The Port of Brisbane lies on Australia's eastern shores at the mouth of the Brisbane River as it enters Moreton Bay. The Port of Brisbane is about 220 kilometers north of the Port of Yamba and about 235 kilometers south of the Port of Maryborough. The third largest city in Australia, the Port of Brisbane was home to over 1.6 million people in 2001.

Capital and major port for the State of Queensland, the Port of Brisbane serves a large agricultural region. The port exports dairy products, wool, grain, meat, mineral sands, sugar, and preserved foods. The metropolitan area of the Port of Brisbane contains over half of the State's manufacturing. Plants in the Port of Brisbane include food processors, sawmills, oil refineries, paper mills, shipyards, and manufacturers of fertilizers, cement, automobiles, and rubber products.

There is a large white-collar industrial sector in the Port of Brisbane. Government, information technology, higher education, and financial services occupy the central business district and inner suburbs. Tourism is also a major contributor to the Port of Brisbane's local economy.

Before Europeans arrived at the Port of Brisbane,the indigenous Turrbal peoples called the place "Mian-jin." In 1799, explorer and cartographer Matthew Flinders landed below the red cliffs of Moreton Bay at a place that is now called Woody Point.

When the Governor of New South Wales ordered the construction of a new penal settlement in the north in 1823, John Oxley led a party to explore Moreton Bay and recommended Red Cliff Point for the settlement because it was easy for ships to reach. The Oxley party, with 14 soldiers and their families and 29 convicts, settled Redcliffe in Finding they did not have a good water supply, the new settlement moved to the Brisbane River site now called North Quay.

In 1828, convicts built the Windmill in Wickham Park and the Old Commissariat Store. The windmill was used for grinding grain and to punish convicts. The Old Commissariat Store was a grain house and later a hostel for immigrants. Today, it is home to the Royal Historical Society of Brisbane and a museum.

Initially called Edenglassie, non-convict settlers began to arrive in the Port of Brisbane region in 1838. Missionaries from Germany began settling Zions Hill in 1837 on 260 hectares of land that was known as German Station. Over the next five years, free settlers came to the area. In 1842, the Port of Brisbane was declared a free settlement.

The first exports leaving the Port of Brisbane included timber from local forests. The logs were rafted down the Brisbane River to Moreton Bay and moved by ship to Sydney. In the middle 1800s, the Port of Brisbane was recognized as the commercial center of the Queensland colony.

In 1850, the Port of Brisbane handled over 8.1 thousand tons of cargo. By 1885, the port handled almost 691 thousand tons. During the same period, the city's population grew from less than eight thousand to more than 100 thousand. During this period, water was the dominant transportation mode, and ships carried coal and agricultural products away from the port and brought manufactured goods into the Port of Brisbane. By 1888, production of frozen beef became an important component of the local economy and of Port of Brisbane exports.

The Port of Brisbane was part of a rivalry with the nearby town of Cleveland, which was a busy port at the time. In 1854, the wharves in Cleveland burned, and the Port of Brisbane began to grow as the leading port in Queensland.

Queensland became a separate colony in 1859, and the Port of Brisbane was made its capital. Incorporated in 1902 as a city, more than 20 small towns and shires were combined in 1925 to create the City of Brisbane.

The Port of Brisbane was important to the Allies during World War II, as it was used for General Douglas MacArthur's Southwest Pacific Headquarters, from which he managed the one million United States troops that passed through Australia. In 1942, the Battle of Brisbane resulted from a violent clash between US personnel and Australian soldiers and civilians. The Port of Brisbane was an important part of the Allied war effort. The Cairncross Dockyard was built to meet demands for ship repair facilities.

In the late 1940s, a new era began in the development of the Port of Brisbane and the community. Meat-, sugar-, mining-, and meat-processing became important contributors to the local economy and to port exports. The population grew significantly between 1947 and 1961 from 457 thousand to 693 thousand people. By the early 1960s, the Port of Brisbane was handling about 2.6 million tons of cargo per year.

