Where did it go?

Brisbane’s newer botanic gardens near Mt Cootha were no match for the city gardens with one boundary against the Brisbane River. I wandered under an old banyan fig tree planted in the 1870s, savouring the shade. It may have been a native of India, but its expansive foliage was perfect under Brisbane’s heat.

The old face of Brisbane

On a walk down George Street towards the Brisbane River, I kept my eye out for the city’s older buildings. There was the men’s club opposite the Botanic Gardens and Parliament House diagonally across from this graceful building.

From government workers to casino

The treasury building marked the entrance into Brisbane’s city centre. It once housed state government workers. While I past the building on many a day, I never knew that offices skirted the outside of the structure, while the inner courtyard opened to the sky.

A peek into Arnhem Land and the morning star

When I entered one of the Goma’s art gallery rooms, it was full of sacred poles. In Arnhem Land in the very north of Australia, the Gupapuyngu people hold annual ceremonies celebrating Banumbirr, the morning star, or as we know it, Venus.

A room with a view

Sometimes while I studied pieces of art in the Goma art gallery, I forgot where I was. But how could I be so engrossed that I overlooked peeking out the window at the amazing view of the Brisbane River and the city skyline?

Crossing from one gallery to the next

Brisbane no longer has one art gallery. In an adjoining building, was the modern art gallery of more than ten years, The Goma. This one seemed to excite the many students visiting the gallery far more than the subdued original site.

Where once Expo had Brisbane enthralled

I lost count of how many times I visited Expo in the eighties. The excitement of displays from around the world was too much to resist. But all that remains along the stretch of the Brisbane River where the site was held, is a pagoda.