Green Cab Tour Commentary Notes (September 2012) The Wheel of Brisbane Photos - both shots taken by Green Cabs riders (1. not sure, 2. By Eduardo Bermudez) • The Wheel of Brisbane is a 60-metre tall transportable ferris wheel erected as part of the 20th anniversary of World Expo 88 • it opened in August 2008 and was initially scheduled to close in 2010 but has now been extended until 2013 • each of the 42 capsules can seat up to six adults and two children providing a total passenger capacity of 336 • the ride lasts for approximately 12 minutes and provides 360° views across the city • Green Cabs passengers who arrive at the wheel are entitled to a 2 for 1 discount, saving 2 adults $15 South Bank Parklands 1. Streets Beach 2. The Arbour Walk 3. The Nepalese Pavilion (left at SB after Expo 88) • South Bank Parklands (SBP) is the transformed site of Brisbane's World Expo 88 and was officially opened in 1992 • it consists of a mixture of rainforest, water, grassed areas and plazas as well as features such as the riverfront promenade, Streets Beach, the Grand Arbour, the Suncorp Piazza, the Nepalese Peace Pagoda, the Wheel of Brisbane, restaurants, shops and fountains • SBP is also home to the Queensland Conservatorium and more recently the ABC Queensland Headquarters Building • approximately 11 million people visit the parklands each year The Goodwill Bridge • the Goodwill Bridge is a pedestrian and cyclist bridge linking South Bank Parklands to the Botanical Gardens and Queensland University of Technology’s Gardens Point Campus • opened in 2001 it takes its name from the most popular entry in a public naming competition • six closed circuit TV cameras are spread across the bridge and are monitored from the South Bank Security Control Room • its total length is 450 metres • it was built downstream and then floated by barge upstream at low tide (to get under the Captain Cook Bridge) • its cost blew out during its construction resulting in the use of an extra $20.3 million in government funds • it was scheduled to be opened by Queen Elizabeth II during her visit for the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting summit in Brisbane, but after the postponement of that meeting in the wake of the terrorist attacks on New York in September 2001, the bridge was opened by the Queensland Premier • over 40,000 pedestrians and cyclists use the bridge each week The Botanical Gardens 1. Views to the Riverside Centre and the Story Bridge 2. The city skyline from the gardens • the Botanical Gardens were officially opened in 1855 • part of the site was originally a botanic reserve, established in 1828 to provide food for the early penal colony • originally plans were to subdivide this area into twelve blocks, intersected by three additional streets running parallel to Alice Street - to be respectively named Blanche, Maude and Eclipse Streets - while George and Albert Streets were planned to extend right through the present gardens area to the river bank • once opened as the Botanical Gardens the site was used for trialling crops and plants from around the world to determine their suitability for growing in subtropical climates • famous plant types now important to the Queensland economy started off as trials in the gardens (eg mangoes, pineapples, paw paws, custard apples, sugar cane, tobacco, ginger, coffee and many types of nuts and grape vines) • major redevelopment of the gardens took place in 1987 including building an information centre, upgrading the paving and converting the former curator's residence into a restaurant • improvements continued in 1989 with the construction of the Mangrove Boardwalk and the Riverstage • every weekend many parts of the park are used for weddings – Green Cabs are often used by wedding parties as we provide the only form of transport allowed in the gardens Kangaroo Point Cliffs 1. A view of the cliffs from the river 2. At sunset with views to the city skyline • the cliffs were created by convicts mining the volcanic rock or rhyolite lava flows which form the cliffs, which was deposited in the Triassic Period about 230 million years ago • many of the major historical buildings of Brisbane, particularly in the historical George and William St precincts, were built from rocks mined at the cliffs • now the cliffs are used for rock climbing and it’s also a popular picnic area with very good views of Brisbane’s skyline Gardens Point Campus - Queensland University of Technology (QUT) • Gardens Point is one of two campuses for the Queensland University of Technology (QUT), with the 2nd QUT campus located 4 kilometres north west at Kelvin Grove • overall the university has 40,000 students, including 6,000 international students, with over 4,000 staff members, and an annual budget of more than AU$750 million • QUT's main fields are sciences, engineering, health & biomedicine, business, the creative industries, education, and law & justice • the Gardens Point Campus dates back to 1849 but it was not always used for education o the area was once solely