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Melbourne’s history .
In comparison with most countries, Melbourne and Australia is very young, the first settlement being created in Sydney Cove on Jan.26.1788, with Admiral Arthur Phillip commanding a group of convicts, soldiers and pioneers to create a new Village under the English flag.
Only the Australian Aborigine had lived in Australia before 1788, but after the Sydney settlement, Tasmania became another new settlement and although Melbourne was originally ignored, Pioneers later purchased huge areas of land from the Aborigines for settlements that eventually became Melbourne, now considered one of the most liveable cities in the world.
In 1835 the area that eventually became Melbourne was explored by British adventurer John Batman, who had travelled from the settlement in Tasmania. On locating the Yarra River he declared from the northern bank that -‘This will be the perfect place for a village’, but it did not become ‘Melbourne’until 1837, named after Viscount Melbourne, the English Prime Minister at the time.
Originally only a tiny town on the banks of the Yarra river, Melbourne eventually grew into a major city after the discovery of gold in the state in the mid 1880’s.
The growth of Melbourne
As a result of the Victorian gold rush and Melbourne’s excellent reputation and popularity, by 1880 it had become the biggest city in the British Empire after London.
Construction of major institutional buildings soon commenced establishing Melbourne as a well respected city and the phrase ‘Marvellous Melbourne’ was coined by an Englishman to epitomise the popularity of Melbourne at the time. This phrase continued to be a popular term for the city for many years.
The boom that was Melbourne came to a halt in 1891
A severe economic depression descended on Melbourne’s economy in 1891 /92 and as a result the whole of Australia eventually fell into a depression that extended into the early twentieth century.
Melbourne’s recovery from that Depression
It took until the early 20th century to recover from this Depression but soon after, Melbourne was established as the original seat of Government of Australia’s newly established Federation of 1901 and continued until 1927 when it was moved to Canberra, Australia’s new Capital.
Melbourne’s urban design
Designed in the nineteenth century and still admired around the world, the Hoddle grid design of the Central business district of Melbourne to this day presents an easy to follow pattern of parallel East West main streets. Opposing main streets run North and South at 90 degrees, creating an easy layout for driving, walking and locating the many highlights of the central business district of Melbourne.
Reminders of the English influence over Melbourne are everywhere. The main streets with names like King, William, Queen , Elizabeth - plus the Englishmen who came to leave their legacy in Melbourne include Lonsdale, Latrobe, Collins and Bourke amongst others.
Perhaps some of these men helped with the wonderful design and planning of the city and surrounds.
The early planning so obvious in Melbourne has helped make it a wonderful city, with outstanding examples of both modern and Victorian English Architecture everywhere..
Intertwined amongst this wonderful Architecture are the endless street cafes, museums, multicultural venues and a wonderful tramcar service offering fast and reliable service to the many places of interest around Melbourne City and suburbs.
Melbourne’s Collins Street is probably Melbourne’s most fashion conscious street, especially the top end of Collins Street, ‘The Paris End’ as it is still known.
However, we cannot let fashion overlook the fact that Melbourne’s Collins Street harbours a multitude of superb examples of wonderful historic buildings including St. Michaels Church, built in 1866, Scots church, built in 1873 and The Athenaeum and Regent Theatres both built in 1866.
Further along Melbourne’s Collins Street are the nineteenth century Block Arcade, which is close by to the heritage dated Royal Arcade plus the breathtaking heritage ANZ bank building and 330 Collins Street, of which the ground floor has been saved and retained for it’s historic significance and Architecture.
Melbourne’s weather - always a popular topic of conversation
Melbourne’s flat topography and it’s location between the Eastern Dandenong ranges and the sea creates weather systems that are completely unreliable and the term ‘four seasons in one day’ remains a popular saying in and around Melbourne to this day.
However although Melbourne is colder than the other Capital cities in winter and snowfalls are very rare with the lowest city temperature on record at just over 4 degrees recorded in July 1901.
The winter season however offers excellent ski resorts in Victoria’s Alpine regions including Mt. Buller, Mt. Hotham and Falls Creek winter ski resorts.
Melbourne’s winter is contrasted by its bursts of extreme heat in summer
With hot northerly winds joining day temperatures exceeding 40 degrees, the Melbourne summer can be a contrast of cold, mild, hot and very hot.
However, most of the time Melbourne’s summer is pleasant with mild summer temperatures. The occasional bursts of extreme heat however creates an unseen threat in the form of bushfires to the heavily timbered areas around outer Melbourne.
Warnings and news broadcasts are offered daily through these hot periods as the threat of bushfire becomes more and more daunting when these hot winds and high temperatures prevail.
These annual bursts of high summer temperatures every year create extreme bushfire conditions in these outer areas of high density timber surrounding so many homes and becomes an annual threat to the many Victorians living in these areas.
These residents however ,continue to live in these popular bushland areas, but are constantly aware of the possibility of raging bushfires at their doorsteps.
