THROUGH BRISBANE
FROM THE CITY HALL CLOCK TOWER
TO THE SOLEIL TOWER

-text Andrei Dorian Gheorghe
photos Andrei Dorian Gheorghe and Felician Ursache
design Florin Alexandru Stancu-

Brisbane…
Capital of Queensland
and the 3rd largest city in the Australian continent…
named after a former governor,
Sir Thomas Makdougall Brisbane (1773-1860),
who was also an amateur astronomer
and made the first astronomical observatory in Australia…

In this respect,
we would have begun this project with a cosmic title,
inspired by the city’s current architectural fantasy:
“From the Aurora Tower (207m high)
to the Soleil Tower (243 m high)
and to the Infinity Tower (247 m high)”,
but the last one was still in construction in November 2012,
when we were there.

In these conditions,
we had to choose
(keeping the cosmic inspiration)
from three other variants:
“From the City Hall Clock Tower
to the Soleil Tower”…

“From the Victoria Bridge
to the Story Bridge”…

…or
“From the Albert Street (Uniting) Church
to the Saint John (Anglican) Cathedral”.

Practically, we started with a run by taxi
from the airport to the centre of Brisbane,
the King George V Square on the Adelaide Street.

Here, among interesting buildings
(such as the Albert Street (Uniting) Church)
and statues
(such as of King George V),
we lived the (astronomical) fascination to see
the Brisbane City Hall and its clock tower (91 m high),
which was inaugurated in 1930
and became the most representative building in Australia for a few decades.

Then, for a larger perspective,
we went to the bank of the Brisbane River,
on the Victoria Bridge…

Then, in the Casino Square,
we remarked a meditative sentence on a Menorah:
“A little light dispels much darkness.”

Since we had a lot of solar light at our disposal,
from here we walked on the main street of the city,
the Queen (Victoria) Street…

A short respectful halt
at the ANZAC Memorial…

Then, on the Adelaide Street,
attracted by the Aurora Tower,
the Saint John Cathedral,
the Soleil Tower…

Called by a “skyline”,
we orientated for the second time to the Brisbane River,
this time to see one of the most spectacular bridges
in the southern hemisphere,
named after an exemplary local public servant,
John Douglas Story…

And our walk ended near the other side
of the tower named after the aurora
(which is also a creation of the Sun),
on the Queen Street again…

So this was the “Victorious Story”
about our flight
on Brisbane’s ways of light
from the City Hall Clock Tower to the Soleil Tower,
terrestrially done
under the real Sun!

THROUGH BRISBANE FROM THE CITY HALL CLOCK TOWER TO THE SOLEIL TOWER

THROUGH BRISBANE
FROM THE CITY HALL CLOCK TOWER
TO THE SOLEIL TOWER