Around the World in 106 Days with Ray & Claire!! Part 23 – Brisbane

1. Around the World in 106 Days with Ray & Claire!! Part 23 – Brisbane

2. 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

3. 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

4. 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

5. 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”.

6. 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.

7. 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

9. 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

10. 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 years The rebuild effort will cost the economy dearly and early estimates put the bill into the billions of Australian dollars.

11. 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

12. 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

14. ..and the famous “Jimmy’s coffee shop The General Post Office

15. Come on Raymond – I have some shopping to do!! The Myer Centre is the largest, with around 200 stores spread across 6 floors including Queensland's largest department stores

16. Anzac square is named in honour of the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps, and those men and women who participated in the overseas armed service. The square contains the Shrine of Remembrance and the Eternal flame of remembrance which is held in a bronze urn with a perpetual flame.

17. I know that everything is supposed to be bigger in Australia – but a football and a golf ball this size is just ridiculous!!

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

19. 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!

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

21. 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.

22. 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!

23. Its imposing clock tower rises to a height of 91 metres and is based on the design of St. Marks Campanille in Venice The Brisbane Museum and City Hall is the seat of Brisbane Council and is considered one of Brisbane’s finest buildings

24. 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

25. 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.

26. 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

27. 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.

29. 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.

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

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

34. He might be good at keeping still, but.....

35. .......I have found a far more interesting Market to look around!!

37. Instead of the Transit Bus, lets get back to the Black Watch via the City Cat?

38. The City Cats are a number of catamarans which usually run all day every day and there are also Inner City ferries which zigzagup and down the Brisbane River.

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

43. Hey Man – forget about flower-power..... your Ship is waiting!

44. Yes, its almost time to Buckle up – but there are lots of things to enjoy before your next Port of Call...

45. Like the “Strictly for Fun” Dance Contest 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 ChaCha.......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!?

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

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