In the summer of 2009 extreme temperatures of well over 40 degrees centigrade descended on many of Melbourne’s outer bushland areas for days on end.reaching 46degrees on one day.
High winds at the time helped encourage huge uncontrollable bushfires in these areas, which caused the total destruction of some of the built up towns and the loss of over 200 lives as a result, before being bought under control some days later.
The devastation of these raging bushfires was so furious as to destroy homes, vehicles and lives, to which Victorians willingly donated over $100 million in voluntary assistance to the areas and families burnt out.
Melbourne’s Victorian Government initiated a Royal Commission
In an effort to control and prevent the destruction and the life threatening danger of these fires and reduce their frequency in future the Government has appointed a committee of experienced specialists to investigate what can be done in future,
Melbourne police have indicated that some of these bushfires were started by persons unknown.
Much of Australia’s bush consists of native vegetation,
In the Melbourne central areas however, such fires don’t happen, with much of the flora being of European origin with English flora resplendent in many of the beautiful parks and gardens surrounding the city and throughout the suburbs.
These areas are well worth mentioning as Melbourne was once called ‘the Garden State’ with wonderful parks and gardens so beautiful and often covering vast areas, many of which are well worth visiting.
Melbourne’s Botanical Gardens are indeed spectacular. Situated right at one of Melbourne’s many entry points, these vast gardens feature stunning displays of local and European flora along with many reminders of Australia’s pioneering history.
Kings Domain is another large park just to the south of the city following the banks of the local Yarra river. The famous Sydney Myer Music bowl stands amongst the gardens in this wonderful area to the north and to the west of the park can be seen Victoria’s Government house with it’s outstanding Architecture from 1872.
Right in the city, amongst the busy background of Melbourne’s commercial centre are the picturesque Flagstaff gardens, where city workers can enjoy an ambient lunch, sitting surrounded by these beautiful gardens highlighting the very forward planning of Melbourne’s early forefathers.
At the other end, right on the edge of the city on a gently undulating site can be found the most wonderful and resplendent Fitzroy gardens with the famous Captain Cooks Cottage situated amongst towering Oaks, Elms and a maze of magnificent plants and flowers with endless lawns and pathways to encourage exploring this wonderful park.
Yet again on arriving or leaving Melbourne from the North, the vast tracts of the sprawling Royal Gardens extend right to the footpaths of the main entry to the city from Melbourne’s huge domestic and International airport.
As well as gardens Melbourne’s Royal park gardens house sporting areas and the popular Melbourne Zoo.
Australia’s unique and world famous animals
Many of the unique Australian animals have been forced to share the land with English and European fauna bought here by settlers with good intentions but devastating results.
Some of these include English rabbits, red foxes, cane toads, starlings, Minors, rats and European wasps, amongst many others.
However Australian animals still survive to include an array of the most unique fauna in the world including the Platypus, a furred duckbilled, web footed mammal that suckles its young .They live beside fresh waterholes in quiet bushland country areas and are rarely seen by humans.
The Kangaroo is probably Australia’s most well known animal, growing to an average 1500 cm.,with the large and powerful Red Kangaroo even taller, standing at 180 cm. on average. Gifted with powerful hind legs they are capable of leaping across ground at great speeds. Their front paws however are short and used for mostly for other tasks.
Female kangaroos give birth externally and their young cling to their mothers fur until at an early age they crawl into a pouch on the mothers stomach from where she continues to raise the ‘Joey’ (as they are called in Australia) until the ‘Joey’ decides to leave the Mothers pouch.
Other strange animals that have evolved in Australia include the worlds smallest Bear ‘The Koala,’ growing to 140 cm. high, living in trees and eating only gum leaves.
The Emu is another strange one, an ostrich like bird with long legs standing on average 180cm.high. It cannot fly and is found generally in hot northern areas only.
Australia also abounds with reptiles of all sorts, many of them dangerous and many of them harmless -
However there are over 100 varieties of snakes in Australia, many of them very dangerous and many of them found in Melbourne’s surrounding suburbs and country areas but mostly seen only if hunted as they generally all wish to stay away from humans.
They mostly present little danger to humans. Most Australians have never even seen a snake but if cornered, surprised or attacked, snakes will strike at their attacker before retreating.
Melbourne’s climate does not agree with many of Australia’s more tropical snakes and perhaps that is just as well as the Queensland Taipan is considered the world’s deadliest snake with long fangs, repetitive strikes and is highly venomous causing death in minutes. Taipans are rare and will not generally ever be seen unless hunted so again they present a very low risk factor to humans.
Melbourne harbours many spiders, most quite harmless, but one spider, again very shy, is the Funnel Web, a large black spider that does not build a web in spite of it’s name, but lives in warm places hidden away from humans and will not attack unless provoked. It is highly venomous but bites to humans are rare and the reputation of this spider is more from conversational created fear rather than any actual attacks or fatalities from their bite.
The other spider worth mentioning for Melbourne and for most of the southern states is the Red Back Spider. Famous now and an unwanted Aussie Icon, the Red Back has become a legend of sorts as a scary but not fatal spider that Australians have accepted in song and a beer brand.
