Brisbane, Australia

image above used with permission http://www.globalimage.com.au
Brisbane is the capital city of the state of Queensland. About 1.5 million people live in the city. The city covers an area of 3 080 square kilometres and is built on the Brisbane River on the east coast of Australia.

The first people to live in the area were the Aboriginal people. They had occupied the land for thousands of years before European settlers arrived. The Yuggera people lived on the land in the Brisbane area. They were fisher people and used nets and spears to catch fish. They built houses and travelled north and south to share ceremonies with neighbouring Aboriginal peoples.

European settlement began in 1800s and at first the different groups got on well. However as more and more Europeans arrived the Aboriginal hunting lands and fishing areas were taken over. The Aboriginal people were moved to camps where many died of diseases brought to Australia by the settlers.

The city was officially named in 1825, by explorer John Oxley after Sir Thomas Brisbane who was the governor of New South Wales.

Today, the city is run by a city council, elected by the people of the city. A Lord Mayor leads the city council. The Parliament of Queensland is in Brisbane.

Brisbane is the business centre for Queensland and is a modern city of offices, theatres, cinemas and restaurants. There is a mix of older style buildings dating from the time of early settlement and new high-rise office and apartment buildings.

The weather in Brisbane is sub-tropical, which means that the summers are hot, wet and humid. During the summer the average high temperature is about 30C with lows of about 20C. In winter the average temperature is about 22C and rarely falls below 13C. Brisbane has an average rainfall of about 1400mm annually, the majority of which falls in the summer period.

Every day thousands of people travel to Brisbane by bus, train and river ferry to work, shop or find entertainment in the city. They join the thousands of tourist from around Australia and from countries around the world who visit each year.

Read more about Brisbane here http://www.ourbrisbane.com/

Read about the State of Queensland here http://www.qld.gov.au/

If you use any of this information in your own work acknowledge this source in your bibliography like this:
Thomas, Ron & Sydenham, Shirley. Brisbane, Australia [Online] www.kidcyber.com.au (2009)

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July 2009 copyright © kidcyber [2009]