Blue Ocean: Changes in Latitudes

Brisbane, Australia

If I step off another curb into oncoming traffic, I will deserve what I get. I have been in Brisbane a couple of weeks, and I still have mental lapses about cars in the left lane. Same thing on the sidewalk, when I occasionally find myself in a pas-de-deux with an oncoming pedestrian. It's not as problematic as in England, though, where the convention seems to be more strictly adhered to.

Indeed, with the exception of left lane traffic and steering wheels on the right, Brisbane looks and feels much like any modern, affluent American city, or better, it is a composite of several American cities. Climate-wise, it is like Miami – subtropical, with hibiscus, bouganvilla and palms trees co-mingled with southern hemisphere species that I can’t identify. Of course the seasons are opposite. We are just now beginning to feel the first chilly mornings when I wished I had worn something warmer as I hurry to my subway stop. I’m not sure I will ever get used to weather reports predicting cold fronts from the south.

The downtown skyline is very new, maybe like Atlanta, with towering and highly stylized designs which, one hopes, will stand the test of time. (although I am reminded of the frozen-in-time look of ‘57’ Chevys and Buicks with the chrome and winged fenders). Portland Oregon is its best comparison as a healthy city – both sides of the Brisbane River are lined with hike and bike trails, and most of the main thoroughfaires have bike lanes. Everyone seems to carry a backpack so they can bike or run to work and shower and change at the office. There are very few out-of-shape people here; I do my part to skew the curve.

Economy-wise it is like a prosperous Houston. Australia appears to have largely avoided the global economic meltdown. Brisbane is the capitol of Queensland, which is experiencing a boom in mining and energy from coal, iron and increasingly, coal seam gas. Engineers are well represented in the downtown happy hour scene, so it’s easy to butt into heated discussions about energy efficiency, carbon and the newest regulatory sensation – acid sulfate soils - which now has to be addressed (at some expense) when excavating along the coastline. Queensland is a bit like Texas in its self sufficiency and economic success – you hear occasional bloviations about seceeding from Australia.

In my experience, except for Canada, Australia is the most similar nation to the US. This is not surprising, given their histories, although Australia celebrates its English ties much more than would be palatable in the US. For example many of the public spaces are named Queens this or Reagents that. This bias is to be expected in light of the relative lack of blood mixing. If you asked an American their ancestry, you'll normally hear a significant mix of countries. Not so in the commonwealth, where most folks trace their roots back uniquely to Britain. But I think it is safe to say that the Australian experience, taking into account the things people do, their lifestyles, how they act around each other, their attitudes about the external world, overall is more American than it is British. For what that's worth.

This is a continuation of previous blog entries from my previous two year work assignment in Yemen. For the next two years or so, I will be working for Technip, a French firm, in New Caledonia. Technip is a JV partner with Hatch (Canadian) building a nickel mine and refinery for Xstrata (Swiss) in a remote part of NewCaledonia, a French Polynesian island in the south Pacific. I am currently working out of the Hatch office in Brisbane while I wait for my work visa to process.

Dr Suess' invisible hand wields its influence on tree morphology south of the equator. This poodle look-alike is one of the more common big tree species.

Interesting forms in the built environment: a pedestrian bridge spanning the Brisbane River, connecting the central business district with the south bank cultural area