您正在看的文化英语是:世界城市览胜（5）Brisbane（澳大利亚）。

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