Take a guided historical tour around The City with Museum of Brisbane’s wise storytellers
To add to the excitement of Brisbane’s recent round of reopenings, our city’s historical touchpoint Museum of Brisbane will at long last reopen its doors on Friday July 17 – hurrah! So you can catch up on a much-needed dose of cultural enrichment, the museum is kicking off its activities with the eagerly anticipated launch of The Storytellers exhibition, a special City Hall-inspired LEGO build pop-up and the debut of guided walking tours where you can explore Brisbane and its rich background of art, history and culture.
Launching the return of Museum of Brisbane (MoB) is the eye-and-ear-catching The Storytellers exhibition, which uncovers Brisbane’s illustrious history and plentiful tales as told by local storytellers. The immersive exhibition features stories by Victoria Carless, Simon Cleary, Matthew Condon, Trent Dalton, Nick Earls, Benjamin Law, Hugh Lunn, Kate Morton and Ellen van Neerven. Through combining written and narrated stories with historical artefacts, The Storytellers reveals the many layers of Brisbane’s history – including tales of conflict, celebration, disaster and scandal – providing an interactive experience and a personalised behind-the-scenes pass into our city. This new exhibition will also feature a program of workshops and events focusing on creative writing and storytelling as well as a handful of informative walking tours that traverse through the city and its history.
Taking the engrossing retrospective a few steps further are the Storytellers Walking Tours, which invite you to step into the storybook that is our city and discover the many interesting tales of its history – exploring sites such as City Hall, Anzac Square, Regent Theatre and Commissariat Store. Fact-filled tours (which cost $25 for adults and $20 for children) include the Journey to City Botanic Gardens Tour where you walk from City Hall into the green heart of the city past convict sites linked to the gardens’ early beginnings, and the Stories Around the Riverbend Tour where you’ll be taken to waterfront destination Eagle Street Pier and along the riverside whilst exploring Brisbane’s storied history. For amateur war historians, there’s also the Americans in WWII Brisbane Tour, where you’ll learn the hidden histories of more than 80,000 American soldiers that were stationed in Brisbane during World War II with a visit to King George Square and the MacArthur Museum Brisbane.
To celebrate the reopening of Museum of Brisbane and the 100th birthday of the construction of Brisbane City Hall, expert LEGO builder Ben Craig is putting his skills to the test by rebuilding City Hall from the ground up with help from 40,000 LEGO Bricks. This City Hall LEGO replica is sure to wow visitors of all ages with its almost carbon copy of the building’s iconic features including the Clock Tower and even some LEGO townsfolk too! The family-friendly exhibition will also allow visitors to explore stories from the building’s 100-year history. Visit Brisbane City Hall from now until Thursday July 20 to see the City Hall LEGO build pop-up in all of its brick-building glory.
Reopening on Friday July 17, MoB will be limiting visitor numbers to ensure social distancing, with enhanced hygiene practices in place including hand-sanitiser facilities and increased cleaning of public areas. The MoB Shop will also reopen on Friday July 17 and bookings for the popular (and free!) City Hall and Clock Tower tours will recommence from Monday July 20. For further information or to secure yourself a free timed-ticket or to book a tour, visit the Museum of Brisbane website.
To find out more about what’s on in Brisbane, head to our Event Guide.
