Secret Life Of Brisbane
Every city, Brisbane included, has a secret life bubbling away just below the surface (and at times even on the surface) that the majority of residents go about their everyday business without noticing.
And it is what goes on behind the scenes in a city – the unexpected finds, the different and quirky places - that adds a richness and texture to its life that the in-scene can only dream about.
While it may come as some surprise to many to hear that Brisbane is in possession of a host of interesting little (and big) places, tucked away and populated by characters that are far removed from the usual suspects, it is absolutely true.
You only have to scratch below the surface to find the cheese factory in a suburban house, an outdoor museum where you can ride the old trams, a wetland in the middle of suburbia, the remnants of historic graveyard behind a sports stadium.
Want to know more? Here are 19 samples of Brisbane’s secret life and where to find them:
A young third generation Cypriot cheesemaker churns out Brisbane’s best (and cheapest) haloumi, feta and ricotta in a southside suburban brick house, where customers-in-the-know rock up to buy it straight from the source...more
Brisbane’s only bar-within-a-bar, this tiny live music alpine cabin-style lounge is entered through the doorway of another secret bar which hides behind some plate glass and thick black curtains in a suburban shopping centre...more
Little Africa (Moorooka)
It may not be in the inner city but Moorooka is home to Brisbane’s most colourful shopping centre – a tiny traditional slice of Africa with Ethiopian and Eritrean restaurants and coffee shops, African grocers and hairdressers.
Just off busy Old Cleveland Rd is a little reclaimed wetland, where locals can take some peaceful time out to feed the ducks and watch the myriad birdlife which has made its home here...more
A perfectly preserved relic from World War II, the Asia-Pacific HQ and wartime office of General Macarthur sits untouched, just as he left it in 1945, above the perpetual crowd of shoppers and city workers on the corner of Edward St and Queen St mall...more
In the ethnic grocery store precinct of Woolloongabba, Mirchh Masala looks like just another big Indian supermarket but inside, up some carpeted stairs is a secret food court that dishes up all manner of authentic regional dishes and street food at bargain prices...more
Bulimba is home to Brisbane’s most unusual home – a giant hilltop water reservoir that has been converted into a private residence that is well worth a look if in the area. (Note that all admiring must be done from the street, do not enter the property)...more
Tucked away on a treed hill behind the XXXX Brewery is one of Brisbane’s oldest residences – a bishop’s residence dating from the 1860s (not open to the public), with a gorgeous stone onsite chapel that dates from the early 1900s...more
Leave Brisbane behind when you step into Croydon Street on Sunday mornings. Here you’ll find a bustling multicultural bazaar selling all manner of exotic fruit, veges and foodstuffs, with hawkers peddling delicious Thai, African and Asian breakfasts...more
The remnants of Brisbane’s first pioneer cemetery can be found nestled behind the gargantuan bulk of Suncorp Stadium, in a pretty little Christchurch churchyard that could be straight out of an English village...more
Brisbane’s oldest church still in operation, designed by pioneer architect Augustus Pugin, stands amongst modern skyscrapers in the heart of the CBD and inside is an extraordinary camphor wood statue of Saint Mary MacKillop...more
Just off the Bruce Highway at Deagon lies an exquisite temple within a retirement home, where on Sundays visitors can enter an ancient Chinese world of ancestral worship as priests in splendid traditional garb go about their rituals...more
Surrounded by factories, workshops and Frank’s Oysters out back of Woolloongabba is this cab depot with a curious stash of vintage yellow taxis from throughout the ages stored on site as well as the quirky Cab Rank Café. Lucinda St Woolloongabba.
Inala Civic Centre Square
The Inala Civic Centre is standard Oz suburban mall out front, with a shopping square out back that could be straight out of south east Asia, packed with multicultural eateries, grocery and fish markets and with locals playing Chinese checkers at tables under the trees. Corsair Ave Inala
Within the historical Queensland Parliament House buildings is Brisbane’s oldest library, containing books and journals from the days of white settlement and the penal colonies as well as the first ever edition of The Courier mail (then the Moreton Bay Courier est 1846)...more
Every second Friday, the Polish Club at Milton plays host to this authentic little market, the place to pick up Polish salamis, rye bread and locally made Pierogi and all manner of pickled vegetables as well as handicrafts, to the tune of Polish folk songs playing in the background...more
Brisbane’s beloved Cloudland ballroom may be long gone but nestled in a little hideaway on the hill where it once stood is this little memorial sculpture – a replica of its iconic arch, with black and white pics and sandstone pavers embedded with its stories...more
Duck Lake
On the southern outskirts of Brisbane at the edge of Underwood Park is this ethereal Tchaikowsky-esque lake, a magic dappled water world traversed by boardwalk that feels a million miles from urban life and just happens to be nearby the magnificent Chung Tian Temple.
On Friday afternoons and Saturday mornings the prawn and seafood trawlers offload their wares in this section of Cabbage Tree Creek, where members of the public can pick up the catches of the day fresh from the boat...more
This little pocket of preserved history off the M3 is more than a collection of buildings but fascinating and real window into yesteryear that is decked out as if the residents still lived there, right down to the lifelike mannequins in period dress...more
