King George Square

I’m not sure if you can call this an attraction per se, though when I was here they did have a tent which was displaying works of art by people who suffered from mental illness. There are a couple of coffee shops located here as well and underneath is the King George Bus Station (which I must admit isn’t as cool as the bus station under the Myer Centre, but at least you can catch buses from here). Most other times I have been here there hasn’t really been all that much happening, but if they set up one display I’m sure you are likely to encounter other displays as well. I guess the cool thing about this open area though is that there are a couple of outdoor coffee shops, as well as a huge television screen, so if you want to catch up on the day’s news you can always stand here with a nice hot cup of coffee and watch the big screen. I’m not sure how useful it is these days though since if you do want an update you can always look at your mobile phone, though I suspect that not everybody is lucky enough to have one.

King George Square is an awesome place to sit and read on a nice sunny morning or afternoon. It’s also a great place to people watch as well as participate in any planned or impromptu events.
There are occasionally cultural celebrations, political demonstrations and even the spontaneous life size chess matches in this part of Brisbane. Well worth a periodic trip to see what’s going at the heart of the city.

Love how you can pass by one day and there is a life-​size chess set begging you to accept the challenge of a game and the next week there is a giant tent that appears out of no where. I’ve seen protests and musicians performing here as well.
Many buses stop here making it a convenient place to meet friends, relax, or take in Brisbane’s CBD. They even have a large TV where you can find out the latest in Australian news. With the newly renovated City Hall right at King George Square, you can take a tour or head to the Museum.
It’s always evolving so that’s the fun part of going to King George Square, you never know what will be there!

One of the best places to have a quick lunch-​to-​go during the week for me!
Probably most common place I can be found with my sushi to go and a book when I have only an hour break from work!
It’s clean and pretty. Right in front of the City Hall, makes a nice spot for tourists (and all the smokers too ;)).
I wish there was more benches around, especially in the shade! It can get quite hot in the summer.
Nice spot to organize a flash mob or to meet up with friends before you head off to the city in the evening :)

King George Square is a large public open square made of concrete, that sits in front of the Brisbane City Hall. I think of it as meeting place, a place where protests are held? (I’m not a Brisbane local so don’t take my word for it — hence the question mark) and a place where you can gather round to watch sports on the big flat screen in the middle of the square?
When I see it, I think of our Federation square… although they are both very different.
You’ll find Groove Train and Coffee Hit on the square opposite each other where you can have a meal or grab a coffee.
Brisbane’s Central Station is a short walk away and King George Bus station is just off the square.
Queen Street Mall is also very close.

King George Square used to be a real meeting place. Teenagers would sit on the shady steps with their skateboards and dyed mohawks, couples and families would picnic or just sit on the grass, kids would play next to (or even in) the fountains, and passers-​by lingered to gaze up at City Hall and enjoy a moment of peaceful respite from the city. Then someone decided to build a new bus station under it and gone were the fountains and trees. Goodbye, grass. For months on end the renovation took place and went it was unveiled, the people of Brisbane let out a simultaneous «WTF?».
Basically the powers that be spent a good year or two turning our beloved King George Square into a grey expanse of concrete with barely a place to sit, and not an inch of shade. Walking across the square without sunglasses on has become a health hazard for your retinas. It was quite a tragedy, I think. Nobody really lingers here anymore. No kids play. Couples don’t lounge on the grass. These days people duck their heads under the glare of the sun (which is reflected back up into their faces from the grey concrete ground) and trudge determinedly and hurriedly across the Square to get out of it and into some shade or anywhere that doesn’t resemble an apocalypse.

I would go so close as to saying that the annual massive Christmas tree that City Hall puts up is the only thing that I love about KGS nowadays. They took away the greenery because someone said there was no shade. Well woop de doo you. Congratulations. Pat on the back. Concreting everything over is the answer. FOR SURE!
Now I can walk my concrete soaked heels onto even more concrete and when my son decides to start skipping along, he can now scrape his lovely knees on, yep, you guessed it… even more concrete. Thanks BCC. You are the very merry best.
Concrete passion rant aside, it is still a magical spot and always has been in Brisbane’s CBD. Throughout the year you will see some stalls set up for Scottish traditional days, and other’s I’m sure but can’t think of… still getting that man’s kilt image out of my head. But they do have activities and things here throughout the year which make it less boring as you walk across the huge expanse of concrete (sorry, i’m very passionate about the concrete as you can see).
I guess now you can skate across it no probs! Unless the police get you.

