Inner Northern Busway Tunnel Construction

Right now there is a significant amount of construction going on near King George Square on the Inner Northern Busway. This section represents the construction of the busway from Queen Street to Upper Roma Street, which commenced in June 2006. This has resulted in the closure of a significant portion of King George Square, and a relocation to storage of many of the sculptures and public features there. This new section will allow buses travelling north and west to bypass traffic congestion in Brisbane's CBD by constructing tunnels linking the Queen Street Bus Station (underneath the Myer Centre) to Upper Roma Street, where it will connect with the existing Inner Northern Busway.

There are two tunnels being built as a result of this work. It is currently scheduled for completion in late 2008, and as I understand it they are on schedule. There is a consortium of contractors working with the city council and government to complete the work. If you want, you can download a flythru of the proposed completed work. The main aims of the roadworks are to reduce travel time for the bus network, and reduce traffic congestion on the main arterial roads through the city.

I personally am all for anything which is going to make travel on our bus network better. With the rising costs of petrol, and the continuing influx of people moving to our fair state, anything we can do to help encourage people onto public transport is a good thing. Construction to me is always a sign of progress and change. I heard a story that as they were doing the tunnel work, they actually dug up old sewer lines and previous tram tracks. An urban myth floated around that there was even a whole tram amongst the rubble, but this I can neither confirm nor deny (and so it will keep proliferating!)

Cheers, I Love Brisbane, Wes.

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Tympanum of the Pediment

The Brisbane City Hall faces King George Square. Bounded by the square, Ann Street and Adelaide Street, the building is one of the most significant buildings in Brisbane. One of the most famous sculptures in Brisbane, Progress of civilisation in the state of Queensland or Tympanum of the Pediment, is above the main entrance to City Hall.


Created by Sculptor Daphne Mayo, the sculpture was carved in Helidon Freestone (sandstone) over three years. Its unveiling on 17 December 1930, completed the construction of City Hall. The components are symbolic of the settlement of the State by the early pioneers. The central figure is the State protecting the citizens. The figures to the left hand side represent the native life (man and beast) dying out before the approach of the white man. The figures to the right hand side represent the early explorers discovering the possibilities of the new land and its industries. The overall length is 54 feet.

At night, they light up the main face of City Hall, with the tympanum being highlighted by a set of spotlights. This adds another dimension to an already impressive feature. The sculpture has had some controversy over the years, due to the apparent depiction of Aboriginal Australians. I don't believe that was the intent of Mayo back in the 1930's, as she undertook the artwork as a commission for the city council of the time, working to their themes. Aside from this, the sculpture is quite magnificent, and a fantastic representation of another master craftswoman at work.

Cheers, I Love Brisbane, Wes.

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Forme del Mito - Part One

Forme del Mito, or Forms of Myth, is a group of bronze sculptures located in King George Square, between Adelaide and Ann Streets. Brisbane City Council purchased the pieces after the finish of World Expo 1988, for which they were brought to Brisbane. Designed by Italian artist Arnaldo Pomodoro in 1983, the Forme Del Mito is derived from the Greek tragedy of Agamemnon. Each figure represents a force and principal character from the tragedy.

Arnaldo Pomodoro was born on June 23, 1926, in Morciano, Romagna, Italy. He has world renown as a sculptor having his work exhibited and housed throughout the world. With this work, as viewed from right to left from Brisbane City Hall, each bronze piece represents:

• Il potere - Power - Agamemnon
• L'ambizione - Ambition - Clytemnestra
• La macchina - Machine - Aegisthus
• La profezia - Prophecy - Cassandra

In mythological Greek tragedy, Agamemnon was the King of Mycenea. In representations of the Trojan War, Agamemnon led a campaign to conquer Troy and rescue Helen, who had been abducted by Paris. Before leaving he sacrificed his daughter Iphegenia to obtain favourable winds from the Goddess Artemis. The first of these sculptures in the form of a powerful pyramid represents Agamemnon.

I've decided to split this post into two, as there are four pieces and characters represented with this sculpture. Therefore to do it justice, I'll finish the story of Agamemnon tomorrow.

