Brisbane

Encyclopedia : B : BR : BRI : Brisbane

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For other uses, see Brisbane (disambiguation)}}}.

Brisbane (pronounced /ˈbɹɪz.bən/) is the state capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Queensland. The city is situated at the heart of south east Queensland, Australia's fastest growing region. Brisbane has an estimated population of approximately 1.8 million, making it the third most populous urban area in Australia after Sydney and Melbourne. Managed by the Brisbane City Council, the city is Australia's largest municipality in terms of population.

History

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. 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. Brisbane was named in honour of Sir Thomas Brisbane, who was the Governor of New South Wales.

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 was chosen as its capital. However, Brisbane was not incorporated as a city until 1902. Over twenty small municipalities and shires were amalgamated to form the City of Greater Brisbane, now known simply as the City of Brisbane, in 1925.

Due to Brisbane's proximity to the South West Pacific Area theatre of the Second World War, the city played a prominent role in the defence of Australia. The city became a temporary home to thousands of Australian and American servicemen. In addition to this, the AMP Building (later called MacArthur Central) was used as the headquarters of General Douglas MacArthur, the chief of the Allied Pacific forces.

Brisbane was host city for the very successful 1982 Commonwealth Games and for the equally successful World's Fair, Expo '88. These events in the 1980s were accompanied by a scale of public expenditure, construction and diplomacy not previously seen in the state of Queensland. In the decades since, the metropolis has become one of Australia's fastest growing cities through migration from all continents and the Australian states and territories.

Geography

Brisbane city centre is situated in the southeast corner of Queensland, Australia, at a latitude and longitude of [27°28′S 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, 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. This was demonstrated most poignantly in the aftermath of the 1974 Brisbane flood, which 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 compared with 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. 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. 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.[Population Growth] Australian Bureau of Statistics Accessed October 14, 2005.

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 hailstones, 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 [ABM] Australian Bureau of Meteorology. Accessed October 14, 2005.. 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.

Climate Table

	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 total 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
Mean number of rain days	13.1	13.5	14.5	11.3	9.6	7.9	7.2	6.7	7.4	9.3	9.9	11.5	122.0
Mean number of clear days	1.5	1.3	2.4	3.1	3.8	4.3	5.4	5.4	5.0	3.3	2.6	2.2	40.1
Mean number of cloudy days	5.2	4.8	4.6	3.1	3.5	2.9	2.6	2.1	2.1	3.5	3.8	4.3	42.4
Source: [Bureau of Meteorology]

Governance

Main articles: Brisbane City Council and Government of Queensland

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 considerably expanded 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 [link].

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, with white-collar industries such as 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 such as 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.

During 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" campaign. 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.

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, Mincom Ltd. and Virgin Blue are headquartered in Brisbane, while the city has regional presences of Alcan, Oracle, Boeing and Red Hat[Red Hat Asia Pacific Offices] Red Hat, Inc. Accessed May 28, 2006..

Commerce

Brisbane has many shopping centres in the CBD.

The Queen Street Mall has restaurants, souvenirs and shopping centres, including: Wintergarden, Broadway on the Mall, Queens Plaza, Brisbane Arcade and The Myer Centre.

In Fortitude Valley (also known as 'the Valley'), the Brunswick Street mall has pedestrian markets on Saturday and Sunday mornings, restaurants, cafés and the Fortitude Valley's Chinatown precinct.

The majority of consumer commerce is generally done within the suburbs of Brisbane, via massive shopping centre hubs which include major departments chains such as Myer, Kmart, Target, David Jones and Harvey Norman. 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

The population of the Brisbane City is estimated at 957,010 (as of June 2004). Brisbane has an estimated urban population of 1.9 million ^{[[Citing sources citation needed]]}. Brisbane City Council is the most populous Local Government Area in Australia, due in part to its amalgamated status ^{[[Citing sources citation needed]]}. Brisbane is claimed to have Australia's highest rate of capital city population growth ^{[[Citing sources citation needed]]}. The urban population reportedly grew by 11.5% between 1999 and 2004 ^{[[Citing sources citation needed]]}.

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.[Demographic Statistics] Australian Bureau of Statistics

Education

Brisbane has multi-campus universities and colleges including the University of Queensland (one of the Group of Eight), the 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 Canberra, the University of New South Wales and the University of Southern Queensland.

