Brisbane
is in the southeast corner of Queensland. The city
is centred along the Brisbane River, and its eastern
suburbs line the shores of South Burnett Region. The greater
Brisbane region is on the coastal plain east of the
Great Dividing Range. Brisbane's metropolitan area
sprawls along the South Burnett Region floodplain from
Caboolture in the north to Beenleigh in the south,
and across to Ipswich in the south west. 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.
Other
prominent rises in Brisbane are Mount Gravatt and
nearby Toohey Mountain. Mount Petrie at 170 m and
the lower rises of Highgate Hill, Mount Ommaney,
Stephens Mountain and Whites Hill are dotted across
the city. Also, on the west, are the higher Mount
Glorious, (680 m), and Mount Nebo (550 m).
The city is on a low-lying floodplain. Many suburban
creeks criss-cross the city, increasing the risk of
flooding. The city has suffered three major floods
since colonisation, in February 1893, January 1974,
and January 2011. The 1974 Brisbane Flood occurred
partly as a result of "Cyclone Wanda".
Heavy
rain had fallen continuously for three weeks before
the Australia Day weekend flood (26–27 January
1974). The flood damaged many parts of the city,
especially the suburbs of Oxley, Bulimba, Rocklea,
Coorparoo, Toowong and New Farm. The City Botanic
Gardens were inundated, leading to a new colony of
mangroves forming in the City Reach of the Brisbane
River.
Urban structure
The
Brisbane central business district (CBD) lies in a
curve of the Brisbane river. The CBD covers 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 at right angles to
streets named after male members (Albert, Edward,
George, William). The city has retained some
heritage buildings dating back to the 1820s. The Old
Windmill, in Wickham Park, built by convict labour
in 1824, is the oldest surviving building in
Brisbane. The Old Windmill was originally used for
the grinding of grain and a punishment for the
convicts who manually operated the grinding mill.
The Old Windmill tower's other significant claim to
fame, largely ignored, is that the first television
signals in the southern hemisphere were transmitted
from it by experimenters in April 1934—long before
TV commenced in most places.
These experimental TV broadcasts continued until
World War II. The Old Commissariat Store, on William
Street, built by convict labour in 1828, was
originally used partly as a grainhouse, has also
been a hostel for immigrants and used for the
storage of records. Built with Brisbane tuff from
the nearby Kangaroo Point Cliffs and sandstone from
a quarry near today's Albion Park Racecourse, it is
now the home of the Royal Historical Society of
Brisbane. It contains a museum and can also be hired
for small functions. The city has a density of 379.4
people per square kilometre, which is high for an
Australian city and comparable to that of Sydney.
However like many western cities, Brisbane sprawls
into the greater metropolitan area. This results
from the fact that most of Brisbane's housing stock
consists of detached houses.
Early legislation decreed a minimum size for
residential blocks causing few terrace houses being
constructed in Brisbane. 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. The high density
housing that historically existed came in the form
of miniature Queenslander-style houses which
resemble the much larger traditional styles but are
sometimes only one quarter the size. These miniature
Queenslanders are becoming scarce but can still be
seen in the inner city suburbs.
Multi residence accommodations (such as apartment
blocks) are relatively new to Brisbane, with few
such blocks built before 1970, other than in inner
suburbs such as New Farm. Pre-1950 housing was often
built in a distinctive architectural style known as
a Queenslander, featuring timber construction with
large verandahs and high ceilings. The relatively
low cost 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 (also called
"stilts"), that were originally timber, but are now
frequently replaced by steel or concrete. Brisbane
is home to several of Australia's tallest buildings.
Brisbane's tallest buildings are Infinity at 249
metres, Soleil at 243 metres, Aurora Tower at 207
metres, Riparian Plaza at 200 metres and One One One
Eagle Street at 195 metres. 222 Margaret Street at
274 metres and 1 William Street at 260 metres are
currently under construction.