Brisbane (49), capital of Queensland, on the Brisbane River, 25 m. from the sea, 500 m. N. of Sydney, is the chief trading centre and seaport of the Colony; it has steam communication with Australian ports and London, and railway communication with Sydney, Melbourne, and Adelaide; prosperity began when the colony was opened to free settlement in 1842; it was dissociated from New South Wales and the city incorporated in 1859.