Brisbane also has TAFE colleges including the Bremer Institute of TAFE, Brisbane North Institute of TAFE, Moreton Institute of TAFE, Southbank Institute of TAFE and the Yeronga Institute. Other independent tertiary education providers include the Australian College of Natural Medicine, the Brisbane College of Theology, QANTM and .

Brisbane is covered under the jurisdiction of Education Queensland regarding public primary and high schools.

Life in Brisbane

Brisbane hosted the 1982 Commonwealth Games and the World Expo '88.

The South Bank Parklands established on the former Expo '88 site, is now a lifestyle and entertainment location.

Popular culture

Brisbane has a live music scene. The nightlife includes pubs, clubs and themed bars. There are two main entertainment areas: "The City" (CBD) and "The Valley" (Fortitude Valley). Brisbane has produced singers and bands who have performed internationally. The Popular entertainment in Brisbane article includes information about the nightclub and pub scene, as well as the names of Brisbane pop singers, rock and roll singers and musicians, jazz singers, heavy metal singers, punk singers, and popular musicians, etc.

Classical arts in Brisbane

Brisbane has museums, theatres, performing arts and creative arts. It is the birthplace of opera singers, classical musicians and actors. It has also produced authors, artists and sculptors.

Sport

Brisbane was traditionally a Rugby League and Rugby Union city, with the Brisbane Broncos, who play in the National Rugby League Premiership, previously being the most-supported team in Rugby League. In Rugby Union, the Queensland Reds is Queensland's representative team.

The national Cricket (Queensland Bulls), Soccer (Queensland Roar FC), Basketball (Brisbane Bullets) and Australian rules football (Brisbane Lions) competitions all have Brisbane-based teams.

With the closure of the Milton Tennis grounds in 1994, Brisbane has been without a major tennis facility until now. In 2005, a new A$65 million tennis stadium, to be located in the suburb of Tennyson was approved by the State government and in conjunction with Mirvac constructions is to be constructed starting in May 2006, with a completion date scheduled for December 2008.

Brisbane, which is the birthplace of several Australian sportsmen and sportswomen, also hosted the 1982 Commonwealth Games and the 2001 Goodwill Games.

Landmarks

For a listing of articles about Brisbane's landmarks, and also other articles about Brisbane, please click on the above title.

Buildings of historical significance

Brisbane has many important and historical buildings and structures, some of which date back to colonial times.

The Windmill, (pictured at left), is Brisbane's oldest building. The Windmill, which was originally intended for the grinding of grain, was built by convicts.

The Shrine of Remembrance, (pictured at right in Ann Street), is Brisbane's main memorial of remembrance to Australia's war dead. The Shrine of Remembrance has steps leading down to Anzac Square, where the Shrine of Memories is located.

Central Station (opposite the Shrine of Remembrance and Anzac Square), is situated on the corner of Edward Street and Ann Street.

Modern buildings of importance More recent buildings of importance include the Queensland Cultural Centre at South Bank (with the Queensland Performing Arts Centre, Queensland Museum, Queensland Art Gallery, State Library of Queensland, and soon to be completed Queensland Gallery of Modern Art).

Close by the Queensland Cultural Centre is the Brisbane Convention & Exhibition Centre.

Tourist destinations

Brisbane also has many beautiful gardens and parklands.

Popular with tourists are the rock-climbing cliffs which are located at the southern approach to the Story Bridge at Kangaroo Point, as well as the more than 27 km of bicycle pathways which line both sides of the river east and west of the city centre. Another new Brisbane attraction is the Story Bridge Adventure Climb [Story Bridge Adventure Climb]. The Story Bridge is one of only three legally climbable bridges in the world.

Also popular with tourists are the South Bank Parklands, which are located on the site of World Expo '88. The South Bank Parklands is famous for firework displays that attract thousands of spectators. Tourists and locals alike frequent the beautiful bougainvillea lined Riverside Walkway at all times of the year and flock to the area during music and arts festivals. Restaurants, Theatres and Beaches make South Bank a great place to spend a day just minutes away from public transport.

Other popular areas for tourism and recreation include the Roma Street Parkland, the Brisbane City Botanic Gardens (a colonial era botanic gardens founded in 1855 in the Brisbane CBD), and the Mount Coot-tha state forest (which includes a lookout over the city), the Brisbane Botanic Gardens (contemporary botanical gardens) and also the Sir Thomas Brisbane Planetarium. Also popular are Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary and Brisbane Forest Park.

Annual events in Brisbane

Annual events held in Brisbane are also drawcards for tourists.

