Brisbane is the state capital of Queensland. Brisbane is the third largest city in Australia and most populous city of Queensland. It is situated on the Brisbane River on low-lying Floodplain between Moreton Bay and the Great Dividing Range in south-eastern Queensland. The local indigenous people knew the area as Mian-jin, meaning 'place shaped as a spike'. The city is named after Sir Thomas Brisbane, the Governor of New South Wales from 1821 – 1825. The settlement grew from a penal colony established at his direction in 1824 at Redcliffe, 28 kilometres to the north. The colony moved to the current location of the Brisbane CBD in 1825, and free settlers were permitted from 1842. It was chosen as the capital when Queensland was proclaimed a separate colony in 1859.Popular recreation areas in Brisbane include the South Bank Parklands, Roma Street Parkland, and City Botanic Gardens. The suburb of Mount Coot-tha is home to a popular state forest, and the Brisbane Botanic Gardens which houses the Sir Thomas Brisbane Planetarium and the "Tsuki-yama-chisen" Japanese Garden. Brisbane has over 27 km of bicycle pathways, mostly surrounding the Brisbane river and city centre, extending to the west of the city. Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary and Brisbane Forest Park, located in the city, are popular tourist destinations alongside the Story Bridge adventure climb and Portside Wharf.
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