Old page wikitext, before the edit (old_wikitext) | '{{about|the Australian metropolis|the city centre or central business district (CBD)|Melbourne City Centre|the local government area within which the Melbourne City Centre is situated|City of Melbourne|other uses|Melbourne (disambiguation)}}
{{redirect|Melbourne City|the football (soccer) club|Melbourne City FC}}
{{pp-move-indef|small=yes}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2013}}
{{Use Australian English|date=January 2012}}
{{Infobox Australian place
| type = city
| name = Melbourne
| state = vic<!--"vic" codes as "Victoria (Australia)". Please leave it as "vic" or else it will point to a disambig page-->
| image = Melbourne montage six frame infobox jpg.jpg
| caption = (From top left to bottom right) [[Melbourne city centre]], [[Flinders Street Station]], [[Shrine of Remembrance]], [[Federation Square]], [[Melbourne Cricket Ground]], [[Royal Exhibition Building]].
| pop = 4347955
| pop_year = 2013
| pop_footnotes = <ref name=ABSERP13>{{Cite web |publisher=[[Australian Bureau of Statistics]]|title=3218.0 - Regional Population Growth, Australia, 2012-13: ESTIMATED RESIDENT POPULATION, States and Territories - Greater Capital City Statistical Areas (GCCSAs) |url=http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/Products/3218.0~2012-13~Main+Features~Main+Features|date=3 April 2014|accessdate=8 April 2014}} ERP at 30 June 2013.</ref>
| poprank = 2nd
| density = 430
| density_footnotes = <ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/Products/3218.0~2011-12~Main+Features~Victoria?OpenDocument#PARALINK2|title=3218.0 - Regional Population Growth, Australia, 2012-13: Victoria: Population Density|publisher=[[Australian Bureau of Statistics]]|date=30 April 2013|accessdate=9 April 2014}}</ref>
| elevation = 31
| force_national_map = yes
| latd =37 |latm =48 |lats =49
| longd =144 |longm =57 |longs =47
| area = 9990.5
| area_footnotes= (GCCSA)<ref name=ABSGCCSAXLS>{{cite web|url=http://www.censusdata.abs.gov.au/CensusOutput/copsub.NSF/All%20docs%20by%20catNo/2011~Community%20Profile~2GMEL/$File/BCP_2GMEL.zip?OpenElement|title=Greater Melbourne: Basic Community Profile|publisher=[[Australian Bureau of Statistics]]|work=2011 Census Community Profiles|date=28 March 2013|format=xls|accessdate=9 April 2014}}</ref>
| est = 30 August 1835
| county = [[County of Grant, Victoria|Grant]], [[County of Bourke, Victoria|Bourke]], [[County of Mornington|Mornington]]
| lga = [[Local Government Areas of Victoria#Municipalities of Greater Melbourne|31 Municipalities across Greater Melbourne]]
| stategov = [[:File:Vic inner regions.png|54 electoral districts and regions]]
| fedgov = [[:File:Map4.gif|23 Divisions]]
| timezone = [[Australian Eastern Standard Time|AEST]]
| utc = +10
| timezone-dst= [[Australian Eastern Daylight Time|AEDT]]
| utc-dst = +11
| location1= Canberra
| dist1= 665
| location2= Sydney
| dist2= 876
| maxtemp = 20.1
| mintemp = 10.2
| rainfall = 646.9
}}
'''Melbourne''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|m|ɛ|l|b|ə|n}})<ref>{{cite book |editor-last=Butler |editor-first=S. |title=[[Macquarie Dictionary]] |edition=5th |article=Melbourne |url=http://www.macquariedictionary.com.au |year=2009 |publisher=Macquarie Dictionary Publishers Pty Ltd |location=Sydney |isbn=978-18-7642-966-9 |pages=1952 pages |nopp=y}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/Melbourne |title=Definition of '''Melbourne''' in Oxford dictionary. Meaning, pronunciation and origin of the word |article=Melbourne |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2013 |website=Oxford Dictionaries |accessdate=7 December 2013}}</ref> is the capital and most populous city in the state of [[Victoria (Australia)|Victoria]], and the [[List of cities in Australia by population|second most populous city]] in [[Australia]].<ref name="CensusQuickStats">{{Census 2006 AUS|id=UCL232200|name=Melbourne (Urban Centre/Locality)|quick=on|accessdate=9 April 2014}}</ref> The name "Melbourne" refers to an [[urban agglomeration]] area (and census statistical division) spanning 9,900 km<sup>2</sup> (3,857.2 sq mi) that comprises the greater metropolis – as well as being a common name for its metropolitan hub, the [[Melbourne City Centre]]. It is a leading financial centre in Australia, as well as the [[Asia-Pacific]] region,<ref>[http://www.longfinance.net/images/GFCI14_30Sept2013.pdf The Global Financial Centres Index 14 (September 2013)]. Y/Zen Group. p 15. Retrieved 4 December 2013.</ref><ref>[http://www.atkearney.com.au/documents/10192/dfedfc4c-8a62-4162-90e5-2a3f14f0da3a 2012 Global Cities Index and Emerging Cities Outlook]. A.T. Kearney. p 2. Retrieved 29 December 2013.</ref> and has been ranked the [[World's Most Livable Cities|world's most livable city]] since 2011 (and among the top three since 2002), according the [[Economist Intelligence Unit]] (EIU).<ref name="EIU2013">{{cite web |url=https://www.eiu.com/public/topical_report.aspx?campaignid=Liveability2013 | title = Global Liveability Ranking and Report August 2013 | accessdate = 28 August 2013 | author = Economist | date = August 2013 | work = The Economist }}</ref><ref name="WestwoodAustralian">Westwood, Matthew (26 November 2013). [http://www.theaustralian.com.au/arts/the-cultural-capitals-perfect-10/story-e6frg8n6-1226768162658# The Cultural Capital's Perfect 10]. ''The Australian''. News Limited. Retrieved 28 December 2013.</ref> In 2013 the EIU also ranked Melbourne the fourth most expensive city in the world, tying with [[Oslo]], [[Norway]].<ref>{{cite news|title=The world's most expensive cities|url=http://www.theguardian.com/cities/datablog/2014/feb/14/most-expensive-cities|accessdate=23 February 2014|newspaper=The Guardian|date=14 February 2014|author=George Arnett|author2=Chris Michael}}</ref> Melbourne is rated highly in the areas of education, entertainment, healthcare, research and development, tourism and sports.<ref name="EIU2013" /><ref>Langmaid, Aaron (28 April 2010). [http://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/were-sports-champion-city-again/story-e6frf9if-1225859380654 We're sport's champion city again]. ''[[Herald Sun]]''. News Limited. Retrieved 29 December 2013.</ref>
It is located on the large natural bay of [[Port Phillip]], with its City Centre situated at the northernmost point of the bay – near to the estuary of the [[Yarra River]].<ref name="GoogleMaps">{{cite web|url=http://maps.google.com.au/maps?hl=en&q=&ie=UTF8&hq=&hnear=Melbourne+CBD,+Melbourne+VIC&gl=au&ei=s9r3SpvrD4uI6wOaytwa&ved=0CBMQ8gEwAA&geocode=FRUAv_0dYfajCA&split=0|title=Melbourne CBD|publisher=[[Google Maps]] |accessdate=11 September 2009}}</ref> The metropolitan area extends south from the City Centre, along the eastern and western shorelines of Port Phillip, and expands into the hinterlands – toward the [[Dandenong Ranges|Dandenong]] and [[Macedon Ranges|Macedon]] mountain ranges, [[Mornington Peninsula]] and [[Yarra Valley]]. The City Centre is located in the municipality known as the [[City of Melbourne]], and the metropolis consists of a [[Local Government Areas of Victoria#Municipalities of Greater Melbourne|further 30 municipalities]].<ref name="MelbLGAs">{{cite web|url=http://www.localgovernment.vic.gov.au/Web20/rwpgslib.nsf/GraphicFiles/Victorian+Local+Government+Directory+-+Sept+09/$file/Victorian+Local+Government+Directory+-+Sept+09.pdf|title=Victorian Local Government Directory|publisher=Department of Planning and Community Development, [[Government of Victoria (Australia)|Government of Victoria]]|page=11|accessdate=11 September 2009}}</ref> Melbourne has a population of 4.35 million,<ref name=ABSERP13/> and the fastest growing population among [[List of Australian capital cities|Australian capital cities]].<ref name="PopulationGrowth">{{cite web |url=http://www.abs.gov.au/AUSSTATS/abs@.nsf/Lookup/3218.0Main+Features12011-12?OpenDocument |title=3218.0 – Regional Population Growth, Australia, 2011–12 |publisher=[[Australian Bureau of Statistics]] |date=30 April 2013 |accessdate=30 April 2013}}</ref>{{failed verification|date=April 2014}} Inhabitants of the city are called Melburnians.<ref name="MacqDict">''[[Macquarie Dictionary|Macquarie Dictionary, Fourth Edition]]'' (2005). Melbourne, The Macquarie Library Pty Ltd. ISBN 1-876429-14-3</ref>
Founded on 30 August 1835 (in what was then the Colony of [[New South Wales]]), by settlers from [[Launceston, Tasmania|Launceston]] in [[Van Diemen's Land]],<ref name="settlement8-9">{{cite web|title=History of the City of Melbourne |publisher= City of Melbourne |pages=8–10 |url=http://www.melbourne.vic.gov.au/AboutMelbourne/History/Documents/history_melbourne_city.PDF|accessdate=11 September 2009}}</ref> it was incorporated as a [[The Crown|Crown]] settlement in 1837.<ref name="settlement8-9"/> It was named "Melbourne" by the [[Governors of New South Wales|Governor]] of New South Wales, Sir [[Richard Bourke]], in honour of the British Prime Minister of the day, [[William Lamb, 2nd Viscount Melbourne]].<ref name="settlement8-9"/> It was declared a city by [[Queen Victoria]] in 1847,<ref name="MilesLewis25"/> before becoming the capital city of the newly created Colony of Victoria in 1851.<ref name="MilesLewis25"/> During the [[Victorian gold rush]] of the 1850s, it was transformed into one of the world's largest and wealthiest cities.<ref name="RobertCervero320"/> After the [[federation of Australia]] in 1901, Melbourne served as the interim [[seat of government]] for the newly created nation of Australia until 1927.<ref name="Constitution">{{cite web|url=http://www.comlaw.gov.au/comlaw/comlaw.nsf/440c19285821b109ca256f3a001d59b7/57dea3835d797364ca256f9d0078c087/$FILE/ConstitutionAct.pdf|archiveurl=http://www.webcitation.org/5o8rxA8US|archivedate=11 March 2010|title=Commonwealth of Australia Constitution Act|publisher=Department of the Attorney-General, [[Government of Australia]]|page=45 (Section 125)|accessdate=11 September 2009}}</ref>
