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Alternate meanings: Melbourne (disambiguation)
File:MelbourneCoatOfArms.jpg
The City of Melbourne's coat of arms

Melbourne is the capital and largest city of the state of Victoria, and the second largest city in Australia (after Sydney), with a population of 3,600,650 in the Melbourne metropolitan area (June 2004) and 61,670 in the City of Melbourne (which covers only the central city area). The city's name is pronounced "MEL-buhn", IPA: /ˈmelbən/. The city's motto is "Vires acquirit eundo" which means "we gather strength as we go". Melbourne was the capital city of Australia from 1901 until 1927.

Melbourne has twice ranked first in a survey by The Economist of The World's Most Livable Cities on the basis of its cultural attributes, climate, cost of living, and social conditions, once in 2002 [1], and again in 2004. The US's Utne Reader puts it thus: "Add a long tradition of civic pride, communities of new immigrants from around the world, and the best food in Australia, and you have a recipe for what many claim is the hippest city in the Southern Hemisphere" (Nov/Dec 2001).

Melbourne has undergone a major urban 'revival', such that it is sometimes classed as being in a second tier of "world cities"; the GaWC study group in the UK ranks Melbourne, on the basis of relative availability of specialised "advanced services" as a "minor world city" comparable to cities such as Montreal, Osaka, and Prague. It has one of the highest numbers of international students studying in its universities, after London, New York, and Paris.

File:Melb.jpg
The City of Melbourne

Geography

Map of greater Melbourne

Melbourne is located in the south-eastern corner of mainland Australia, and is the southernmost mainland capital city. It looks out on to Port Phillip, its suburbs sprawling to the east, following the Yarra River out to the Yarra and Dandenong Ranges, south-east to the mouth of the bay, and following the Maribyrnong River and its tributaries west and north to flat farming country. The central business district (the original city) is laid out in the famous mile-by-half-a-mile Hoddle Grid, its southern edge fronting on to the Yarra.

Melbourne is a large commercial and industrial centre, with many of Australia's largest companies, and many multinational corporations (approximately one-third of the 100 largest multinationals operating in Australia as of 2002) headquartered there. It is home to Australia's largest seaport, seven universities (the University of Melbourne, Monash University, Deakin University, Victoria University, La Trobe University, RMIT University, and Swinburne University), and much of Australia's automotive industry (including the engine manufacturing facility of Holden, and the Ford and Toyota manufacturing facilities) amongst many other manufacturing industries.

Government

File:Ac.melbourneskyline.jpg
The central business district of Melbourne, viewed from the north

There is no overall governing body for the Melbourne metropolitan area. There is a directly elected Lord Mayor of Melbourne and an elected Melbourne City Council, but these are responsible only for the City of Melbourne, which takes in the central business area and a few adjoining inner suburbs. The Lord Mayor, however, is frequently treated as a representative of the whole city.

The rest of the metropolitan area is divided into 30 municipalities, all of which are styled as cities except for five on the city's outer fringes which are styled as shires (see a list of these at Local Government Areas of Victoria). These municipalities all have elected councils and are responsible for a range of functions delegated to them by the Victorian state government. These include planning, rubbish collection, beaches, parks and gardens, child-care and preschool facilities, local festivals and cultural activities, services to the elderly, supervision of public health, sanitation and similar matters. Councils levy rates from their residents to pay for these services. The councils are collectively represented by the Local Government Association of Victoria.

Most citywide government activities are controlled by the state government. These include public transport, main roads, traffic control, policing, education above preschool level, and planning of major infrastructure projects. Because three quarters of Victoria's population lives in Melbourne, state governments have traditionally been reluctant to allow the development of citywide governmental bodies, which would tend to rival the state government. For this reason the Melbourne and Metropolitan Board of Works, which had become a powerful semi-autonomous authority, was abolished in 1992.

History

Main article: History of Melbourne

Old and new can be found in close proximity in Melbourne.