King George Square is a large public square in front of the City Town Hall. A good meeting space, there is now more shaded areas and seats than before.
It seems to host a lot of different events — the annual Christmas Tree, protests and gatherings, markets and meet ups.
It hosts the King George Square Monthly Games Night — held on the last Thursday of the month, from 5pm-​9pm. There are over-​sized games for everyone to play, human chess or you can bring your own and play with friends or strangers.

Yes, I remember the old King George Square and that big beautiful patch of grass out the front of City Hall. I remember that the goths and emos used it as their city crib. I remember walking past some days and seeing that some joker had put blue dye in the water fountain. I remember meeting my first boyfriend there for our first date.
I, like a lot of other people got choked up about the new King George Square. When it was unveiled, I thought it was awful. It was nothing but concrete. No more water fountains, no more grass.
However, I’ve come to see good in this. Because at the time of the renovations, Brisbane was having serious issues with water (we got down to 11% dam capacity at one stage), the council thought it best to create a built environment that was less water reliant. Grass is needy on water. I could see the logic in this. However, I don’t understand why they didn’t make plant beds for dry climate natives. Plants really do add to a place, and you really feel their absence in the new King George Square.
Because they’ve taken out a lot of the stairs that led up to King George Square, the space is now bike friendly. It creates a more fluid city experience. You can walk your bike down Queen Street, zip across Adelaide Street, through King George Square and get to Ann St in no time.
The best part is how certain things stay the same. On any day you can go and hang out in King George Square and see a small pool of goths and emos hanging out just like they used to in the old days.

I remember when the new, refurbished King George Square was revealed. A lot of the public were upset about the lack of shade and the minimalist design. The council argued that open space was more conducive to holding events, erecting marquees, and setting up stages, and I have to agree.
There have been countless successes held at King George Square that have revitalised Brisbane’s city culture. The winter festival was held here; several suitcase rummages have taken place here; the Spiegeltent was set up at the square during the brisbane festival, and numerous protests have taken place.
Some people think the area is unsightly, but it’s nice to see tourists posing in front of city hall, or beside a statue of King George V, or pretendng to ride one of the kangaroo statues. It offers some perspective on what outsiders find compelling about our city and its history.
As for the every day, the council have planted more trees in the past few months and you’ll often see people resting here or eating on one of the benches during their lunch break. The openness of the square also serves the jam of office workers strolling to the city in the morning.

My friends and I have always met at King George Square. As teenagers, from the time we were old enough to be allowed to catch the train into ‘town’, we’d do Rockinghorse Records, and Skinnys on our way up from the station, then lie around on the grass in the square for hours, talking and sharing our space with the ever-​present pigeons. Sometimes, we’d wait until the huge city hall clock was about to strike the hour and pay our few coins to ride the lift to the top just in time for the clanging cacophany of sound, emerging afterwards with our ears ringing.
Today, the grass is gone to make way for the square refurb and the clock tower is closed for the city hall reno’s, but the pigeons are still there and the square is a hive of activities, from concerts, displays and performances, to suitcase flea markets and even the odd protest. It really is the heart of the city.

King George Square is where I always plan to meet up with my folks whenever they visit Brisbane. It is easy to recognise and well situated in the city, next the City Hall. My dad particularly likes the two bronze lions leading from the square to the city hall entrance but there is plenty of sculpture to look at here.
King George Square got a bit of a makeover a few years ago but somehow seems a whole lot blander and more stark than before. Maybe it is the lack of vegetation in the square, or just the mass of grey stone that is somewhat uninviting to the eye. I hate to say it, but I did like it better before. Nonetheless, it does have a rather nifty bus station underneath now. The square is also a hub for events in the city and a good place to go to do something for free. You can find everything from Christmas bands and performances (and the city Christmas tree) to the BrisStyle Indie Twilight Markets. Check out the Brisbane City Council website for a list of events in the coming future.

I can only assume that at one point one of the lions that watch over King George Square delivered a speech to the other about how, one day, everything the light touches would be his. At which point that lion looked at the light beating down on the bleak square and noticed a shady oasis off to his left,
«What about that shadowy place?»
«That’s Roma St Parklands. It’s beyond out borders… You must never go there sim-​«
But I’m getting sidetracked. The fact is that King George Square wasn’t always the unappealing void it is now. I still remember a time when life still grew here and kids would play, perhaps unwisely, in the shallows of a fountain. Today, it is more skate park than city centre and I can’t help but wish it had just been left alone. But city’s evolve and a lavish new bus terminal was needed so out with the old and in with the new.
An effort has been made, at least, to spark some life in the old girl. Only a few months ago an ice skating rink was temporarily installed and the annual christmas tree is always a marvel to behold. But despite the best efforts of the Brisbane City Council I can’t help but feel that dastardly Scar had a hand in this whole fiasco.