Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brisbane
Brisbane (/ˈbrɪzbən/
( listen))[8] is the capital and most populous city of Queensland, and the third most populous city in Australia. Its estimated population is 2.5 million as of 2018, while the South East Queensland region, which is centred on Brisbane, encompasses a population of more than 3.5 million.[9] The CBD stands in a peninsula on the Brisbane River, located 15 kilometres (9 miles) from its mouth at Moreton Bay.[10] The metropolitan area extends in all directions along the flood plain of the Brisbane river valley between Moreton Bay and the Great Dividing Range, sprawling across several of Australia’s most populous local government areas (LGAs), including the City of Brisbane, which is the most populous LGA in Australia, as well as Moreton Bay Region, Logan City, City of Ipswich, and Redland City. The demonym of Brisbane is "Brisbanite".
One of the oldest cities in Australia, Brisbane was founded on the homelands of the Indigenous Turrbal and Jagera peoples. The city’s origins began with the Moreton Bay penal settlement, founded by the British Empire as a place for secondary offenders from Sydney. For a short period the settlement was known as Edenglassie, before being renamed after the river in which it stood-which in turn was named after the governor, Sir Thomas Brisbane. Initial free settlement occurred at Zions Hill in 1838, and in 1842 the whole city was opened to free settlement. Brisbane was designated as the capital of Queensland in 1859. Subsequent development of the city was hampered by disasters like the Great Fire of Brisbane in 1864, and the Great Flood of Brisbane in 1893. Later during World War II, the city was instrumental to the defence of the nation, and acted as the Allied headquarters for the Pacific Theatre.[11] After the war, the city became an important destination for immigrants into Australia, transforming the city’s development and population.
Brisbane has been called the ‘cultural capital of Australia’,[12][13] with prominent national institutions including; Australia’s largest art gallery, the GOMA, and its largest theatre precinct, QPAC. The city is also home to some of the nation's most important cultural sites and precincts: South Bank Parklands, City Hall, St John’s Cathedral, Queen’s Wharf historic precinct, State Parliament, ANZAC Square, Treasury Building, The Old Windmill, and West End. Brisbane is also known for its skyline, with many of its skyscrapers amongst the tallest in Australia, including 1 William. A main feature of Brisbane is its Queenslander architecture which forms much of the inner-city’s built heritage. Brisbane is often used as a gateway to access regional areas such as the Gold Coast, Sunshine Coast, Toowoomba, Moreton and Stradbroke Island, and the Gondwana Rainforests. It is also the main international gateway to state icons, the Great Barrier Reef, Fraser Island, and the Whitsunday Islands. In 2016, the Globalization and World Cities Research Network ranked Brisbane as a Beta world city.[14]
The Queensland Performing Arts Centre (QPAC), which is located at South Bank, consists of the Lyric Theatre, a Concert Hall, Cremorne Theatre and the Playhouse Theatre and is home to the Queensland Ballet, Opera Queensland, Queensland Theatre Company, and the Queensland Symphony Orchestra. The Queensland Conservatorium, in which professional companies and Conservatorium students also stage performances, is located within the South Bank Parklands. Numerous choirs present performances across the city annually. These choirs include the Brisbane Chorale, Queensland Choir, Brisbane Chamber Choir, Canticum Chamber Choir, Brisbane Concert Choir, Imogen Children's Chorale and Brisbane Birralee Voices. Due to the lack of a suitable purpose built performance venue for choral music, these choirs typically perform in the city's many churches.
In addition to dramatic and musical theatre performances at QPAC, the Brisbane Powerhouse in New Farm and the Judith Wright Centre of Contemporary Arts on Brunswick Street in Fortitude Valley feature diverse programs featuring exhibitions and festivals of visual art, music and dance.
Fireworks over the story bridge at Riverfire 2012
Brisbane is also home to numerous small theatres that provide access to emerging amateur and pro-am artists and companies. The oldest is the Brisbane Arts Theatre which was founded in 1936. It has a regular adult and children's theatre and is located in Petrie Terrace. The La Boite Theatre Company now performs at the Roundhouse Theatre at Kelvin Grove. Other professional theatres in the city include the Twelfth Night Theatre at Bowen Hills, the Metro Arts Theatre located in Edward Street, and the Queensland Theatre Company's Bille Brown Studio in West End.
Brisbane has maintained a constantly evolving live music scene, producing acts spanning genres including punk (see Brisbane punk rock), indie rock, electronic music, experimental music, noise rock, metal and post-punk. Brisbane's live music history is often intertwined with social unrest and authoritarian politics, as retold by journalist Andrew Stafford in Pig City: From The Saints to Savage Garden, Radical Brisbane: An Unruly History, edited by academics Raymond Evans and Carole Ferrier, and BNE – The Definitive Archive: Brisbane Independent Electronic Music Production 1979-2014, produced by record label director Dennis Remmer.[
Brisbane has hosted several major sporting events including the 1982 Commonwealth Games and the 2001 Goodwill Games. The city also hosted events during the 1987 Rugby World Cup, 1992 Cricket World Cup, 2000 Sydney Olympics, the 2003 Rugby World Cupand hosted the Final of the 2008 Rugby League World Cup and will host along with the Gold Coast, some events for the 2018 Commonwealth Games. In 2005, then Premier Peter Beattie announced plans for Brisbane to bid to host the 2024 Olympic Games,[120] which in August 2008 received in principle Australian Olympic Committee support, including that of the former Queensland Premier Anna Bligh and former Brisbane Lord Mayor Campbell Newman.[121] The most popular professional club in the city is the Brisbane Broncos, who play in the National Rugby League competition. Rugby Union is also very popular in Brisbane and the city hosts the Queensland Reds who play Super Rugby. Brisbane also hosts a professional soccer team named Brisbane Roar FC and an AFL club the Brisbane Lions. Brisbane recently re-introduced their Basketball team the Brisbane Bullets into the National Basketball League (Australia) after a 8 hiatus.
The city's major sporting venues include the Gabba, Sleeman Centre at Chandler, Suncorp Stadium (Lang Park), Ballymore Stadium and the stadium facilities of the Queensland Sport and Athletics Centre in Nathan. With the closure of the Milton Tennis grounds in 1994, Brisbane lacked a major tennis facility. In 2005, the State Government approved the State Tennis Centre a new A$65 million tennis stadium. The construction was completed in 2008. The Brisbane International is held here from January 2009.
Directors from Central Station