mouth_of_the_watercourse brunswick river 
Brisbane is the capital and most populous city in the Australian state of Queensland , and the third most populous city in Australia . Brisbane ' s metropolitan area has a population of 2 . 3 million , and the South East Queensland urban conurbation , centred on Brisbane , encompasses a population of more than 3 . 4 million . The Brisbane central business district stands on the original European settlement and is situated inside a bend of the ___MASK75___ , about from its mouth at ___MASK83___ . The metropolitan area extends in all directions along the floodplain of the ___MASK75___ Valley between ___MASK83___ and the Great Dividing Range , sprawling across several of Australia ' s most populous local government areas ( LGAs ), most centrally the City of Brisbane , which is by far the most populous LGA in the nation . The demonym of Brisbane is Brisbanite . Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia , is a country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent , the island of Tasmania and numerous smaller islands . It is the world ' s sixth - largest country by total area . The neighbouring countries are Papua New Guinea , Indonesia and East Timor to the north ; the Solomon Islands and Vanuatu to the north - east ; and New Zealand to the south - east . Australia ' s capital is Canberra , and its largest urban area is Sydney . Brunswick River / brnzwk / , an open mature wave dominated barrier estuary , is located in the Northern Rivers region of New South Wales , Australia . The ___MASK93___ ( Mori : " Te Tai - o - Rehua ") is a marginal sea of the South Pacific Ocean , situated between Australia and New Zealand . It measures about across and about from north to south . The sea was named after the Dutch explorer Abel Janszoon Tasman , who was the first recorded European to encounter New Zealand and Tasmania . The British explorer Captain James Cook later extensively navigated the ___MASK93___ in the 1770s as part of his first voyage of exploration . Vanuatu ( or ; Bislama ), officially the Republic of Vanuatu ( Bislama : " Ripablik blong Vanuatu "), is a Pacific island nation located in the South ___MASK7___ . The archipelago , which is of volcanic origin , is some east of northern Australia , northeast of New Caledonia , east of New Guinea , southeast of the Solomon Islands , and west of Fiji . Indonesia ( or ; Indonesian : ), officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a unitary sovereign state and transcontinental country located mainly in Southeast Asia with some territories in Oceania . Situated between the Indian and Pacific oceans , it is the world ' s largest island country , with more than seventeen thousand islands . At , Indonesia is the world ' s 14th - largest country in terms of land area and world ' s 7th - largest country in terms of combined ___MASK49___ and land area . It has an estimated population of over 260 million people and is the world ' s fourth most populous country , the most populous Austronesian nation , as well as the most populous Muslim - majority country . The world ' s most populous island of Java contains more than half of the country ' s population . Queensland ( abbreviated as QLD ) is the second - largest and third - most - populous state in the Commonwealth of Australia . Situated in the north - east of the country , it is bordered by the Northern Territory , South Australia and New South Wales to the west , south - west and south respectively . To the east , Queensland is bordered by the Coral ___MASK49___ and ___MASK7___ . Queensland has a population of 4 , 750 , 500 , concentrated along the coast and particularly in the state ' s South East . The state is the world ' s sixth largest sub - national entity , with an area of 1 , 852 , 642 km . The capital and largest city in the state is Brisbane , Australia ' s third largest city . Often referred to as the " Sunshine State ", Queensland is home to 10 of Australia ' s 30 largest cities and is the nation ' s third largest economy . Tourism in the state , fuelled largely by its warm tropical climate , is a major industry . Papua New Guinea ( PNG Hiri Motu : " Papua Niu Gini "), officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea , is an Oceanian country that occupies the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and its offshore islands in Melanesia , a region of the southwestern ___MASK7___ north of Australia . Its capital , located along its southeastern coast , is Port Moresby . The western half of New Guinea forms the Indonesian provinces of Papua and West Papua . New South Wales ( abbreviated as NSW ) is a state on the east coast of : Australia . It borders Queensland to the north , Victoria to the south , and South Australia to the west . It has a coast line with the ___MASK93___ on its east side . The Australian Capital Territory is an enclave within the state . New South Wales ' state capital is Sydney , which is also Australia ' s most populous city . , the estimated population of New South Wales was 7 . 5 million , making it Australia ' s most populous state . Just under two - thirds of the state ' s population , 4 . 67 million , live in the Greater Sydney area . Inhabitants of New South Wales are referred to as " New South Welshmen ". Northern Rivers is a region of the Australian state of New South Wales , located between and north of the state capital , Sydney . At its most northern point , the region is south southeast of the Queensland capital , Brisbane . New Zealand is an island nation in the southwestern ___MASK7___ . The country geographically comprises two main landmasses  that of the North Island , or Te Ika - a - Mui , and the South Island , or Te Waipounamu  and numerous smaller islands . New Zealand is situated some east of Australia across the ___MASK93___ and roughly south of the Pacific island areas of New Caledonia , Fiji , and Tonga . Because of its remoteness , it was one of the last lands to be settled by humans . During its long period of isolation , New Zealand developed a distinct biodiversity of animal , fungal and plant life . The country ' s varied topography and its sharp mountain peaks , such as the Southern Alps , owe much to the tectonic uplift of land and volcanic eruptions . New Zealand ' s capital city is Wellington , while its most populous city is Auckland . Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain . It is bordered by England to the east , the Irish ___MASK49___ to the north and west , and the ___MASK97___ to the south . It had a population in 2011 of 3 , 063 , 456 and has a total area of . Wales has over of coastline and is largely mountainous , with its higher peaks in the north and central areas , including Snowdon , its highest summit . The country lies within the north temperate zone and has a changeable , maritime climate . Tasmania ( abbreviated as Tas and known colloquially as " Tassie ") is an island state of the Commonwealth of Australia . It is located to the south of the Australian mainland , separated by ___MASK1___ . The state encompasses the ___MASK9___ island of Tasmania , the 26th - largest island in the world , and the surrounding 334 islands . The state has a population of around 518 , 500 , just over forty percent of which resides in the Greater Hobart precinct , which forms the metropolitan area of the state capital and largest city , Hobart .