Cheers, I Love Brisbane, Wes.

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Albert Street Uniting Church

I have to admit that I'm not a very religious person, but I do love the architecture of churches. In most cities, you find an interesting juxtaposition of mostly old style churches backdropped againt modern architectural giants. Brisbane is no exception, as can be seen from this photo of the Uniting Church located at the intersection of Albert and Ann Streets, opposite King George Square. Built in 1889 the church is noted for the intricacy and stories of its stained glass windows. Further, the church also houses its original pipe organ which had been Manchester in the U.K. and installed in 1889. The original pipework has been retained, but with additions over time now has 2,250 pipes.

As part of the Wesley Mission, the church has been a haven for the needy for well over a century now. As early as 1906, the church established the Sisters of the People whose charter was to give help and relief to the poor, starving and destitute. This is a very noble cause. The building is also registered on the Queensland Heritage listings.

Part of the reason I like this particular church is not only for its Victorian Gothic architecture style, but also because of the attached Lion's Den Cafe. The cafe acts as a non-profit, all ages live music venue and they definitely cater for a wide range of styles. One of my friend's bands, Say Nothing, have played a number of all ages gigs there .

Cheers, I Love Brisbane, Wes.

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Forme del Mito - Part Two

As I wrote yesterday, Forme del Mito, or Forms of Myth, is a group of bronze sculptures located in King George Square designed by Italian artist Arnaldo Pomodoro. Each figure represents a force and principal character from the Greek tragedy of Agamemnon. We left off yesterday as Agamemnon had sacrificed his daughter Iphegenia to gain favour with the gods as he went to fight the Trojan War.

The war spanned several years and after the capture of Troy, Cassandra, doomed prophetess, fell to Agamemnon's lot in the distribution of the prizes of war. Agamemnon returned to his kingdom with Cassandra, however in his absence his wife Clytemnestra had taken a lover Aegisthus. Together they plotted to murder Agamemnon and Cassandra. They were invited to a banquet at which they were treacherously slain. Clytemnestra wrath at the sacrifice of Iphegenia, and her jealousy of Cassandra, are said to have been the motives of her crime. Here, Clytemnestra is represented as the cylindrical shape in the foreground with the form of ambition. Aegisthus is in the background in the form of the machine.

The fourth of the sculptures represents Cassandra, in the form of prophecy. The tragedy continued in that Agamemnon's son, Orestes, in turn avenged his father's death by killing his mother Clytemnestra, and Aegisthus, although this led to his downward spiral into madness. I would bet that many people look at these sculptures and might think "Dalek", or "Golden Music Box" - but not many would think they represented Greek Tradgedy in all its messy glory. Another reason why I love Brisbane, because our cultural diversity is so obscure!

Cheers, I Love Brisbane, Wes.

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Construction

All throughout the city there is a lot of construction work going on. It seems to be mainly residential apartments being built, however, there is also the significant work on the Inner Northern Busway which has affected King George Square. Sir Joh Bjelke-Peterson, a former Queensland Premier, coined the crane index as a measure of the economic wealth of the State. Via this simple mechanism one could believe that times are pretty good in Brisbane.

As I wandered the city streets I came across this example of some new apartments being built on the Riverside Expressway. This came on the back of news early last week that the Government is proposing a new North Bank development on the river. This particular development is known as Evolution in living. They always come up with interesting names to describe these new living spaces. The marketers must have a field day! This is a 37 level development with 178 apartments built by Citimark and expected to be completed sometime later this year.


What attracted me to the building in the first place was not purely that it was a construction site. It was the Preston Skip hanging from the side of the building, filled with what appears to be plastic piping. The way the pipes were strewn throughout the bin actually appears quite artistic. Perhaps it will become the forecourt sculpture for the new building!

Cheers, I Love Brisbane, Wes.

