Brisbane Open House (part 2)
Brisbane Open House continued with a ride along the river until we came to Riverside, which was our stop to hop back onto dry land and take the short walk to the seat of Queensland's government, Parliament House. This beautiful building has been the home of State government since 1868. At the time of construction it was the largest and most imposing building in the state.
Just around the corner from Parliament House is the Commissariat Store. This building was constructed by convicts in 1829 and is one of only two buildings surviving from the Moreton Bay Penal Colony. It was used as a government store from 1829 until the 1960's, and over the years has also been a land sales office for free settlers, an immigration depot and a police barracks. It is now a museum.
Despite being mild, the skies darkened and before long we had torrential rain. Our last visit was to the National Australia Bank and there was a small line of people wanting to visit. Unfortunately they were only doing small groups of ten at a time, and as we waited we got totally drenched. This imposing building was built in 1885, and has a formal dining room and boardroom which, on occasions, was used by the Queensland Cabinet. Unfortunately the guide at the bank was incredibly dull and I was so bored that I really felt that my brain was going to collapse in on itself. We'd had enough history and information for one day.
After 7 1/2 hrs of walking, standing, listening and getting soaked we were exhausted. We had a great day and hopefully Brisbane will continue doing an annual Open House.