Panorama of Brisbane, 1880

More information on this painting later... in the meantime, can you spot anything familiar or where the artist was standing when he painted it? Click on it for a closer view.


(Edit) The artist was J.A. Clark and he was standing on Bowen terrace (at what is now the Wilson Outlook Reserve) looking at the section of the river which now boasts the story bridge so well done to Jake, 'me', anonymous and no doubt tff for spotting it correctly!  Spring Hill stands out with the windmill on the left and the newly erected "old" Parliament House on the right. It's a gigantic painting - I think 5 or 6 feet long - and it hangs in the Queensland Art Gallery. Definitely worth a visit!

Talking of visits, thanks for visiting this blog today! Lovely.

"Here comes a person - freeze!"

I drive past this shopfront in South Brisbane every day and it always brings a little smile to my face. I would really enjoy arranging that display.

It makes me wonder about when all the lights are out and the shop owners go home to bed...

I am, you are, we are Australian!

Last night, myself and 994 others became Australia's newest citizens at the exhibition centre in South Bank. I was so proud to be one of the many nationalities taking part in the ceremony and grinned all the way through it (although it was a little tough for one of us to grin at certain times!) Unfortunately I don't get to vote in the upcoming election as it's just a bit too late to process... but the NEXT election.... watch out!

We are one, but we are many
And from all the lands on earth we come
We share a dream and sing with one voice:
I am, you are, we are Australian

River City Life

The view from the boardwalk at Teneriffe on a winter's day looking towards Hawthorne CityCat stop. Not too shabby.

Floral Gems

Winter blooms amongst some bare branches at the Botanic Gardens in Mt. Coot-tha. If you are in Brisbane, it is such a great place to relax. It's open every day.... and it's completely FREE.

I know those drawings!

A funny thing happened to me last night when I turned on the telly. An artist was being interviewed and he was talking all about these people that he drew - and how they all look like they're straight out of the 1970s and all the men have these giant beards

The drawings looked vaguely familiar to me and he said he was from Brisbane... then all of a sudden he started talking about how he was asked to project his drawings onto the Willian Jolly Bridge. It was a bit of a Eureka moment for me as I had been wondering who had drawn them and what they were about when I posted the projection a few weeks ago. The artist's name is Laith McGregor and you can see plenty more of his work by doing a Google Image search on his name. He works a lot with biro which I really like.

 He's also exhibiting at the Melbourne Art Fair between August 4-8 if you're in the area.

Or if you like here's a little video. (I'm not sure if that's available outside Australia - sorry if it's not)

Today's picture shows the same projection as my original post,  just a little wider.

The Engine Room

 

The small red-brick building in the foreground is known as The Engine Room and sits on the banks of the river at Teneriffe. In 1908/9, the Brisbane Stovedoring and Wool Dumping Company constructed wharves and storage areas here for the export of, among other things, refrigerated meat to Britain. This building housed two ammonia compressors that were driven by steam engines to provide the refrigeration needed in the cold storage areas. It's now heritage listed.

I was really surprised they had refrigeration up and running this early - pretty state of the art I would have thought...especially in what was a relatively small outpost at the time.  Although, if you have a look at the buildings that remain in Brisbane from around that time, it is evident the British intended Brisbane to be a sophisticated, cultured and prosperous place and it looks like a lot of money flowed though here at the time.

Sign me up!

A sign lurking on the periphery of the Brisbane Powerhouse.

Ribbed for your (Skywatch Friday) pleasure!

Amazing patterns in the Brisbane sky a few weeks ago. 

Visit Skywatch Friday for more skies around the world.

Now and Then

I'm not sure if it's intentional or not but I LOVE that they've kept the old sign there.

Teneriffe Dock Bollard

It says "Evans, Anderson and Phelan" across the middle (an engineering company, I think). These dock bollards remain along the riverside path, rusting up nicely and serving as a reminder that there wasn't always posh flats round there. By the way, Teneriffe was only recognised as a suburb by Brisbane City Council earlier in the year so a big shout-out to all the Teneriffe dwellers who I'm sure now have a nice warming sense of validity.

Happy Birthday, Powerhouse

 

This is the entrance to the Brisbane Powerhouse, a major arts venue here in Brizzy. It's housed in the shell of an old power station which was built in stages between 1928 and 1940. It has these old brick walls that are really high. This year, it is celebrating its 10th birthday. Download the program here.

Private Poetry

This sign is on part of the Brisbane Powerhouse property which is a fab arts venue in New Farm.

Loving Life!

New Farm Park's finest.

Traffic Stopping Art (number 48)

Here we are with another one of Brisbane's painted traffic signal boxes. I've posted this one before which is scandalous seeing as there are so many more un-posted that deserve my attention... but this is from a different angle and I quite like the rest of the shot.

A Woolly Blanket For The Moon

 As a native of more temperate climes, I had to laugh when I went to see comedian Bill Bailey at the weekend and he said that it was almost like the people of Brisbane were mocking him by wearing winter coats in 20 degree heat. After five years here, I have now become one of these softies. It's not the 20 degrees that is cold, it's when you get into the shade and lose 10 degrees instantly... really! If there are any Canadians or Outer Mongolians reading this and rolling their eyes: I don't blame you. Wimps, the lot of us.

Anyway. The nights have been in single figures recently... and the moon definitely needs its woolly cloud blanket.

This post was proudly brought to you by Skywatch Friday.

Blue and Green

This is the State Law Building in George Street - a favourite of mine. They call it "Gotham City" as from other angles it is straight out of Batman. I quite like it from this angle too. The blue glass and green steel go well with the sky and trees.

Doorways of Brisbane

Charcoal Yiros

Greek-style marinated, barbequed lamb and chicken at Char Char Yiros in West End. They serve it with pita bread, Greek salad, chips and a couple of slices of grilled haloumi. Delicious but seriously filling. I had to walk 2kms after eating just to be able to breathe properly!

Bill Bailey

Last night I went to see comedian and musician Bill Bailey on stage at the Performing Arts Centre in South Bank. It was a brilliant night and I laughed loads. At the end when everyone was filing out of the theatre and there would have been about 10% of the audience left in the auditorium, he came back on stage and gave those of us that were left our own private concert - it was excellent!