Not a big spider the Red Back looks harmless but is capable of a painful bite requiring medical attention and pain killers. The females are black in colour with a bright red or yellow stripe down their back. They do not build a web, but hide in dark places which can easily be disturbed by humans. They will not attack but will bite if a human comes in contact with them.
Sydney and New South Wales harbour a much more sinister spider ,the Trap Door Spider, so called because it actually lives just under the ground or in rock areas with access to its hideaway via a trapdoor.
This spider also shies away from humans, but because of its location close to the surface in many gardens and rockeries , it is more often accidently disturbed and attacks are more likely. This spider is highly venomous and although it usually is not fatal, pain, sickness and often long term healing can result..
The more Northern tropical areas harbour Australia’s giant lizard ‘The Goanna’ a massive but shy lizard that grows to an average 1.5 metres with huge claws to help catch it’s prey and to climb trees away from danger..
We must mention the true fauna icon of growing up in Melbourne with the daddy of all of Melbourne’s many harmless lizards- the Blue Tongue!. Often called ‘Bluey’ by many Australian children, it is shy, funny and completely harmless.
However because it is large at up to 50 cm. long with snakelike scales and a hissing bright blue tongue, it presents a daunting sight to the uninitiated who would recoil in horror at such a reptile. These lizards often come into houses and the children will often pick them up and carry them outside or remove them from the pets food bowl or from under the kitchen Refrigerator.
Of course the household pets stay well clear of these hissing snake-like reptiles who are then as a result free to help themselves to anything edible in or outside the house with accepted impunity.
Melbourne locals have usually accepted the Blue Tongue Lizard as part of growing up in Australia and its strange and laughable habits have become part of Melbourne’s funny side and a contribution to ‘The Australian Way !’
Melbourne’s sporting history
Melbourne is well known as a sports hub, with Australia’s first cricket match being played at the famous MCG ( Melbourne Cricket Ground) in 1877. Since then Melbourne has continued to grow as a true all round sports city with huge unrelenting support from the local population.
Melbourne was the host city for the first Olympic games ever held in Australia in 1956, and again for the Commonwealth games in 2006.
Melbourne claims the Sports business title of the ‘Worlds Ultimate Sports City’ with the famous National Sports Museum situated in the historic MCG’s Northern Stand.
The Melbourne Cricket ground is the largest Cricket ground in the world and today hosts many other sports as well including the Australian Rules Football Grand Final every year where the very first game was first played on the ground in 1859.
Melbourne is home to Australian Rules style football known as one of the worlds roughest football games where players stoush with an oval ball and kick between 4 goal posts.
The game is fast and furious and attracts huge crowds of Melbourne fans to every match. The Grand Final of each season’s games is played every September and attracts over 100,000 fans on the day to the ever popular MCG.
Cricket follows close behind through Melbourne’s summer months and in recent years Melbourne has further promoted the game, changing its old image and promoting it into a fast watchable game into other venues. Melbourne has capitalised on cricket’s new found popularity with Australian teams well entrenched and highly respected in all cricketing countries.
Melbourne also now promotes Rugby League, Rugby Union and Soccer, and in recent years, in a City of previously dedicated Australian Rules Football fans, these alternative games have grown in popularity to be recognised, respected and followed by many of Melbourne’s football mad population.
Basketball and netball are also advancing in Melbourne’s sports environment with local teams including Netballs Melbourne Vixens, and Basketballs Melbourne Tigers and South Dragons amongst others..
Not to be overlooked is Melbourne’s Australian Tennis Open and the famous Melbourne Cup horse race that is so popular as to create a Melbourne Public Holiday for the race in Melbourne and it’s now called ‘The Race that stops a Nation.’
The World Series Formula 1 Grand Prix features in March every year in Melbourne attracting huge crowds to Melbourne’s famous open track Albert Park Lake circuit.
These areas are well worth mentioning as Melbourne was once called ‘the Garden State’ with wonderful parks and gardens so beautiful and often covering vast areas, many of which are well worth visiting.
Melbourne’s Botanical Gardens are indeed spectacular. Situated right at one of Melbourne’s many entry points, these vast gardens feature stunning displays of local and European flora along with many reminders of Australia’s pioneering history.
Kings Domain is another large park just to the south of the city following the banks of the local Yarra river. The famous Sydney Myer Music bowl stands amongst the gardens in this wonderful area to the north and to the west of the park can be seen Victoria’s Government house with it’s outstanding Architecture from 1872.
Right in the city, amongst the busy background of Melbourne’s commercial centre are the picturesque Flagstaff gardens, where city workers can enjoy an ambient lunch, sitting surrounded by these beautiful gardens highlighting the very forward planning of Melbourne’s early forefathers.
At the other end, right on the edge of the city on a gently undulating site can be found the most wonderful and resplendent Fitzroy gardens with the famous Captain Cooks Cottage situated amongst towering Oaks, Elms and a maze of magnificent plants and flowers with endless lawns and pathways to encourage exploring this wonderful park.
