visitor info guide to brisbane

This is the second charming little incarnation of the original church that was designed by holy architect RG Suter in 1868.

On the outer edges of parklands and koala colonies is this peaceful Buddhist retreat with buildings in the Chinese palace architectural style of red and gold

This prominent white landmark villa on ‘Cloudland Hill’ came from humble beginnings as a smaller stone Georgian affair designed by Benjamin Backhouse in the early 1860’s.

This landmark timber structure which still stands proud at Cleveland Point was built in 1864-65 as one of the first in the colony of Queensland.

Secreted on a tiny patch of green overlooking Newstead is this ‘shrine’ to the once grand ballroom which graced the top of the hill

The plain face-brick façade of the 1941 built Comino’s Arcade gives little clue to the richness of its history and interior.

Tucked away from the city’s thoroughfares, the convict-built Commissariat Stores are one of only two buildings that survived from the penal settlement.

The imposing neo-classical towers of the government offices came to life as part of the government job scheme during the Depression.

This remarkable piece of art deco architecture came to be during the Great Depression when houses everywhere were being divided into flats.

A customs house has inhabited this spot near Petrie’s Bight since 1849, with this grand copper-domed building with its massive colonnade replacing a much smaller one in 1888

One of Queensland’s oldest burial grounds, South Brisbane Cemetery was reserved as a supplement to the overflowing Paddington Cemetery in 1864.

Horseracing in Brisbane had its roots in the early settlement with the first settlers keen followers and punters, with the Queensland Turf Club being established in 1865.

As one of a swag of grand ornate hotels that came to represent the unique Queensland 19th century style, the Empire was constructed in the boom times of the late 1880’s

Dating from 1866, this is significant as the first major (clay core) dam to be built in Queensland and one of the first in Australia.

Tucked away on a quiet riverside street sits this rare gem of a pre-separation house

The heritage-listed iconic house with its composer sculpture garden is now for rent on Air BnB