Australian Travel

Queensland’s Birthday

Giving others a tour of Brisbane has been has been something I have loved doing for the last 3 years

I visited the Old Government House on the 150^th anniversary of Queensland being established as an independent colony, which took place on the 10^th of December 1859, so here I am now looking from the tourist’s point of view.

Government House

Being one of Queensland’s most significant heritage buildings, it was the home of our first Governor Sir George Bowen, and was a vice-regal residence until 1910.

• The House was completed in 1862 and was designed by the newly appointed Government Architect Charles Tiffin, and built by Joshua Jeays using the sandstone from his quarry at Goodna, just west of Brisbane.
• Eleven Governors Lived and worked in the house for the next 48 years.
• The building served as an administrative office and home to the Governor and his family.
• Grand social events were held on a regular basis. Supporting these functions were servants and staff who lived at the back of the house.
• Walking around the house you can see how it was designed to fulfill all the roles in a orderly way reflecting the social structure of the times.

Keeping Our History

In 1960, Old Government House, along with five other buildings, was identified as a vital part of Queensland’s built heritage.

The National Trust of Queensland, formed by an Act of the Queensland Parliament in 1963, listed the house in its first list of significant buildings in 1969. This averted the possible demolition of the house that had threatened in the 1960s.

The important heritage value of Old Government House was officially recognised in March 1978 when the National Trust listing of the house was ratified on the basis of its historical and architectural significance and it became one of the first buildings to be protected by heritage legislation in Queensland.

Sydney

For your total travel experience you can’t miss Sydney it is Australias largest city and is the capital of New South Wales. It has a population of around 4.5 million and has area of approximately 12,000 square kilometres.

Sydney is often called “the Harbour City”. It is said to be one of the most multicultural cities in the world, reflecting its role as a major destination for both visitors and immigrants.

Photo By Phillip Flores

The city is built on hills surrounding Sydney Harbour an inlet of the Tasman Sea on Australia’s south-east coast, it is the site of the first British colony in Australia established in 1788 at Sydney Cove by Arthur Phillip, commodore of the First Fleet

Sydney is Home To

• The Sydney Opera House

• The Sydney Harbour Bridge

• The iconic Bondi Beach

Metropolitan Sydney

The metropolitan area is surrounded by national parks, and has many bays, rivers and inlets.

The city is home to many parks, such as Royal Botanical Gardens, Hyde Park and some national parks as well.

This is a major factor, along with Sydney Harbour, that has led to the city’s reputation as one of the most beautiful in the world.

Sydney Boasts an international centre for arts, fashion, commerce, entertainment, education, culture and tourism. The cost of living in Sydney is Australia’s most expensive city.

Sydney also ranks among the top 10 most livable cities in the world, living in Brisbane I would dispute that claim

Sporting events

Sydney has hosted some major international sporting events, including the Empire Games in 1939, the Summer Olympics in 2000, and the final of the Rugby World Cup in 2003.                                                                                                                                                                             The main airport serving Sydney is Sydney Airport.

Blue Mountains

Just bordering the metropolitan area you have the Blue Mountains its foothills starting approximately 50 kilometres west.

The area begins on the west side of the Nepean River and extends westward as far as Cox’s Riverand another area to be included into your total travel plans.

Consisting mainly of a sandstone plateau the area is dissected by gorges up to 760 metres deep. The highest point of the range is 1,190 metres above sea level.

A large part of the Blue Mountains is incorporated into the Greater Blue Mountains area World Heritage Site, consisting of seven national park areas and a conservation reserve.

The Blue Mountains area includes the local government areas of the City of Blue Mountains the City of Hawkesbury, the City Of Lithgow and Oberon.

Brisbane

The Total Travel time between the Gold Coast and Brisbane is approximately an hour and a half.

From Brisbane to the Sunshine Coast around an hour.

Brisbane By Night from Kangaroo point

Brisbane is the state capital of the Queensland and is the largest city in the state with an  estimated population of around 2 million; it is also the third most populated city in Australia
The city is situated on the Brisbane River on a low-lying floodplain between Moreton Bay and the great dividing range in south east Queensland

Brisbane is named after the river on which it sits which, in turn was named after Sir Thomas Brisbane the Governor of New South Wales from 1821 to 1825.