Yet again on arriving or leaving Melbourne from the North, the vast tracts of the sprawling Royal Gardens extend right to the footpaths of the main entry to the city from Melbourne’s huge domestic and International airport.
As well as gardens Melbourne’s Royal park gardens house sporting areas and the popular Melbourne Zoo.
Australia’s unique and world famous animals
Many of the unique Australian animals have been forced to share the land with English and European fauna bought here by settlers with good intentions but devastating results.
Some of these include English rabbits, red foxes, cane toads, starlings, Minors, rats and European wasps, amongst many others.
However Australian animals still survive to include an array of the most unique fauna in the world including the Platypus, a furred duckbilled, web footed mammal that suckles its young .They live beside fresh waterholes in quiet bushland country areas and are rarely seen by humans.
The Kangaroo is probably Australia’s most well known animal, growing to an average 1500 cm.,with the large and powerful Red Kangaroo even taller, standing at 180 cm. on average. Gifted with powerful hind legs they are capable of leaping across ground at great speeds. Their front paws however are short and used for mostly for other tasks.
Female kangaroos give birth externally and their young cling to their mothers fur until at an early age they crawl into a pouch on the mothers stomach from where she continues to raise the ‘Joey’ (as they are called in Australia) until the ‘Joey’ decides to leave the Mothers pouch.
Other strange animals that have evolved in Australia include the worlds smallest Bear ‘The Koala,’ growing to 140 cm. high, living in trees and eating only gum leaves.
The Emu is another strange one, an ostrich like bird with long legs standing on average 180cm.high. It cannot fly and is found generally in hot northern areas only.
Australia also abounds with reptiles of all sorts, many of them dangerous and many of them harmless -
However there are over 100 varieties of snakes in Australia, many of them very dangerous and many of them found in Melbourne’s surrounding suburbs and country areas but mostly seen only if hunted as they generally all wish to stay away from humans.
They mostly present little danger to humans. Most Australians have never even seen a snake but if cornered, surprised or attacked, snakes will strike at their attacker before retreating.
Melbourne’s climate does not agree with many of Australia’s more tropical snakes and perhaps that is just as well as the Queensland Taipan is considered the world’s deadliest snake with long fangs, repetitive strikes and is highly venomous causing death in minutes. Taipans are rare and will not generally ever be seen unless hunted so again they present a very low risk factor to humans.
Melbourne harbours many spiders, most quite harmless, but one spider, again very shy, is the Funnel Web, a large black spider that does not build a web in spite of it’s name, but lives in warm places hidden away from humans and will not attack unless provoked. It is highly venomous but bites to humans are rare and the reputation of this spider is more from conversational created fear rather than any actual attacks or fatalities from their bite.
The other spider worth mentioning for Melbourne and for most of the southern states is the Red Back Spider. Famous now and an unwanted Aussie Icon, the Red Back has become a legend of sorts as a scary but not fatal spider that Australians have accepted in song and a beer brand.
Not a big spider the Red Back looks harmless but is capable of a painful bite requiring medical attention and pain killers. The females are black in colour with a bright red or yellow stripe down their back. They do not build a web, but hide in dark places which can easily be disturbed by humans. They will not attack but will bite if a human comes in contact with them.
Sydney and New South Wales harbour a much more sinister spider ,the Trap Door Spider, so called because it actually lives just under the ground or in rock areas with access to its hideaway via a trapdoor.
This spider also shies away from humans, but because of its location close to the surface in many gardens and rockeries , it is more often accidently disturbed and attacks are more likely. This spider is highly venomous and although it usually is not fatal, pain, sickness and often long term healing can result..
The more Northern tropical areas harbour Australia’s giant lizard ‘The Goanna’ a massive but shy lizard that grows to an average 1.5 metres with huge claws to help catch it’s prey and to climb trees away from danger..
We must mention the true fauna icon of growing up in Melbourne with the daddy of all of Melbourne’s many harmless lizards- the Blue Tongue!. Often called ‘Bluey’ by many Australian children, it is shy, funny and completely harmless.
However because it is large at up to 50 cm. long with snakelike scales and a hissing bright blue tongue, it presents a daunting sight to the uninitiated who would recoil in horror at such a reptile. These lizards often come into houses and the children will often pick them up and carry them outside or remove them from the pets food bowl or from under the kitchen Refrigerator.
Of course the household pets stay well clear of these hissing snake-like reptiles who are then as a result free to help themselves to anything edible in or outside the house with accepted impunity.
Melbourne locals have usually accepted the Blue Tongue Lizard as part of growing up in Australia and its strange and laughable habits have become part of Melbourne’s funny side and a contribution to ‘The Australian Way !’
Melbourne’s sporting history
Melbourne is well known as a sports hub, with Australia’s first cricket match being played at the famous MCG ( Melbourne Cricket Ground) in 1877. Since then Melbourne has continued to grow as a true all round sports city with huge unrelenting support from the local population.
