Zeitgeist

Adjacent to the GPO, Queen Street decorated for Coronation of King George VI, May 1937.
Source: http://waywewere.couriermail.com.au/image-detail.php?search_field=&offset=2407&return=L3NlYXJjaC1yZXN1bHRzLnBocD9saW1pdHM9MjQwMCwxNSwzOTM5JnNlYXJjaF9maWVsZD0=

What was the spirit of 1920s and 1930s Brisbane? I get the feeling it was pretty fun. Admittedly I'm not sure just yet how 'fun' the aftermath of the 'war to end all wars' was. Or the Spanish flu epidemic, which killed approximately 3 per cent of the world before it disappeared in 1920. Or the Great Depression that hit Australia harder than most other countries, with recovery taking longer, too, and unemployment hitting 29 per cent in 1932. What else could happen in 20 years? Oh yeah, the threat of a bigger war for the last year or so.

Glamorous, Languorous, and Confident

Queen Street, Brisbane, 1933. 
Source:SLQ, JOL image no. 195199.

The twenty years after 1919 was a period characterised by the seemingly contradictory traits of romance and optimism.  It was a time of celebration after winning The Great War, of exuberance and expenditure during the Roaring Twenties, and of hardship and recovery through the Great Depression and later.  The move outwards into the suburbs began to gather momentum and the city began to rise up with offices peeking above the church spires and factory chimneys which had previously provided the city skyline.  Brisbane, Australia's only sub-tropical capital city, grew into a place at once glamorous, languorous, and confident.