Brisbane (/ˈbrɪzbən/ BRIZ-bən; Turrbal/Yagara: Meanjin, Meaanjin, Maganjin or Magandjin) is the capital and largest city of the state of Queensland and the third-most populous city in Australia, with a population of approximately 2.8 million. Brisbane lies at the centre of South East Queensland and is located roughly in the midpoint of Australia's eastern coastline. It is an urban agglomeration with a population of over 4 million. The central business district is situated within a peninsula of the Brisbane River about 15 km (9 mi) from its mouth at Moreton Bay. Greater Brisbane sprawls over the hilly floodplain of the Brisbane River Valley between Pacific Ocean and the Taylor and D'Aguilar mountain ranges, encompassing several local government areas, most centrally the City of Brisbane, the most populous local government area in Australia. The demonym of Brisbane is Brisbanite or Brisbaner.
The Moreton Bay penal settlement was founded in 1824 at Redcliffe as a place for secondary offenders from the Sydney colony, but in May 1825 moved to North Quay on the banks of the Brisbane River, so named for the Governor of New South Wales Sir Thomas Brisbane. German Lutherans established the first free settlement of Zion Hill at Nundah in 1838, and in 1859 Brisbane was chosen as Queensland's capital when the state separated from New South Wales. During World War II, the Allied command in the South West Pacific was based in the city, along with the headquarters for General Douglas MacArthur of the United States Army.
