The Brisbane River Snakes through Brisbane's CBD

Brisbane is the capital of Queensland, located on the east coast of Australia, 793km north of Sydney. With a population of 1.8 million people, Brisbane is the third largest city in Australia.

The city was named after Sir Thomas Brisbane, who was the Governor of New South Wales from 1821-1825. In 1823, Sir Thomas Brisbane instructed that a new colony be established. The convicts settled in Redcliffe in 1824 for a year, and then moved 28 km south to Brisbane, as there was a better water supply.

Non-convict settlement began in 1842, and by the late 1880s, Brisbane has grown to be the main centre of Queensland.

The 1982 Commonwealth Games were hosted by Brisbane as was the 1988 World Expo, which was held at Southbank, across the river from Brisbane CBD.

Visiting Brisbane

There are many places to visit in Brisbane, including:

- Southbank – has man made beaches and lagoons, markets and museums

- City Botanic Gardens and Brisbane Botanic Gardens at Mount Coot-tha

- Fortitude Valley – great nightlife and cultural events

- Queen Street Mall

 For more information, visit:  www.brisbane-australia.com or www.ourbrisbane.com

Days in the Diocese

Brisbane will host its Days in the Diocese from July 10 - 14, 2008. And Brisbane will receive its first WYD08 Pilgrims this Friday!

For all the details, head to www.wydbrisbane.org.au

Image courtesy of brewbooks, Flickr.