An international centre for [[Performing arts of Australia|performing]] and [[Visual arts of Australia|visual arts]],<ref>King, B. & Jago, L. ''Melbourne''. TTI City Reports 1 (1999). pp 37-51.</ref><ref name="KhouryPrendergastCNN">Khoury, Matt & Prendergast, Luke (20 October. 2011). [http://travel.cnn.com/sydney/visit/reasons-melbourne-liveable-257261 50 reasons Melbourne is the World's most livable city]. CNN Travel. Turner Broadcasting Systems. Retrieved 28 December 2013.</ref> Melbourne is often referred to as Australia's cultural capital.<ref name="WestwoodAustralian" /> It is the birthplace of [[Dance in Australia|Australian dance]] styles; the [[Melbourne Shuffle]] and [[New Vogue (dance)|New Vogue]],<ref name="TheAgeDanceTrance">{{cite web | last1 =Tomazin |first1=Farrah|last2=Donovan|first2=Patrick|last3=Mundell|first3=Meg|date=12 July 2002|url=http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2002/12/07/1038950203557.html|title=Dance trance | work = The Age | publisher = Fairfax |accessdate=16 November 2009 | location=Melbourne}}</ref><ref name="Gwynne202">{{Cite book|last1=Gwynne|first1=Michael|year=1985|title=Ballroom Sequence Dancing|publisher=Princeton Book Company|location= Hightstown |edition=2nd|page=202|isbn=0-7136-2750-6}}</ref> the [[Cinema of Australia|Australian film]] industry (including the world's first feature film),<ref name="Stratton">{{Cite book|last1=Stratton|first1=David|year=1990|title=The Avocado Plantation: Boom and Bust in the Australian Film Industry|publisher=Pan Macmillan|location=Sydney|isbn=0-7329-0250-9}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|url=http://portal.unesco.org/en/ev.php-URL_ID=37899&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html|title = Return of the Kelly Gang|journal=[[UNESCO Courier]]|issn = 1993-8616 |issue=2007 No.5 |last=Chichester|first=Jo |publisher=UN}}</ref> Australian impressionist art (known as the [[Heidelberg School]]),<ref name="AstburyMasters">{{Cite book|last=Astbury|first=David Leigh|title=The Heidelberg School and the rural mythology|place=Melbourne|publisher=Department of Fine Arts, [[University of Melbourne]]|year=1982|url=http://dtl.unimelb.edu.au/R/AF3TPQ9GRMK5VC149A2JTA7EQDRY8XKJBADUM8FTYCFFILSY7F-03467?func=dbin-jump-full&object_id=65984&local_base=GEN01&pds_handle=GUEST|id=65984}}</ref> [[Australian rules football]],<ref name="Now 2003. pg. 182">''The Melbourne Book: A History of Now''. Published 2003. Hardie Grant Books. South Yarra. ISBN 1-74066-049-8. pg. 182</ref> and the [[Television in Australia|Australian television]] industry.<ref name="first24">{{Cite book | title = Australian Television: the first 24 years | publisher=Nelsen/Cinema Papers | year = 1980 | page = 3 | location = Melbourne | accessdate =23 September 2007 }}</ref> In more recent years, it has been recognised as a [[UNESCO]] [[City of Literature]] and a major centre for [[Street art in Melbourne|street art]].<ref name="KhouryPrendergastCNN" /><ref>[http://www.arts.vic.gov.au/Projects_Initiatives/Collaborative_initiatives/Melbourne_-_City_of_Literature#.Urhz8PQW2E8 Melbourne - City of Literature]. Arts Victoria. Government of Victoria (Australia). Retrieved 24 December 2013.</ref> It is home to many of Australia's largest and oldest cultural institutions such as the [[Australian Centre for the Moving Image]], the [[Melbourne Cricket Ground]], [[Melbourne Museum]], [[Melbourne Zoo]], the [[National Gallery of Victoria]] and the UNESCO [[World Heritage Site|World Heritage-listed]] [[Royal Exhibition Building]].
The main passenger airport serving the metropolis and the state is [[Melbourne Airport]], which is the second busiest in Australia, and the [[Port of Melbourne]] is Australia's busiest seaport for containerised and general cargo.<ref>{{cite media release | year=2006 |url=http://www.legislation.vic.gov.au/domino/Web_Notes/newmedia.nsf/798c8b072d117a01ca256c8c0019bb01/1b374a6d8cae09e9ca2571cb0003c23a!OpenDocument |title= Government outlines vision for Port of Melbourne Freight Hub |accessdate=26 July 2007}}{{dead link|date=August 2013}}</ref> Melbourne has an extensive [[Transport in Melbourne|transport network]]. The main [[Railways in Melbourne|metropolitan train]] terminus is [[Flinders Street Station]], and the main [[Rail transport in Victoria|regional train]] and coach terminus is [[Southern Cross Station]]. Melbourne has the [[Trams in Melbourne|world's largest tram network]].<ref name=DOT_tram>{{cite web|url=http://210.15.220.118/east_west_report/Investing_in_Transport_East_West-Chapter03.pdf|title=Investing in Transport Chapter 3 – East/West, Section 3.1.2 – Tram Network|format=PDF|publisher=Department of Transport, [[Government of Victoria (Australia)|Government of Victoria]]|accessdate=21 November 2009}}{{dead link|date=July 2012}}</ref>
{{TOCLimit|4}}
==History==
{{details|History of Melbourne}}
{{See also|Timeline of Melbourne history|History of Victoria}}
===Early history and foundation===
{{Further2|[[Foundation of Melbourne]]}}
[[File:Landing at melbourne 1840.jpg|thumb|right|Melbourne Landing, 1840; watercolour by W. Liardet (1840)]]
Before the arrival of European settlers, the area was occupied for an estimated 31,000 to 40,000 years.<ref>Gary Presland, ''The First Residents of Melbourne's Western Region'', (revised edition), Harriland Press, 1997. ISBN 0-646-33150-7. Presland says on page 1: "There is some evidence to show that people were living in the [[Maribyrnong River]] valley, near present day [[Keilor]], about 40,000 years ago."</ref> At the time of European settlement, it was inhabited by under 20,000<ref name="rbg.vic.gov.au">[http://www.rbg.vic.gov.au/__data/page/1062/Indig.pdf ]{{Dead link|date=June 2010}}</ref> [[hunter-gatherer]]s from three [[Indigenous Australian|indigenous]] [[Kulin|regional tribes]]: the [[Wurundjeri]], [[Bunurong|Boonwurrung]] and [[Wathaurong]].<ref>Gary Presland, ''Aboriginal Melbourne: The Lost Land of the Kulin People'', Harriland Press (1985), Second edition 1994, ISBN 0-9577004-2-3. This book describes in some detail the archaeological evidence regarding aboriginal life, culture, food gathering and land management, particularly the period from the flooding of Bass Strait and Port Phillip from about 7–10,000 years ago, up to the European colonisation in the nineteenth century.</ref> The area was an important meeting place for the clans of the [[Kulin]] nation alliance and a vital source of food and water.<ref name="settlement"/><ref name="merrimerri">Isabel Ellender and Peter Christiansen, ''People of the Merri Merri. The Wurundjeri in Colonial Days'', Merri Creek Management Committee, 2001 ISBN 0-9577728-0-7</ref>
The first European settlement in Victoria was established by Colonel [[David Collins (governor)|David Collins]] in October 1803, at [[Sullivan Bay, Victoria|Sullivan Bay]], near present-day [[Sorrento, Victoria|Sorrento]], but this settlement was relocated to what is now [[Hobart]], Tasmania, in February 1804, due to a perceived lack of resources.
It would be 30 years before another settlement was attempted.<ref>{{cite web| last = Button | first = James| title = Secrets of a forgotten settlement| work = The Age | publisher = Fairfax | location=Melbourne| date = 4 October 2003|url=http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2003/10/03/1064988393029.html?from=storyrhs| accessdate =19 October 2008}}</ref>
In May and June 1835, the area which is now central and northern Melbourne was explored by [[John Batman]], a leading member of the [[Port Phillip Association]] in [[Van Diemen's Land]] (now known as Tasmania), who negotiated a purchase of {{convert|600000|acre|km2}} with eight Wurundjeri elders.<ref name="settlement"/><ref name="merrimerri"/> Batman selected a site on the northern bank of the Yarra River, declaring that "this will be the place for a village".<ref>{{cite book|last=Annear|first=Robyn|year=2005|title=Bearbrass: Imagining Early Melbourne|location=Melbourne, Victoria|publisher=Black Inc|page=6|isbn=1863953973}}</ref> Batman then returned to [[Launceston, Tasmania|Launceston]] in Tasmania. In early August 1835 a different group of settlers, including [[John Pascoe Fawkner]], left Launceston on the ship [[Enterprize (1829)|Enterprize]]. Fawkner was forced to disembark at Georgetown, Tasmania, because of outstanding debts. The remainder of the party continued and arrived at the mouth of the Yarra River on 15 August 1835. On 30 August 1835 the party disembarked and established a settlement at the site of the current Melbourne Immigration Museum. Batman and his group arrived on 2 September 1835 and the two groups ultimately agreed to share the settlement.
