Waterways

On 1824 British ships were sailing around Australian coast and searching for places for new colonies. They came to a river and sailed up. Colony in Sidney turned out to be successful, so British were analysing the new spot carefully. Sailing up the river they noticed green shores and a creek flowing in the river.

They decided to make a new settlement here on the riverside. The river was named after then-governor Thomas Brisbane, but the creek where the sailors stopped to eat their breakfast was called The Breakfast creek.

The new colony was named after the river and Breakfast Creek still flows through now builded up meadows in one of suburbs of Brisbane.

Today Brisbane is on both sides of the river, besides the river has become an important part of the city. It is not as easy to orientate as in Riga – this side of the River with the old town, and the other side of the river. Brisbane River in the city makes more than 8 (!!) turns, reminding me of the flow of Gauja (a loopy river in Latvia). The twists and turns also confuse you, and it’s difficult to understand on which side of the river is the suburb just next to where you are.  

Just as confusing is the many bridges across the river, some of them only for pedestrians and cyclists. Due to many turns the river makes bridges also go in all possible directions. It is just as possible that perpendicular streets go along the river or both lead to different bridges. If you cross the wrong bridge you have to find your way around the bight to get where you originally intended.  

That is the reason why it is so good to use the very fast ferry transport on the river. They remind you of catamarans and from one to the other of the many stops on the both sides of the river they travel with a speed close to motorboats.

When closer to the riverside you can smell the unique scent of the water. It is between the smell of steady water in Chanel in Liepaja in summer and the old fish smell next to the rubbish bins of the central market fish pavilion. But still it is nice to see the light sand and weird constructions on the shore, that reminds you of long ago abandoned boat piers.