Melbourne was founded on 10 May 1835 by a group of free settlers led by John Batman and John Pascoe Fawkner, unlike some of Australia's capital cities which were founded as penal colonies (Adelaide and Perth are other notable exceptions). With the discovery of gold in central Victoria in the 1850s, leading to the Victorian gold rush, Melbourne quickly grew as a port to service the necessary trade. During the 1880s, Melbourne was the second largest city in the British Empire, and came to be known as "Marvellous Melbourne". Melbourne today is home to the largest number of surviving Victorian Era buildings of any city in the world other than London.

Melbourne became Australia's national capital at Federation on 1 January 1901. The first Federal parliament was opened on 9 May 1901 in the Royal Exhibition Building. The seat of government and the national capital remained in Melbourne until 9 May 1927 when the provisional Parliament House was opened in the new capital city of Canberra.

Melbourne continued to expand steadily throughout the first half of the 20th century, particularly with the post-World War II influx of immigrants and the prestige of hosting the Olympic Games in 1956. This was the first time the Olympic Games had ever been held in the Southern Hemisphere (the only other time was when Sydney hosted the Games in 2000). Throughout the 1990s, the Victorian state government of Premier Jeff Kennett (Liberal) began a campaign with aggressive development of new public buildings (such as the Melbourne Museum, and the Melbourne Exhibition and Convention Centre), the Crown Casino, and publicising Melbourne's merits both to outsiders and Melburnians. This has continued under the government of current Premier Steve Bracks (Labor).

Melbourne is split into various Local Government Areas each with their own Councils. One of these is the City of Melbourne - covering the central business district. The City's current Lord Mayor is John So, who was inaugurated in 2001, after the first direct election of a Lord Mayor for the city.

Melbourne is built on the land of the Kulin nation, the original Aboriginal inhabitants of the area.

See also: Timeline of Melbourne history.

Culture and sport

Melbourne as seen from the Yarra River, home of many rowers and active crew teams.
Melbourne skyline

While having a large and vibrant arts and cultural life (notably including the yearly Melbourne International Comedy Festival and Melbourne International Film Festival), Melbourne is perhaps best known as one of the most sports-obsessed cities in the world. Melbourne is home to ten of the sixteen teams in the Australian Football League, whose five Melbourne games per week attract an average 35,000 people per game. Melbourne hosts the Australian Open tennis, one of the four Grand Slam tournaments; the Melbourne Cup - the most prestigious handicap horse race in the world; the hugely popular 'Boxing Day' cricket test match held each year from 26-30 December at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (a massive arena that can hold up to 100,000 spectators); the Australian Grand Prix Formula One championship.

Melbourne Storm, who play in the National Rugby League are based at Olympic Park. Olympic Park is also home of Melbourne Victory FC, who play in the newly formed Australian Football (soccer) competition, the A-League.

In 2003 Melbourne also co-hosted the Rugby Union World Cup, including many pool matches as well as a quarter final - all of which were played at the Telstra Dome. Melbourne has also broken new ground in the major events industry being the first city outside the United States to host the World Police and Fire Games 1995), and the President's Cup golf tournament (1999); and the first city in the Southern Hemisphere to host the World Cup Polo Championship (2001). The newest major sporting event to be brought to the city will be the 2006 Commonwealth Games.

In 2007, Melbourne will be the host of the FINA World Aquatics Championships.

Melbourne is the home of The Australian Ballet, and the second home of Opera Australia. The Melbourne Symphony Orchestra is well-regarded. It was also (arguably) birthplace of Western art in Australia through the Heidelberg School; the National Gallery of Victoria has Australia's best collection of visual art, particularly early Australian western-tradition art. Several professional theatre companies operate in Melbourne, of which the Melbourne Theatre Company is the best institutionally-supported, and there is a wide range of smaller companies (though the scene is smaller than Sydney's).

Melbourne's rock and pop music scene is regarded (particularly by Melburnians) as the liveliest in the country, and has fostered many internationally renowned artists and musicians, with links to AC/DC, Nick Cave, Crowded House, John Farnham, Graeme Bell, Kylie Minogue, and Jet.