[[Batman's Treaty]] with the Aborigines was annulled by the [[New South Wales]] government (which at the time governed all of eastern mainland Australia), which compensated the association.<ref name="settlement">{{cite web | title = Foundation of the Settlement |work=History of the City of Melbourne | publisher= City of Melbourne | year = 1997 |url=http://www.melbourne.vic.gov.au/AboutMelbourne/History/Pages/SettlementtoCity.aspx | accessdate =13 July 2010}}</ref> In 1836, [[Governor Bourke]] declared the city the administrative capital of the [[Port Phillip District]] of New South Wales, and commissioned the first plan for the city, the [[Hoddle Grid]], in 1837.<ref name="COM2">{{cite web|url=http://www.melbourne.vic.gov.au/info.cfm?top=53|title= Roads |publisher=City of Melbourne|accessdate=29 September 2008}}</ref> Later that year the settlement was named "Melbourne" after the [[Prime Minister of the United Kingdom|British Prime Minister]], [[William Lamb, 2nd Viscount Melbourne]], whose [[Family seat|seat]] was [[Melbourne Hall]] in the [[market town]] of [[Melbourne, Derbyshire|Melbourne]], [[Derbyshire]]. On 13 April 1837, the settlement's [[General Post Office, Melbourne|general post office]] was officially opened with that name.<ref name = "PostOffice">{{cite web | last = Premier Postal History | title = Post Office List |url=https://www.premierpostal.com/cgi-bin/wsProd.sh/Viewpocdwrapper.p?SortBy=VIC&country= | accessdate =11 April 2008 }}</ref>
Between 1836 and 1842, Victorian Aboriginal groups were largely dispossessed of their land.<ref>James Boyce, 1835: The Founding of Melbourne and the Conquest of Australia, Black Inc, 2011, page 151 citing Richard Broome, "Victoria" in McGrath (ed.), Contested Ground: 129</ref> By January 1844, there were said to be 675 Aborigines resident in squalid camps in Melbourne.<ref>James Boyce, 1835: The Founding of Melbourne and the Conquest of Australia, Black Inc, 2011, p.186</ref> The British Colonial Office appointed five [[Protector of Aborigines|Aboriginal Protectors]] for the Aborigines of Victoria, in 1839, however their work was nullified by a land policy that favoured [[Squatting (pastoral)|squatters]] to take possession of Aboriginal lands.<ref>James Boyce, 1835: The Founding of Melbourne and the Conquest of Australia, Black Inc, 2011, p.199</ref> By 1845, fewer than 240 wealthy Europeans held all the pastoral licences then issued in Victoria and became a powerful political and economic force in Victoria for generations to come.<ref>James Boyce, 1835: The Founding of Melbourne and the Conquest of Australia, Black Inc, 2011, p.163</ref>
Melbourne was declared a city by [[letters patent]] of [[Victoria of the United Kingdom|Queen Victoria]], issued on 25 June 1847.<ref name="MilesLewis25">{{cite book|last=Lewis|first=Miles|title=Melbourne: the city's history and development|edition=2nd|publisher=City of Melbourne |location=Melbourne|year=1995|page=25|isbn=0-949624-71-3}}</ref> The Port Phillip District became the separate Colony of Victoria in 1851, with Melbourne as its capital. With the Aboriginal population dispossessed of their lands and their management of fire having been disrupted for almost 15 years, the Colony experienced for the first time its largest-ever bushfires, burning about 25% of the land area of Victoria on [[Black Thursday (1851)|Black Thursday]] on 6 February 1851.
===Victorian gold rush===
{{Further2|[[Victorian gold rush]]}}
[[File:Canvas town south melbourne victoria 1850s.jpg|thumb|"Canvas Town", South Melbourne in the 1850s depicting temporary accommodation for the thousands who poured into Melbourne each week during the gold rush.]] [[File:Melbourne international exhibition 1880.jpg|thumb|Lithograph of the [[Royal Exhibition Building]] (now a [[World Heritage site]]) built to host the [[World's Fair]] of 1880]]
The discovery of gold in Victoria in 1851 led to the [[Victorian gold rush]], and Melbourne, which served as the major port and provided most services for the region, experienced rapid growth. Within months, the city's population had increased by nearly three-quarters, from 25,000 to 40,000 inhabitants.<ref name="gold1850">{{cite web |url=http://sbs.com.au/sbsmain/gold/story.html?storyid=49
|title=Gold |author=Victorian Cultural Collaboration
|publisher=Special Broadcasting Service |accessdate=18 July 2008
|archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/20080724135849/http://sbs.com.au/sbsmain/gold/story.html?storyid=49 <!-- Bot retrieved archive --> |archivedate = 24 July 2008}}</ref> Thereafter, growth was exponential and by 1865, Melbourne had overtaken Sydney as Australia's most populous city.<ref name="largeby1865">{{cite web|url=http://www.atse.org.au/index.php?sectionid=289 |title=The Snowy Mountains Scheme and Multicultural Australia |publisher=ATSE |accessdate=21 June 2010}}{{dead link|date=August 2013}}</ref>
An influx of interstate and overseas migrants, particularly Irish, German and Chinese, saw the development of slums including a temporary "tent city" established on the southern banks of the Yarra. Chinese migrants founded a [[Chinatown, Melbourne|Chinatown]] in 1851, which remains the longest continuous Chinese settlement in the Western World.<ref>{{Cite journal |url=http://www.chinatownmelbourne.com.au/ | title=Welcome to Chinatown | publisher=Chinatown Melbourne |accessdate=11 December 2012}}</ref> In the aftermath of the [[Eureka Rebellion]], mass public support for the plight of the miners in Melbourne resulted in major political changes to the colony. The various nationalities involved in the Eureka Stockade revolt and [[Burke and Wills expedition]] give some indication of migration flows in the second half of the nineteenth century.<ref name="annear">{{cite book |last=Annear|first=Robyn|title=Nothing But Gold |publisher=Text |year=1999}}</ref>
The population growth and flow of gold into the city helped stimulate a program of grand civic building beginning with the design and construction of many of Melbourne's surviving institutional buildings including [[Parliament House, Melbourne|Parliament House]], the [[Old Treasury Building, Melbourne|Treasury Building]] and Treasury Reserve, the [[Old Melbourne Gaol]], [[Victoria Barracks, Melbourne|Victoria Barracks]], the [[State Library of Victoria|State Library]], [[Supreme Court of Victoria|Supreme Court]], [[University of Melbourne|University]], [[Melbourne GPO|General Post Office]], [[Government House, Melbourne|Government House]], [[Immigration Museum, Melbourne|Customs House]] the [[Melbourne Town Hall]], [[St Paul's Cathedral, Melbourne|St Paul's]], [[St Patrick's Cathedral, Melbourne|St Patrick's]] cathedrals and several major markets including the surviving [[Queen Victoria Market]]. The city's inner suburbs were planned, to be linked by boulevards and gardens. Melbourne had become a major finance centre, home to several banks, the [[Melbourne Mint|Royal Mint]] to Australia's first [[Australian Securities Exchange|stock exchange]] in 1861.<ref name="caslon">{{cite web|url=http://www.caslon.com.au/timeline6.htm|title=Media Business Communication time line since 1861|publisher=Caslon|accessdate=29 September 2008}}{{dead link|date=March 2014}}</ref> Grand private buildings were built in this era, including the [[Melbourne Athenaeum|Athenaeum Hall]] and several large hotels. The aboriginal population continued to decline with an estimated 80% total decrease by 1863, due primarily to introduced diseases, particularly [[smallpox]],<ref name="rbg.vic.gov.au"/> frontier violence and dispossession from their lands.
===Land boom and bust===
[[File:Federal Coffee Palace Melbourne.jpg|thumb|left|upright|The Federal Coffee Palace; one of many temperance hotels erected in the late 19th century]]
The economic boom of the Victorian gold rush peaked during the 1880s, by which time Melbourne had become the richest city in the world,<ref name="RobertCervero320">{{cite book|last=Cervero|first=Robert B.|title= The Transit Metropolis: A Global Inquiry|publisher=Island Press|year=1998|location=Chicago|page=320|isbn=1-55963-591-6}}</ref> and the largest after London in the [[British Empire]].<ref>Statesmen's Year Book 1889</ref> Melbourne hosted two international exhibitions at the large purpose-built [[Royal Exhibition Building|Exhibition Building]] between 1880 and 1890, spurring the construction of several prestigious hotels including the Menzies, Federal and the [[Hotel Windsor (Melbourne)|Grand (Windsor)]].
