Brisbane

Fri.Feb.25th Lovely city.The CBD is in a loop of the Brisbane river and was completely flooded.Everything has been cleaned but there are still signs of mud around.A lovely boardwalk was partially washed away and the river is very muddy.This is a laid back city.
Our guide told us that in Sydney you are asked how much money you have,in Melbourne what school you went to,in Adelaide what church you belong to but in Brisbane an arm is placed around you and someone says "let me buy you a beer".I loved that.
A dam was built after the '74 flood and people thought they were safe but there was so much rain that the dam had to be opened.The premier of Queensland scored many points for her handling of the situation.She set up buses in 4 points and asked people to put on wellingtons and bring cleaning supplies and had them brought to where they were needed.
The city was clean in record time.The guide also told of hordes of young men going into houses and just cleaning without introduction.Those who couldn't physically work went up and down streets supplying drinking water and water to wash with.She mentioned a town,I think it was Toowoomba,where the cars tumbled head over heels in the torrent.
Rockhampton was spared the worst of the flood.
We had a ride on a paddlewheeler,Kookabarra Queen,and saw some lovely houses along the river.The 1st mate gave a running commentary and played the accordion,mostly WW1 tunes.

Brisbane, Australia