Queensland capital through the ages

Don't swim in the river, seriously.

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Red Hill house 2010 #redhill #queenslander #cottage #house #wheatpaste #streetart #face #surreal #urban #domestic #experimental

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A44-216 Super Hornet

Riverfire 2014

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Brisbane is cool

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Of all the incidents described in Radical Brisbane, the Battle of Brisbane is perhaps the best known. Only it and the Red Flag Riots of 1919 have had complete books written about them. But in the public’s general knowledge of the event, details remain vague: Where did it all begin and why? How long did the disturbance continue? How serious was it in terms of mayhem and casualties? And was it just an isolated set of instances or part of a more widespread pattern of wartime social disturbance?

The original building where the rioting focused, on Thursday 26 November 1942, still stands. It is the six story, dark-brick structure on the far-right corner of Adelaide and Creek Streets before the road rises on its way to Fortitude Valley. Known today as the Primary’s Building, in 1942 it served as the American PX (or Postal Exchange), its ground floor groaning under a profusion of American luxuries – cigarettes, alcohol, hams and turkeys, ice-cream, chocolates and nylon stockings – items that were to Australian servicemen and civilians either out of bounds, heavily rationed, or far more highly priced elsewhere.

The rioting began, ironically enough, on the evening of American Thanksgiving Day – a commemoration of traditional goodwill and reconciliation. Less than a fortnight away lay the first anniversary of the bombing of Pearl Harbour. But, unlike that attack, this trouble did not simply descend on the town out of the blue...

[brisbanebraves]

Five women at the races, Brisbane, 1938 by State Library of Queensland, Australia on Flickr.

[brisbanebraves]

Brisbane City Hall interior, 05/05/13

[brisbanebraves]

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Burnett Lane 3 (view L on black) by Fasene on Flickr.

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Reflections and clouds by Pursuedbybear on Flickr.

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Ant Hill by Fasene on Flickr.

[parisiena]

Winn Lane by the-pour-deux

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Nepal Peace Pagoda, Southbank. by sandynfowler on Flickr.

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Cat And A Hot Tin Roof by Pursuedbybear on Flickr.

Looking up again, this time at The Mansions on George Street.

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Brisbane by aroundtheworldinablightydaze on Flickr.

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Pattersons Wheel 1 by Brett Watson-Luke on Flickr.

The plaque on this wheel says "Until 1942 this steam driven cast iron wheel, 4.5m in diameter and weight 10 tonnes, operated machinery in the sawmill of Pattersons Pty Limited, in Sherwwod Road Toowong. It was manufacture in Melbourne in 1901."

[brisbanebraves]

Wicked Gates by Fasene on Flickr.

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Facade by Brett Watson-Luke on Flickr.

The facade of a building on Elizabeth Street, Brisbane.