Brisbane

Brisbane ( ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Queensland and the third-most populous city in Australia, with a population of approximately 2.8 million. Brisbane lies at the centre of South East Queensland; a bio-geographical and urban region with an estimated population of 4.1 million as of 2024. The central business district is situated within a peninsula of the Brisbane River approximately from its mouth at Moreton Bay. Greater Brisbane sprawls across the hilly floodplain of the Brisbane River Valley between the Pacific Ocean and the Taylor and D'Aguilar mountain ranges, encompassing several local government areas (LGAs). The City of Brisbane LGA forms the inner area of Greater Brisbane, and is the most populous local government area in Australia. The city is governed by Brisbane City Council, composed of 26 locally-elected councillors and led by a lord mayor. The demonym of Brisbane is Brisbanite.

The Moreton Bay penal settlement was established in 1824 at Redcliffe as a place for secondary offenders from the Sydney colony, but in May 1825, the settlement moved to North Quay on the banks of the Brisbane River, named for the Governor of New South Wales, Sir Thomas Brisbane. German Lutherans established the first free settlement of Zion Hill at Nundah in 1838, and in 1859, Brisbane was chosen as Queensland's capital when the state separated from New South Wales. During World War II, the Allied command in the South West Pacific was based in the city, along with the headquarters of General Douglas MacArthur of the United States Army.