IBIS Channel 32

06/10/2024

23/09/2024

Tram Directory - Where to Get Trams sign in Queen Street - 1959
🗓️ 23 September 1959 - 65 years ago today
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Check out this great photo showing the Tram Directory in Queen Street near the corner of Creek Street.
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Images adapted from Brisbane City Council

23/09/2024

Both episodes of our Briz 31 mini-series will be streaming on Victorian online TV channel River TV Sport - Echuca /Moama throughout this week.

River TV is an online public-access channel run by Community TV enthusiast Michael Costello from Echuca, Victoria. Click the link below to watch.

Coming September 14th, 2024 at 7:00pm AEST

23/09/2024

Dunlop Rubber Australia Ltd building, 549 Queen Street, Petrie Bight, 1960.

22/09/2024

The second part of our mini-series on The Gap, focusing on the Enoggera Dam. Featuring interviews with the late Richard Speechley of The Gap Historical Society.

Today would have been Richard's birthday, and this video is dedicated to him. Happy birthday Richard!

Second part of our mini-documentary series about the history of Brisbane suburb, The Gap. Featuring an interview with Richard Speechley of The Gap Historical...

31/08/2024

The second part to our documentary on Brisbane community TV channel Briz 31 is now online.

This episode focuses on the station as it entered into the 2000s through to its eventual end in 2019.

Check it out via the link below...

The second part of our mini-series on Briz 31. (or "31: Your Local Television"... or "QCTV"... or "31 Digital"...)After years of uncertainty, Brisbane's own ...

26/08/2024

We need your help to keep the Australian Television Archive going! If you don’t share our posts, our ability to continue providing essential video archiving services is at risk. Our business relies on your support and sharing our content is crucial for spreading the word.

Sharing our posts isn’t just a nice gesture—it’s the key to helping us stay in business and keep preserving important footage for the future.

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20/08/2024

31/07/2024

On July 31, 1994 (30 years ago today)... Brisbane's community TV station Briz 31 went to air full-time.

If you were able to pick up a clear signal, I'm sure you have many fond memories of the channel...
..cult and misunderstood movies from the 1950s, locally produced shows that looked like they were filmed in a garage, local Brisbane bands, Tamara Tonite, student news bulletins, and of course Australia's second-craziest game show Crazy Crosswords.

Part 1 of our Briz 31 documentary mini-series now is available on YouTube, chronicling the station's formation and early years.

While channel surfing late one night in Brisbane, you probably stumbled across a TV station that seemed a bit "different"... and that's if you got a clear si...

28/07/2024

Some excellent photos here showing the construction of Myer Centre, including Tops Amusement Centre!

If you haven't watched our video on Tops yet, check it out here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q3uqghS1ND0

28/07/2024

William Jolly Bridge, Brisbane.
Here is a shot of the William Jolly Bridge which was lit up for the Royal Visit in 1956.

This Art Deco bridge was claimed to be the first of its type in Australia, with its construction consisting of steel frame archways covered with concrete veneer.
When constructed, this bridge was conceived to be a bypass for traffic between the western suburbs and southern suburbs as congestion on Victoria Bridge was increasing.
Reports commissioned from the City Planner and City Engineer in 1925 suggested that this bridge be a two level bridge, with the upper level being for a railway line to cross the Brisbane River and connect both the South Cost Railway Line to the Main Railway Line.
The report also suggested a second bridge be built, in conjunction with this bridge, from Wellington Road in East Brisbane to Sydney Street in New Farm, with a ring road to be constructed around the CBD called the Main Parkway Boulevard.
Two of the other men who took part in this report suggested that the Grey Street Bridge be built further up stream, which I do wonder if those would have lined up with Hale Street?
In the end one single level bridge was constructed and no ring road was built.
Gilchrist Avenue in Herston is named after one of those engineers, though on the opposite side of the railway tracks. I assume that the Main Parkway Boulevard should have followed Gregory Terrace.
In the end very similar to the Wilbur Smith proposal of 1965 and the Inner City Bypass that was eventually built in 2002.

