Brisbane is the capital of the Australian state of Queensland and is the largest city in that state. Brisbane population is 2 millions people, it is the third most populous city in Australia. The city is situated on the Brisbane River on a low-lying floodplain between Moreton Bay and the Great Dividing Range in southeastern Queensland.Brisbane is named after the river on which it sits which, in turn, was named after Sir Thomas Brisbane, the Governor of New South Wales from 1821 to 1825. Brisbane was chosen as the capital when Queensland was proclaimed a separate colony from New South Wales in 1859. Brisbane is in the southeast corner of Queensland, Australia. The city is centred along the Brisbane River.
View from Mount Coot-tha
The city of Brisbane is hilly. The urban area, including the central business district, are partially elevated by spurs of the Herbert Taylor Range, such as the summit of Mount Coot-tha, reaching up to 300 metres and the smaller Enoggera Hill. The city is on a low-lying floodplain. Many suburban creeks criss-cross the city, increasing the risk of flooding. The city has suffered two major floods since colonisation, in 1893 and 1974.
The Brisbane central business district (CBD) lies in a curve of the Brisbane river. The CBD covers only 2.2 km2 and is walkable.Central streets are named after members of the royal family. Queen Street is Brisbane's traditional main street. 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). The city has retained some heritage buildings dating back to 1820s.
Currently, Brisbane has only two buildings greater than 200 metres in height. The tallest is a residential tower, Aurora Tower and the second is a mixed use tower Riparian Plaza. There is also a further three buildings over 200 metres which are either under construction or have had construction put on hold.
Brisbane has a humid subtropical climate with hot, humid summers and dry, mild winters. From November through March, thunderstorms are common over Brisbane, 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 on 26 January 1940. On 19 July 2007, Brisbane's temperature fell below the freezing point, it was −0.1 °C.
Popular tourist and recreation areas in Brisbane include the South Bank Parklands, Roma Street Parkland, the City Botanic Gardens, Brisbane Forest Park and Portside Wharf. Brisbane has over 27 km of bicycle pathways, mostly surrounding the Brisbane river and city centre. The river itself was popular with bathers, and it permitted boating excursions to Moreton Bay when the main port was in the city reaches.Today fishing and boating are more common. Other popular recreation activities include the Story Bridge adventure climb and rock climbing at the Kangaroo Point cliffs.
Story Bridge, South Bank
Brisbane has an extensive transportation network within the city, as well as connections to regional centres, interstate and to overseas destinations. The use of urban public transport is still only a small component of total passenger transport, the largest component being travel by private car. Public transport is provided by bus, rail and ferry services.