In the 1960s, two phases of development changed the Port of Brisbane forever. The Moonie oil fields were discovered, bringing two new oil refineries to the mouth of the Brisbane River and a whole new area of activity to the Port of Brisbane. By the end of the 1960s, containerized cargo was becoming an important aspect of commercial shipping. The Port of Brisbane's first container terminal was built in 1969 in the Hamilton Reach of the Brisbane River.

The Port of Brisbane Corporation is a government-owned enterprise that manages and operates the third busiest container port in Australia. The Corporation was established by law in 1976 and incorporated in 1994. In 2007, the Port of Brisbane Corporation was listed with the Australian Securities and Investments Commission. Today, the Corporation is a publicly-owned entity that operates as a competitive commercial organization.

The Port of Brisbane Corporation is tasked with developing sustainable trade that increases the returns to shareholders and the satisfaction of stakeholders by increasing port efficiency, promoting investments, applying effective planning and management principles, securing the port, providing a world-class infrastructure, and adhering to its corporate values in the Port of Brisbane.

In the 2007-2008 shipping season, the Port of Brisbane welcomed 2618 vessels carrying more than three million tons of cargo, including over 1.6 million tons of imports, almost 1.4 million tons of exports, and 123.6 thousand tons of transshipments. The Port of Brisbane container traffic of 864.3 thousand tons in 95 thousand TEUs included 46.9 thousand TEUs of imports and 48.1 thousand TEUs of exports.

The major imports included crude oil (613.6 thousand tons), cement (235.8 thousand tons), refined oil (167.4 thousand tons), and retail goods (133.0 thousand tons) as well a smaller volumes of iron and steel, building products, timber, fertilizers and chemicals, paper and wood pulp, and motor vehicles. Major export cargoes included coal (489.5 thousand tons) and refined oil (162.2 thousand tons) as well as smaller volumes of cereals, cotton, meat products, iron and steel, timber, and woodchips.

The Port of Brisbane contains 27 berths with a total length of more than 7.7 meters at both the Port of Brisbane main location and at upriver facilities. The Port of Brisbane includes six berths that handle containers, five berths for oil, and five for general cargo and motor vehicles. The Port of Brisbane also contains two berths handling chemicals and fertilizers, two for liquid bulk cargoes, and two fit-out berths at the Forgacs Cairncross docks. The Port of Brisbane contains one berth for each of the following cargoes: grain, woodchips, and cottonseed; grain, dry bulk, and general cargo; clinker; coal and clinker; sugar, and cruise vessels.

The Port of Brisbane's container terminals have six berths with a total length of 1437 meters. The terminals are leased by two national stevedoring firms. DP World Brisbane operates Berths 4 through 6 with ample cargo-handling equipment that includes several Panamax, post-Panamax, and super post-Panamax gantry cranes. Patrick operates Berths 7 through 9. The Port of Brisbane Corporation owns the wharves and provides for the majority of fixed improvements at the container terminals.

The Port of Brisbane's general cargo wharves have a total length of 697 meters, and they handle breakbulk and roll-on/roll-off cargoes, containers, and motor vehicles. AAT leases and manages the Berths 1 through 3 and manages the receipt and delivery of cargoes. The grain berth at the general cargo wharves has been extended by 50 meters in order to serve pure car carrier vessels when needed.

The Dry Bulk Terminals at the Port of Brisbane have some wharf facilities dedicated to specific users and others that are shared wharves. The facilities include a coal terminal; a terminal for grain, cottonseed, and sugar; a cement/clinker plant; a terminal for woodchips; the Pinkenba bulk terminal; the Pinkenba and Gibson Island fertilizer/chemical plant; a dedicated sugar terminal; the Bulwer Island cement/clinker plant; and the Hamilton/Maritime wharves.

Liquid bulk facilities at the Port of Brisbane include berths for crude oil or refined products. The Port of Brisbane has two oil refineries, each of which have a crude oil berth used for imports and a products berth for exporting refined products. The Neumann and Shell Petroleum Terminals also handle refined petroleum products through the Port of Brisbane. The Pinkenba and Hamilton facilities handle animal and vegetable oils and chemicals.

