Frangipani trees are blooming everywhere in Brisbane at the moment. Even though their flowers drop, they are still perfect, and you often find little carpets of them when you walk down the street. They look, feel and smell sensational! And a tasty hair accessory also.
I just popped into the Museum of Brisbane on wednesday and saw a great exhibition of photos taken in Brisbane over the last 100 years. There was a photo similar to this which I really liked so I have blatantly gone out and taken my own version. The building is Riparian Plaza which gets the title of Brisbane's tallest tower only because of the big pole sticking on top of it. I was told it was put there purely to increase the height of the building.
There was a XXXX beer ad on in England several years back which sprang to mind when I took this picture... In the foreground is the Australian Vietnam War Memorial with the two sculpted soldiers looking thirstily towards the FourEx Brewery. I'll probably have a couple of beers today meself - just to sociable, like.
It's a bit like Sleeping Beauty meets King Kong...
There are several species of parrot that live in and around the Brisbane area. These beauties are Rainbow Lorikeets who were happily chatting away when I saw them, tucked into their gum tree peering out at the world.
Here's the CityCat again.... The most civilised way to get about town! This time in the pink drink which makes a nice change from the river's normal colour: a shade somewhere between old tea and dirty dishwater...
Here's one of the windows in St. Stephen's Cathedral which adjoins the chapel in yesterday's post. It's a much grander church and the windows are really stunning. It was a job getting a variety of shots as all but one window were open because it was really hot. There are maybe another 9 like this plus 4 much bigger ones higher up towards the roof. I find it unbelievable that all this glass was shipped from Ireland, England, France and Germany in the nineteenth century. Can you imagine being responsible for this lot... months on a boat swaying side to side.... and every time there were storm clouds on the horizon...? It would be enough to give you a heart condition!
This picture was taken at the back of St. Stephen's Chapel on Elizabeth Street which is the oldest church in Queensland. The sculpture is of Mary MacKillop . It's a powerful, rough depiction carved out of untreated wood and it takes up most of the little room it's in - not like the smooth, perfectly detailed art works you usually see in churches made out of marble. Sunday marked the 100th anniversary of her death and they had a bit of a do in the cathedral next to the chapel. It turns out she's been beatified and now well on the way to becoming Australia's first saint. Bless her!
Today's signal box comes to you from Grey Street in South Bank. Nice one, Jil!
The State Law Building in George Street - the one that looks like it belongs in a Batman film - is affectionately known to Brisbaners as "Gotham City" or the "Batman Building". At a glance, you'd be forgiven for thinking it was an old 1930s building but it's actually a standard run-of-the-mill high rise that had a fancy refurbishment a few years ago. I reckon it looks pretty classy. It's seen here from across the Brisbane River through a window in the Gallery of Moden Art.
This is one of the building sites working on the Hale Street Link which is a 4 lane car bridge that will soon span the Brisbane River. (Insert huge eyeroll here.) You have to admire the council for it's unshakeable belief that it is going to be the first city in the world to solve its traffic problems by building more roads. In the meantime, the city is getting used to blockages and road closures which will be in place until the project is finished probably mid-late 2010.
Here we go: the reason I moved to Brisbane. The CityCat. There is simply no better way to travel. Standing at the front of the boat with the wind in your hair and the warm sun reflecting off your sunglasses... and they call this public transport! Bring it on.
I love this street name. So relaxed and agreeable which to my mind is typically Australian. Can you imagine what was going on when it got it's name? Probably a few cold beers for a start!
This warm time of year in Brisbane is ideal for spiders and one of the city's most prolific is the Golden Orb Weaver. They are great and that is coming from a complete wimp from London. The best thing about them is that they just hang out in their webs which are usually thoughtfully constructed above or to the side of paths and roads. They don't jump out at you unexpectedy or come in your house and look at you while you sleep or kill you. They just hang out - outside. The female (like the one shown here) grows up to 10cms and the male is about 5 mm which must make for an interesting love life.
Here we are again on our stroll around the busy junctions of Brisbane where most (there are some left) signal boxes are adorned with art done by locals. This one really stands out against the largely white and grey business tones of Cordelia Street on the south side of the river.
Introducing another of Brisbane's bridges - The Eleanor Schonell bridge connecting Dutton Park with the University of Queensland. It's only a year old and is more commonly known as the "Green Bridge" because the only types of traffic allowed to use it are pedestrians, cyclists and buses. Brisbane is trying hard to give itself a green, clean image. I'm a bit confused by it, though. The university won't allow buses to drive through the campus so the buses drive over the bridge and terminate there at the uni. This doesn't seem very green to me. Surely they could have built the terminus on the Dutton Park side of the bridge, built a cycle/footbridge instead making it far more environmentally friendly and saved millions??
I was looking up at the sky on Monday evening while I was at a friend's house thinking - why didn't I bring my camera?? Luckily another friend on a balcony in Bowen Hills had his to hand. That's the Old Museum in the foreground. Thanks Garry!
This is one of Brisbane's television transmitter towers that sits up on top of Mount Coot-tha. If you have a tv aerial in Brisbane, it is probably pointed in this direction. Funnily enough if you stood directly below it with a TV set and pointed the aerial at it to get a picture, you'd get an awful reception because of the shape of the waves coming out of the top of the tower.
This is one of two big boomerangs that mark the southern entrance to Musgrave Park in South Brisbane. The park is an important Aboriginal site and is said to be sacred, having a buried bora ring beneath it. Brisbane celebrates Pride here in June, NAIDOC day in July, and it is also home to the city's annual Greek Festival, Paniyiri in May. Each year they hold a "Zorbathon" where they try and get as many people as possible to dance to Zorba the Greek. Apparently the record is 3300 people for 8 minutes! That photo is definately on my to-do list.
This beautiful creature is one of dozens that live on the tree directly outside my front gate. They call it a Stink Bug. Poor thing. Apparently, to defend themselves they release a nasty smell but luckily my camera didn't seem to pose too much of a threat. Other names for them are Harlequin Bug, Shield-Backed Bug , Jewel Bug or if you happen to be Latin, Tectocoris diophthalmus.
Sunday again and time for your weekly dose of traffic signal box art - this time coming to you from the corner of North Quay and the William Jolly Bridge. The fella on the box is wearing a top with the Aboriginal flag on it. The flag was designed in 1971 and is said to represent black skin, red earth and ochre sun.
According to the 2006 census, there are about 1.8 million residents of Brisbane (lots more now, I'd say). Since I moved here in August 2005, about 153,000 others have too. As I am still on a break from work, I have done the maths for you - it's about 860 a week... which makes it the fastest growing city in Australia. The traditional quarter-acre block with a Queenslander on it is becoming a rarity with the blocks being divided as the population multiplies. I like this block of apartments because of the sheer scale of it.
Did I mention about the Gallery of Modern Art? I can't plug it enough, it's brilliant. And they let you take photos upstairs. That was where I came across this huge and lovely lady by sculptor Ron Mueck who looks a bit like she's got something on her mind. At least she had lots of bedside visitors.
I nipped down to the Gallery of Modern Art earlier in the week which is just such a brilliant and imaginative place to walk around. And it's free. Every school holidays, it's teeming with kids who are encouraged to get involved in loads of kids' exhibits. Parents usually get into this as much as the kids (me included).
