Did you know?

Ideal climate, close proximity to some of Australia’s best beaches and islands and affordable living make Brisbane and its surrounds highly liveable areas. But did you know that Brisbane was where the first lamington was created, the Green Lantern rollercoaster at Movie World has the steepest drop in the southern hemisphere and the Queensland Cotton Company in East Ipswich (now closed) was where the first towels in Australia were produced in 1861?

We’ve compiled a list of interesting facts that you might not know about Brisbane, the Gold Coast and Ipswich.

·      Brisbane-born pioneer aviator Charles Kingsford Smith and his colleagues completed the first air crossing of the Pacific from San Francisco to Brisbane in 1928. Kingsford Smith Drive, linking the CBD to the airport via Hamilton is named after the man himself, who was in fact from Hamilton.

·      A popular Aussie treat, the lamington was first created in Brisbane. French Chef Armand Galland took a slab of French vanilla sponge and iced it with chocolate and coconut as a solution to the recurrent problem of unexpected guests. Chef Galland accompanied Lord and Lady Lamington to Brisbane in 1900. The lamington was a hit with Lady Lamington, so Galland named the lamington after her.

·      Brisbane was the busiest submarine port in WW2. After the bombing of Pearl Harbour on December 7, 1941, Japan and the US were in war with each other in the Pacific. US ships were diverted to Brisbane, making Brisbane home to over 75,000 troops by December 1943.

·      The Story Bridge has a twin. The Jacques Cartier Bridge in Montreal, Canada was a major design influence for the Story Bridge. The resemblance between the two is uncanny.

·      The world’s first cultivated Macadamia tree resides in the City Botanic Gardens. Planted in 1858 by Sir Walter Hill, the seed for the tree came from bushland near Gympie – the birthplace of macadamias.

·      Warner Bros. Movie World is currently the only film-related theme park in Australia. Also, the Green Lantern ride at the park is the steepest roller coaster in the southern hemisphere and second in the world, with a 120.5 degree angle.

·      The Giant Drop located at Dreamworld is the third tallest vertical drop tower in the world. From December 1998 to July 2012 it was the record holder for the tallest.

·      In 1923, James Cavill built the Surfers Paradise Hotel. He purchased the land for $800 and later sold for $370,000.

·      Burleigh Heads was originally named Burly Head in 1840. By the 1880s, the name evolved to Burleigh Heads. The headland sits 79 metres above the ocean and was formed some 20-23 million years ago from volcanic eruptions at Mt Warning.

·      The Q1 skyscraper in Surfers Paradise is Australia’s tallest building and the southern hemisphere’s tallest residential building. Unfortunately, it does not take the title for the tallest building overall in the southern hemisphere – the Sky Tower in Auckland takes out top prize.

·      North Stradbroke Island and Moreton Island are the second and third largest sand islands in the world, following Fraser Island.

·      The first Queensland railway opened in July 1865, from Ipswich to Grandchester.

·      The first towels in Australia were made at the Queensland Cotton Company (now closed), East Ipswich in 1861.

·      The first Medicare office in Australia was opened in Ipswich in 1984.

·      RAAF Amberley is Australia’s largest operational Air Force Base.

·      The first Queensland coal mine was opened in Redbank in 1843.

·      Ipswich man George Thorn was the first Premier of Queensland.