Brisbane’s location in Queensland’s southeast corner dictates that its cultural and economic development is different from the rest of Australia. Unlike other mainland states, its socio-economic infrastructure is widely dispersed, particularly along its 2,700-kilometre eastern coast, and its capital city is not centrally situated. Queensland remains Australia’s most decentralised state, with less than half its population residing in the capital. Furthermore, with the continuing significance of regional centres, in particular Mackay, Rockhampton, Toowoomba and Townsville, it can be argued that a “contested cultural dominance”1 exists. Queensland’s musical history is clearly not just that of Brisbane, which is the focus of this chapter. Founded in 1825 as a penal settlement, Brisbane was still a frontier town in 1859 when it became the colonial capital, upon Queensland’s separation from New South Wales. Its subsequent uneven growth reflects boom-bust cycles arising from periodic commodity price fluctuations and discoveries of gold and other minerals. With fewer than 6,000 residents in 1861, Brisbane grew rapidly over the next four decades to about 120,000.2 This includes an increase of 18,000 during the 1890s alone, by which time it had acquired the characteristics of a thriving city.3 By 1925 when the greater Brisbane City Council was created through amalgamation of twenty cities, towns, and local shires, its population doubled to some 200,000. Barely two decades later Brisbane had again doubled to over 400,000,4 becoming in 1947 Australia’s third largest city.