In 1855 the [[Melbourne Cricket Club]] secured possession of its now famous ground, the [[MCG]]. Members of the [[Melbourne Football Club]] codified [[Australian football]] in 1859, and Yarra rowing clubs and "regattas" became popular about the same time. In 1861 the [[Melbourne Cup]] was first run. In 1864 Melbourne acquired its first public monument—the Burke and Wills statue. In 1880 a telephone exchange was established and in the same year the foundations of St. Paul's Cathedral were laid; in 1881 electric light was installed in the Eastern Market building, and in the following year a generating station capable of supplying 2,000 incandescent lamps was in operation.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article3807950 | title = The Story of Melbourne | work = Argus |location = Melbourne, Australia | date = 9 September 1926 | accessdate = 24 January 2012 | page = 8 Supplement: An Historic Souvenir|publisher = National Library of Australia}}</ref> In 1885 the first cable tram in Melbourne was built. Cable tramways were in general use until the 1920s, when they were superseded by electric motors. Electric trams were introduced into the suburbs in 1906.<ref>{{cite web |first = Bill | last = Beatty |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article43017571 | title = Australian Almanac | work = Australian Women's Weekly | location = | date = 8 November 1967 | accessdate = 16 February 2012 |page=33 | publisher = National Library of Australia}}</ref>
During a visit in 1885 English journalist [[George Augustus Henry Sala]] coined the phrase "Marvellous Melbourne", which stuck long into the twentieth century and is still used today by Melburnians.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2004/01/09/1073437468105.html | title = He came, he saw, he marvelled | first = James | last = Button | work = The Age | publisher = Fairfax | date = 10 January 2004 | accessdate = 7 July 2012}}</ref> Growing building activity culminated in a "land boom" which, in 1888, reached a peak of speculative development fuelled by consumer confidence and escalating land value.<ref name="University1">{{cite book | title = The Land Boomers | first = Michael | last = Cannon | publisher = Melbourne University Press; Cambridge University Press | year = 1966}}</ref> As a result of the boom, large commercial buildings, [[coffee palace]]s, [[terrace house|terrace housing]] and palatial mansions proliferated in the city.<ref name="University1"/> The establishment of a hydraulic facility in 1887 allowed for the local manufacture of elevators, resulting in the first construction of high-rise buildings;<ref>{{cite web| author = |url=http://museumvictoria.com.au/marvellous/powered/lifts.asp |title=Marvellous Melbourne – Introduction of the Hydraulic Lift |publisher= Museum Victoria |accessdate=21 June 2010}}</ref> most notably 1889's APA (The Australian) Building, the world's tallest office building upon completion and Melbourne's tallest for over half a century.<ref name="University1"/> This period also saw the expansion of a major radial rail-based transport network.<ref name="Miles47">{{cite book | year = 1995
| first = Lewis | last = Miles | title = Melbourne the city's history and development | publisher = City of Melbourne | page = 47}}</ref>
A brash [[boosterism]] that had typified Melbourne during this time ended in 1891 with a severe depression of the city's economy, sending the local finance and property industries into a period of chaos<ref name="University1"/><ref name="localhistories">{{cite web|url=http://www.localhistories.org/melbourne.html | title = A Brief History of Melbourne | last = Lambert | first = Tim | publisher= Local Histories | accessdate=29 September 2008}}</ref> during which 16 small banks and building societies collapsed and 133 limited companies went into liquidation. The Melbourne financial crisis was a contributing factor in the [[Economic history of Australia|Australian economic depression of the 1890s]] and the [[Australian banking crisis of 1893]]. The effects of the depression on the city were profound, although it recovered enough to grow slowly during the early twentieth century.<ref name="Britannica1">{{cite web |url=http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/373808/Melbourne/12674/Growth-of-the-city|title=Melbourne (Victoria) – growth of the city | publisher = Encyclopædia Britannica| accessdate = 29 September 2008}}</ref><ref name="welovemelbourne">{{cite web |url=http://www.we-love-melbourne.net/Melbourne-history.html | title=Fast Facts on Melbourne History | publisher = We Love Melbourne | accessdate = 29 September 2008}}</ref>
===Federation of Australia===
{{Further2|[[Federation of Australia]]}}
[[File:Opening of the first parliament.jpg|thumb|right|''[[The Big Picture (painting)|The Big Picture]]'', the opening of the first [[Parliament of Australia]] on 9 May 1901, painted by [[Tom Roberts]]]]
At the time of Australia's [[Federation of Australia|federation]] on 1 January 1901, Melbourne became the seat of government of the federation. The first federal parliament was convened on 9 May 1901 in the Royal Exhibition Building, subsequently moving to the Victorian Parliament House where it was located until 1927, when it was moved to [[Canberra]]. The [[Governor-General of Australia]] resided at [[Government House, Melbourne|Government House]] in Melbourne until 1930 and many major national institutions remained in Melbourne well into the twentieth century.<ref name="Miles113">Lewis, Miles ''(Melbourne the city's history and development)'' p. 113–114</ref>
===Post-war period===
In the immediate years after World War II, Melbourne expanded rapidly, its growth boosted by [[Post war immigration to Australia]], primarily from Southern Europe and the [[Mediterranean region|Mediterranean]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://museumvictoria.com.au/origins/keydates.aspx?cid=13 |title=1961 – the Impact of Post-War Immigration |publisher = Museum Victoria | accessdate = 21 June 2010}}</ref> While the "Paris End" of Collins Street began Melbourne's boutique shopping and open air [[cafe]] cultures,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2003/05/28/1053801445880.html | title = Boutique battle at Paris end of town |first = Misha | last= Ketchel |work = Age |publisher = Fairfax | date= 11 December 2012}}</ref> the city centre was seen by many as stale—the dreary domain of office workers—something expressed by [[John Brack]] in his famous painting ''[[Collins St., 5 pm]]'' (1955).<ref>[http://www.ipa.org.au/publications/1691/the-art-of-the-forgotten-people The art of the forgotten people] by Tom Wilson</ref>
Height limits in the Melbourne CBD were lifted in 1958, after the construction of [[ICI House]], transforming the city's skyline with the introduction of skyscrapers. Suburban expansion then intensified, serviced by new indoor malls beginning with [[Chadstone Shopping Centre]].<ref>[http://www.slv.vic.gov.au/gallery/image.php?id=802 Chadstone Shopping Centre, Wolfgang Sievers, 1960. State Library of Victoria collection]{{Dead link|date=June 2010}}</ref> The post-war period also saw a major renewal of the CBD and [[St Kilda Road]] which significantly modernised the city.<ref>Judith Raphael Buckrich (1996) Melbourne's Grand Boulevard: the Story of St Kilda Road. Published State Library of Victoria</ref> New fire regulations and redevelopment saw most of the taller pre-war CBD buildings either [[demolish]]ed or partially retained through a policy of [[Facadism#Melbourne|facadism]]. Many of the larger suburban mansions from the boom era were also either demolished or subdivided.
[[File:Melbourne Collins Street Architecture.jpg|thumb|Melbourne features an extensive juxtaposition of modern and [[Victorian era]] buildings. ]]To counter the trend towards low-density suburban residential growth, the government began a series of controversial public housing projects in the inner city by the [[Housing Commission of Victoria]], which resulted in demolition of many neighbourhoods and a proliferation of high-rise towers.<ref>{{cite book | first = William | last= Logan | title = The Gentrification of inner Melbourne: a political geography of inner city housing | publisher = University of Queensland Press | year = 1985 | location = Brisbane, Australia | pages = 148–160 |url=| id = | isbn = 0-7022-1729-8 }}</ref> In later years, with the rapid rise of motor vehicle ownership, the investment in freeway and highway developments greatly accelerated the outward suburban sprawl and declining inner city population. The [[Henry Bolte|Bolte]] government sought to rapidly accelerate the modernisation of Melbourne. Major road projects including the remodelling of [[St Kilda Junction]], the widening of [[Hoddle Street]] and then the extensive [[1969 Melbourne Transportation Plan]] changed the face of the city into a car-dominated environment.<ref>{{cite web | last = Millar | first = Royce | title = Road to ... where? | work=Age | publisher = Fairfax | date = 7 November 2005 |url=http://www.theage.com.au/news/national/road-to-where/2005/11/06/1131211946903.html | accessdate= 11 December 2012}}</ref>
Australia's financial and mining booms between 1969 and 1970 resulted in establishment of the headquarters of many major companies ([[BHP Billiton]] and [[Rio Tinto Group|Rio Tinto]], among others) in the city. [[Nauru]]'s then booming economy resulted in several ambitious investments in Melbourne, such as [[Nauru House]].<ref>{{cite web |last=Shepherd|first=Dick|title=Hotel men expected to press for Govt. aid |url=http://news.google.com.au/newspapers?id=2eFUAAAAIBAJ&sjid=0JADAAAAIBAJ&pg=6710,571748&hl=en |accessdate=25 April 2011| work=Age | publisher = Fairfax | date=4 February 1972}}</ref> Melbourne remained Australia's main business and financial centre until the late 1970s, when it began to lose this primacy to Sydney.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2003/12/30/1072546531264.html?from=storyrhs
| title = Tell Melbourne it's over, we won
| work = Sydney Morning Herald | publisher = Fairfax
| date = 31 December 2003 | accessdate=18 July 2008}}</ref>
As the centre of Australia's "[[rust belt]]", Melbourne experienced an economic downturn between 1989 to 1992, following the collapse of several local financial institutions. In 1992 the newly elected [[Jeff Kennett|Kennett]] government began a campaign to revive the economy with an aggressive development campaign of [[public works]] coupled with the promotion of the city as a tourist destination with a focus on major events and sports tourism.<ref>{{cite web | last = Saward | first = Joe | title = Interview – Judith Griggs | work = Grandprix | publisher= Inside F1 | date = 1 February 1996 |url=http://www.grandprix.com/ft/ft00208.html | accessdate =14 May 2010}}</ref> During this period the [[Australian Grand Prix]] moved to Melbourne from Adelaide. Major projects included the construction of a new facility for the [[Melbourne Museum]], [[Federation Square]], the [[Melbourne Exhibition and Convention Centre]], [[Crown Casino]] and the [[CityLink]] [[Toll road|tollway]]. Other strategies included the privatisation of some of Melbourne's services, including power and public transport, and a reduction in funding to public services such as health, education and public transport infrastructure.<ref name="Miles206">Lewis, Miles ''Melbourne the city's history and development'' p203,205–206</ref>
===Contemporary Melbourne===
Since the mid-1990s, Melbourne has maintained significant population and employment growth. There has been substantial international investment in the city's industries and property market. Major inner-city urban renewal has occurred in areas such as [[Southbank, Victoria|Southbank]], [[Port Melbourne]], [[Melbourne Docklands]] and more recently, [[South Wharf, Victoria|South Wharf]]. According to the [[Australian Bureau of Statistics]], Melbourne sustained the highest population increase and economic growth rate of any Australian capital city in the three years ended June 2004.<!--Update?--><ref>{{cite web | date = 24 March 2005
|url=http://www.theage.com.au/news/National/Melbournes-population-booms/2005/03/23/1111525222758.html
| title = Melbourne's population booms | work =The Age |location=Australia | accessdate =18 July 2008 | first1=Melissa | last1=Marino | first2=Tim | last2=Colebatch}}</ref> These factors have led to population growth and further suburban expansion through the 2000s.
{{Wide image|Melbourne from Waterfront City, Docklands Pano, 20.07.06.jpg|700px|A panoramic view of the Melbourne Docklands and the city skyline from Waterfront City looking across [[Melbourne Docklands#Victoria Harbour|Victoria Harbour]].}}
{{wideimage|Melbourne Night Skyline (2013).jpg|700px|Melbourne skyline at night.}}
From 2006, the growth of the city extended into "green wedges" and beyond the city's [[urban growth boundary]]. Predictions of the city's population reaching 5 million people pushed the state government to review the growth boundary in 2008 as part of its Melbourne @ Five Million strategy.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.vic.gov.au/planningmelbourne | title = Delivering Melbourne's newest sustainable communities | work=Victoria Online | publisher=State of Victoria | date = 21 September 2006 | accessdate=21 June 2010}}{{dead link|date=July 2012}}</ref> In 2009, Melbourne was less affected by the [[Late-2000s financial crisis]] in comparison to other Australian cities. At this time, more new jobs were created in Melbourne than any other Australian capital—almost as many as the next two fastest growing cities, Brisbane and Perth, combined,<ref>The Age, 12 February 2010</ref> and Melbourne's property market remained strong,<ref>{{cite news | first = Tom |last = Ormonde | date = 14 November 2009
|url=http://www.theage.com.au/opinion/society-and-culture/housing-the-bubble-that-no-one-dares-burst-20091113-iemr.html
| title = Housing the bubble that no one dares burst | accessdate =21 June 2010
| work=Age | location=Melbourne}}</ref> resulting in historically high property prices and widespread rent increases.<ref>{{cite web | date= 16 February 2008
|url=http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2008/02/16/1202760669052.html
|title = Rent crisis forces urgent action | work=Age | location = Melbourne | accessdate =21 June 2010 | first=Jason | last=Dowling}}</ref>
==Geography==
===Topography===
{{main|Geography of Melbourne}}
Melbourne is located in the south-eastern part of mainland Australia, within the state of [[Victoria (Australia)|Victoria]]. Geologically, it is built on the confluence of [[Quaternary]] lava flows to the west, [[Silurian]] [[mudstone]]s to the east, and [[Holocene]] sand accumulation to the southeast along [[Port Phillip]]. The southeastern suburbs are situated on the [[Selwyn fault]] which transects [[Mount Martha, Victoria|Mount Martha]] and [[Cranbourne, Victoria|Cranbourne]].
