Brisbane City Guide

Brisbane City guide

Discover everything Brisbane has to offer

Listings

	Neighbourhoods	9 Fortitude Valley Queer-interest Neighbourhood Brisbane's entertainment district Brisbane City Brisbane's beating heart New Farm Queer-interest Neighbourhood Leafy riverside living Paddington Charming queenslander architecture with vibrant cafes, shopping and dining South Bank Public parklands, cultural institutions and restaurants overlooking the river South Brisbane Thriving, buzzing neighbourhood south of the river Spring Hill Queer-interest Neighbourhood Inner-city neighbourhood full of heritage charm. Teneriffe Queer-interest Neighbourhood Inner-city industrial chic West End Bohemian and multi-cultural Brisbane
	Bars & Nightclubs	4 Cloudland Hosts queer events Lavish and stylish venue with great cocktails The Beat Mostly queer crowd Sprawling mega-club with multiple bars and dance-floors Sportsman Hotel Mostly queer crowd Old-school gay bar with strong community feel The Wickham Mostly queer crowd Refurbished character pub with huge beer garden
	Dance Parties	2 Fluffy Mostly queer crowd Brisbane’s biggest sunday gay club night Shandy Mostly queer crowd Regular queer dance party
	Events	7 Big Gay Day Queer Event Massive LGBT street party Brunch with Bite Queer-interest Event Weekly drag brunch In the Dark Events Queer Event Nation-wide drag and LGBT+ tours Melt Festival Queer Event Festival of Queer Arts and Culture Queen's Ball Queer Event LGBT+ awards ceremony Queer Film Festival Queer Event Celebrating queer cinema Rumble Queer-interest Event On-stage battle between drag, burlesque, cabaret, and theatre
	Attractions	6 Howard Smith Wharves Waterside precinct under the Story Bridge Mount Coot-Tha Lookout and restaurant perched atop the highest peak in Brisbane New Farm Park Queer-interest Attraction Riverside park in charming New Farm Riverwalk Floating walking connecting New Farm to the CBD Story Bridge Adventure Climb Bird's eye view of Brisbane Wheel of Brisbane Observation wheel with 360 degree views of Brisbane
	Cultural Venues	5 Brisbane Powerhouse Hosts queer events Arts and culture institution by the river GOMA Gallery of Modern Art Judith Wright Arts Centre Hosts queer events Visual and performing arts centre QPAC Hosts queer events Queensland Performing Arts Centre The Tivoli Hosts queer events Mid-sized theatre hosting music gigs, dance parties and performing arts

Brisbane’s star is rising. The city is experiencing a coming-of-age with urban renewal across the city creating thriving, buzzing neighbourhoods with great eating, drinking and entertainment options.

With seemingly endless sunshine, the city can be enjoyed year-round with al-fresco dining, rooftop bars and waterside terraces. The city is booming to such an extent that Lonely Planet describes it as “Australia’s hippest city”^[1].

While the city only has a handful of gay venues, some are extremly well run such as Cloudland’s weekly gay night known as Fluffy. There are also regular gay events and festivals such as the popular Big Gay Day and Melt festivals.

What’s more, the city makes a great stopping point for the great tourist migration down the east coast from north Queensland to Melbourne. There are many great day-trips including jaw-dropping beaches, old-growth rainforest and gorgeous sand islands.

Brisbane's Conservative History

Brisbane has been referred to as the redneck capital of a backwards state. Queensland’s conservative reputation was cemented during the 1970s and 1980s under the premiership of Sir Joh Bjelke Petersen.

Bjelke-Petersen styled himself as a defender of a unique Queensland sensibility and criticized the more progressive southern states and the “socialist” federal government.

Reduced civil liberties, excessive police force, strong-man tactics when dealing with unions, corruption, and demolition of historical buildings are some of the hallmarks of his government.

His record on LGBT issues is equally abysmal. His government attempted to prevent LGBT teachers from being employed and gay students from forming support groups. As other states decriminalized gay sex between men, his government attempted to introduce anti gay licensing laws and to criminalise lesbianism^[7].

It all started coming undone during a royal commission into police corruption in 1987, known as the Fitzgerald Inquiry. He was unable to recover from the series of damning reports and eventually resigned.

Queensland has come a long way since the Bjelke-Petersen days. Brisbane is a modern, forward-looking city with no sign of the draconian politics from the past. While Queensland is still known for maverick conservative politicians (think Pauline Hanson, Clive Palmer and Bob Katter), this remains largely on the fringe. For the most part, Queensland is in line with the other states with key policies.

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