rotundas

As in other cities around Australia, the residents of Brisbane welcomed the new year, the new century, and the new nation on Commonwealth Day, 1 January 1901. The festivities planned for Brisbane were both formal and fun. Churches held services where official prayers were said for the new Commonwealth and for Queen Victoria. Governor Lamington had responsibility for reading the proclamation of the Commonwealth of Australia and the message from Queen Victoria to the Australian people. The people of Brisbane were joined by those from surrounding districts and further afield, who had made the trip by train to see the processions and parades. Women and men were dressed in their finest clothes, and important businesses and public buildings of Brisbane were equally well decorated for the occasion. Source: getting-it-together.moadoph.gov.au/queensland/celebration...

Built around a tidal river, some 20 km from Moreton Bay, Brisbane often floods, usually in conjunction with La Niña events bringing heavy wet conditions and cyclonic activity across the state. ‘Surviving the river’ has subsequently become an integral part of the city’s history and people’s experience of living in Brisbane. In the aftermath of floods, communities have pulled together while governments have sometimes rallied behind ambitious schemes aimed at modifying, controlling, and predicting the river. Brisbane may experience a variety of different floods throughout the year. Flash flooding in creeks is not uncommon and results from high rainfall over the Brisbane metropolitan area. Because the Brisbane River is tidal, storm surges may contribute to flooding particularly if it coincides with a high tide. River floods are less frequent though potentially more damaging. Following heavy rainfall across the catchment, water may remain above flood height for several days causing extensive backwater flooding along smaller tributaries such as the Bremer River and Oxley Creek. Throughout Brisbane’s history, the flood has repeatedly brought challenges and demanded a response, however, they have also continued to raise important questions regarding the settlement of the floodplain, where the persistent threat of flood has often been ignored and the lessons of the past easily forgotten. Source: www.qhatlas.com.au/brisbane-floods-1893-summer-sorrow

The Band Stand was used to host open-air concerts. The Soldiers memorial (now more commonly known as the Cenotaph) was unveiled in April 1924 in memory of the soldiers who lost their lives in WW1. Formally known as Strand Park it was officially named Anzac Memorial Park in 1932 after it was suggested by the RSL. Source: www.townsville.qld.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0013/550...