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The Clock Tower

This is a picture of an antique lift. It is located within Brisbane City Hall, which is in King George Square, between Adelaide and Ann Streets. City Hall has an imposing Clock Tower, allegedly based on the design of the St Mark's Campanile in Venice, Italy. Imagine my delight when I found out that you could catch a lift on the fully restored antique elevator up to the clock tower, 76 metres above the City Plaza to the observation deck. The tower itself reaches 92 metres. The lift operates from 10:00am to 3:00pm Monday to Friday, and was ideal for a late lunch! Its free as well, although you might have to share the lift with school kids. It is quite unassuming when you walk up there and discover it.

The four clock faces on each side of the tower are the largest in Australia. Each face is made up of 1 tonne of slivered white opal. They are almost 5 metres in diameter, and the minute hands are made of sheet copper at three metres in length. The hour hands are shorter at 1.7 metres. The chimes are Westminster containing 5 bells. The chime bells weight 3 tonnes each, and the hour bell weights 4.3 tonnes.

Up until 1973 the clock tower was the tallest structure in Brisbane. It was in the late 1960's that they relaxed the laws relating to height restrictions for CBD buildings, and since then the views have largely been built out. This shot aims towards the Southbank area, with Stefan's Skyneedle (the Expo Sky Needle) in the distance. Imagine the view from here in the 1970's or earlier as Brisbane was coming of age.

Cheers, I Love Brisbane, Wes.

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Museum of Brisbane

Aside from housing the Brisbane City Council, Brisbane City Hall houses the Museum of Brisbane. The Museum entrance via City Hall is located at King George Square, between Adelaide and Ann Streets. The Museum has four Spaces in which exhibitions are held, along with specific theatre areas for lectures and presentations, and discovery areas for kids. Most exhibitions are free, and they offer guided tours of the exhibitions on specific days. The Museum is open daily from 10:00am to 5:00pm.

At the moment they are changing over some of the exhibitions, so some of the spaces were not accessible. However, the Lord Mayor's Photographic Awards 2006: Secret Treasures of Brisbane was still on, and will run until only the 25th of March. Some of the photographs are sensational, and the commendations and awards for winners are well worth it. Along with the photographs are some objects and pieces from people's homes, museums and private collections which also represent Secret Treasures. This copy of the William Bligh's account of the Mutiny on the Bounty in particular caught my attention.


The Museum of Brisbane is highly accessible to visitors to the city. They have a distinct flavour in featuring both Brisbane history, and emerging artists and cultural exhibitions. It is fantastic that we have this as this type of venue. It also provides an active and participative place for our kids to explore and engage in the exhibitions, and I've always felt being immersed in something is the best way to learn.

Cheers, I Love Brisbane, Wes.

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Albert Street Literary Trail

In September 1996 Brisbane City Council commissioned a series of 32 plaques as part of the completion of the Albert Street urban refurbishment. On these plaques the Albert Street Literary Trail was born. Quotes about Brisbane from 32 Queensland writers were chosen for the plaques. Running all the way down Albert Street, from King George Square to the City Botanic Gardens, the authors represented include Steele Rudd, Oodgeroo Noonuccal (Kath Walker), Thea Astley, and David Malouf amongst others. A Map and list of all authors is available on the Archived Web Site, and there is also a guide available from the Museum of Brisbane.

At the time, the quotes were chosen with the the contribution of the then Griffith University's Queensland Studies Centre . They assisted in selecting a cross section of authors and quotes for the trail. All are Queensland writers and most are from Brisbane. The plaques themselves were illustrated by artist Brona Keenan in collaboration with graphic designers Dot Dash and the Brisbane City Council's Urban Design Unit. They are cast in bronze.

If you search the Brisbane City Council's Public Artworks Database for "Albert Street Literary Trail" you can see digital photos of each of the actual plaques, as there are far too many to cover off in just this one post. Better yet, rather than look at pictures on the web, why not wander down to Albert Street and check out the plaques for yourself. Although not all are in the best condition, on most you can still enjoy the quotes. There's a range of coffee shops and restaurants where after you've chosen your favourite quote, you can sit down and read the book it comes from!

Cheers, I Love Brisbane, Wes.

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