Melbourne extends along the [[Yarra River]] towards the [[Yarra Valley]] and the [[Dandenong Ranges]] to the east. It extends northward through the undulating bushland valleys of the Yarra's tributaries—[[Moonee Ponds Creek]] (toward Tullamarine Airport), [[Merri Creek]], [[Darebin Creek]] and [[Plenty River]]—to the outer suburban growth corridors of [[Craigieburn, Victoria|Craigieburn]] and [[Whittlesea, Victoria|Whittlesea]].
The city reaches south-east through [[Dandenong, Victoria|Dandenong]] to the growth corridor of [[Pakenham, Victoria|Pakenham]] towards [[West Gippsland]], and southward through the [[Dandenong Creek]] valley, the [[Mornington Peninsula]] and the city of [[Frankston, Victoria|Frankston]] taking in the peaks of [[Olivers Hill, Victoria|Olivers Hill]], Mount Martha and [[Arthurs Seat, Victoria|Arthurs Seat]], extending along the shores of Port Phillip as a single [[conurbation]] to reach the exclusive suburb of [[Portsea, Victoria|Portsea]] and [[Point Nepean]]. In the west, it extends along the [[Maribyrnong River]] and its tributaries north towards [[Sunbury, Victoria|Sunbury]] and the foothills of the [[Shire of Macedon Ranges|Macedon Ranges]], and along the flat volcanic plain country towards [[Melton, Victoria|Melton]] in the west, [[Werribee]] at the foothills of the [[You Yangs]] [[granite]] ridge and [[Geelong]] as part of the greater metropolitan area to the south-west.
Melbourne's major bayside beaches are located in the south-eastern suburbs along the shores of Port Phillip Bay, in areas like [[Port Melbourne]], [[Albert Park, Victoria|Albert Park]], [[St Kilda, Victoria|St Kilda]], [[Elwood, Victoria|Elwood]], [[Brighton, Victoria|Brighton]], [[Sandringham, Victoria|Sandringham]], [[Mentone, Victoria|Mentone]] and [[Frankston, Victoria|Frankston]] although there are beaches in the western suburbs of [[Altona, Victoria|Altona]] and [[Williamstown, Victoria|Williamstown]]. The nearest [[ocean surface wave|surf]] beaches are located {{convert|85|km|mi|}} south-east of the Melbourne CBD in the back-beaches of [[Rye, Victoria|Rye]], [[Sorrento, Victoria|Sorrento]] and [[Portsea, Victoria|Portsea]].<ref name="smhbeach">{{cite web | last=Russell |first=Mark
|url=http://www.smh.com.au/news/victoria/lifes-a-beach-in-melbourne/2006/01/02/1136050380503.html
| title =Life's a beach in Melbourne
| date=2 January 2006 | work=Sydney Morning Herald
| accessdate =29 September 2008}}</ref><ref name="epabeach">{{cite web |url=http://epanote2.epa.vic.gov.au/EPA/Publications.nsf/2f1c2625731746aa4a256ce90001cbb5/d494227d97812f42ca2574330000f2c6/$FILE/1240.pdf |format=PDF|title=Beach Report 2007–08 |publisher=EPA |accessdate=29 September 2008}}</ref>
<gallery widths="200px" heights="200px">
File:Melbourne_by_night.jpg|View of the CBD of Melbourne from the [[Rialto Towers]] observation deck. The [[Eureka Tower]] features prominently in the centre of the image
File:Greater Melbourne Map 4 - May 2008.png|Map of Melbourne and [[Geelong]] urban areas
</gallery>
===Climate===
{{Further|Extreme weather events in Melbourne}}
[[File:Victoria Avenue - Canterbury.jpg|thumb|Autumn in suburban [[Canterbury, Victoria|Canterbury]]]]
Melbourne has a moderate [[oceanic climate]] ([[Köppen climate classification]] ''Cfb'')<ref>{{cite book |last=Tapper|first=Andrew|last2=Tapper|first2=Nigel|title=The weather and climate of Australia and New Zealand|year=1996|publisher=Oxford University Press|location=Melbourne, Australia | isbn=0-19-553393-3 |edition=First|editor=Gray, Kathleen|page=300}}</ref><ref>{{cite book | last1 = Linacre | first1 = Edward | last2 = Geerts | first2= Bart | title = Climates and Weather Explained | publisher = Routledge | location = London | year = 1997 | page = 379 |url=http://books.google.com/?id=mkZa1KLHCAQC&lpg=PA379&pg=PA379#v=onepage&q= | isbn = 0-415-12519-7}}</ref> and is well known for its changeable weather conditions. This is mainly due to Melbourne's location situated on the boundary of the very hot inland areas and the cool southern ocean. This temperature differential is most pronounced in the spring and summer months and can cause very strong cold fronts to form. These cold fronts can be responsible for all sorts of severe weather from gales to severe thunderstorms and hail, large temperature drops, and heavy rain.
Port Phillip is often warmer than the surrounding oceans and/or the land mass, particularly in spring and autumn; this can set up a "bay effect" similar to the "[[lake-effect snow|lake effect]]" seen in colder climates where showers are intensified leeward of the bay. Relatively narrow streams of heavy showers can often affect the same places (usually the eastern suburbs) for an extended period of time, while the rest of Melbourne and surrounds stays dry. Overall, Melbourne is, owing to the [[rain shadow]] of the [[Otway Ranges]], nonetheless drier than average for southern Victoria. Within the city and surrounds, however, rainfall varies widely, from around {{convert|425|mm|in|0}} at [[Little River, Victoria|Little River]] to {{convert|1250|mm|in|0}} on the eastern fringe at [[Gembrook, Victoria|Gembrook]].
Melbourne is also prone to isolated convective showers forming when a cold pool crosses the state, especially if there is considerable daytime heating. These showers are often heavy and can contain hail and squalls and significant drops in temperature, but they pass through very quickly at times with a rapid clearing trend to sunny and relatively calm weather and the temperature rising back to what it was before the shower. This occurs often in the space of minutes and can be repeated many times in a day, giving Melbourne a reputation for having "four seasons in one day",<ref name="Bureau">{{BoM Aust stats|site_ref=cw_086071|site_name=Melbourne Regional Office|accessdate=9 November 2010}}</ref> a phrase that is part of local [[popular culture]] and familiar to many visitors to the city.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.melbourne.vic.gov.au/info.cfm?top=269&pg=2325 | title = Welcome to Melbourne | publisher = City of Melbourne | accessdate = 18 July 2008}}</ref>
Melbourne is somewhat colder than other mainland Australian state capital cities in the winter, but not enormously so, with only a small variation in winter temperatures. The lowest temperature on record is {{convert|-2.8|C|F}}, on 4 July 1901.<ref name="snow">{{cite web |url=http://www.theage.com.au/news/national/snow-misses-cbd-lunch-appointment/2005/08/10/1123353351466.html |title=Snow misses CBD lunch appointment | date = 10 August 2005 | work= Age | publisher = Fairfax | location=Melbourne |accessdate=18 July 2008 |first1=Steve |last1=Waldon |first2=Julia |last2=Medew}}</ref> However, snowfalls are very rare: the most recent occurrence of sleet in the CBD was on 25 July 1986 and the most recent snowfalls in the outer eastern suburbs and [[Mount Dandenong]] were on 10 August 2005.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2005/08/10/1123353352628.html | title = Snow falls in Melbourne | newspaper = Sydney Morning Herald | publisher = Fairfax | date = 10 August 2005 | accessdate = 1 July 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bom.gov.au/announcements/media_releases/vic/20050810.shtml |title = Snow in Victoria | publisher= Bureau of Meteorology | accessdate = 1 July 2010}}</ref> More commonly, Melbourne experiences frosts and fog in winter.
