Some places of historical interest seen from the Brisbane River...

Way back at the beginning of October, DH and I went on a cruise up the Brisbane River and I've already written posts here and here, about that day. But we saw so much that day, that there are at least another 2 posts I can write about it!

In this post, I'll share some photos of places that are part of the history of my city. 

Where we boarded the boat at Hamilton, we could see the old nurses' quarters of the Royal Brisbane Hospital high on the hill at Herston.  These 2 towers of 8 storeys each were built in the 1930s. As a child, I could see these towers (from the other side) from our house...and often wondered what it was like inside them...probably pretty spartan, despite their grand name of the Lady Lamington Buildings! lol 

 Needless to say, nurses' quarters haven't been needed for a long time and these heritage listed buildings are now used for other purposes including a museum of nursing. 

Using the zoom, the towers still stand out on their hilltop position on the left mid ground. 

Just like in many cities around the world, large rivers were used for wharves and docks, so too, Brisbane. Around the New Farm and Newstead Reaches of the river were many wharves for handling produce. 

Set back from those long gone wharves, there were streets and streets of warehouses...big brick buildings, most being woolstores. 

 These buildings are no longer woolstores...most have been converted into very swanky unit (apartment) blocks...

 Along the river bank, lots (and lots) of unit blocks have been squeezed in on the river bank after the wharves were demolished. 

Another old brick building...the old CSR refinery (sugar)...now redeveloped as units, with unit blocks built on the land that surrounded the refinery building. 

In New Farm there is another old brick building which is huge, but it's not a former woolstore ... it was a powerhouse, specifically power for the trams that used to run in Brisbane. 

This building now has cafes, restaurants and theatres...and magnificent views of the river!

The Powerhouse Complex is nestled beside New Farm Park. This space deserves the term 'historically significant' as it is the site of the 'new farm' in the days of the Moreton Bay penal colony. The first farm was the area which is now the Botanical Gardens in the city. As well as a farm, the area had also been used for horse racing with punters arriving by boat on the river. Trevor, from Your Brisbane:Past and Present blog wrote about the history of New Farm Park here. 

New Farm Park along side the Brisbane River...

The next photo is taken looking towards the northern end of the Story Bridge (Fortitude Valley end )...old docks and sheds are visible...

And there are more of the same on the righthand side of the bridge. These were originally old naval stores; a bit derelict apparently. During WW2 some air raid bunkers were built in this complex too. Not long after  DH and I spent that day on the cruise,  it was announced in the media that the redevelopment of this area would go ahead. 

The old dry dock area of South Brisbane is now the Maritime Museum...

 An old steamer which is part of the Maritime Museum...

Nearing the City Reach of the river, the beautiful old Customs House is on the northern bank of the river. There used to be wharves near here but now they are long gone. Customs House is now owned by the University of Queensland and is a very grand venue. 

The next photo shows an old gas stripping tower that was part of an old gasworks on the southern bank of the river at West End. 

Once again, Trevor has already written about this in his blog, so if you would like to know about this structure and see a closeup photo, go here. :-)

The next photo is farther up the river at Dutton Park...yes it's a cemetery. It opened in 1866 and was originally known as the South Brisbane Cemetery. DH has many family members on his mum's side buried there.  

The next photo is the old wharf at Seventeen Mile Rocks (or what is left of it) for the Queensland Cement and Lime Company. Behind this and hidden from view of those on the  river, is a big waterpark known as Rocks Riverside Park. A redevelopment initiative of the Brisbane City Council it is very popular with families of course. As well as the water park, it is possible to walk around and look at remnants of the infrastructure from the old cement works and the docks. DH and I did just that a number of years ago. 

The water park is completely hidden from the river ... 

I've already shown photos of Newstead House and Shafston, but they both played such important roles in the former colony...so once more, here they are seen from the river.

 So that's some of Brisbane's history seen from the river. 

The Bridges over the Brisbane River...

Another post now about that trip DH and I did, cruising up the Brisbane River and back again. I remember reading a report quite a few years ago which concluded that there were not enough bridges crossing over the Brisbane River. But since then there has been a number of new bridges built and a Google search revealed that there are now 15 bridges which cross this river. But I'm going to include some bridges that cross tributaries and while most people don't notice them, these smaller bridges carry a lot of traffic.

So here we go...let's check out those bridges!

The bridge farthest downstream is the Sir Leo Hielscher Bridge; basically 2 bridges with the original one being called The Gateway Bridge...

The next bridge is over the mouth of Norman Creek rather than the Brisbane River, where Norman Creek flows into the Brisbane River...

