The Making of a Metropolis

John Laverty

Brisbane began as a disreputable convict establishment. All the same it was named after the governor of New South Wales, General Sir Thomas Brisbane. Real development of the Moreton Bay district and Brisbane its maritime, administrative and commercial centre occurred quite rapidly after free settlement in 1842. When Queensland was separated from NSW and Brisbane was incorporated as a municipality in 1859, its attributes ensured that it would become capital of the new colony. Its pre-eminence was subsequently reflected in the political, social and cultural development of the city community. Despite the ravages of depressions in the mid-1860s and early-1890s, a high birth-rate and a vigorous immigration policy produced a rapidly increasing population. At the same time the central city administration became increasingly complex and more specialised and new suburban local authorities were created. Manufacturing also expanded as the needs and demands of the populace increased. Social groups and institutions emerged to provide much needed services for the populace, and cultural facilities followed as the community became more sophisticated. Brisbane had reached metropolitan status by 1925.