The Future History of Brisbane Now

Is this flourishing city, Brisbane, well served by another volume devoted to it? We had a creative impulse, as publishers do, that there was something new and thoughtful to be done.

There is a strong sense here, from an informed local point of view that River City is “ arriving “. And at some accelerating speed ………. but to where and what?

We did many scores of informal surveys, over 250, with locals and with visitors, too, across age groups and a range of trade and professional sectors; we tried to cover the peoplescape as thoroughly as we could.

And there was one other special group: those who had moved to Brisbane in the last few years from interstate or from abroad, with an eye to the long term. They, as a group had some of the freshest and most interesting things to say because Brissie remains novel to them, not yet habitual – they still see with eyes anew.

Here are a few of the questions we asked: “Do Brisbanites have a special character?”; “What are your favourite attributes of your city?”; “And your favourite places and neighbourhoods and why?”; “What do you think ought be improved here and why? “, and on it rolled.

A lot of amusing. thought provoking answers came our way. Dan , a successful physiotherapist in Holland Park in his 30’s said “You know, I was born here and went through a long period of wanting to leave, the idea that there was somewhere else , then I travelled and got into my business and decided that no, this was my best place .I don’t know if I caught up with Brisbane or it with me .” Sally a newcomer from Melbourne: “

“it was about young kids and lifestyle, and then we “discovered “the Bayside, and it was all over, never look back.” Rashid, Egypt, senior IT professional: “people have time to talk to one another here, it’s a precious and noticeable difference.”

John, 70: retired doctor “We looked all over, -the world, in fact-, for a few years pretty carefully, after many decades in Sydney. Finally, there wasn’t even a second choice, all things considered. And I had the most unexpected, truly physical sensation, progressively over a few months of arriving, of a weight I did not know I had on my shoulders, lifting off, steadily evaporating.”

Germaine, an ambitious young executive captured a sentiment which seems not uncommon today amongst many from roughly 25- 35: “ I think Brisbane has arrived as a dynamic place for jobs and creative business opportunities.”

Along the way our Designer in Chief and professional photographer Craig Burkill spent some concerted weekends driving and tramping about greater Brisbane, looking, perceiving and shooting, just an initial try out. You see, we’ve been at this for nearly two years, just musing and thinking, before jumping in.

And now we are ……..jumping in.

But before we made that decision, in recent months, we surveyed the selection of books on Brisbane. As in all wide selections of this kind, there is a range of quality, across the 20 or so books published on this now cosmopolitan becoming city on its river.

Some are dated, some are of topical interest indeed, but of quite narrow focus, some are for tourists only, and a few are truly very fine collectible, usable,” pick up again” works. Our favourites are “Lost Melbourne”, a natural for anyone wanting a hefty black and white work of fine historical photographs with considered texts and captions, a photographic history par excellence.

In 2010 Matthew Condon an estimable journalist and author published an all-prose book entitled simply “Brisbane “. To his credit the book has sold steadily and was updated and reissued, in 2020. This tender, at times erudite little book combines his childhood memoirs growing up in the city, with well-wrought historical vignettes from which he weaves a coherent whole. His senses are alive, and it is impossible to read this book and not know, understand and feel Brisbane more deeply.

Photographer and Historian Jay Millard produced a slim but important book in 2021 entitled “Abandoned Brisbane “which is a surprising exploration into vacant and disused buildings in Greater Brisbane as the author says “before their stories are lost forever “. His skill as a photographer in finding the most demonstrative angle, subject and light elevates this work, not to mention his basic point of view: if we want to understand Brisbane we need recall these remarkable buildings and their histories.

Yes, point of view, the all-important essential philosophy behind the task, missing in some photographic books. In our case , and where our ponderings have lead us is this : Brisbane needs and deserves a new entrant which tells a contemporary story , largely through original photography ( approx. 65-70%) combined with some appropriately modern graphic design, and the inclusion of finely wrought lively, polished, pieces of writing on a variety of subjects essential to modern Brisbane , and her future.

This is a contemporary story which is rooted in the past, and one which will, inexorably, lead into the future. And one which focuses on the built environment and on people, on the emerging and becoming society.

Such a book is inevitably driven by a point of view, by a kind of social purpose. Such a book directly, or indirectly poses questions, as well as revealing beauty, achievement and endeavour, change, evolution. And such a book also is duty bound to reveal remarkably little-known corners of this vast and varied space, for Brisbane is amongst the largest cities in the world in land area.

And duty bound to pose questions such as “What can Brisbane become?” And “what does it want to become?” and “who are its citizens?” through striking photographs and fine writing. And of course, some of the answers to these questions lie ……….in what ahe already has been and is now, hence the title: Brisbane, The Future History of Now, as the city’s story, like all human progressions, is a continuum.

With this brief in mind, we are kicking off, encouraging gifted amateurs as well as established professional photographers to begin to think and to contribute. And we are in discussions with an early long list of established W writers, and a handful of poets, some of them widely known and respected. Thus, the subtitle “As seen through the eyes of leading photographers and writers. “

Photography

Many of the images that will be published in the book will be by our award winning photographers. But to get a true vision of how Brisbane views itself, we invite Queensland photographers to submit their images to be curated by our panel and recognised and rewarded in having their work published in this book.