Even the bridge that was built was scaled back with the original plans calling for the bridge to have a “North Quay Underpass”, which would have pushed costs up to £700,000.
The Commissioner of Main Roads was unhappy with this estimate and requested that costs be contained under £500,000 by minimising resumptions, reducing North Quay roadworks and the construction of a different bridge design.
M.R. Hornibrook Ltd. submitted the lowest tender of £384,850 though the end cost of the bridge was almost double in the end with £688,387 being spent.
This appeared to have been partly funded by a United States Loan.
An artists impression of the complete bridge at the time of construction showed trams crossing the bridge, a monument at the intersection of Skew and Saul Streets and a different number of viaducts to those built on the southern approach.
In fact the decretive towers were meant to support overhead tram cables and the bridge had provisions to carry a major water pipe which never eventuated.
This bridge design was chosen out of the three proposed bridges as its was the cheapest to construct and the main goal was to construct a bridge that was higher than the 1893 flood level, which would give it a higher probability of surviving such an event. There were however some concerns about the location as it is located on the river bend and it was felt it could worsen flooding.
At the time the preferred bridge to be constructed was known as the Central Bridge which would have connected Main Street in Kangaroo Point to Fortitude Valley.
In August 1929 a £50,000 contract was let in England which would result in it taking 15 months for the steel needed to complete the bridge to reach Brisbane.

In July 1931 a proposal was made that suggested not concreting the archways on the bridge, which would have resulted in a considerable cost saving.
Leading up the the opening of the bridge there was talk about what it would be called.
For some reason the name Theodore was proposed, which one person proposed the name Mungana as they felt it would live forever compared to the name Theodore.
Another name suggested were the McIlwraith Bridge after Mr. Thomas McIlwraith, who was Queensland’s greatest statesman. It was his idea to raise the Melbourne Street Railway Station for a potential future extension over the Brisbane River.
Another suggested naming the bridge after Sir Samuel Griffith as we had no other monuments to him in our city.
Further suggestions were to name the bridge the Jolly Bridge, or the Hornibrook Bridge as Mr. H.R. Hornibrook had a lot to do with this bridge.
The bridge finally opened on Wednesday March 30th 1932 by State Governor Sir John Goodwin, just 11 days after the opening of the Sydney Harbour Bridge.
It was named the Grey Street Bridge which by 1939 it was carrying 45% of cross river traffic and was effectively doing more than it was designed to achieve.

On Tuesday July 5th 1955 the bridge was renamed in memory of Mr. William Jolly, first Lord Mayor of Greater Brisbane.
In 1964 the original spherical glass light fittings were removed from the bridge and replaced with the current light poles.
The two span overpass on the North Quay side was replaced in 1988, which in doing this the foot paths on both sides were reduced in width.
I assume to save on costs but limits the walkability of the bridge.
Meanwhile in 2003 the bridge featured in the major motion picture Inspector Gadget 2 during a shootout scene.
In February 2007 the Brisbane City Centre Master Plan 2026 was unveiled which reported that the Grey Street boulevard would continue across the Brisbane River with cycle lanes and better pedestrian access to the northern side.
This would include a redesigned E.E. McCormick Place as a plaza to the river, which fortunately the City park was not touched and remains to be an oasis.
**These articles are researched and compiled by myself John Prpic, which is unpaid and done in my spare time around my employment. Any brands or business depicted in my postings are purely coincidental and are done without remuneration. The information supplied in my articles are sourced from a variety of locations, such as newspaper archives, State Heritage Register, Council Heritage Registers, current newspaper articles, QImagery, word of mouth and many more locations.
(Taken: 1956/2019)
(Source: Brown Family Collection/John Prpic)
(Don’t Forget To Like👍🏻)

28/07/2024

28/07/2024

Our latest video was released yesterday as part of the video challenge. Numerous Brisbane YouTubers get together regularly to present a video based on a chosen topic. It was such an honour to be part of this!

This topic was "What is something Brisbane lacks compared to other cities?". Our response? Well, have a watch!

Our next video is to be released on July 31. Enjoy.

This video is part of the "Twisted Visions" challenge, where a bunch of Brisbane YouTube video creators get together and produce videos based on a chosen top...

23/07/2024

Today’s historic photo of the day: Exactly 38 years ago today, QR Rail Motor 2002 departs spot-on time with the 16:46 train to Helidon at Roma Street station, Brisbane, Qld, July 16 1986.

In 1986, Brisbane's suburban electric trains did not run beyond Ipswich, but there were regular diesel railmotor services further west to Rosewood, Grandchester, Gatton and Helidon. Most of those trains connected with electric trains at Ipswich, but a couple, such as this one, ran right through from Roma Street.