Melbourne was the host city for the first Olympic games ever held in Australia in 1956, and again for the Commonwealth games in 2006.
Melbourne claims the Sports business title of the ‘Worlds Ultimate Sports City’ with the famous National Sports Museum situated in the historic MCG’s Northern Stand.
The Melbourne Cricket ground is the largest Cricket ground in the world and today hosts many other sports as well including the Australian Rules Football Grand Final every year where the very first game was first played on the ground in 1859.
Melbourne is home to Australian Rules style football known as one of the worlds roughest football games where players stoush with an oval ball and kick between 4 goal posts.
The game is fast and furious and attracts huge crowds of Melbourne fans to every match. The Grand Final of each season’s games is played every September and attracts over 100,000 fans on the day to the ever popular MCG.
Cricket follows close behind through Melbourne’s summer months and in recent years Melbourne has further promoted the game, changing its old image and promoting it into a fast watchable game into other venues. Melbourne has capitalised on cricket’s new found popularity with Australian teams well entrenched and highly respected in all cricketing countries.
Melbourne also now promotes Rugby League, Rugby Union and Soccer, and in recent years, in a City of previously dedicated Australian Rules Football fans, these alternative games have grown in popularity to be recognised, respected and followed by many of Melbourne’s football mad population.
Basketball and netball are also advancing in Melbourne’s sports environment with local teams including Netballs Melbourne Vixens, and Basketballs Melbourne Tigers and South Dragons amongst others..
Not to be overlooked is Melbourne’s Australian Tennis Open and the famous Melbourne Cup horse race that is so popular as to create a Melbourne Public Holiday for the race in Melbourne and it’s now called ‘The Race that stops a Nation.’
The World Series Formula 1 Grand Prix features in March every year in Melbourne attracting huge crowds to Melbourne’s famous open track Albert Park Lake circuit.
Melbourne Suburbs
The Inner suburbs of Melbourne were the first areas to develop after the original Melbourne City area. Many of them quickly grew into popular multicultural areas offering different foods, ethnic markets and they slowly stamped a special ethnicity to many of these inner suburbs.
They include Carlton, Fitzroy, Brunswick, North Melbourne, South Melbourne, Collingwood, East Melbourne and many others.
Although further out than these inner suburbs, the nearby bayside suburb of St. Kilda is well worth adding to this list with its endless attractions and dining venues and it is included in our later comments.
Melbourne’s Carlton
Probably Melbourne’s most popular inner city suburb which boasts one of the largest Italian communities outside of Italy. Famous for its Italian cuisine, Carlton offers an unlimited range of dining establishments.
Carlton also features one of the biggest concentrations of Victorian era houses in Melbourne. Although only minutes from the City, Carlton’s wide streets and beautiful restored Terraces can make you forget how close you are to the central city area.
Melbourne’s Fitzroy
Once considered one of the less popular suburbs of Melbourne, the Fitzroy of today has undergone a true renaissance bringing wonderful street side cafes, restaurants and shopping boutiques to Fitzroy’s main street.
Further along the main street, long time locals and trendy young and new residents d enjoy the Spanish section and the many hostels and nightlife now offering.
Melbourne’s North Melbourne
North Melbourne, situated right beside the city area with its most famous landmark being ‘The Queen Victoria Market’, a truly wonderful market offering row upon row of stalls offering everything imaginable to bargain buyers. Lots of entertainment and one of the most exciting food halls imaginable offer foods from fresh whole fish to all kinds of meats and delicacies. North Melbourne is another example of Melbourne’s Victorian era with fabulous period homes and buildings of yesteryear around every corner, intertwined gracefully amongst the growing number of newer commercial buildings as the city gradually extends northward.
Melbourne’s South Melbourne
South Melbourne is the pub capital of Melbourne. Situated close to both the city and the spectacular Crown Casino the area abounds with old world pubs on nearly every corner. Looking like English pubs from the outside but nothing like the same inside, these pubs offer great daytime bar service plus full nightclub style dining, dancing and music once the sun goes down.
Hundreds of clubbers frequent this great pub scene to enjoy the raging music on offer but perhaps they should be forgiven for missing the trams, the stately old homes and the wonderful Albert Park lake close by in wonderful South Melbourne.
Melbourne’s East Melbourne
Right at the top of Melbourne’s historic Bourke St. lies the start of the wonderful suburb of East Melbourne. Once a flourishing area of stately homes occupied by Melbourne’s wealthy, the suburb has retained its grandeur but succumbed to the demands of the need for commercial premises close to the City - by in particular the medical profession.
The Specialist Eye and Ear Hospital of East Melbourne perhaps may have been the catalyst for the many Doctors and Medical Specialists practising in East Melbourne. Perhaps a blessing for the area as The Medical Profession generally simply utilised rooms to practice Medicine in many of the magnificent older style homes in their original condition.
A drive through East Melbourne highlights the superb Architectural and building ability of our fore fathers of the 19th and early 20th century to be able to create these wonderful stately homes in such a superb manner.