Melbourne summers are notable for occasional days of extreme heat, which has [[global warming|increased in frequency]] over the [[Extreme weather events in Melbourne|past decade]].<ref name="Bureau"/> This occurs when the synoptic pattern is conducive to the transportation of very hot air from central Australia over to the south east corner of the continent. The inland deserts of Australia are amongst the hottest areas on earth, particularly the inland parts of north-west Australia. Every summer, intense heat builds starting in the [[Pilbara]] district of Western Australia around October/November and spreading widely over the tropical and subtropical inland parts of the continent by January. In the summer months, the southern part of the continent straddles the westerly wind belt to the south and the subtropical high pressure ridge to the north. The intense heat buildup occurs where high pressure is highly dominant in the upper levels of the atmosphere over the tropics and subtropics of Australia in summer allowing for a huge area of stable atmospheric conditions to predominate. On occasion a strong cold front will develop in summer and bring the westerlies further north than their mean summer position. On these occasions, north-west winds will develop ahead of the cold front's passage and sometimes these can be very strong, even gale force. When this occurs the hot air from the inland is dragged right down over south east Australia, occasionally even as far as southern Tasmania. As this air mass is carried entirely over the continental land mass it remains unmodified, i.e. it does not pick up additional moisture from a body of water and retains most if not all of its heat. On these occasions, the normally temperate parts of southern Victoria, including Melbourne, can experience the full fury of the desert climate albeit only briefly as the cold front responsible usually passes through relatively quickly allowing cool southerly winds from the southern ocean to replace the hot desert air. The highest temperature recorded in Melbourne city was {{convert|46.4|C|F}}, on [[Black Saturday bushfires|7 February 2009]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bom.gov.au/climate/averages/tables/cw_086071_All.shtml |title = Monthly climate statistics | publisher= Bureau of Meteorology | accessdate = 30 March 2012}}</ref>
{{Melbourne City weatherbox}}
{{Weather box
|location = [[Mount Dandenong, Victoria|Mount Dandenong]] (Eastern Suburb)
|collapsed = y
|metric first = Yes
|single line = Yes
|rain colour = green
|Jan record high C = 37.3
|Feb record high C = 39.3
|Mar record high C = 33.6
|Apr record high C = 28.0
|May record high C = 20.3
|Jun record high C = 15.0
|Jul record high C = 16.0
|Aug record high C = 20.0
|Sep record high C = 22.7
|Oct record high C = 28.7
|Nov record high C = 33.2
|Dec record high C = 36.2
|year record high C = 39.3
|Jan high C = 22.1
|Feb high C = 22.9
|Mar high C = 19.7
|Apr high C = 15.4
|May high C = 11.7
|Jun high C = 8.8
|Jul high C = 8.2
|Aug high C = 9.6
|Sep high C = 11.6
|Oct high C = 14.8
|Nov high C = 17.3
|Dec high C = 19.9
|year high C = 15.2
|Jan low C = 11.5
|Feb low C = 12.6
|Mar low C = 11.3
|Apr low C = 9.0
|May low C = 6.0
|Jun low C = 4.4
|Jul low C = 3.6
|Aug low C = 4.2
|Sep low C = 5.0
|Oct low C = 6.8
|Nov low C = 8.3
|Dec low C = 9.8
|year low C = 7.8
|Jan record low C = 4.0
|Feb record low C = 4.7
|Mar record low C = 3.7
|Apr record low C = 0.7
|May record low C = -0.4
|Jun record low C = -1.0
|Jul record low C = -2.3
|Aug record low C = -2.0
|Sep record low C = -1.8
|Oct record low C = -0.6
|Nov record low C = 0.5
|Dec record low C = 2.3
|year record low C = -2.3
|Jan rain mm = 70.2
|Feb rain mm = 61.2
|Mar rain mm = 74.6
|Apr rain mm = 102.0
|May rain mm = 129.6
|Jun rain mm = 98.4
|Jul rain mm = 95.5
|Aug rain mm = 116.8
|Sep rain mm = 106.0
|Oct rain mm = 104.8
|Nov rain mm = 109.4
|Dec rain mm = 95.7
|Jan rain days = 12.1
|Feb rain days = 8.4
|Mar rain days = 12.4
|Apr rain days = 13.7
|May rain days = 18.2
|Jun rain days = 17.8
|Jul rain days = 20.0
|Aug rain days = 19.7
|Sep rain days = 17.5
|Oct rain days = 16.5
|Nov rain days = 15.2
|Dec rain days = 12.9
|unit rain days = 0.2mm
|source 1 = [[Bureau of Meteorology (Australia)|Bureau of Meteorology]]<ref>{{BoM Aust stats|site_ref=cw_086243_All|site_name=MOUNT DANDENONG GTV9|accessdate=June 2013|date=May 2013}}</ref>
|date=May 2014}}
{{Weather box
|location = [[Laverton, Victoria|Laverton]] (Western Suburb)
|collapsed = y
|metric first = Yes
|single line = Yes
|rain colour = green
|Jan record high C = 45.0
|Feb record high C = 47.5
|Mar record high C = 41.5
|Apr record high C = 35.5
|May record high C = 27.3
|Jun record high C = 24.3
|Jul record high C = 23.5
|Aug record high C = 26.8
|Sep record high C = 31.2
|Oct record high C = 37.4
|Nov record high C = 40.3
|Dec record high C = 44.3
|year record high C = 47.4
|Jan high C = 25.7
|Feb high C = 25.5
|Mar high C = 23.6
|Apr high C = 20.2
|May high C = 16.8
|Jun high C = 14.2
|Jul high C = 13.7
|Aug high C = 14.9
|Sep high C = 17.0
|Oct high C = 19.2
|Nov high C = 21.5
|Dec high C = 23.8
|year high C = 19.7
|Jan low C = 13.7
|Feb low C = 14.2
|Mar low C = 12.5
|Apr low C = 9.8
|May low C = 7.7
|Jun low C = 5.8
|Jul low C = 5.0
|Aug low C = 5.5
|Sep low C = 6.6
|Oct low C = 8.2
|Nov low C = 10.2
|Dec low C = 12.0
|year low C = 9.3
|Jan record low C = 5.2
|Feb record low C = 5.0
|Mar record low C = 2.7
|Apr record low C = 0.3
|May record low C = -0.9
|Jun record low C = -3.3
|Jul record low C = -4.4
|Aug record low C = -3.7
|Sep record low C = -1.7
|Oct record low C = -1.0
|Nov record low C = 0.8
|Dec record low C = 3.6
|year record low C = -4.4
|Jan rain mm = 39.3
|Feb rain mm = 47.4
|Mar rain mm = 35.3
|Apr rain mm = 45.1
|May rain mm = 46.6
|Jun rain mm = 38.7
|Jul rain mm = 38.7
|Aug rain mm = 44.7
|Sep rain mm = 49.4
|Oct rain mm = 56.7
|Nov rain mm = 53.1
|Dec rain mm = 45.9
|Jan rain days = 7.3
|Feb rain days = 7.2
|Mar rain days = 8.7
|Apr rain days = 10.9
|May rain days = 13.8
|Jun rain days = 14.1
|Jul rain days = 15.3
|Aug rain days = 15.7
|Sep rain days = 14.7
|Oct rain days = 14.3
|Nov rain days = 11.9
|Dec rain days = 9.9
|unit rain days = 0.2mm
|source 1 = [[Bureau of Meteorology (Australia)|Bureau of Meteorology]]<ref>{{BoM Aust stats|site_ref=cw_087031_All|site_name=Laverton RAAF|accessdate=February 2014|date=February 2014}}</ref>
|date=February 2014}}
{{Weather box
|location = [[Melbourne Airport]] (Northern city limits)
|collapsed = y
|metric first = Yes
|single line = Yes
|rain colour = green
|Jan record high C = 44.6
|Feb record high C = 46.8
|Mar record high C = 40.8
|Apr record high C = 34.5
|May record high C = 27.0
|Jun record high C = 21.8
|Jul record high C = 22.7
|Aug record high C = 25.6
|Sep record high C = 30.2
|Oct record high C = 36.0
|Nov record high C = 39.6
|Dec record high C = 43.8
|year record high C = 46.8
|Jan high C = 26.3
|Feb high C = 26.5
|Mar high C = 24.0
|Apr high C = 20.3
|May high C = 16.6
|Jun high C = 13.6
|Jul high C = 13.1
|Aug high C = 14.4
|Sep high C = 16.6
|Oct high C = 19.2
|Nov high C = 21.9
|Dec high C = 24.4
|year high C = 19.7
|Jan low C = 13.7
|Feb low C = 14.1
|Mar low C = 12.6
|Apr low C = 10.2
|May low C = 8.3
|Jun low C = 6.2
|Jul low C = 5.4
|Aug low C = 5.9
|Sep low C = 7.0
|Oct low C = 8.4
|Nov low C = 10.4
|Dec low C = 12.0
|year low C = 9.5
|Jan record low C = 6.0
|Feb record low C = 4.8
|Mar record low C = 3.7
|Apr record low C = 1.2
|May record low C = 0.6
|Jun record low C = -0.9
|Jul record low C = -2.5
|Aug record low C = -2.5
|Sep record low C = -1.1
|Oct record low C = 1.3
|Nov record low C = 0.9
|Dec record low C = 3.5
|year record low C = -2.5
|Jan rain mm = 41.1
|Feb rain mm = 44.4
|Mar rain mm = 37.8
|Apr rain mm = 43.2
|May rain mm = 40.1
|Jun rain mm = 39.8
|Jul rain mm = 35.4
|Aug rain mm = 46.0
|Sep rain mm = 46.9
|Oct rain mm = 54.4
|Nov rain mm = 62.9
|Dec rain mm = 48.5
|Jan rain days = 8.3
|Feb rain days = 7.0
|Mar rain days = 9.1
|Apr rain days = 10.2
|May rain days = 12.5
|Jun rain days = 13.4
|Jul rain days = 14.0
|Aug rain days = 15.5
|Sep rain days = 14.1
|Oct rain days = 13.5
|Nov rain days = 11.6
|Dec rain days = 9.5
|unit rain days = 0.2mm
|source 1 = [[Bureau of Meteorology (Australia)|Bureau of Meteorology]]<ref>{{BoM Aust stats|site_ref=cw_086282_All|site_name=Melbourne Airport|accessdate=February 2014|date=February 2014}}</ref>
|date=February 2014}}
{{Weather box
|location = [[Mornington, Victoria|Mornington]] (Southern coastal suburb)
|collapsed = y
|metric first = Yes
|single line = Yes
|rain colour = green
|Jan record high C = 40.2
|Feb record high C = 41.6
|Mar record high C = 37.4
|Apr record high C = 30.7
|May record high C = 25.7
|Jun record high C = 19.3
|Jul record high C = 19.3
|Aug record high C = 23.3
|Sep record high C = 26.1
|Oct record high C = 29.4
|Nov record high C = 35.1
|Dec record high C = 38.7
|year record high C = 41.6
|Jan high C = 25.0
|Feb high C = 25.0
|Mar high C = 23.3
|Apr high C = 19.4
|May high C = 16.2
|Jun high C = 13.5
|Jul high C = 12.8
|Aug high C = 13.8
|Sep high C = 15.9
|Oct high C = 18.1
|Nov high C = 20.3
|Dec high C = 23.1
|year high C = 18.9
|Jan low C = 13.4
|Feb low C = 13.9
|Mar low C = 12.9
|Apr low C = 10.9
|May low C = 9.1
|Jun low C = 7.2
|Jul low C = 6.5
|Aug low C = 6.9
|Sep low C = 8.1
|Oct low C = 9.5
|Nov low C = 10.7
|Dec low C = 12.1
|year low C = 10.1
|Jan record low C = 7.3
|Feb record low C = 7.4
|Mar record low C = 2.5
|Apr record low C = 3.8
|May record low C = 0.6
|Jun record low C = -0.6
|Jul record low C = -1.2
|Aug record low C = -0.1
|Sep record low C = -0.6
|Oct record low C = 3.4
|Nov record low C = 4.5
|Dec record low C = 6.6
|year record low C = -1.2
|Jan rain mm = 44.1
|Feb rain mm = 43.1
|Mar rain mm = 49.4
|Apr rain mm = 62.6
|May rain mm = 70.2
|Jun rain mm = 71.2
|Jul rain mm = 69.0
|Aug rain mm = 71.3
|Sep rain mm = 71.8
|Oct rain mm = 69.6
|Nov rain mm = 60.1
|Dec rain mm = 54.3
|Jan rain days = 7.1
|Feb rain days = 6.5
|Mar rain days = 8.0
|Apr rain days = 10.8
|May rain days = 13.8
|Jun rain days = 14.7
|Jul rain days = 15.3
|Aug rain days = 15.6
|Sep rain days = 14.4
|Oct rain days = 13.0
|Nov rain days = 10.6
|Dec rain days = 8.6
|unit rain days = 0.2mm
|source 1 = [[Bureau of Meteorology (Australia)|Bureau of Meteorology]]<ref>{{BoM Aust stats|site_ref=cw_086079_All|site_name=Mornington|accessdate=February 2014|date=February 2014}}</ref>
|date=February 2014}}
==Urban structure==
{{See also|Melbourne city centre|List of heritage listed buildings in Melbourne|Lanes and arcades of Melbourne|Parks and gardens of Melbourne|List of tallest buildings in Melbourne}}
{{Wide image|Melbourne Skyline from Rialto Equirectangular Crop - Nov 2008.jpg|1000px|A panoramic view of [[Melbourne central business district|Melbourne's CBD]] with urban sprawl towards [[Mount Dandenong]].}}
The [[Hoddle Grid]] (dimensions of {{convert|1|by|0.5|mi|km}}) forms the centre of Melbourne's [[central business district]]. The grid's southern edge fronts onto the Yarra River. Office, commercial and public developments in the adjoining districts of [[Southbank, Victoria|Southbank]] and [[Melbourne Docklands|Docklands]] have made these redeveloped areas into extensions of the CBD in all but name. The city centre has a reputation for its historic and prominent [[List of lanes and arcades in Melbourne city centre|lanes and arcades]] (most notably [[Block Arcade, Melbourne|Block Place]] and [[Royal Arcade, Melbourne|Royal Arcade]]) which contain a variety of shops and cafés<ref>{{cite news
|url=http://www.theage.com.au/news/Opinion/Melbournes-love-affair-with-lanes/2004/12/31/1104344983928.html
| title=Melbourne's love affair with lanes <!-- Opinion -->
|newspaper=The Age |location=Australia
| date=<!-- 10 August -->10 August 2005
| first=Suzy |last = Freeman-Greene
| accessdate=18 July 2008
}}</ref> and are a byproduct of the city's layout.<ref><!-- cite book--> Essential but unplanned : the story of Melbourne's lanes. Weston Bate. City of Melbourne : State Library of Victoria, 1994</ref>
{{Multiple image
| align = right
| direction = horizontal
| header =
| header_align = left/right/center
| header_background =
| footer = Aerial view of [[Albert Park and Lake|Albert Park]] and a speaker's mound in Speakers' Corner at [[Birrarung Marr, Melbourne|Birrarung Marr]].