Transport

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Trains awaiting departure at Flinders Street Station, taken from Mark Bau's Victorian Railways site.
Trams and Taxis in Melbourne
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A ferry operating on the Yarra River

Melbourne is served with a robust public transportation network. It has one of the world's most extensive tram networks, almost 300 bus routes and a train system with more than 15 lines. Unlike many major cities in the word, Melbourne has an integrated public transport system. With Metcard, users can buy one ticket and are able to use it on bus, train and tram, or all three of them. Today, the city's tram and train networks are run by two private operators—Yarra Trams and Connex—along with many dozens of bus companies under a franchise from the State Government. The system as a whole is currently being rebranded as 'Metlink'.

Melbourne's International Airport located in the outer north-western suburb of Tullamarine is the nation's second busiest. Over 30 airlines and 22 million passengers are served and service there each year. A secondary airport is located at Avalon, to the south-west between Melbourne and Geelong. A cut-price airline, Qantas subsidiary Jetstar, has recently commenced using Avalon for its flights to Sydney and Brisbane. Melbourne's first major airport, Essendon Airport, is no longer used for scheduled international or domestic flights. Airbase RAAF Point Cook, where the Australian Air Force originated, is located near the city's southwestern limits.

The Port of Melbourne is Australia's largest container and general cargo port. Regular shipping lines operate to around 300 cities around the world and 3200 ships visit the port each year. The Port of Melbourne is located in the inner west of Melbourne, near the junction of the Maribyrnong and Yarra rivers.

Main articles

Parks and gardens

Main article: Melbourne parks and gardens

Melbourne is often referred to as Australia's garden city, and Victoria as the Garden State, for good reason. There is an abundance of parks and gardens close to the CBD with a variety of common and rare plant species amid landscaped vistas, pedestrian pathways, and majestic tree lined avenues that help make Melbourne one of the world's most livable cities. Victoria - Garden State, was used on Victorian car number plates up to 1993, and many regional towns have well tendered botanic gardens, parks and tree lined avenues.

Landmarks and tourist information

Melbourne attracts large numbers of tourists, particularly young backpackers. It also hosts a disproportionately large number of spectator sports.

Popular sites and events include:

