Queensland Art Gallery Presscuttings Book 10 : Record of press coverage, March 1982 - May 1984

,. ' Shine on Brisbane 8)' .Julian Scanlll'hury w HOEVER heard or a . municipal authori1y 1rying to , raise people's spirit~ instead I or their rates! But that's wh at ha~ been happening in Brisbane . ca pi– l tal or the Sunsh ine State and host city for the X 11 Com– monwealth Games fr om Sep– tember 30 to October 10. Out or the mouths o r children and pensioners alike. the words "Shine on Bri sbane . Face each day with a smile" are on most people's lips . It's all part or a carerully– planned drive to make people reel good about their city and encourage participation and involvement in making it an "even better" place to live in. Once all this would simply have been called civic pride. But the "Shine on Brisbane" campaign has toppled tradi– tional Town Hall jargon in favour of carefree, happy tones - more in keeping with the "Friendly Games." The me ssa ge has got through to everv corner of what is one of ·the world's most sprawling cities. Shops, banks, sandwich bars and the like have taken "Shine on Brisbane" to their hearts and are displaying stickers and posters all over town . Radio, television and news– papers are full of it, too, and are giving the campaign their whole-hearted support . Right from the start Lord Mayor Roy Harvey saw to it that the media and business commun– it y as well as the residents were full y involved. In gain– ing maximum impact for the promotion the council didn't miss a trick . Based on so und research among resident s. the theme highlights Brisbane's climate. lifest yle and friendly people . But the research also showed that people just didn't appre- ciate what a good place they lived in, explained one of the council's publicists. Now, by unashamedl y showing off a "shining" Bris– bane to residents, tourists and visitors, the city will never be the same again. At least. that is the idea. Certainly there's nothing like a party atmosphere to get everyone enthused and house proud . Thousands of trees have been given away and planted through a council scheme to "green" the suburbs. Image '82 has resulted in large-scale face-lifting of commercial and industrial buildings, and it has also involved the sprucing up of gardens and tidying of foot– paths. There's been a big cam– paign to encourage people to paint their houses. Most peo– ple have been smartening up . Hopes arc that the effect or al l the improvements a nd the sunny smiles will continue long after the Games. Cer– tai nly. residents will have lots to smile about. They will have gained unriv a lled new facilities. Right from the start, when the fight to win the Common– wealth Games for Brisbane began in 1973, the council was determined there would be no "white elephants" left when a thletes had gone . All the buildings, installa– tions and equipment for the Games would have to have a life of their own for people to continue enjoying. The QE 11 spo rt s complex on the south side of the city is a case in point. Permanent facilities such as gymnasiums, sa unas, squash courts an:l ba sketball and volleyball courts were established underneath the sta nd . There is also live-in accommodation for sports workshops. Temporary fixtures, such as ! Ill a ~-· -. ~ . 7iiii 11111 iiii ii Brisbane City Brisbane Visitors a nd Convention Bureau Oc tober 1982