• The Ekka (the Royal Queensland Show) is held each year in August, at the Brisbane Exhibition Ground (also known as the RNA Showgrounds).

• Riverfestival, which includes "Riverfire, is held each year in September at South Bank Parklands and surrounding areas.

• Warana, (meaning Blue Skies'), was a former annual event which began in 1961. Warana, which means "Blue Skies", was run each year as a celebration of Brisbane, and was similar in many ways to Melbourne's Moomba. Warana was changed, in 1996, to a biennial Brisbane Festival, as a lower key event with a focus on the performing arts.

• Paniyiri festival at Musgrave Park (corner of Russell and Edmonstone Sts, South Brisbane). Paniyiri is held on the first weekend in May.

Public transport

Main articles: Brisbane Transport, CityTrain, CityCat, TransLink (South East Queensland)

Brisbane's public transport system has regular services in the inner city and outer suburb destinations. It has a suburban rail network, bus services and ferries.

The rail services are operated by CityTrain, a division of Queensland Rail. The bus system, and the high speed CityCat as well as the Cityferry are operated by Brisbane Transport, a business arm of the Brisbane City Council. Buses that serve the regional areas outside the Brisbane boundaries are operated by private sector companies contracted by the State Government.

The CBD, serves as the central hub for all public transport services; with Queen Street Bus Station for Buses, Roma Street and Central stations for trains, and North Quay for Ferries. Various smaller transfer hubs, such as the Cultural Centre Busway Station are located at various strategically placed points of public importance and public interest in the city, including the Queensland Cultural Centre, South Bank Parklands and shopping malls which are usually within dense population centres.

The large CityTrain urban rail network consists of 7 suburban lines and covers mostly the west, north and east sides of the city. It also provides the route for an AirTrain service between the City and Brisbane Airport (the AirTrain, itself, is owned by a company). While CityTrain services also cover interurban services to both coasts, the southern part of the rail network does not enter through any major suburbs or districts. This is mainly due to the placing of major freeways such as the South-East Freeway and the M1 motorway, as well as lack of early planning on southern Brisbane growth. To this day, the easiest way to reach most of the Southern area via public transport is via bus.

To deliver workable public transport to areas outside of the metropolitan train lines, the Busways were established to deliver unrestricted bus travel throughout the southern (and to a lesser note the northern) corridors of the city by providing roads where only buses are permitted. Two busways have opened in recent years in Brisbane — the South-East Busway and the Inner-Northern Busway, with two more busways and new rail lines planned. Public transport has been the only infrastructure that Brisbane has typically always improved and maintained, especially as it struggles to keep up with rapid population growth.

An integrated ticketing system for public transport services has recently been established under the name TransLink. TransLink is a State Government agency responsible for ticketing and the co-ordination of public transport services in the South-East Queensland region. Under the TransLink system, passengers pay common fares on all modes of public transport. TransLink tickets are accepted on both government- and privately-owned buses, trains and ferries. In 2006, Translink will also be introducing a smartcard-based ticketing system, which is currently being trialled in Redcliffe, a city located 30 minutes to the north of Brisbane.

In December, 2005, a 6 month probational period began on all night public transport services on Friday and Saturday nights, under the name of NightLink. For further information about this service, and also about the Free Loop bus service for the CBD, see the TransLink (Brisbane) services page.

Two major cab companies operate in Brisbane; Yellow Cabs (whose vehicles are painted orange), and Black and White Cabs. Both companies offer same rate service (regulated by the government and Taxi Council) and pickup from anywhere in the metropolitan and regional areas of Brisbane via bookings or permanent cab ranks. As well as standard taxis, both provide Maxi-Taxis, designed to fit up to 10 people as well as disability access, as well as luxury vehicles (Silver Service for Yellow, Business Class for Black and White). All cabs now are also fitted with GPS for driver location and EFTPOS debit/credit card facilities.

Brisbane's massive population growth has seen great strains placed upon South East Queensland's transport system. The State Government and Brisbane City Council have responded with infrastructure plans and increased funding for transportation projects, such as the South East Queensland Infrastructure Plan and Program. Most of the focus has been placed on expanding current road infrastructure, particularly tunnels and bypasses, as well as improving the public transport system.

