  (abridged) We present the HIPASS Bright Galaxy Catalog (BGC) which contains
the 1000 HI-brightest galaxies in the southern sky as obtained from the HI
Parkes All-Sky Survey (HIPASS). The selection of the brightest sources is based
on their HI peak flux density (Speak > 116 mJy) as measured from the spatially
integrated HIPASS spectrum. The derived HI masses range from about 10^7 to 4 x
10^10 Msun. While the BGC (z < 0.03) is complete in Speak, only a subset of
about 500 sources can be considered complete in integrated HI flux density (FHI
> 25 JY km/s). The HIPASS BGC contains a total of 158 new redshifts and yields
no evidence for a population of "free-floating" intergalactic HI clouds without
associated optical counterparts. HIPASS provides a clear view of the local
large-scale structure. The dominant features in the sky distribution of the BGC
are the Supergalactic Plane and the Local Void. In addition, one can clearly
see the Centaurus Wall which connects via the Hydra and Antlia clusters to the
Puppis filament. Some previously hardly noticed galaxy groups stand out quite
distinctively in the HI sky distribution. Several new structures are seen for
the first time, not only behind the Milky Way.
