Melbourne

From Wikitravel

Melbourne is the second-largest city in Australia and the capital of the state of Victoria. Located on the southern coast of Australia’s eastern seaboard, it is perhaps Australia’s most cultured city. The city’s features include Victorian-era architecture, many cultural institutions such as museums, galleries and theaters, and large parks and gardens. Its 3.9 million population is multicultural (large Greek, Italian, Jewish, Vietnamese and other immigrant groups) and sports-mad.

Melbourne is set to host the XVIII Commonwealth Games [1] (http://www.melbourne2006.com.au/) from 15 - 26 March 2006.

Districts

• the City of Melbourne - the city's CBD and historical core, planned on a regular grid pattern north of the Yarra - also includes the Southbank district, immediately across the river

• Albert Park
• Carlton
• Fitzroy
• Footscray
• Port Melbourne
• Melbourne/Prahran
• Richmond
• South Melbourne
• St Kilda
• Williamstown

Understand

History

The settlement of Melbourne commenced in 1835 when settlers from Tasmania purchased land on Port Phillip Bay and the Yarra River from the Aborigines. In 1837 the streets of central Melbourne were carefully laid out, with some streets 30 meters wide. The first governor, Charles La Trobe, arrived in 1839 – his cottage still stands and can be visited in Kings Domain. The year 1851 was a landmark for Melbourne - the colony of Victoria became independent from New South Wales and very soon after gold was discovered in Victoria, sparking a huge goldrush. Aspects of goldrush history can be seen at the Gold Treasury Museum, housed in the Treasury Building built in 1858. Gold was the catalyst for several decades of prosperity lasting through to the late 1880s and examples of the ornate Victorian-era structures built during this time still stand. In 1888 the property boom collapsed and Victoria suffered the depression of the 1890s. Throughout the gold and building booms Melbourne managed to retain its many and spacious parks and gardens and these remain to this day.

In 1901 the British colonies of Australia became an independent federation and Melbourne the temporary capital of Australia. The Federal Parliament met in the Parliament House of Victoria from 1901 until 1927 when Canberra was founded. After World War II Melbourne grew rapidly, its till-then mainly Anglo-Celtic population boosted by immigration from Europe, particularly Greece and Italy. Today Melbourne has the biggest Greek city population (over 800,000) outside Greece and the biggest Italian city population (over 230,000) outside Italy. The significant pre-war Jewish population was also boosted after the war. From the mid-70s many immigrants came from South-east Asia, particularly Vietnam and Cambodia. Melbourne has had a Chinese population since the goldrush of the 1850s and Chinatown has existed from that time but the population of Chinese and other East Asians has also been boosted by immigration in recent years.

New high-rise buildings replaced many of Melbourne’s interesting old structures in the building boom of the 1970s and 80s. Melburnians belatedly recognised the loss of their architectural heritage and steps were taken to protect what was left. Construction of the huge Crown Casino (briefly the largest casino in the world) in the 1990s upset many Melburnians with its introduction of a crass gambling culture and the sucking of money from the rest of the city. Melbourne’s development continues in the 2000s with the opening of the Melbourne Museum, Federation Square and the Docklands precinct.

Culture

Melbourne considers itself the cultural capital of Australia (many Sydneysiders would dispute this claim strongly....), a boast supported by its large number of art galleries and a strong coffee culture[2] (http://melbournecoffeereview.com/). In addition to the Melbourne Museum, there are special museums dedicated to subjects such as science, immigration, Chinese history, Jewish history, sport, racing, railways, police, fire brigades and banking. Melburnians are sports enthusiasts and particularly passionate about Australian Rules football [3] (http://afl.com.au/), a sport invented in Melbourne. Horseracing is another passion and the majority of the state has a public holiday on the first Tuesday of November for the racing of the Melbourne Cup [4] (http://www.melbournecup.com/), one of the world’s famous horse races. Cricket is the big summer sport and the Melbourne Cricket Ground (the 'MCG') [5] (http://www.mcg.org.au/) is one of the cricket world’s leading grounds. Each January Melbourne hosts tennis’s Australian Open [6] (http://www.ausopen.org/), one of the world’s four Grand Slam championships. In March, Melbourne hosts the first race of the Formula One season [7] (http://www.grandprix.com.au/). The race is held in Albert Park in South Melbourne.