This painting draws on my memories of growing up in Brisbane and South East Queensland, when trams still ran up Queen Street and Rock ’n’ Roll George cruised alongside them, his music blaring from a pale yellow Holden. Cloudland Dance Hall was still standing, TAA was “the friendly way to fly,” and 4BC was the station everyone tuned into.
The Glass House Mountains sat quietly on the horizon, a constant reminder of Queensland as “the Sunshine State,” with Expo ’88 just beginning to appear on the horizon of the future. It was a beautiful place to live and work in those days—full of optimism, character, and warmth.
Painted over several weeks in acrylics on a 60 cm x 60 cm canvas, this work is both a personal recollection and a tribute to a vanished era of Brisbane life.