Melbourne’s Collingwood.
As one of Melbourne’s oldest suburbs, no other suburb could boast such a colourful history as that of Collingwood. Development of the area started in 1838 and Collingwood was proclaimed a separate City from Melbourne in 1876.
Many of the old style smaller homes around Collingwood were imported from Singapore at the time to cater for the massive population growth as a result of the Victorian Gold rush that propelled development in the 1850’s and 1860’s.
Collingwood’s most famous land mark is probably Fosters Brewery but nowadays Collingwood’s Australian Rules Football Club is likely to be the most popular though controversial football club in Melbourne. The Club played its first game in 1892.
To this day the Collingwood suburb is notable for its historical buildings with many of its 19th.century buildings still in use. Collingwood today remains a coexisting area with working class families and commercial business people comfortably mixing and living in the area together.
Collingwood and the adjoining Abbotsford areas houses Melbourne’s second largest Gay community and many Gay style shops and businesses are located in the area.
Melbourne’s Brunswick
Situated on the North West side of the city, Brunswick competes with Collingwood for a colourful history but unlike Collingwood was initially inhabited by Aborigines who lived and hunted in the area. White settlement commenced in 1830 and its professional planners saw the area subdivided and sold to investors for redevelopment through the period prior to the Victorian Gold rush which commenced in 1850.
During that period, Gold diggers on their way to the Gold fields at nearby Essendon travelled via Brunswick and development boomed as a result of these miners visiting and travelling through the area.
By 1850 Brunswick’s population was 5000 and in 1860 Brickworks were built and established an industry in the area.As a result further development blossomed and Brunswick became a city in 1908.
By 1910 the population of Brunswick had grown to 30,000 and following the second world war Brunswick saw a large influx of Immigrants arriving to live in the area from Southern Europe, in particular Greeks , Italians and Maltese.
Many of these Migrants built workers cottages in the area and today many jof these cottages still exist and are being bought and renovated by a new wave of young trendsetters moving into the area as a result of Brunswick’s proximity to the city.
The Brunswick of today has developed from the humble beginnings of the original settlers to become a thriving hub of Restaurants, shopping Centres and Ethnic food outlets, all only 2 kilometres from Melbourne City.
Melbourne’s St. Kilda.
Melbourne Cities nearest tourist oriented suburb on the popular and expansive Port Phillip Bay, this fun filled area is an exciting mix of sidewalk cafes and restaurants intermixed with bayside music venues and fun parks in a great atmosphere enhanced by friendly swooping white seagulls.
St. Kilda then extends itself to the underrated Ackland Street area with its unbelievable array of coffee shops, cafes and mouth watering pastry and confectionary stores offering endless ethnic pastries and other taste treats.
Education
Melbourne’s Education system is controlled and supported by the States own Education Minister and relevant support Department. It comprises 3 levels of education – primary years 5-11 , Secondary (High) School 11- 17, with a great selection of private and public schools for both boys and girls.
Subject to high school exam results students can then elect for further education in one of Melbournes world class Tertiary Universities.
Melbourne Universities now include Melbourne University, Monash, Deakin, Swinburne and RMIT.
Melbourne University itself is Australia’s oldest and most highly respected University and in 2008 gained recognition as No.4 University in the World after London, Tokyo and Boston USA.
This University was a direct product of the wealth of the Gold rush era and in the UK only Oxford , Cambridge and Durham are older. The original University started with only 16 students but grew steadily. At first women were not accepted but in 1881 this ruling was overturned and women were admitted to the University. Initially Melbourne University was not considered prestigious and it was not until the early 20th.century that it gained significant acceptance in the community as an important segment of the infrastructure of the state and recognised for its academic contributions..
Within Melbourne University can be found some of Australia’s oldest faculties
including the Engineering faculty which commenced in 1860, The Medical faculty 1862, The Dental faculty 1897 and the Music faculty 1891. Also Melbourne’s Law faculty at Melbourne University offers the oldest Law course in Australia which commenced in 1857.
After WW2. Melbourne University grew rapidly from a small institution to a huge University as it is today.
Melbourne University is Governed by the ‘University Council’ being the peak governing body, supported by ‘The Academic Board’, responsible for learning and teaching. They in turn have the support of ‘The Members’ comprising internal support staff of Professional staff, honorary staff, selected graduates, Heads of Halls and many others who together contribute to the smooth operation of the University in general.
The combined efforts of all these wonderful dedicated academics were recognised in 2008 by being awarded Grants from the Commonwealth Government funded ‘Commonwealth learning and teaching performance fund’
Melbourne University also was one of only 3 Universities to earn 10 citations, the maximum number attainable, for contributions to student learning. These citations recognise the efforts of the Uni staff for their leadership and innovation in teaching.
Overseas student numbers at Melbourne Universities have risen rapidly in recent years and the University has now created increases in available places for full fee paying students accordingly.
Melbourne University is situated in Parkville, an inner Melbourne suburb situated just a pleasant walk from the city to the University. Parkville is a well established suburb with many older classic Victorian buildings and wide tree lined streets surrounding the University area.