European settlement

The first European settlement in Queensland was a penal colony at Redcliffe (28 kilometers North of the Brisbane business district)  in 1824. That settlement was soon abandoned and moved to North Quay in 1825.

Free settlers started to arrive from 1842.

Brisbane was chosen as the capital when Queensland was proclaimed a separate colony from New South Wales in 1859.
The city played a central role in the allied campaign during World War 11 as the South West Pacific headquarters  for General Douglas MacArthur

His office was on the corner of Edward and Queen Streets, where the MacArthurs Chambers Museum is today

Brisbane is fast becoming a world renowned city for its culture, architecture and landscape. The metropolitan area is surrounded by many national parks, and contains many rivers, bays and inlets.

Transport

The main airport serving Brisbane is the Brisbane International Airport, located 14 km north-east of the central business district.

Your Total Travel Experience around Brisbane is relatively easy, there are plenty of buses and trains to take you to most areas.

Also, there is a Tour Company who run various tours to points of interest in and around Brisbane.

Mt.Coot-tha

It is said if you have not been to Mt Coot-tha  you have not really seen Brisbane

Brisbane has hosted many large cultural and sporting events including the 1982 Commonwealth Games, in 1988  World Expo 88 and in 2001 the Goodwill Games.

View of Brisbane From Mt Coot-tha

Brisbane is also well known for Rugby – Union and League.

The Brisbane Broncos are a professional rugby league football club.

They have won six premierships and four minor premierships during their twenty-two years in competition, making them the league’s most successful club over the past two decades. Brisbane have never been defeated in a grand final and, since 1991.

Portland

The Waterfront is alive with activity; the ships from around the world come in to load the local produce, and the fishing fleet to unload their catch. You can take a ride on the foreshore cable tram and be lucky enough to see whales during the winter months

Portland Wind Farm

If you are a keen fisherman, Portland is an angler’s paradises, from the beach or a boat the wide range of fish that can be hooked, include King George Whiting, Snapper, Tuna, Flathead, and Mulloway.

History

Portland became Victoria’s first permanent European settlement. Today it has more than 200 heritage buildings and private buildings that are well maintained. You can take a self guided walk to see these historic buildings. For a look into Portland’s long seafaring history, you can visit the Maritime Discovery Centre.

Industry

Alcoa and Portland Aluminium is a joint venture project and one of the major industries in Portland, Public tours of Portland Aluminium are held twice daily each Monday, Wednesday and Friday. The tours include a guided drive through the operation and surrounding parklands and over 120,000 people have made the visit to Portland Aluminium since public tours began in 1990.

There are also the wind farms one just east of Portland and one at Cape Bridgewater with the enormous wind turbines producing power for the city

Surf

Australian Travel is unique as it has such a variety of different places to see in one area and Portland is no exception, there are some of the best surf This side of Bells Beach the choice spots are Bridgewater Bay, The Watertower, Blacknose, Crumpets Murrells and Yellow Rock

Beginning and ending at the Visitor Information Center in Portland is a 250kilometer Great South West Walk just another way to experience Australia is to try one section or tackle the entire walk to see the stunning river gorges, beaches, capes and forests along the way.

Wind Farm at Cape Bridgewater Victoria

Phillip Island

• Penguins, Koalas and Kangaroos
• The Motorcycle Grand Prix Circuit,
• Pyramid Rock Festival is an annual event held over the New Years Eve period
• Seal Rocks,

All this is located around 125km south-east of Melbourne a 2hrs drive, to Phillip Island. Take a weekend or a week long trip and spend your days surfing, or just playing on the beach, spend the night camping or stay at one of the many houses, apartments or log cabins within easy reach of the beach.

Baby Penguins waiting for their parents to return with their food

Phillip Island is home to an astounding array of wildlife, including koalas, Australia’s largest fur seal colony and, of course, the little penguins.

Get up close to Australia’s famous wildlife on your trip to Phillip Island. You’ll see koalas, wallabies, kangaroos, native birds and seals on your excursion and you can include a visit to, the Koala Conservation Center and the famous Penguin Parade. The highlight of your visit to Phillip Island would have to be the penguins as they provide a wonderful sight as they break free of the surf and waddle home across the sand at dusk to feed their young, and if your lucky you may see the young waiting out side their barrowers for their parents and their food.