occupied by the 19th century built Old Government House o in 1909, during the relocation of the Governor's residence, Old Government House and the surrounding five hectares were set-aside for both a University and a Technical College o the first university on the site was the University of Queensland, which was moved to St Lucia in 1945, where it remains today Old Government House (within QUT) • Old Government House is currently used by QUT • construction started in 1860 and finished in 1862 • it was originally built as the residence of the 1st Governor of Queensland Sir George Bowen • the decision to build was one of the first decisions made by the newly formed Queensland Parliament after it met for the first time on in May 1860 • there was some contention regarding building it in Brisbane as the capital of Queensland had not then been decided • the building was designed by colonial architect Charles Tiffin in the classical revival style. The front half of the building contained the Governor's public and private rooms while the rear housed the service section • the building was built from locally-sourced materials, predominantly sandstone, porphyry, red cedar, hoop pine and cast iron (Old) Parliament House (cnr Alice and George Sts) • Parliament House is the home of the Parliament of Queensland and houses the State’s 89 seat Legislative Assembly • Queensland was established as a separate colony from New South Wales in 1859. Prior to building Parliament House Queensland’s Parliament met in temporary quarters at the Old Convict Barracks in Queen Street • the building work commenced in 1864 after the design plans by Robert Tiffin were selected from an Australia-wide design competition • Tiffin donated his prize money to Ipswich Grammar School after numerous allegations of undue influence in the judging of the competition • the George Street frontage was completed in 1868 in French Renaissance Revival style, with some Second Empire-style elements. The colonnades were built in 1878, and construction on the Alice Street frontage commenced in 1887 • in 1886, the building was connected to the Government Printing Office via an underground cable providing the building with an electrical supply, the first for any Parliament House in Australia • the original zinc roof was replaced in the 1980s with one constructed from Mount Isa copper • the 22-storey Parliamentary Annexe building was completed in 1979, built within the grounds of the Old Parliament House • free public guided tours of the Parliament are available each week day • Parliament House was also used as one of the filming locations for the 1980s Australian series of Mission Impossible Riverside Centre and Riverwalk 1. The foyer of the prize winning building 2. A view of the Riverside Centre from the river path • the 40 storey Riverside Centre skyscraper built in 1986 is at the heart of the ‘big end of town’ with many cafes and restaurants in the precinct • standing at 146 metres tall it is the 14th tallest building in Brisbane • the base of the building which also fronts the Brisbane River is the site for the Riverside Markets on Sundays • the building has been heritage listed and holds the Brisbane Stock Exchange • the site was initially a cemetery, later occupied by low level buildings attached to wharves – it has only recently become the playground for Brisbane’s wealthy classes • Green Cabs operate in the area every Friday and Saturday nights usually from about 10pm till dawn, often taking passengers into the Valley which is Brisbane’s most popular late night club scene The Story Bridge 1. Story Bridge by day 2. The bridge during the River Fire event in September • the Story Bridge was opened 6 July 1940 • it is part of the shortest highway in Australia – the Bradfield Highway, named after the consulting engineer John Bradfield • it was called the Story Bridge after John Douglas Story who was a Queensland public servant who argued strongly for its construction – originally it was to be called the Jubilee Bridge in honour of King George V • its construction was part of a broader plan – the Hawken Plan - during the 1920s for a series of bridges over the Brisbane River to alleviate congestion on Victoria Bridge and to divert traffic away from the Brisbane CBD. The William Jolly Bridge was the first of the Hawken Plan bridges constructed • its construction was delayed due to lack of funds, and was finally constructed as a public works program during the Great Depression. It cost ₤1,150,000 • it mimics the design of the Jacques Cartier Bridge in Montreal, completed in 1930 • it is Australia’s longest steel cantilever bridge with a total length of 777 metres, 24 metres wide and a height of 74 metres, clearance below is 30.4 metres at mid-span • during construction of the southern piers 65 workers suffered from the bends as they had to work using a pneumatic caisson technique as water was seeping into the footing excavation – the workers in the excavation had to go through 2 hours of decompression after each shift to avoid the bends.