  • The Melbourne Cricket Ground, known as "the MCG" or simply the "G". From April to September, there are typically one or two Australian rules football matches there per week; the game can be spectacular, it is unique to Australia, relatively inexpensive to attend, and is safe and enjoyable for all, including children. It has also hosted two Bledisloe Cup rugby matches. During the summer, cricket matches are played there - the most important being the Boxing Day test match between Christmas and New Year's Eve, and several one-day international games in January and February which are perhaps more enjoyable for the casual spectator. The MCG is currently being renovated in preparation for the 2006 Commonwealth Games and will have a maximum capacity of 103,000.
  • The Melbourne Observation Deck located in the Rialto Towers, some 237 metres above the city streets, offers spectacular views of the CBD and beyond.
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The Rialto Towers, Melbourne
  • Melbourne Park, home of the Australian Open tennis tournament, one of the four Grand Slam tournaments (held in January each year).
  • The Melbourne Exhibition and Convention Centre is located in Southbank and was built in the 1990s as a replacement for the Royal Exhibition Building. It has hosted thousands of conventions and exhibitions since its opening.
  • The Melbourne Museum is located on the north-eastern fringe of the CBD, next to the Royal Exhibition Building. To many Melburnians, the most significant exhibit is the preserved body of Phar Lap, the famous racehorse of the Depression era. For those who cannot visit the nearby forested ranges, the Forest Gallery is a living internal facsimile. Technically-inclined visitors may be more interested in CSIRAC, the fifth electronic computer built and the only one of its generation to survive intact. The Museum complex is also home to Melbourne's IMAX cinema.
  • The Royal Exhibition Building located in the Carlton Gardens was built in the 1880s for the World's Fair and is only one of a few such buildings that still exist. The building and gardens was granted World Heritage listing on 2 July 2004. It is the first building in Australia to be granted this status. The building also held the first sitting of the Australian Parliament on 9 May 1901. Subsequent federal parliamentary sittings were then moved to the Victorian Parliament building located in Spring Street and the Victorian government moved to the Exhibition Building.
  • The State Library of Victoria on Swanston Street, with its massive Domed Reading Room and statue-filled front lawn.
  • The curiously-named National Gallery of Victoria (not to be confused with the National Gallery of Australia in Canberra), has recently been renovated, and is the largest art collection in Australia. The gallery is split over two sites, the Australian collection at the Ian Potter Centre: NGV Australia at Federation Square (notably featuring key works from the Heidelberg School), and the NGV International collection housed in the recently renovated St. Kilda Road building.
  • Rialto Towers, the tallest reinforced concrete structure in the Southern Hemisphere, gives an excellent view of the city from the observation deck on the 55th floor.
Melbourne by night
  • The Victorian Arts Centre at Southgate (on the southern banks of the Yarra River is a Melbourne landmark with its enormous skyward spire. It hosts Opera Australia's Melbourne season, the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, the Melbourne Theatre Company, the Australian Ballet Company, Chunky Move (one of Australia's best-known contemporary dance companies), and other touring productions. The centre consists of two separate buildings: the State Theatre; and Hamer Hall (this was recently re-named in honour of the late former premier Sir Rupert Hamer; it was previously known as the Melbourne Concert Hall). The acoustics of the Centre are often favourably compared with those of its interstate rival, the opera theatre in the Sydney Opera House. There are also typically several musicals playing in theatres around the CBD, mostly several years after their production on Broadway or the West End, but usually of good quality and at quite reasonable cost.
  • Crown Casino, a short walk along the Yarra River from the Arts Centre, is a truly gargantuan gambling palace, also containing restaurants, upmarket boutiques, several nightclubs, two hotel towers, a cinema complex, and regular floorshows. Very much Las Vegas in miniature, it is either loved or hated by residents and tourists.
  • Docklands, Melbourne's newest precinct and largest infrastructure development to date, is also becoming a major attraction, with many restaurants there having won awards and recognition, even though they have only been open since January 2003. The Docklands area opens up the waterfront to the CBD (also nearly doubling its size) and will attract millions of visitors every year.
View of the Yarra River at night, with the CBD on the left and Southbank on the right


See also: Tall buildings in Melbourne.

Restaurants

Melbourne's restaurants are numerous, and are generally of reasonable quality and good value. Below are some of the major restaurant strips, however there are many other restaurants not in these locations which offer similar or better-quality food and usually at lower cost. The Age newspaper produces two "Good Restaurant" guides - one for low-cost eating and another for more elaborate restaurants.