Roads

Brisbane's road system was planned around large, spacious suburban areas. Dense suburbs now rely on several main road corridors that split through and between these areas and provide the only link to the CBD and other areas of Brisbane. Logan Road, Moggill Road, Old Cleveland Road and Gympie Road are but a few of these multi-lane corridors that come out of the CBD and snake through the suburbs. As a result, traffic congestion has become a major problem and it was the promise of a new underground road system, nicknamed TransApex, that helped current Lord Mayor Campbell Newman to win the 2004 local government election.

Bypasses such as the very successful Inner City Bypass, the future Airport Link and North-South Bypass Tunnel (NSBT) are intended to help to circulate traffic away from the inner-city areas and main roads via limited-access roads above the ground, and tunnels below that have higher speed limits and exits to particular suburbs. Existing high speed cross-suburban motorways such as the Western Freeway, Centenary Highway, Pacific Motorway and Gateway Motorway provide alternative routes to main roads and connect up to main highways and other arterial roads. Other tunnels are also being planned to link all the various motorways in Brisbane together as part of TransApex, but only two have been scheduled for completion within the next decade.

In total, the twisting Brisbane River is crossed by seven road bridges, three railway bridges and one pedestrian bridge. (A busway/pedestrian/cycle bridge is under construction between the University of Queensland and Dutton Park.) Route signage is achieved by means of a system of Metroads, consisting of the most important arterial roads in metropolitan Brisbane including most motorways, and less important State Routes. Multiple freeways connect Brisbane to other cities, including the Pacific Motorway, the Bruce Highway and the Ipswich Motorway, all of which are part of the National Highway System. Brisbane is approximately 1000kms away from Sydney, the closest major capital city.

Airports

Brisbane Airport, owned by the Brisbane Airport Corporation and located north-east of the city, is the biggest airport in Australia in terms of land size. Brisbane Airport is the third busiest in the country. Separated into domestic and international terminals, Brisbane Airport has frequent passenger and freight flights, providing direct flights to every capital city in Australia as well as most destinations in Asia, Oceania, and the Middle East. The second largest airline in Australia, Virgin Blue Airlines, is headquartered in Brisbane, while other major airlines Qantas and Jetstar both fly from Brisbane Airport.

The AirTrain provides a link between the Domestic and International Terminals at Brisbane Airport and the city, taking approximately 20 minutes to travel from Central Station to the Brisbane Airport stations.

A $58 million dollar Direct Factory Outlet (DFO) shopping mall has opened at Brisbane Airport providing discount shopping within a kilometre of the terminals. The location of the shopping mall, on the only road leading to Brisbane Airport, has been a source of irritation to both airline passengers and discount shoppers alike, with complaints that the resultant heavy traffic, being shared between the two, is causing major traffic delays. According to a letter in the "Courier-Mail" newspaper, this has been especially detrimental for at least one airline passenger, because the traffic delay caused the passenger to be late "checking in" and this consequently caused the passenger to miss the flight that the passenger was booked on. A railway station in the area has been proposed and appears in UBD street directories.

Archerfield Airport is located in Brisbane's southern suburbs and used only by light aircraft and general aviation. Other local airports can be found at Caboolture and Redcliffe.

Seaports

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 [Australian Sea Freight] Australian Department of Transport and Regional Services. 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. Historically, Brisbane's port facilities were located as far upstream as the central business district.

The economic region near the river's mouth including the port, airport and refineries is known as the Australia TradeCoast.

Media, Internet and Communications

Newspapers Brisbane has only one daily newspaper, The Courier-Mail, and one Sunday paper, The Sunday Mail, both owned by News Corporation. Brisbane also receives the national daily, The Australian, and the Weekend Australian, in addition to Fairfax papers Australian Financial Review, the Sydney Morning Herald and The Age.

There are also numerous community and suburban newspapers throughout the metropolitan and regional areas, including Brisbane News and City News, many of which are produced by Quest Newspapers (which is also owned by News Corporation.)

Television

Brisbane is served by all five major television networks in Australia, which broadcast from the summit of Mount Coot-tha. The three commercial stations are Seven, Nine, and Ten, while the two government stations are the ABC and SBS. Briz 31, a community station, also broadcasts in Brisbane. The major networks operate digital television in the Brisbane area. Optus, Foxtel and Austar all operate PayTV services in Brisbane, via both Cable and Satellite means.

Radio Brisbane is serviced by several major radio stations:

The ABC transmits all five of its radio networks to Brisbane:

• 612 ABC Brisbane, part of the ABC Local Radio network
• ABC Classic FM
• ABC NewsRadio
• Radio National
• Triple J

Other major radio stations to be broadcast in Brisbane are:

• 4BC
• 4BH
• 4KQ
• River 94.9
• Family Radio 96.5 FM
• 97.3 FM
• B105
• Nova 106.9
• Triple M

See [here] for a list of FM broadcasters in the Brisbane area.