Then as the river flows past Newstead, there is the Breakfast Creek Bridge. (Oxley, an early explorer of this region is reported to have stopped for breakfast where this tributary flows into the Brisbane River and so the creek was named...believe it or not! lol) 

The next bridge we come to is the Story Bridge designed by John Bradfield, who also designed the famous Sydney Harbour Bridge. This bridge was opened in 1940. I love this bridge...

The next bridge was built as part of a freeway ( SE Freeway, now M1)...one of the first freeways in Brisbane. It was originally known as the Gardens' Point Bridge but the name was changed to the Captain Cook Bridge. It was opened in 1972.

The next bridge is a pedestrian and cyclist bridge, known as the Goodwill Bridge opened in 2001. On the south bank approach it is just near the Maritime Museum. 

Cruise a little farther and we come to the Victoria Bridge...this one opened in 1969 and is the third permanent structure known as the Victoria Bridge. The first one was washed away in the great flood of 1893! I didn't actually take a photo of the Victoria Bridge so I 'borrowed' this one from the Internet. Notice how alike the Captain Cook Bridge it is?

The next bridge we come to is another pedestrian and cyclist bridge known as the Kurilpa Bridge and opened in 2009...

Then we come to another one of my favourite bridges...the lovely old William Jolly Bridge aka Grey St Bridge, opened in 1932.

Not far from the William Jolly Bridge is the Merivale Railway Bridge which was opened in 1978. This bridge meant that trains on the south side could continue on to the north side of town instead of terminating at South Brisbane. Not just suburban trains but also those coming from interstate. 

The northern end of the Merivale St, Railway Bridge

 Just near the Merivale bridge is yet another road bridge...the Go Between Bridge which links West End to Hale St on the north side. It was opened in 2010.

Looking downstream towards the city...3 bridges in a row!

Crossing from Dutton Park to near the University of Queensland at St Lucia, we have the Eleanor Schonell Bridge which was opened in 2006. This bridge was originally called the Green Bridge but it was later changed to honor a great academic from UQ. This bridge is for pedestrians, cyclists, buses and emergency vehicles only. This is another bridge that I find beautiful...and therefore I took a lot of photos :-)

Underneath...

A bus on the bridge heading from Dutton Park to St Lucia...

The next bridges are at Indooroopilly and there are 4 side by side...

L-R, Jack Pesch, Albert Rail, Indooroopilly Rail and the Walter Taylor Bridges...

Going upstream we first go under the Jack Pesch pedestrian and cyclist bridge. This bridge was opened in 1998.Nestled beside that bridge is the Albert Rail Bridge which was opened in 1895 and enabled a train link between Brisbane and Ipswich. Right beside the Albert Bridge is a newer rail bridge opened in 1957...known simply as the Indooroopilly Rail Bridge. 

And then, 'snuggled up' beside the Albert Bridge is yet another of my favourite Brisbane bridges...The Walter Taylor Bridge, opened in 1936. 

The flats/apartments in the towers of the bridge always fascinated me as a child...oh all right! They fascinated me as an adult too!! lol

Then the final bridge over the Brisbane River is the Centenary Bridge, opened 1964. This bridge opened up a number of suburbs collectively called the Centenary Estate for development. It is part of the Western Freeway.  

It looks very quiet, but this bridge  is part of the freeway!

The Centenary Bridge takes a lot of traffic each day!

I've been fortunate to have travelled a bit and have admired bridges such as those over the Thames, especially Tower Bridge (I've been there when it opened to let a tall masted yacht through!), the wonderful bridge built by Brunel in Bristol, the lovely old bridges in Newcastle, UK, the elegant old Brooklyn Bridge, the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge and amazing high bridges over the Snake and Columbia Rivers and was absolutely charmed by the Golden Gate Bridge and the Oakland Bridge...but some of those bridges here in my home town are pretty special to me as well. 

Cruising up the river...

At the beginning of October, DH looked at our calendar with all its scribbled in notations, and commented that we were in for a very busy month! And so it was that the day after our Brewery Tour, we headed off to Brett's Wharf at Hamilton, to board the boat doing the Bremer River Cruise. As the name suggests, this cruise goes up the Brisbane River to where the Bremer River joins it. The city of Ipswich is located on the Bremer river and in the early days of the then colony, ships were able to navigate from the mouth of the Brisbane River, all the way to Ipswich...not any more. It's a cruise that I've wanted to do for a while but the number of trips available each year is very limited due to tide heights I believe, and often we were away on those dates or cruises were cancelled due to a low number of bookings.

So we had missed the April cruises but the 2 October ones were good for us.