The Port of Brisbane Corporation manages several boat harbors in the area and several public marine facilities.

The Port of Brisbane Multi-modal Terminal (BMT) provides the interface between the port's container terminals and the country's road and rail networks. Located behind the container terminals, the BMT moves large volumes of cargo through the port via the QR National and Pacific National railroads that connect the Port of Brisbane to important regional centers in Queensland and to the Ports of Sydney and Melbourne.

The City of Brisbane is Australia's third largest city, and it offers a wide variety of things to see and do. Visitors will find museums and galleries, markets, wildlife parks, beaches, forests, and mountains. The Port of Brisbane is a progressive, sophisticated, and diverse city that offers the best of food, wine, entertainment, and sports in a relaxed sub-tropical environment where visitors can enjoy shopping, nightlife, and outdoor adventures. With a vibrant creative community, the Port of Brisbane is home to many writers, musicians, artists, and fashion and jewelry designers that are bringing worldwide attention to the city.

The Port of Brisbane enjoys a sub-tropical climate with humid hot summers and mild dry winters. Thunderstorms are common from late Spring to early autumn which can sometimes bring hail, strong winds, and heavy rain. Temperatures range from an average high of 29 ?C (84 ?F) in January and February to an average low of 8.8 ?C (48 ?F) in July.

Just 20 minutes from the Port of Brisbane's central business district, visitors will find Manly Boat Harbour, the largest recreational boating harbor on Australia's eastern seaboard with moorings for 1450 vessels, boat ramps, jetties, and marina facilities. The Manly Boat Harbour is the nearest access point from the city to Moreton Bay. Manly Harbour Village is the gateway to the Moreton Bay Marine Park and the home of many great shopping and dining establishments with wonderful views of the Bay. The harbor was the first in Australia to receive national environmental accreditation from Clean Marinas Australia, and it has several yachting and boat clubs and marinas.

The Port of Brisbane's Moreton Bay Islands offer a wide range of recreational and vacation opportunities. Visitors to the islands can enjoy sand tobogganing, diving, or watching dolphins, turtles, and whales in the Bay. Coochie Mudlo Island boasts beautiful red cliffs and wonderful sandy beaches. A great place for families, it is home to the Matthew Flinders Caf? offering bay views from each table. Flinders first landed on Coochie Mudlo Island over 200 years ago, and each July, a re-enactment festival delights visitors. Coochie Island has ample accommodations for visitors who want to stay a while.

Moreton Bay Marine Park was created in 1993 to protect marine species. Moreton Bay stretches some 125 kilometers from the Gold Coast to Caloundra, and it offers a host of cultural, natural, and recreational opportunities. One of the highlights of the park is its huge community of shorebirds that live on the beaches, sandbanks, and mudflats of the Bay. With over 50 thousand wading birds visiting the Bay each summer, Moreton Bay has an international reputation for its rare and abundant bird life. The Bay's seagrass meadows provide food for important turtle and dugong populations, and the Bay contains five designated "turtle and dugong areas" to protect these endangered species. Moreton Bay is also well known for its abundant fishing grounds.

Visitors will not want to miss visiting Saint Helena Island National Park, the site of the State's first penal colony. Ruins remain from the settlement's 65-year life as a prison. They include old and untended gardens and olive groves, the stone ruins of the prison, and restored Chief Warder's quarters. At the south end of the island, visitors will find old cemeteries, an old quarry, and the first tramway in Queensland. The island is also surrounded by the abundant shorebirds of Moreton Bay as well as dugong and turtles.

In the city center of the Port of Brisbane are the Roma Street Parklands, the world's biggest sub-tropical garden containing 1800 species of plants and the creatures like birds, lizards, and fish that have found a home in the park. The park's flora includes native Australian plants as well as plants from around the world. Theme gardens in the park include a topiary maze, a lake, a rainforest walk, and an amphitheater that contains a collection of public art commissioned specifically for the park.

Travelers who want to visit the Port of Brisbane and Queensland can find a list of scheduled cruises on the Cruise Compete website.