| footer_align = left/right/center
| footer_background =
| width =
| image1 = Albert_park_aerial.jpg
| width1 = 150
| caption1 =
| image2 = Birrarung Marr Speakers Corner.jpg
| width2 = 150
| caption2 = }}
Melbourne's CBD, compared with other Australian cities, has comparatively unrestricted height limits and as a result of waves of post-war development contains five of the six [[List of tallest buildings in Australia|tallest buildings in Australia]], the tallest of which is the [[Eureka Tower]], situated in Southbank. It has an observation deck near the top from where you can see above all of Melbourne's structures.<ref name="Eureka1">{{cite web
|url=http://www.eurekatower.com.au/main.cfm|title=Eureka Tower|publisher=Eureka Tower Official
|accessdate=29 September 2008 |archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/20080718162147/http://www.eurekatower.com.au/main.cfm <!-- Bot retrieved archive --> |archivedate = 18 July 2008}}</ref> The Rialto tower, the city's second tallest, remains the tallest building in the old CBD; its observation deck for visitors has recently closed.<ref>{{cite news
| first = Marika |last = Dobbin
|url=http://www.theage.com.au/travel/travel-news/end-in-view-for-rialtos-top-deck-20091007-gn8m.html
| title =End in view for Rialto's top deck
|newspaper=The Age
| location=Melbourne
| date =8 October 2009
|accessdate=8 February 2010}}</ref>
The CBD and surrounds also contain many significant historic buildings such as the [[Royal Exhibition Building]], the [[Melbourne Town Hall]] and [[Parliament House, Melbourne|Parliament House]].<ref name="Walking Melbourne">{{cite web|url=http://www.walkingmelbourne.com/|title=Walking Melbourne, Heritage, Architecture, Skyscraper and Buildings Database|publisher=Walking Melbourne|accessdate=28 September 2008}}</ref><ref name="MTG">{{cite web|url=http://www.melbourneaustralia.org/arts-architecture.html|title=Melbourne Architecture|publisher=Melbourne Travel Guide|accessdate=28 September 2008}}{{dead link|date=June 2011}}</ref>
Although the area is described as the ''centre'', it is not actually the demographic centre of Melbourne at all, due to an urban sprawl to the south east, the demographic centre being located at [[Glen Iris, Victoria|Glen Iris]].<ref>{{cite news
|url=http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2002/08/04/1028157880515.html
|title=Glen Iris still the heart of city's sprawl
|newspaper=The Age
| location=Melbourne
|date=<!-- 5 August -->5 August 2002
|accessdate=18 July 2008
}}</ref>
Melbourne is typical of Australian capital cities in that after the turn of the 20th century, it expanded with the underlying notion of a 'quarter acre home and garden' for every family, often referred to locally as the [[Australian Dream]]. This, coupled with the popularity of the private automobile after 1945, led to the auto-centric urban structure now present today in the middle and outer suburbs. Much of [[Metropolitan area|metropolitan]] Melbourne is accordingly characterised by low density sprawl, whilst its inner city areas feature predominantly medium-density, transit-oriented urban forms. The city centre, Docklands, St. Kilda Road and Southbank areas feature high-density forms.
Melbourne is often referred to as Australia's garden city, and the state of Victoria was once known as ''the garden state''.<ref name="Age3">{{cite news
|url=http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2008/03/10/1205125821732.html
|title=Victoria: the garden state or greenhouse capital?
|newspaper=The Age
| location=Melbourne
|accessdate=29 September 2008
| date=11 March 2008
|first1=Clay |last1=Lucas
|first2=Royce |last2=Millar}}</ref><ref name="wilmap">{{cite web|url=http://www.wilmap.com.au/vic.html|title=Victoria|publisher=wilmap.com.au|accessdate=29 September 2008}}</ref><ref name="goway">{{cite web|url=http://www.goway.com/downunder/australia/victoria/|title=Victoria Australia, aka "The Garden State"|publisher=goway.com|accessdate=29 September 2008}}</ref> There is an abundance of [[Melbourne parks and gardens|parks and gardens in Melbourne]],<ref name="COM">{{cite web|url=http://www.melbourne.vic.gov.au/info.cfm?top=25&pg=617|title=City of Melbourne — Parks and Gardens|publisher=City of Melbourne|accessdate=28 September 2008}}</ref> many close to the [[Melbourne Central Business District|CBD]] with a variety of common and rare plant species amid landscaped vistas, pedestrian pathways and tree-lined avenues. There are also many parks in the surrounding suburbs of Melbourne, such as in the municipalities of [[City of Stonnington|Stonnington]], [[City of Boroondara|Boroondara]] and [[City of Port Phillip|Port Phillip]], south east of the central business district. The extensive area covered by urban Melbourne is formally divided into hundreds of suburbs (for addressing and postal purposes), and administered as local government areas<ref name="vicnet">{{cite web|url=http://www.vicnet.net.au/government/localgovt/|title=Vicnet Directory — Local Government|publisher=Vicnet|accessdate=29 September 2008}}{{dead link|date=June 2011}}</ref> 31 of which are located within the metropolitan area.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.liveinvictoria.vic.gov.au/living-in-victoria/melbourne-and-regional-victoria/melbourne |title=Metropolitan Melbourne – Live in Victoria |publisher=Liveinvictoria.vic.gov.au |date=12 August 2009 |accessdate=21 June 2010}}</ref>
===Housing===
{{Main|Housing in Victoria, Australia}}
[[File:Victorian terrace on canterbury road, Middle Park.jpg|thumb|"Melbourne Style" terrace houses are common in the inner suburbs and have been the subject of gentrification.]]
Melbourne has minimal public housing, and high demand for increasingly unaffordable rental housing.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://news.domain.com.au/domain/real-estate-news/city-shortage-pushes-up-rents-20110418-1dksd.html | title = City shortage pushes up rents | date = 17 April 2011 | first = Andrew |last = Wilson | work = Domain | publisher = Fairfax | accessdate = 7 July 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.theage.com.au/national/the-rental-pressure-cooker-20100402-rjvb.html |location=Australia |work=The Age | title = The rental pressure cooker | date=3 April 2010 | publisher = Fairfax }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.theage.com.au/business/melbourne-housing-now-severely-unaffordable-20110123-1a17l.html?comments=141 |location=Australia |work=The Age | title=Melbourne housing now 'severely unaffordable' | date = 24 January 2011 | publisher = Fairfax }}</ref> Public housing is usually provided by the [[Housing Commission of Victoria]], and operates within the framework of the Commonwealth-State Housing Agreement, by which federal and state governments provide housing funding.
