Australia
Melbourne
Melbourne
is the second most populous city in Australia,
with a metropolitan area population of approximately 3.8
million (2007 estimate) and serves as the state capital
of Victoria. It is located at the mouth of the Yarra River
and on the northern and eastern shorelines of Port Phillip
on an area of land that formed part of the Wurundjeri and
Boonwurrung nations' territories for at least 31,000 years.
Melbourne was
founded by free settlers in 1835, 47 years after the first
European
settlement of Australia, as a pastoral settlement situated
around the Yarra River. Transformed rapidly into a major
metropolis by the Victorian gold rush in the 1850s, 'Marvellous
Melbourne' became Australia's largest and most important
city and, by 1865, was the second largest city in the British
Empire, and the tenth largest in the world for a short time
at the turn of the 20th century. Such rapid growth from
nothing was unprecedented. However, Melbourne's growth slowed
during the early 20th century and was overtaken by Sydney's.
Today, Melbourne
is a major centre of commerce, industry and cultural activity.
It is consistently ranked one of the most liveable cities
in the world.
The city is recognised
as Australia's 'sporting and cultural capital' and it is
home to many of the nation's most significant cultural and
sporting events and institutions. It has been recognised
as a gamma world city by the Loughborough University group's
1999 inventory. Melbourne is notable for its mix of Victorian
and contemporary architecture, its extensive tram network
and Victorian parks and gardens, as well as its diverse,
multicultural society. Melbourne has hosted many international
conferences and events, including the 1956 Summer Olympics
and the 2006 Commonwealth Games. It was the location of
the 1981 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting and the
2006 G20 summit.
Melbourne served
as the seat of the federal government from the time of the
new nation's federation in 1901, until Federal Parliament
moved to the purpose-built capital, Canberra, in 1927. Melbourne's
demonym is Melburnian.
Prior to European
settlement, the land now occupied by Melbourne was used
by indigenous Australians, of the Wurundjeri and Boonwurrung
nations, for at least 31,000 years. The area was an important
meeting place for clans and territories of the Kulin nation
alliance as well as a vital source of food and water.The
first European settlement in Victoria was established in
1803 on Sullivan Bay, near present-day Sorrento, but this
settlement was abandoned due to a perceived lack of resources.
It would be 30 years before another settlement was attempted.
In May
and June 1835, the area that is now central and northern
Melbourne was explored by John Batman, a leading member
of the Port Phillip Association, who negotiated a transaction
for 600,000 acres (2,400 km2, 940 sq mi) of land from eight
Wurundjeri elders. He selected a site on the northern bank
of the Yarra River, declaring that "this will be the
place for a village", and returned to Launceston in
Tasmania (then known as Van Diemen's Land). However, by
the time a settlement party from the Association arrived
to establish the new village, a separate group led by John
Pascoe Fawkner had already arrived aboard the Enterprize
and established a settlement at the same location, on 30
August 1835. The two groups ultimately agreed to share the
settlement.