Expo 88 and Joh Bjelke-Petersen: The Premier Who Made the World's Fair His Legacy
Sir Joh Bjelke-Petersen governed Queensland for nearly two decades in controversy. That his most enduring civic act was an open, cosmopolitan world's fair says everything about the complexity of his legacy.
Brisbane Before and After Expo: The City That Was Transformed by Six Months of the World
In 1988, Brisbane was a provincial city at the edge of national ambition. Six months of a world exposition did not merely redecorate it — they renegotiated its relationship with itself.
The Expo 88 Pavilions: Which Nations Came and What They Built
Across 40 hectares of South Brisbane, more than 50 nations and dozens of corporate and state participants assembled a temporary city of ideas — each pavilion a sovereign act of self-presentation.
Australia in 1988: Bicentenary Year and the Cultural Context of Expo
1988 was the year Australia turned two hundred, argued with itself about what that meant, opened a parliament and hosted a world exposition — all at once.
What Expo Left Behind: The Structures, the Gondwana Rainforest and the Permanent Gifts
When World Expo 88 closed its gates in October 1988, the question of what would remain became Brisbane's most consequential urban decision. The answer reshaped a city.
Before Expo: The South Brisbane Riverbank That Was Cleared for the World's Fair
Before the pavilions rose and the flags flew, a layered human landscape was erased from the south bank of the Maiwar. This is the story of what stood there first.
World Expo 88: The Six Months That Changed Brisbane Forever
From April to October 1988, Brisbane hosted the world and was altered by the encounter. The story of Expo 88 is a story about what a city discovers when it steps, briefly, into the light.
Six Months of Wonder: What Expo 88 Actually Was and Why It Mattered
World Expo 88 was not merely a fair. Held from April to October 1988, it was a civic event of a specific type — a Specialised Expo — that reordered how Brisbane understood itself.
From Expo to South Bank: The Decision That Defined Brisbane's Riverbank
When World Expo 88 closed its gates in October 1988, the fate of 42 hectares of Brisbane's most significant riverbank hung in the balance. The decision made in its wake changed the city forever.
Expo 88 in Queensland Memory: The Formative Event of a Generation
For a generation of Queenslanders, Expo 88 is not history — it is felt memory. Six months in 1988 rewired how a city understood itself and what it believed it deserved.