the weather phenomenon “La

Nina” which caused heavy rainfall, flash flooding and an inland Tsunami that displaced

thousands of people across Queensland from their homes

and communities.

When the floods receded from Brisbane, all that was left was a mass of debris in Moreton Bay and along the Brisbane River, and a thick

layer of mud and sludge over the low lying suburbs

Over 60,000 people registered with the “Volunteer Queensland "clean up operation and thousands of Queenslanders are still trying to recover from the worst natural disaster to affect the greater community in over 30 yearsThe rebuild effort will cost the economy dearly and early estimates put the

bill into the billions of Australian dollars.

The former Treasury Buildings on Queen Street Mall were once regarded as the symbol of self-government and were a focal point for patriotic displays. Nowadays it houses a 24-hour casino

block

The Queen Street Mall features shopping centres, hotels, restaurant and coffee shops, cinemas, clothing, music, jewelry and book stores, news agencies and banks. It attracts around 26 million

visitors every year and prides itself on being the one stop shop for everything in Brisbane

It was opened in two stages, the first for the 1982 Commonwealth Games and the second for the World Expo in 1988

The General Post Office

..and the famous “Jimmy’s coffee shop

The Myer Centre is the largest, with around 200 stores spread across 6 floors including Queensland's largest department stores

Come on

Raymond – I have some

shopping to do!!

The square contains the Shrine of Remembrance and the Eternal flame of remembrance which is

held in a bronze urn with a perpetual flame.

Anzac square is named in honour of

the Australian and New Zealand

Army Corps, and those men

and women

who participate

d in the overseas armed

service.

I know that everything is supposed to be bigger in Australia –

but a football and a golf

ball this size is just

ridiculous!!

Nearby is the Central Railway Station which was built in 1901 in Victorian style

Close by is The Old Windmill which was built during colonial times by convicts in 1824 and

said to be the oldest surviving building in Queensland

Unfortunately a design flaw meant it never worked as an actual windmill and

so to grind the corn, convicts had to turn a treadmill!

St. Stephens Cathedral which is the oldest Catholic Church in Queensland

St John's Anglican Cathedral is the last great neo-gothic Cathedral to be

built in the southern hemisphere

Inside is said to look like 13th century French Cistercian monastery church with beautiful cream coloured stone, masses of tall pillars, a superb stone vaulted ceiling that goes from one end of

the building to the other and beautiful stained glass windows.

Parliament House - with its imposing sandstone building in the French Renaissance style - was created by Charles Tiffin who was the winner of a national architectural competition for the design of the building. He was

more than a bit frustrated to say the least, as it took over 24 years to build, between 1865 and 1891!

The Brisbane Museum and City Hall is the seat of Brisbane Council and is considered one of Brisbane’s

finest buildings

Its imposing clock tower rises to a height of 91

metres and is based on the design of St. Marks

Campanille in Venice

.

The Story Bridge

This cantilever bridge joins the central business district with Kangaroo Point. Tram tracks were removed in 1959 but

otherwise it stands unchanged, since it opened in July 1940

The Brisbane Cricket Ground (also known as The Gabba) is a major sports stadium in Brisbane..

Named after the suburb of Woolloongabba, where its located, it was established in 1895 and has a capacity for around 40,000 people.

The easiest way from the central business district to the Southbank Parklands area is via the Victoria Bridge – which is used by cars, pedestrians and

cyclists

The original bridge opened in 1865, but as it

was a timber construction, it

succumbed to marine wood worm and

collapsed 2 years later. A new crossing was built in 1874 of iron, and was a tolled crossing in order

to recoup some of the money used for its

construction, but it was partially washed away in

the floods of 1893.

Another replacement was built and opened in 1897 but by the

1940s it was beginning to buckle so numbers of vehicles using it

were restricted and the footpath was removed

Finally in 1969 it was demolished and a new one was built to meet all demands at a

cost of 3.2 million Australian dollars.

One of the Brisbane’s most vibrant areas, Southbank is located on the

western side of the river, on the transformed site of Brisbane's World 88 Expo, and was officially opened to the

public in June 1992.

The Parklands consist of a mixture of rainforest, water, grassed areas and plazas as well as features such as the riverfront promenade

NO – you cannot take any cuttings back with you!!

He might be good

at keeping

still, but.....

.......I have found a far

more interesting Market to

look around!!

Instead of the

Transit Bus, lets get back

to the Black

Watch via the City

Cat?

The City Cats are a number of catamarans which usually run all day every day and there are also Inner City ferries which zig zag up and down the

Brisbane River.

Now, this is much more fun isn't it?!

Hey Man – forget about flower-

power..... your Ship is waiting!

Yes, its almost time to Buckle up – but there are lots of things to

enjoy before your next Port of Call...

During each “Sea Day” Loraine and Keith hold dance

lessons for beginners and

improvers.

We learnt the Ballroom Foxtrot, The

Square Tango, The Waltz, and the Cha Cha Cha.......plus all

the very difficult variations of these

dances.

At the end of each leg of the World Cruise our Dance Teachers held a “Strictly for

Fun” Dance Contest

...and no, we didn't enter owing to Raymond’s two left feet – but perhaps we

will on the last leg!?

Like the “Strictly for Fun” Dance Contest

...and these were the Winners of Leg Two of the World Cruise (Singapore to Sydney)

......plus Reg and Jean – Table 24’s professional dancers – who had provided us all with a truly wonderful demonstration of an Argentinean

Tango!

No, its OK!!Claire was taking the

pictures you suspicious

lot!!

..and now (after that melodious interlude) it is really time to

“Buckle up and look forward to the next Port of Call – Hamilton

Island”

...next stop Sydney and time for a reunion with Glyn and Fay!!