  • Chinatown, on Little Bourke Street and now spreading out onto Russell Street in the CBD, offers numerous restaurants, mainly but not exclusively offering Cantonese cuisine, at the lower end offering Hong Kong-style noodle restaurants up to the Flower Drum, renowned for its Peking Duck and generally regarded as Melbourne's best restaurant. It was recently rated the 33rd best restaurant in the world by Restaurant Magazine. There are many other good restaurants throughout the CBD.
  • Lygon Street, in the inner-northern suburb of Carlton, offers a selection of mainly Italian-influenced food. To some extent a tourist strip, the quality is variable with some restaurants with decent reputations and others avoided by locals. Students from the nearby University of Melbourne know the better-value places; tourists may consider following their lead. Accessible from Bus Routes 20x (201, 203 and 207), which leave the City via Lonsdale and Russell Streets. Alternately, take any Swanston Street tram and walk one block east from the University.
  • Brunswick Street in inner-suburban Fitzroy used to be a grungy hotbed of students, musicians, actors and the like, and still retains some remnant of that edginess with the presence of several live music venues, all manner of eclectic stores, accompanied by restaurants and cafes, many of which serve varied and contemporary menus (though prices have crept up with the growing gentrification of the area). Brunswick Street went through a growth phase and rapidly became a casual place to eat. The rise in number and income level of people living within walking and hearing distance are changing the feel somewhat.
  • Chapel Street, south of the city is a popular destination for fashionable clothes shopping, eating and entertainment. The long street contains commercial areas providing goods and services for local residents. This variety makes the street arguably more interesting than Lygon and Brunswick Streets which have a higher proportion of eating establishments. Accessible from Tram Routes 78 and 79, which do not enter the CBD, but can be accessed from the rail network at East Richmond, South Yarra and Windsor, and many intersecting Tram routes. Chapel Street intersects with Toorak Road, itself offering entertainment, food and shops. Toorak Road is served by Tram Route 8, which leaves the city via Swanston Street.
  • Glenferrie Road, east of the city in inner suburban Malvern has a wide mix of different cuisines including Indian, Malaysian, Thai and Japanese. The street interects with High Street in Armadale, which also has a mix of antique shops, cafes and restaurants.
  • Glenhuntly Road, south east of the city in inner suburban Elsternwick is a busy strip that offers a wide range of different restaurant cuisines including Chinese, Malaysian Indian, Thai, and some Middle Eastern cuisines as well.
  • Nelson Place faces the water in Williamstown, and is especially popular for lazy weekend breakfasts and lunches. There are restaurants and cafes featuring the usual range of cuisines, and footpath tables outside many of the establishments.

Cafes and nightlife

As one would expect from a city its size, Melbourne contains all manner of pubs, bars, and nightclubs. The CBD contains a wide variety of venues, from the ubiquitous faux-Irish pubs and more traditional Aussie hotels, through some very upmarket wine bars, serious jazz venues on Bennetts Lane, fashionable nightclubs and dance venues (where the Melbourne Shuffle was born), often hidden away down obscure grungy alleys, and massive pickup joints (of which The Metro on Bourke Street is perhaps the biggest).

The restaurant strips, particularly Brunswick Street have their own bars, some of which are the best rock venues in Melbourne. King Street, on the southern side of the CBD, was traditionally a nightclub strip and still hosts several, but many are now exotic dancing venues (a final note on this topic, small brothels are legal in Victoria and are found discreetly dotted throughout the suburbs). Chapel Street, Prahran, is perhaps the trendiest, most upmarket (and most expensive) nightlife strip. Another area of note is St Kilda, background for the TV show The Secret Life Of Us, which is the home of several huge music venues including the famous Esplanade Hotel (known as 'the Espy'), the Prince of Wales, and The Palace. On its beachside setting, it also combines the upmarket with the grungy.

The recent influx of city-dwellers has given rise to the numerous underground bars and sidewalk cafes in the alleys between Flinders Street - Flinders Lane and Bourke Street - Lonsdale Street Notable alleys include Block Arcade/Block Place (off Little Collins Street), Degraves Street (off Flinders Lane), and Hardware Lane (between Bourke and Lonsdale Streets). Other prominent cafe strips include:

Melbourne also has a vibrant gay community, with gay and gay-friendly bars across the city. Mostly concentrated on two gay villages - Commercial Rd, South Yarra and Smith St, Collingwood - there are also gay bars and clubs in St. Kilda, Fitzroy, Richmond and Yarraville.

Melbourne is a reasonably cheap and easy place to shop. There are innumerable clothing shops for every budget, though bargain hunters may wish to try the outlet stores in Bridge Road, Richmond and Smith Street, Fitzroy.

Close to Melbourne

There are a variety of interesting things to see outside Melbourne proper but still within a day trip of Melbourne:

View of Mornington Peninsula from lookout at Arthurs Seat

See also: Urban walks in Melbourne.

Melbourne in culture

Melbourne was strongly associated with the establishment of Australia's visual arts. The Heidelberg School, arguably the first distinctly Australian art movement (in the Western canon, at least), was largely the work of Melbourne-based artists, and many of its most significant works hang in the National Gallery of Victoria.

