Brisbane

Brisbane is the capital and most populated city in the Australian state of Queensland. This is the third most populous city in Australia. The city and its surroundings house more than 2 million people.

The central part of the Brisbane is located at the site of initial European settlement and is situated on the River Brisbane. Much of central Brisbane is managed by Brisbane City Council, which is the largest local government in Australia according to the city's population.

Before Europeans appear, Brisbane was inhabited by people of the tribes Turrbal and Jagera. Then the place was called Mian-jin, which meant a place that is shaped like a spike.

In 1799 Matthew Flinders came down from the ship and called the place where he was, Red Cliff Point.

Brisbane was named after the Brisbane River, and she in turn was named after Sir Thomas Brisbane, which from 1821 to 1825 was Governor of New South Wales. The first European settlement in Queensland was a penal colony in Redcliffe, which is twenty-eight kilometers away from Brisbane. This village was founded in 1824.

In 1823 the governor of New South Wales, Thomas Brisbane ordered the creation of a new settlement for sending people to serve their sentences. An expedition led by John Oxley, studied the Bay Moreton. Oxley gave the name of the Brisbane River. He suggested Red Cliff Point for a place to build a penal colony.

In September 1824 there settled fourteen soldiers, some with their families, and twenty-nine convicts. After a year it was abandoned and moved to North Quay. Since 1842 in the village began to live people who are not serving a penalty. In 1859 Brisbane was chosen as the capital of Queensland when Queensland was proclaimed a separate colony from New South Wales. Although it was the capital, Brisbane received city status only in 1902.

Already in 1840 began the creation of a Master Plan of Brisbane, in line with future development and expansion of the city. In 1930 was finished the highest for this time building in the city of Brisbane - Brisbane City Hall. This building is one of the biggest attractions of the city.

During World War II, Brisbane became the center of the campaign of the allied forces, and General Douglas MacArthur used the city as headquarters of the Pacific forces before moving to Holland in August 1944. Around one million soldiers passed through Australia during World War II.

In 1942 in Brisbane was a scuffle between American military personnel, Australian servicemen and ordinary citizens, which ended with one dead and many wounded. This incident received the name Battle of Brisbane. After the war the city was developed, but suffers from infrastructure problems. In 1974 a great flood in Brisbane literally destroys the city.

In 1988, Brisbane hosted the World Expo. This greatly contributed to the development of the city and Queensland. The population of Brisbane increases by over two percent each year. In January 2011 Brisbane was again struck by a great flood. It was not the scale of the flood of 1974, but it caused major damage to the city.

In Brisbane are some of the tallest buildings in Australia such as Soleil, which is two hundred forty-three meters high, Aurora Tower, which rises two hundred and seven meters high and Riparian Plaza, which is two hundred meters high.