‘Magical’ tiny doors discovered in Brisbane’s laneways
A series of 'mysterious', miniature doors have popped up in Brisbane, prompting many people to wonder, 'Why are they here?'
READING LEVEL: GREEN
A series of tiny doors scattered through the alleyways of an Australian city has left people scratching their heads.
Tourists and locals have been sharing videos after stumbling across* “fairy doors” in Brisbane – prompting* many to ask: “Why are they here?”
The first “mysterious” mini doorway, which measures barely 10 centimetres high, appeared in Burnett Lane in the city’s CBD* back in 2017.
Since then, more have been steadily popping up, with these “weird and wonderful*” tiny doors now dotted around for people to find and enjoy.
The miniature* attractions are the brainchild* of artist Mace Robertson, who recently admitted there are now so many doors, he cannot remember how many he has installed.
Mr Robertson said he’d been inspired to create the series after spotting the global 'fairy doors' phenomenon*, a so-called 'magical portal' between our world and the fairy realm* usually found at the base of tree trunks here and overseas.
“I saw them pop up in other cities around the world and I thought Brisbane needs more art and why not do that,” Mr Robertson said.
His first creation was a red door, complete with window archway and even the number '45a', but there have been an array* of different designs in the years since – and finding them all has become a popular sport.
Social media is awash* with videos from visitors and locals alike as they stumble across the doors before attempting to find more.
Food blogger Adrian Widjy recently shared his experience with Brisbane’s mini doors, declaring it the “best thing” he’d discovered in the Queensland capital.
“It is such a fun activity hunting them down given that there are plenty around Brisbane City,” he said. “They have amazing details!”
His video shows three different designs he located in Fortitude Valley, including a fire station with doors.
Some even open to reveal a QR code, which plays a behind-the-scenes film with the artist who created them.
Mr Widjy then uncovered* three more in Fish Lane, South Brisbane, including one he described as having a “medieval theme”.
He also marvelled over a “mini retro music store” – stating the artwork was “unreal”.
“It even had a ‘back in 5 minutes’ sign,” he said.
Another user on social media said they spent “7 hours on an adventure” locating as many installations as possible.
“That is so cool,” one delighted user wrote.
“It’s a door able,” someone else laughed.
One local admitted: “Lived in Brisbane my entire life and had no idea.”
Another said their kids loved the local attraction, revealing they often leave notes for the “fairies” to find at their doors.
GLOSSARY
- stumbling across: finding something by accident or without looking for it
- prompting: causing or leading to a particular action or response
- CBD: Central Business District, the main commercial and business area of a city
- weird and wonderful: unusual and interesting, often in a pleasing way
- miniature: very small in size
- brainchild: an idea or invention created by one person
- phenomenon: an unusual or impressive event or situation
- realm: a particular area of activity, interest or thought
- array: a group of things that are similar or related
- awash: something that is plentiful or abundant
- phenomenon: an unusual or impressive event or situation
- realm: a particular area of activity, interest or thought
- uncovered: discovered or found out about something
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QUICK QUIZ
- What are the “fairy doors” in Brisbane?
- Who is the artist behind the miniature doors?
- What was the artist’s inspiration for creating the doors?
- What are some of the different designs of the fairy doors?
- What do some people leave at the fairy doors for the fairies to find?
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CLASSROOM ACTIVITIES
1. What’s behind the door?
What if there was something, maybe a magical or weird and wonderful world, behind one of the tiny doors? Plan and write a story inspired by this question.
Time: allow 25 minutes to complete this activity
Curriculum Links: English
2. Extension
Design some fun and interesting tiny doors that could be placed around your school. Part of your design plan must be where you would put the doors. You could even make them and put them in place!
Time: allow 60 minutes to complete this activity
Curriculum Links: English, Design and Technologies
VCOP ACTIVITY
Stretch your sentence
Find a “who” in the story. Write it down.
- Add three adjectives to describe them better.
- Now add a verb to your list. What are they doing?
- Add an adverb about how they are doing the action.
- Using all the words listed, create one descriptive sentence.