Melbourne has been the setting for many novels, television dramas, and films. Perhaps the best-known internationally is Nevil Shute's novel On the Beach. In 1959, it was made into a film starring Gregory Peck, Ava Gardner and directed by Stanley Kramer. The film depicted the denizens of Melbourne quietly slipping off into eternity as the last victims of a global nuclear holocaust. Filmed on location in and around Melbourne (a huge novelty for Melbourne at the time), it is perhaps best remembered for a comment Ms Gardner never made - describing Melbourne as 'the perfect place to make a film about the end of the world', commenting on the dreary conservatism of Melbourne in the late 1950s. The purported quote was invented by journalist Neil Jillett. Similar filming was undertaken when a 2000 television movie remake was produced.

In recent years, many more films have been made in Melbourne. Some of the more famous include Mad Max, Romper Stomper, featuring a young Russell Crowe as a terrifying Melburnian skinhead; Jackie Chan's Mr. Nice Guy and The Castle.

Perhaps better known to a contemporary audience is the daily soap opera Neighbours, which presents a whitewashed microcosm of suburban Australian life. Other contemporary television shows set in Melbourne include Stingers (a police drama), The Secret Life Of Us, and MDA.

Singer Paul Kelly has written several well-known songs about aspects of the city close to the heart of many Melburnians, notably "Leaps And Bounds" and "From St. Kilda To King's Cross".

Melbourne-born satirist Barry Humphries created his main character Dame Edna Everage as a comedic version of a suburban homemaker. Through her he has performed cutting odes to Melbourne mores and the middle class suburbs of Moonee Ponds and Highett, among others.

Melbourne is also home to the largest Australian Hip Hop scene, generally known as "MELBURN" or "THE BURN" throughout the unique sub-culture. Obese Records, the leading Australian Hip Hop recording label, was founded in 1995 in Melbourne and is located in Prahran, just off the famous Chapel St. Melbourne is home to a gritty style of home grown Hip Hop and is home to artists such as Lyrical Commission, Muphin, Reason and Pegz. Live shows constantly occur in the city with open-mic contests and performances by up-and-coming artists held throughout the week at different locations.

Although not set in Melbourne, the film Queen Of The Damned was filmed in and around the city.

Carols by Candlelight, first held in 1938, is a Christmas tradition held annually at the Sidney Myer Music Bowl.

Media

Newspapers

Melbourne's daily newspapers include the "small-l liberal" broadsheet The Age, the conservative Murdoch tabloid Herald Sun, and the free afternoon tabloid MX.

Television

The three commercial television channels and the ABC produce a nightly news bulletin in Melbourne, and the Seven network produces one edition of its current affairs show Today Tonight there. The ABC also produces a weekly state-based current affairs show, Stateline, in Melbourne. The Special Broadcasting Service (SBS) provides world news coverage, as well as an assortment of foreign film and television. Channel 31 is a public access television station which screens mostly foreign-language television for migrant communities, and amateur lifestyle programs.

See also: List of Australian television channels.

Radio

Melbourne has a wide range of radio stations. In terms of current affairs radio, the most notable locally-produced stations are ABC Local Radio (774 3LO) and 1278 3AW, both featuring extensive local news coverage and talkback.

Australia's most successful community radio station, 3RRR, is a Melbourne institution. SYN FM, at 90.7 FM is another community station, with its unique policy of having no person at the station older than 26; it is staffed entirely by youth and students, and the shows are presented by the same. Other community stations in Melbourne include 3PBS, which plays mostly specialist music programming, and 3CR, a AM radio station run by a broad coalition of left-wing activists. Melbourne is also home to Australia's first and only gay and lesbian community radio station, Joy Melbourne 94.9 FM. For years, JJJ, the ABC's national youth broadcaster, has been extremely popular with Melbourne's youth, featuring mostly alternative or experimental music, and local talent, though in the late 1990s, the distinctions between it and commercial radio (especially stations with a more 'alternative' image like Nova FM) have become somewhat blurred.

See also: List of Australian radio stations.

Sister cities

Melbourne has a number of sister cities. They are:

See also

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