Now in 2009 Melbourne University is recognised as a leading Australian University with its own Library, museum and galleries with archives dating back to 1853, and today the University is seen as an icon producing brilliant academics.
Melbournes Monash University
As the first University in Melbourne for 106 years it commenced in 1958. Now 50 years later Monash University has over 55000 students studying Art, Commerce, Engineering, Education, Law .Medicine and Science, both in Australia and now in 130 other countries.
In 1990 two further Melbourne suburban campuses were established at Caulfield and Frankston and in 1991 a further Gippsland country campus was established also.
In 1992 the Victorian College of Pharmacy joined the University.
In 1994 the Berwick Campus was established which catered for the huge growth in the area and today this Campus already has a student intake of more than 2000 students.
The original Caulfield Technical College which had changed its name to the Caulfield Institute of Technology, then later became part of the Chisholm Institute of Technology, and in 1990 became part of the Monash.
The Gippsland Campus originated from the Yallourn Technical College which was established in 1968 and it serviced the important areas of the Eastern Victorian district. Later it changed its name and as it offered courses in Engineering, Applied Science and Business it was eventually taken in to become an important wing of Monash University as no other College offered such training on the Eastern side of Melbournes rural areas.
Sunway Campus –Malaysia. In 1998 the Malaysian Government offered Monash University an invitation to open a campus in Malaysia and in 1998 Australias first offshore campus started in that country. Today this campus teaches over 3000 students.
Melbournes Deakin University
Geelong is a busy city only 90 k.from Melbourne and the birthplace of Deakin University. Commencing in Geelong as a Technical College Deakin grew to University status and was granted such in 1977. Since then Deakin moved its main Campus to Burwood and now has campuses at Geelong, Malvern and Warrnambool.
Today Deakin has 16600 full and part time students and in 2008 it changed its semester system into trimesters replacing the prior dual-semester system.
Deakin University is a major provider of long distance education for off-campus students currently with over 1000 such students. Many on-campus students complete their studies while utilising off-campus studies also via the Internet.
Deakin University is considered Australias fastest growing University and in 2007 gained a total of 15 new discovery linked grants for issues such as Arts, Citizenship. Education, Science, Engineering and new materials.
Melbournes Victoria University
From its beginnings in 1916 as Footscray Technical school, and becoming Footscray Institute of Technology in 1968 , the University developed into Victoria University in 2005.
Situated in Melbourne’s Western suburb of Footscray, Victoria University services the Western side of Melbourne as well as an amazing 11 other campuses being 2 at Footscray, 2 in Melbourne City, and the Melbourne suburbs of Melton, Newport and St. Albans.
Melbournes RMIT. (Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology)
This University has a wonderful history in Melbourne, originally known as the Working Mens’ College, it opened as such in 1899. The College later became Melbourne Technical College and grew steadily along with Melbourne over the years until in 1996 the College was granted University status to become Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology University.
The University is highly regarded in Melbourne and now further respected for its 2 further campuses now operating in Vietnam, being the first foreign owned Universities in Vietnam.
Melbournes Swinburne University
Like many of Melbourne’s Universities, Swinburne originally started as a Technical College in the Melbourne suburb of Prahran. It commenced in 1906 and many name changes ensued over the years as it grew until in 1992 it was granted University status.
However Swinburne had been granted the privilege of granting bachelor degrees while still Swinburne College since 1961. Today the University has 6 campuses, 4 vocational Schools and a campus in Malaysia.
Melbournes Latrobe University
Melbourne’s 3rd.University after Melbourne and Monash, Latrobe commenced in 1967. This University has many country campuses including Bendigo, Albury and Wodonga, Mildura, Shepparton and Beechworth – the main campus being in the Melbourne suburb of Bundoora. This University is the only University in the Southern Hemisphere offering a Bachelor degree in Archaeology.
University of Ballarat
Ballarat is one of Victorias most famous gold rush areas with a history right back to the Gold rush era from 1859. The University concept had started as the School of Mines in 1870 which much later in 1960 split into the School of Mines and the Ballarat institute of Advanced Education.
However, unlike most Universities, these Schools were not taken over by Melbourne or other Universities, and eventually after bitter struggles, Ballarat retained its own independence and was eventually granted University status in 1994.
In 2005 Ballarat University was ranked one of the top 10 Universities in Australia and now serves other country areas with campuses in Ararat, Horsham, Stawell, and Ballarat’s Mount Helen.
Dining out in Melbourne
With over 3 million people plus visitors in Melbourne and suburbs at any one time, the demand for venues to eat is huge and ever popular. Melbourne therefore excels in a vast range of restaurants and cafes, not only in numbers but also in variety.
Melbourne offers Italian, Chinese, Thai, Vietnamese, Greek, Mediterranean, Turkish, Russian and many other Ethnic and Australian eating houses, both in the Metropolitan area and throughout Melbourne suburbs.
