Old Brisbane Town in Photos

Much of the old station still exists, it’s just hidden by the newer structures, of which the less said, the better.

Where the Queen Street Mall ends today. Several gentlemen demonstrating the Colonial Lean, a pose almost universal to men in outdoor studies in old Queensland. I like to think it’s a result of the casual local attitude, rather than the tedious length of time it took for a photograph to be accomplished in 1860.

Clearly the nicer end of town in those days. This was built to accommodate the Governor of the new Colony of Queensland. The first to inhabit Government House was Sir George Ferguson Bowen. The building is now part of the Queensland University of Technology Gardens Point Campus.

A view of the homes and businesses of early Queensland. This was taken before the 1864 Queen Street fires obliterated most of the structures in the rear of the photo.

St John’s Cathedral today is a magnificent Gothic structure in Ann Street. Here is the pro-Cathedral, a rather humbler place of worship in William Street.

Complete with some rather impressive bougainvillea. Presumably intended to discourage bank robbers considering making a run for it using the side door.

Is that poor child giving the horse and cart a push? Call the authorities! The authorities would probably tell the child to push harder, this being the 19th century.

Back in the days when people lived and worked in the same neighbourhood. In houses, rather than thousands of identical apartments. It must be peak hour, judging by all that traffic.

And I couldn’t resist. Below is the same place, but possibly improved slightly. What the Queen’s Wharf redevelopment will look like shortly.