Brisbane is Australia's third largest city and the state capital of Queensland（昆士兰州）。 Not so long ago， the rest of Australia considered it little more than an overgrown country town， but it has shirked off this unwelcome reputation to become one of the country's most progressive centres. Since playing host to a string of major international events in the '80s， including the 1982 Commonwealth Games（英联邦运动会）and Expo '88（1988年世界博览会）， Brisbane has developed into a lively， cosmopolitan city with several interesting districts， a good street cafe scene， a great riverside park， a busy cultural calendar and decent nightlife.

　　Queensland's growing tourism industry has brought an influx of visitors to the capital， and with its near-perfect climate year-round， Brisbane comes as a pleasant surprise to most visitors. The city is also surrounded by some of the state's major tourist destinations， and there are plenty of options for daytrips.

　　Located in the southeastern corner of Queensland， Brisbane is a river city， situated 25km upstream from the mouth of the Brisbane River. The compact city centre is built along and between the looping（多圈的）meanders（曲流）of the river， making it easy to explore on foot.

　　Brisbane has plenty of backpackers'（背包客）hostels and there are also quite a few well-priced hotels， motels and self-contained apartments within a few blocks of the city centre. Most of the action， however， happens in the inner suburbs. Brisbane's restaurant and cafe scene has blossomed in recent years and you'll find there's no shortage of good eateries（餐馆）。 Many of these places have taken advantage of the balmy climate and provide outdoor eating areas.

　　Brisbane was established when Sydney and the colony of New South Wales needed a better place to store its more recalcitrant 'cons'（反抗者）。 The tropical country further north seemed a good place to put them and in 1824 a penal settlement was established at Redcliffe Point（红岩石岬）on Moreton Bay（摩顿海湾）。 This location was soon abandoned in favour of the riverside site to the south where Brisbane's business district now stands. The penal settlement was abandoned in 1839 and the area was thrown open to free settlers in 1842. As Queensland's huge agricultural and mineral resources were developed， Brisbane grew into a prosperous city， and in 1859 the state of Queensland separated from the colony of New South Wales， and Brisbane was declared its capital.

　　Queensland's early white settlers indulged in one of the greatest land grabs of all time and encountered fierce Aboriginal opposition. At the time of white settlement， Queensland was the most densely populated area of Australia， supporting over 100，000 Aboriginal people in around 200 tribal groups - it is probable that Aboriginal people had been in the country for at least 50，000 years before the arrival of Europeans. For much of the 19th century， what amounted to a guerrilla war took place along the frontiers of the white advance. By the turn of the century， the Aboriginal people of Queensland had been comprehensively run off their lands， and the white authorities had set up reserves for the survivors. In the 1980s control of the reserves was handed over to the residents， subject to rights of access for prospecting（探矿）， exploration or mining.

　　By the 1860s Brisbane had shed（摆脱）its convict background and developed into a handsome provincial centre， although it wasn't until the 1880s that the central business district was transformed by the construction of many fine public and commercial buildings. Despite a country-wide climate of jingoism and giving it all for the motherland， WWI saw Queensland vote in an anti-conscription Labor government. Labor hung on to government until 1957， introducing a series of social and industrial reforms including compulsory voting and workers' compensation.

　　During WWII， large areas of the state were transformed into military camps， with thousands of Americans being garrisoned（驻守）throughout Queensland as Australia and the USA fought against Japan throughout the Pacific. The war resulted in Australia shifting its allegiance from the UK to the USA， as the north of the country， in particular， realised how vulnerable it was to invasion. In the post-war years Queensland shifted from a rural to an industrial economy and Labor was replaced by a conservative Liberal-Country Party coalition.

　　Brisbane's more recent history is dominated by the right-wing Joh Bjelke-Peterson regime which lasted from the early 1970s to the late 1980s， thanks to a bit of sleight-of-hand with electoral boundaries. Queensland suffered a government which was at odds with（和……不一致）the rest of the country in matters such as human rights， rainforest conservation， Aboriginal land rights and even the availability of condoms. Corruption was rife and since the defeat of the National Party in 1989， it seems everyone from the former Commissioner of Police to Joh hims elf has appeared in court on charges relating to some sort of shady deal.

　　Brisbane's rapid economic growth， its favourable climate and Joh's 1977 decision to abolish death duties have all attracted a massive wave of internal migration. Since 1980 over half a million Australians from other states have packed up and moved to Queensland.

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