Watching the storm sail in and blow over.

Brisbane River

This photo was taken from the top of a building in North Quay which is a road that sits on the riverfront as winds on the outer rim of the CBD.

The first bridge you see is the William Jolley Bridge. William Jolley was Brisbane's first Lord Mayor. When the bridge opened in 1932 it was known as Grey Street Bridge because it joins Grey Street in South Brisbane to Roma Street which is on the western end of the CBD. It is a dual carriageway and the cars are going into the city. (Brisbane CBD is to the right of the photo).

The bridge behind it is the Merivale Bridge. It joins South Brisbane to Brisbane and is solely used for train crossings.

To the left of the photo is Southbank and then West End. Further inland is Highgate Hill. To the severe right of the photo is Brisbane and then Spring Hill, Brisbane's oldest suburb. Further down is Milton, further down again is Auchenflower.

I will be covering these suburbs in future postings.

Just think. In 1824 all this was a penal colony.

Welcome.

Land ahoy! Oh hang on, I just left there...

Hi there.

I've decided to start keeping a daily journal on the happenings in the city in which I live: sunny, sub tropical Brisbane in the State of Queensland down here in Australia. Also tagged Brisvegas this term is claimed by various parties. I first heard the tag in 1981 via a friend of my father's who was in the Army. He drove trucks often on long stints and used the term to make fun of the fact that it was a city situated in the middle of nowhere (as it pretty much was back then) and that hitting Brisbane after hours and hours on a lone stretch of highway "..was like ending up in Vegas."

While some find the term annoying, I like it. I find it actually suits the ever evolving presence Brisbane has had over the years and now that its population is booming, probably more apt now that it's ever been. I ended up in Brisbane ten years ago while travelling north to the Gulf of Carpentaria and the changes between then and now have simply been phenomenal. Sometimes I fear it's getting too big though. I miss that 'big town' feel it once had.

But aside from all that, Sundays are for sailing, which I regularly do on the ferry down the Brisbane River. I embark at North Quay and head whichever way the boat is going.

In Summer, the days do not fade until 7pm. The clouds are like cauliflower bulbs and the sky is flooded with the yellow gold of a lingering sun which leaves a pink stain as night strides in.

I love it here.

And I hope you do too.

The buoy on board the ferry - just in case you fall off. (Usually reserved for Friday nights after work...ahem).
Complete with peg bag for when the crew hang out their washing.