We arrived quite early but a few people were even earlier...

 The Lady Brisbane was waiting at the wharf too...

It wasn't long before lots more people arrived and it was time to board. Because this time last year when the trip we were booked on was cancelled due to lack of numbers, we were thrilled to hear that just over a 100 people were booked on this cruise. During the day talking to our fellow travellers we found that one group were on a Cross Country Bus Tours excursion, another group were from a Probus Club and the third group were from the Men's Shed of Stafford and they all came and sat out on the front deck where we were sitting.
DH commented that the boat was full of old people...hmmm? Sayings like 'pot calling the kettle black' sprang to mind.

The Brisbane River meanders in deep loops, so our journey up the river was rather leisurely...and DH and I took lots of photos. I've decided to write more than one post, showcasing different aspects of the river in each. This post will just be like an overview...but other posts will cover bridges, large homes, historical buildings, especially those repurposed, and probably a post about other vessels and facilities of the river. 

We selected our 'spot' on the top deck, seated at a table. For a while, the blue chairs in the photo below, were empty, so a perfect spot for taking photos...for a while anyway :-)

Starting our cruise upstream...chugging past the hill at Hamilton...watch out DH...more 'old people'! lol

The next photo is still of the hill above Kingsford-Smith Drive...older unit blocks...some of which would have magnificent views...

Our beautiful wide river...

The river has a number of tributaries...here's where Norman Creek flows in...

On the northern banks of the river we go past the where Breakfast Creek flows into the Brisbane River...we see glimpses through the trees of the historic Newstead House there...but more in a future post.

We continue on our winding way and notice beautiful New Farm Park on the northern bank...

Here we are as the city buildings in the distance, seem to emerge from the water...old people again huh?

The cliffs of Kangaroo Point...

On the opposite bank to Kangaroo Point are the historic City Botanical Gardens...complete with boat moorings...hence the name 'The Garden's Reach'...

A bit farther on and the Gardens are just a glimpse here on the left hand side. Looking back now, because of those deep meanders, the buildings really do look like they are emerging from the water. 

The photo below...

Looking towards the Queensland Performing Arts Complex QPAC, and the Eye of Brisbane. On the left hand side of the photo is a small section of the Southbank Parklands...

Leaving the city reach of the river, we sail past the suburb of West End on one side and Milton on the north bank...

West End still has a percentage of industry, as well as parts that have been gentrified into quite elite residential...

Is DH being cheeky here? Did I mention his comment about 'old people' again at this point?

We meandered through the Toowong Reach, sailed past St Lucia (the last stop for the City Cat ferry) on one side and Brisbane Corso on the other. The scenery alternated between big homes and bushland...

From St Lucia we soon headed to Tennyson...this photo is of the new Tennis Centre...built on the site of the old Tennyson Power House.

We even spotted some kangaroos near the jail out Wolston Park way...

Readers with a knowledge of Brisbane will realise that I've omitted a lot of suburbs that we sailed past (such as Dutton Park, Yeronga, Yeerongpilly, Indooroopilly, Chelmer, Fig Tree Pocket, Seventeen Mile Rocks, Jindalee, Westlake, Pinjarra Hills, Bellbowrie to name some), but we don't want 'War and Peace' here now do we?
At Moggill we had a little stop...

 The Moggill Ferry is a vehicular ferry which is pulled across the river by strong cables just under the surface of the water...

Now that causes a bit of a problem for our river cruise boat...
But our captain has been in radio contact with the captain of the ferry (my people talking to your people type of situation), and when the load of cars/trucks had been taken across and unloaded, the ferry stayed put and the cables were lowered...it took a little while but soon we were continuing upstream.
But not much farther...suddenly we noticed a tributary to the left...look how smooth the surface is...

The Bremer River joining the Brisbane River...the scenery was so pretty...

The Brisbane river continues upstream for many many miles...but we had reached the point where we would not travel any farther upstream...

More photos of this beautiful country before our boat turned around...

It was only about 15-20 minutes since we had gone over the lowered cables at the ferry...and we were back again...and the whole procedure was repeated. Bet the ferry operator is glad only a few of these cruises operate per year! lol
Our trip back was just a little faster and as we neared the vicinity of Brett's Wharf, it became obvious that we weren't stopping there...the boat cruised downstream to the Gateway Bridge, past lots of redeveloped wharves and docks...then it turned around and headed back to Brett's Wharf.
It had been a great day, so stayed tuned for some more posts about what we saw. You get a different perspective from the river, especially looking at some of those palatial homes...I thought I was cruising Sydney Harbour when I saw some of them! :-)