Britain's Queen Elizabeth praised Brisbane residents for their courage Monday during a visit to the Australian city that was hit by devastating floods in January.

The queen and her husband, Prince Philip, took a yacht cruise along the Brisbane River with Queensland state Premier Anna Bligh, who pointed out areas that were submerged during the floods.

The queen spoke to some of the disaster victims and rescue workers at a private function before she re-opened a rainforest walk that had been washed out by the floods.

The floods brought Brisbane to a standstill and killed dozens of people as huge areas of Queensland state were covered with water.

The 85-year-old monarch is in Australia to open a Commonwealth summit on Friday. Her trip also takes her to Canberra, Melbourne and Perth.