International and local take away food establishments also offer huge selections of all types of take home foods to satisfy the demands of those who do not wish to dine out.
Melbourne’s Crown Casino also offers a huge range of excellent restaurants, with a magnificent food hall offering a huge range of instant sit down meals at affordable family prices.
For those wishing to dine in style or for a special occasion, Melbourne also has a huge range of up market Restaurants presenting world class cuisine and a great selection from Chinese and French to Spanish and Italian.
These Restaurants are highly regarded in Melbourne with locals recommending their favourite up market Restaurants to visitors and tourists alike.
We are not in a position to make specific recommendations for our favourite restaurants, but having dined in many fine dining restaurants around the world, we are confident in recommending that the food and service at the fine dining restaurants of Melbourne will be world class.
Melbourne Events
Melbourne offers a true Smorgasboard of events and festivals throughout the year and is often considered to be ‘ The Cultural and Sporting Capital of Australia.’
Festivals include the Melbourne Fringe festival, Melbourne International Comedy festival, Melbourne International film festival, Melbourne International Arts festival, Melbourne Food and Wine festival, Melbourne International Flower and Garden show, Melbourne Jazz festival, Melbourne International Animation festival, The Midsumma festival , the Melbourne Winter masterpieces, and probably Melbourne’s two greatest festival-events- The Moomba festival and the Melbourne Spring Racing Carnival which includes the famous Melbourne Cup..
The Moomba festival
This festival is sponsored by the City of Melbourne every year over the Melbourne labour day long weekend. The word Moomba is an Aboriginal word taken to mean ‘lets get together and have a good time’. A huge festival, it includes fireworks, shows, moving parades, ( both on land and on water) jazz and rock bands, water skiing and more.
The highlight and finale is a 2 hour street procession along the wide and famous tree lined St. Kilda Road. The parade generally includes up to 100 floats interspersed with marching bands, clowns and entertainers. The parade is world class and a fitting conclusion to this magnificent festival.
This is a festival for the people of Melbourne – there is no charge, it is mainly all outdoors and open for all to enjoy.
The Melbourne Spring Racing Carnival
Famous the world over, Melbourne’s spring racing carnival attracts racegoers from everywhere as some of the worlds best racehorses vie for prize money winnings in the millions of dollars. This racing Carnival runs over a week in November every year comprising The Derby, Oaks day, Melbourne cup day and Ladies day amongst others.
Melbourne actually celebrates an official public holiday on Melbourne Cup day on the first Tuesday in November, which it has done every year since 1882.
Not only is Melbourne’s Spring Racing Carnival a great week of racing, but also a wonderful week of elegant fashion, extreme entertainment and a wonderful atmosphere as thousands of racegoers enjoy it all- highlighted by dozens of beautifully dressed and gorgeous ladies and men vying for great prizes in the famous ‘Fashions on the field’ competitions every day.
Other Melbourne Festivals
There are more theatres and entertainment venues in Melbourne than any other city in Australia. Whether it be stage or screen, Melbourne offers a huge range of live shows both day and night as do the myriad of movie theatres in Melbourne city and suburbs.
Free entertainment can simply be found on the streets or at the popular Federation Square where bands and buskers offer free music and shows to responsive audiences.
The sporting leaders of Melbourne also introduce regular events and festivals with motor sports days, golf days, Yachting and water sport days and wonderfully regular musical and wine events throughout the growing Victorian wine areas..
Melbourne’s Transportation
The forefathers of Melbourne’s transport infrastructure had great foresight when they designed and created Melbourne’s transport systems. They realised the growth that Melbourne would eventually attain as Melbourne now has one of the best and most functional public road and transport systems in Australia.
The city itself enjoys wide streets serviced by an enviable and comfortable electric tram service that services the city and suburbs on a regular basis. The trams have now become a tourist attraction as a novel way of travelling and sightseeing Melbourne.
Melbourne’s train system offers smart electric trains in all directions to most inner and outer suburbs. However even our far thinking forefathers could not have envisaged that the country areas of only 50 years ago would already become new Melbourne suburbs.
Country trains also are available and depart regularly from their own inner City rail station (Southern Cross Station formerly Spencer Street Station))
Melbourne’s public bus services seem to take over where trams and trains end, to cater for people in outer areas .Private bus lines offer additional transport in support of the public bus service and are also for charter to the public.
Melbourne Directories
For further details on how to find your way around Melbourne and learn even more, you will find most newsagents sell Mel ways Melbourne street Directory – it makes finding your way easy.
In conclusion
There are many other points of interest and aspects of Melbourne that have not been covered in this overview.
In particular we have not addressed the following :-.
Melbourne’s population Melbourne Governance
Melbourne city area in size Melbourne Economy
Melbourne Health Melbourne Religions
Melbourne Harbours and Main Bays. Melbourne Immigration
For further information on Melbourne -
Contact us by email and we will try to answer your questions or refer you to further written articles by various historians and writers.
We would kike to thank Wikipedia for their research, details and information available online
that has assisted us so much in our information -and also taught us so much more.