City Information
Brisbane
Brisbane is the capital and most populous city in the Australian state of Queensland, and the third most populous city in Australia. The Brisbane central business district stands on the original European settlement and is situated inside a bend of the Brisbane River, approximately 15 kilometres (9 miles) from its mouth at Moreton Bay. The metropolitan area extends in all directions along the floodplain of the Brisbane River valley between Moreton Bay and the Great Dividing Range. The metropolitan area sprawls across several of Australia’s most populous local government areas, including the City of Brisbane, which is by far the most populous LGA in the nation. Brisbane was chosen as the capital when Queensland was proclaimed a separate colony from New South Wales in 1859. Brisbane has hosted many large cultural, international and sporting events, including the 1982 Commonwealth Games, World Expo ’88, the final Goodwill Games in 2001, and the 2014 G-20 summit. Brisbane is classified as a Global city.
Gold Coast
Gold Coast is a coastal city in southeastern Queensland on the east coast of Australia. It is the second most populous city in the state, the sixth most populous city in the country, and the most populous non-capital city and cross-state metropolitan area in Australia. The city’s northernmost point at Ormeau is located 42 kilometres south-east of the Brisbane CBD, and the metropolitan area extends south along the coast to Tweed Heads in New South Wales. The Gold Coast metropolitan area converges with that of Greater Brisbane, forming part of an urban conurbation of over 3 million people. The Gold Coast region grew significantly after the establishment of the Surfers Paradise hotel in the late 1920s. The area boomed in the 1980s as a leading tourist destination and in 1994, the Gold Coast City local government area was expanded to encompass the majority of Gold Coast’s metropolitan area, becoming the second most populous local government area in Australia after the City of Brisbane. Gold Coast is today a major tourist destination with its sunny subtropical climate, surfing beaches, canal and waterway systems, its high-rise dominated skyline, theme parks, nightlife, and rainforest hinterland, making tourism one of its most significant industries.
Hamilton Island
Hamilton Island is the largest inhabited island of the Whitsunday Islands in Queensland, Australia. It is positioned approximately 887 kilometers (551 mi) north of Brisbane and 512 kilometers (318 mi) south of Cairns. It is also the only island in the Great Barrier Reef with its own commercial airport, with short direct flights from Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Cairns. Hamilton Island, like most in the Whitsunday group, was formed as sea levels rose creating numerous drowned mountains that are situated close to the east coast of Queensland. At the 2011 Australian Census the island recorded a population of 1,208 people. The island is a popular tourist destination and was featured in the successful “Best Job in the World” promotion. In late August the island plays host to its annual Hamilton Island Race Week yachting festival, in which more than 150 yachts from across Australia and New Zealand gather for a week of races around the islands. However this is only one of many events hosted on the island.
Daydream Island
Daydream Island is one of the closest of the Whitsunday Island resorts to the coast, being completely inhabited by Daydream Island Resort and Spa. The resort is set in a luscious, exotic landscape, where visitors can snorkel or dive fringing reefs and enjoy activities including water sports, mini golf, movies at the open-air cinema or swimming in one of the resort pools. Unique to the island is a man-made outdoor aquarium, the Living Reef, and the award-winning Rejuvenation Spa offers a range of health and beauty treatments. The island is accessible by resort guests and day visitors.
Fraser Island
Fraser Island stretches over 123 kilometres in length and 22 kilometres at its widest point. With an area of 184 000 hectares it is the largest sand island in the world. Fraser Island’s World Heritage listing ranks it with Australia’s Uluru, Kakadu and the Great Barrier Reef. Fraser Island is a precious part of Australia’s natural and cultural heritage, it is protected for all to appreciate and enjoy. Fraser island is a place of exceptional beauty, with its long uninterrupted white beaches flanked by strikingly colored sand cliffs, and over 100 freshwater lakes, some tea-colored and others clear and blue all ringed by white sandy beaches. Ancient rainforests grow in sand along the banks of fast-flowing, crystal-clear creeks Fraser Island is the only place in the world where tall rainforests are found growing on sand dunes at elevations of over 200 meters. The low “wallum” heaths on the island are of particularly evolutionary and ecological significance, and provide magnificent wildflower displays in spring and summer.
