City (pop., 1996: urban agglomeration, 1,291,117), Queensland , Australia.
Lying on the northern bank of the Brisbane River above its mouth at Moreton Bay , the site was first explored by the English in 1823. It was founded as a penal colony in 1824 and was declared a town in 1834 when it was named in honour of Sir Thomas Brisbane, former governor of New South Wales. Made the capital of Queensland in 1859, it was joined with South Brisbane in the 1920s to form Greater Brisbane. The city, connected by bridges and ferries, is Australia's third largest; it is the hub of rail lines and highways and a busy port. It is the site of the Queensland Cultural Centre and a university.