In addition to the government and commercial stations above, Brisbane has the following community stations: 4ZZZ, BayFM 100.3, multicultural 4EB and the radio station for the print handicapped 4RPH, 98.9 FM for the Best Country (it was the first indigenous radio station in a capital city), 101FM (Logan), 4OUR (Caboolture), 997FM (Redcliffe), Switch 1197 AM, 96.5 FM Family, 4MBS Classic FM 103.7 and 4TAB (betting).

SBS also broadcasts its national radio network to Brisbane. WorldAudio National Radio 2 transmits on 1620AM (City) and 1629AM (North). Radio Brisvaani provides a voice to the Indian community with Hindi language service on 1701AM.

Internet TV

Brisbane also has a local community Internet TV station, Raw Audio - online TV for Brisbane Music.

Telecommunications Infrastructure

Metropolitan Brisbane is covered with numerous major telecommunications networks.

Brisbane has the largest number of enabled DSL telephone exchanges in Queensland. An increasing number are also enabled with special hardware (DSLAMs) which enable ultra high speed ADSL2+ internet access. The Brisbane CBD also features a complete underground fibre optics network.

Much of the city is also covered by Hybrid Fibre Coaxial cable via two major networks provided and serviced by Telstra and Optus. These provide both high speed internet as well as Pay TV services for the bulk of the city's metropolitan area. Both of these providers also host wireless networks with hotspots within both the inner and suburban areas.

In addition, Hutchinson, Telstra, Optus and Vodafone all operate both 2.5G and 3G mobile phone networks citywide.

Brisbane nicknames and trivia

Some local residents have given the city nicknames:

• Brissy ("Brizzie") - a simple contraction that is sometimes spoken but almost never written.
• Brisvegas - a cynical reference to the USA's Las Vegas due to the Treasury casino within the Brisbane CBD, housed in the converted former Treasury building (after which the casino is named) which is situated on the block between Queen Street, George Street, Elizabeth Street and William Street — combined with the proximity of Jupiter's Casino on the Gold Coast.
• Brisneyland - a reference to Disneyland due to the three major theme parks operating between Brisbane and the Gold Coast, the third having commenced in 1991.
• Local Brisbane residents are usually referred to as Brisbanites and (less commonly) as Brisvegans.

References

See also

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

[Special]

• History of Brisbane
• Brisbane City Council
• Government of Queensland
• Popular entertainment in Brisbane
• Classical culture of Brisbane
• Sport in Brisbane
• List of Brisbane landmarks and other Brisbane articles
• Brisbane Transport
• CityTrain
• CityCat
• TransLink (South East Queensland)
• TransLink (South East Queensland) services

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)
• Daejeon, South Korea (17 June 2002)
• Chongqing, People's Republic of China (2005)
• Nice, France (no longer active due to French South Pacific Nuclear Testing)

Brisbane does not have any sister city relationships with any North American, South American or African cities.

Check the [BCC Website] for an official listing of Brisbane's sister cities.

External links

• [WikiSatellite view of Brisbane at WikiMapia]
• [Brisbane official website]
• [ourbrisbane.com] - Brisbane website.
• [Brisbane city information]
• [Brisbane city centre on Google Maps]
• [World-Guides.com Brisbane city information]
• [Historical Brisbane River Map]
• [Lonely Planet city guide]
• [BrisBites] - History of Brisbane and its suburbs
• [Brisbane and the Brisbane region]
• [City of Brisbane information]
• [Terra Galleria] - Brisbane picture gallery
• [Brisbane Weather]
• [History of the Turrbal people]
• [Sir Thomas Brisbane Planetarium] - one of Australia's major planetariums.
• [Skyneedle Information]
• [Brisbane City streets map]
• [Image of the proposed Brisbane Tennyson Tennis Complex]
• [The Brisbane Lions Football Club]
• [North South Bypass Tunnel]
• [Proposed Airport Link]
• [Image of Brisbane]
• Zoom Map from [TerraPages]
• [Australia Tradecoast]

Capital cities of Australia
ACT	NSW	NT	Qld	SA	Tas	Vic	WA
Canberra	Sydney	Darwin	Brisbane	Adelaide	Hobart	Melbourne	Perth
Other Australian cities

 

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