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One hundred and twenty years ago Townsville's Flinders Street East was the bustling major gateway to Australia on the eastern coast. In 1888, exactly 120 years ago, three prominent buildings along Flinders Street East were opened. Local historian Dr Dorothy Gibson-Wilde says the double-story, coral-coloured Magnetic House was the most prominent of that year, originally built for the AMP society by Sir John Sulman. "He is one of Australia's most famous architects and is well known for his work in Sydney around the university," she explains. "To have him design a building at what was then a small coastal port, was a great indicator as to how a lot of people felt about the future of north Queensland." Along with the AMP society, Flinders Street East was home to several banks. The Australian Joint Stock Bank opened in 1888 and was designed by the architect F.D.G. Stanley. It now houses a nightclub aptly named, The Bank However, the street was most populated by agents for the great shipping companies. Burns Philp, Aplin Brown and Co and Samuel Allens and Sons were among the biggest. But Dorothy remembers one particular company, Carter and Co, that was where the Queensland Insurance Building is today next to the Museum of Tropical Queensland. "It was known as the concrete wharf," she says, "and even in my childhood I can remember sugar lighters unloading at that wharf." What would those who first built up Flinders Street East think now if they knew the bustling port had turned into an entertainment strip? ' I think they'd be a bit surprised to see that their city is still surviving," Dorothy says. A western sprawl had already begun in 1888, and by 1889 Victoria Bridge had opened to traffic, providing access from the city area over to the new wharves at South Townsville. AMP moved out of Magnetic House in 1929 into new premises on the other end of Flinders Mall, which now houses Connolly Suthers Lawyers. Then in 1927 AMP built what was a major state government office building at the opposite corner on Stanley Street. "We've got a wonderful set of buildings that tell the story of the city," Dorothy says. Source: www.abc.net.au/local/stories/2008/09/23/2371819.htm

Brisbane City is the central suburb and central business district of Brisbane, the state capital of Queensland, Australia.[3] It is colloquially referred to as the "Brisbane CBD" or "the city". It is located on a point on the northern bank of the Brisbane River, historically known as Meanjin, Mianjin or Meeanjin in the local Aboriginal Australian dialect.[4] The triangular-shaped area is bounded by the median of the Brisbane River to the east, south, and west.[5] The point, known at its tip as Gardens Point, slopes upward to the northwest where the city is bounded by parkland, and the inner city suburb of Spring Hill to the north. The CBD is bounded to the northeast by the suburb of Fortitude Valley. To the west, the CBD is bounded by Petrie Terrace, which in 2010 was reinstated as a suburb. The Brisbane central business district is an area of densely concentrated skyscrapers and other buildings, interspersed by several parks such as Roma Street Parklands, City Botanic Gardens, and Wickham Park. It occupies an area of 1.367 km2. The city is laid out according to a grid pattern surveyed during the city's early colonial days, a feature typical of most Australian street patterns. Major landmarks and attractions in the CBD include City Hall (including the Museum of Brisbane), the Story Bridge, the Howard Smith Wharves, ANZAC Square, St John's Cathedral, the Brisbane River and its Riverwalk network, the City Botanic Gardens, Roma Street Parkland, Queensland Parliament House, Old Government House, and Customs House. Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brisbane_central_business_district