This train was timetabled to leave Roma Street at 16:46 Mondays to Fridays, then to call at Ipswich then all stations to Helidon where it was due to arrive at 18:50. Yes, that's more than two hours.

The 2000 class railcars were built between 1956 and 1971 to run lightly patronised services across the state. Some of them were used in regional and remote areas, but they were also used in Brisbane and environs. All 2000s were withdrawn from regular QR service by the year 2000, but a number do still exist in preservation and it is still possible to travel on them on regular 'Savannahlander' services between Cairns and Forsayth in North Queensland.

Today, Roma Street station continues to serve as one of Brisbane's major railway stations. It is the main terminal for long distance trains to the North, West and South, and is a major interchange station for suburban electric trains to and from Brisbane's southern suburbs.

Brisbane's electric railway network has since been extended to Rosewood, but no railcar services run these days beyond Rosewood to Helidon (although the twice weekly Westlander train, which starts its journey here at Roma Street, does still run through there).

https://railmaps.com.au/photos.htm?DatePublished=2024-07-16

06/07/2024

30/06/2024

20/06/2024

Kit Walker, Museum of World History, New York.
(Billy Zane, Brisbane City Hall, Albert Street, Brisbane).
Today we are watching fictional character, Kit Walker, after he attempted to steal a rare artefact from the Museum of World History in 1938.
Sadly in this scene he was outsmarted by the evil villain, Xander Drax.

This film, The Phantom, was shot in Brisbane between December 1995 and February 1996 with a budget of $45 million.
It was released in theatres on June 7th 1996, though sadly it only made $23.5 million in the box office.

This film stared Billy Zane as Kit Walker/Phantom, Treat Williams as Xander Drax, Kristy Swanson as Diana Palmer, Catherine Zeta-Jones as Sala and James Remarriages as Quill.
It was a film adaptation of a comic strip created by Mr. Lee Falk and owned by King Features Syndicate Inc.
It appears that the character of Robin Hood had inspired the tights worn by The Phantom, which then influenced the entire super hero industry.

Parts of this film were shot in the Brisbane City Hall and at Village Roadshow Studios on the Gold Coast where the Singh Pirates Cave was constructed.
At the time this was the largest interior setting ever built in the country.
One other notable location that featured in this film was the Manor Apartment Hotel, which appeared as a New York skyscraper.

The movie received a 43% rating on Rotten Tomatoes which was based on 46 reviews.
Billy Zane appears to have signed up to do two sequels, though due to the lack of box office sales this didn’t eventuate.
In 2008 Paramount Pictures considered producing a sequel with Billy Zane, Kristy Swanson and Catherine Zeta-Jones, though by December 2008 it was decided to reboot the film which also never eventuated.
While the 1996 film was a failure in the box office it appears to have been successful with VHS, DVD and Blu-ray sales.
As a result there appears to be a cult following.

Do you have any pop culture suggestions that you would like to see featured?
Be it a film, tv show, advertisement or film clip.
Feel free to throw your suggestions below in the comments and if footage is available I will do my best to recreate them.
**The time and effort put towards compiling these articles are unpaid. Any brands or business depicted in my postings are purely coincidental and are done without remuneration. The information supplied in my articles are sourced from a variety of locations, such as newspaper archives, State Heritage Register, Council Heritage Registers, current newspaper articles, QImagery, word of mouth and many more locations.
(Taken: 1995-1996/2022)
(Source: Paramount Pictures/John Prpic)
(Please Like👍🏻& Support)

10/06/2024

Farewell to a Brisbane TV & Radio legend. R.I.P. Gibbo.

Farewell my funny friend 💕
You were hilarious 100% of the time !
I have nothing but wonderful memories of you ♥️

10/06/2024

1882 Nundah - German Station Estate - 142 years ago today
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Today, 142 years ago, on Saturday, 10th June 1882, the German Station Estate was being advertised for sale on the ground by David Love.
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"German Railway Station - Sandgate Railway"
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We have been researching estate maps for a number of years now and have identified over 1,000 estate maps for the Brisbane area. Our website has more details about some of the more popular areas but there are still many to be added.
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This estate map is just an example of some of the Estate Maps we have found in the Brisbane area.
The German Station Estate map isn't up on our website yet so reach out if you are interested in finding out more.
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(Adapted from images sourced from the State Library of Queensland)