Melbourne is experiencing high population growth, generating high demand for housing. This housing boom has increased house prices and rents, as well as the availability of all types of housing. [[Subdivision (land)|Subdivision]] regularly occurs in the outer areas of Melbourne, with numerous developers offering house and land packages. However, after 10 years of planning policies to encourage [[Medium-density housing|medium-density]] and [[High density housing|high-density]] development in existing areas with greater access to [[public transport]] and other services, Melbourne's middle and outer ring suburbs are seeing significant [[Brownfield land|brownfields]] redevelopment.<ref>[http://urbanmelbourne.info/projectdatabase Project Database | Urban Melbourne]</ref>
==Environment==
{{See also|Environmental issues in Australia}}
Like many urban environments, Melbourne faces some significant environmental issues, many of them relating to the city's large urban footprint and urban sprawl and the demand for infrastructure and services. One such issue is water usage, drought and low rainfall. Drought in Victoria, low rainfalls and high temperatures deplete Melbourne water supplies and climate change may have a long-term impact on the water supplies of Melbourne.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.melbournewater.com.au/content/water/water_storages/water_storages.asp?bhcp=1 |title=Water Storages: Water Report | publisher = Melbourne Water |date=26 June 2009 |accessdate=21 June 2010}}</ref> Melbourne has been in a drought since 1997.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://drought.melbournewater.com.au/content/history_of_drought.asp | title = Drought, impact on water, meeting the challenge | publisher = Melbourne Water | accessdate = 21 June 2010}}{{dead link|date=August 2013}}</ref> In response to low water supplies and low rainfall due to drought, the government implemented [[Water restrictions in Australia|water restrictions]] and a range of other options including: water recycling schemes for the city, incentives for household water tanks, greywater systems, water consumption awareness initiatives, and other water saving and reuse initiatives; also, in June 2007, the Bracks Government announced that a $3.1 billion [[Wonthaggi desalination plant]] would be built on Victoria's south-east coast, capable of treating 150 billion litres of water per year,<ref>{{cite web
|url=http://www.theage.com.au/news/national/desal-plant-to-be-publicprivate-deal/2007/09/19/1189881595089.html
| title=Desal plant to be public-private deal
| work= Age | publisher = Fairfax | location=Melbourne
| date=20 September 2007 | accessdate=18 July 2008
| first=David |last=Rood}}</ref> as well as a {{convert|70|km|mi|abbr=on}} pipeline from the Goulburn area in Victoria's north to Melbourne and a new water pipeline linking Melbourne and [[Geelong]]. Both projects are being conducted under controversial Public-Private Partnerships and a multitude of independent reports have found that neither project is required to supply water to the city and that Sustainable Water Management is the best solution. In the meantime, the drought must be weathered.<ref>{{cite web
|url=http://www.melbournewater.com.au/content/current_projects/water_supply/seawater_desalination_plant/seawater_desalination_plant.asp
| title = Water Supply: Seawater Desalination Plant
| author = | publisher = Melbourne Water | accessdate = 18 July 2008}}</ref>
In response to [[Attribution of recent climate change]], the [[City of Melbourne]], in 2002, set a target to reduce [[carbon emissions]] to net zero by 2020<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.melbourne.vic.gov.au/info.cfm?top=218&pa=4025&pa2=1612&pg=1618 |title= Re-directing to Home Page | publisher = Melbourne Water |accessdate=21 June 2010}}</ref> and Moreland City Council established the Zero Moreland program, however not all metropolitan municipalities have followed, with the [[City of Glen Eira]] notably deciding in 2009 not to become carbon neutral.<ref>{{cite web | last = Riordan |first = Paul |url=http://caulfield-glen-eira-leader.whereilive.com.au/news/story/against-green-tide/ | title= Glen Eira against green tide | publisher= News |accessdate=21 June 2010}}{{dead link|date=March 2014}}</ref> Melbourne has one of the largest urban footprints in the world due to its low density housing, resulting in a vast suburban sprawl, with a high level of car dependence and minimal public transport outside of inner areas.<ref name="Urbanfootprint">{{cite book | first1 = R | last1 = Cardew | first2 = P | last2 = Fanning | first3 = J | last3 = George| title = Urban Footprints and Stormwater Management: A Council Survey | pages = 16–25|year=1998 | publisher = Australian Institute of Urban Studies}}</ref> Much of the vegetation within the city are non-native species, most of European origin, and in many cases plays host to [[invasive species]] and noxious weeds.<ref name="weeds">{{cite web |url=http://www.weeds.org.au/target.htm|title=Target Species for Biological Control| publisher = Australian Weeds Committee | accessdate=29 September 2008}}</ref> Significant introduced urban pests include the [[Common Myna]],<ref>{{cite web
| first = Jeremy | last = Thompson
|url=http://www.abc.net.au/7.30/content/2002/s595922.htm
| title=Scientists declare war on Indian mynah
| work=7.30 Report | date=1 July 2002 |publisher = Australian Broadcasting Corporation
| accessdate= 18 July 2008}}</ref> [[Feral Pigeon]],<ref name="Pidgeonproblem">{{cite web |url=http://www.melbourne.vic.gov.au/opm/bc/CTEE/meetings/CSCaCD_51_20040907.pdf | format=PDF | title = Update on Pigeon Management Issue |last=Bradbury|first=Garth |date= 7 September 2004|publisher =City of Melbourne|accessdate=22 October 2008}} {{Dead link|date=September 2010|bot=H3llBot}}</ref> [[Brown Rat]],<ref>{{cite web
|url=http://www.heraldsun.com.au/victoria-a-rats-nest/story-fna7dq6e-1225756926897
| title = Victoria a Rat's Nest
| work = Herald Sun | publisher = News | date = 1 August 2009 | accessdate = 7 July 2012 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=Benson |first=Eugene |url=http://www.mymooneevalley.com.au/news/local/news/general/rodent-rampage/1573452.aspx |title=Rodent Rampage |publisher= Fairfax | date=21 July 2009 |accessdate=21 June 2010}}</ref> [[German wasp|European Wasp]],<ref>{{cite web
|url=http://www.csiro.au/resources/ps1sm.html
|title=The picnickers nightmare: European wasp
|publisher = CSIRO | accessdate=18 July 2008}}</ref> [[Common Starling]] and [[Red Fox]].<ref>Marks, C.A. & Bloomfield, T.E. (1999) Distribution and density estimates for urban foxes (Vulpes vulpes) in Melbourne: implications for rabies control</ref> Many outlying suburbs, particularly towards the [[Yarra Valley]] and the hills to the north-east and east, have gone for extended periods without regenerative fires leading to a lack of saplings and undergrowth in urbanised native bushland. The Department of Sustainability and Environment partially addresses this problem by regularly burning off.<ref name="environ">{{cite web|url=http://www.environment.gov.au/biodiversity/publications/series/paper8/paper9.html|title=Fire and Biodiversity: The Effects and Effectiveness of Fire Management | publisher =Australian Government — Department of environment|accessdate=29 September 2008}}{{dead link|date=March 2014}}</ref><ref name="stateoffire">{{cite book | last1 = Murray | first1 = Robert | first2 = Kate | last2 = White | first3 = P | last3 = Kock | title = State of Fire: A History of Volunteer Firefighting and the Country Fire Authority in Victoria | publisher = Hargreen |year=1995|pages=339 pages|isbn=0-949905-63-1}}</ref> Several [[national park]]s have been designated around the urban area of Melbourne, including the [[Mornington Peninsula National Park]], [[Port Phillip Heads Marine National Park]] and [[Point Nepean, Victoria|Point Nepean National Park]] in the south east, [[Organ Pipes National Park]] to the north and [[Dandenong Ranges National Park]] to the east. There are also a number of significant state parks just outside Melbourne.<ref name="parkweb">{{cite web|url=http://www.parkweb.vic.gov.au/1aboutus.cfm|title=About Parks Victoria|publisher=parkweb.vic.gov.au|accessdate=29 September 2008}}{{Dead link | date = July 2012}}</ref><ref>Wild Places of Greater Melbourne. R Taylor, 9780957747104, CSIRO Publishing, January 1999, 224pp, PB</ref> Responsibility for regulating pollution falls under the jurisdiction of the [[Environment Protection Authority Victoria|EPA]] Victoria and several local councils. Air pollution, by world standards, is classified as being good. Summer and autumn are the worst times of year for atmospheric haze in the urban area.<ref name="Age3"/><ref>{{cite web
|url=http://www.dar.csiro.au/information/urbanpollution.html
|title=Urban and regional air pollution
|author=CSIRO: Marine and atmospheric research
|publisher = CSIRO | accessdate=18 July 2008
|archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/20080223170558/http://www.dar.csiro.au/information/urbanpollution.html <!-- Bot retrieved archive --> |archivedate = 23 February 2008}}</ref>
Another recent environmental issue in Melbourne was the Victorian government project of channel deepening Melbourne Ports by dredging Port Phillip Bay—the [[Port Phillip Channel Deepening Project]]. It was subject to controversy and strict regulations among fears that beaches and marine wildlife could be affected by the disturbance of [[heavy metals]] and other industrial sediments.<ref name="epabeach"/><ref>{{cite web
|url=http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/02/05/2155149.htm
|title=Garrett approves Port Phillip Bay dredging
|work=ABC News
|date=5 February 2008
|publisher=Australian Broadcasting Corporation
|accessdate=18 July 2008
}}</ref> Other major pollution problems in Melbourne include levels of bacteria including [[Escherichia coli|E. coli]] in the [[Yarra River]] and its tributaries caused by septic systems,<ref>{{cite news
|url=http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,23784623-2862,00.html
|title=E coli running riot in Yarra River
|date=31 May 2008
|work=Herald Sun |location=Australia
|publisher= News |accessdate=18 July 2008
| first=Ashley
| last=Gardiner}}</ref> as well as [[litter]]. Up to 350,000 cigarette butts enter the storm water runoff every day.<ref>{{cite web
|url=http://www.aius.org.au/indicators/sectiontype.cfm?ThemeID=11&SectionTypeID=2
|title=AIUS Indicators
|work=Environmental indicators for Metropolitan Melbourne
|author=Australian Institute of Urban Studies and City of Melbourne
|publisher=Australian Institute of Urban Studies
|accessdate=18 July 2008}}{{Dead link|date=September 2010|bot=H3llBot}}</ref> Several programs are being implemented to minimise beach and river pollution.<ref name="epabeach"/><ref name="litter1">{{cite web|url=http://www.litter.vic.gov.au/resources/documents/Victoria%27s_Litter_Strategy_Sep95.pdf|format=PDF|title=Victoria's Litter reduction Strategy | publisher = State Government of Victoria |accessdate=29 September 2008}}</ref> In February 2010, ''[[The Transition Decade]]'', an initiative to transition human society, economics and environment towards sustainability, was launched in Melbourne.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://beyondzeroemissions.org/transition-decade-launch-ten-year-transition-safe-climate-and-sustainable-future |title= Transition decade launch |publisher = Beyond Zero Emissions |date=19 January 2010 |accessdate=21 June 2010}}</ref>
==Culture==
{{Main|Culture of Melbourne}}
[[File:State Library of Victoria La Trobe Reading room 5th floor view.jpg|thumb|left|upright=0.5|La Trobe Reading Room in the [[State Library of Victoria]]]]
[[File:Princess Theatre.jpg|thumb|right|[[Princess Theatre, Melbourne|Princess Theatre]]]]
[[File:Len French ceiling National Gallery of Victoria.jpg|thumb|right|The stained glass ceiling of the Great Hall of the [[National Gallery of Victoria]]]]
Melbourne is an international cultural centre, with cultural endeavours spanning major events and festivals, drama, musicals, comedy, music, art, architecture, literature, film and television. Melbourne is the birthplace of [[Cinema of Australia|Australian film]] and [[Television in Australia|television]],<ref name="first24"/> [[Australian rules football]],<ref name="Now 2003. pg. 182"/> the [[Heidelberg School]] of [[Australian Impressionism]], Australian [[contemporary dance]] (including the [[Melbourne Shuffle]] and [[New Vogue (dance)|New Vogue]] styles), and is home to the [[National Gallery of Victoria]], Australia's oldest and largest public art museum. In 2008, Melbourne became the second city after [[Edinburgh]] to be declared a [[UNESCO City of Literature]]. It has thrice shared top position in a survey by ''[[The Economist]]'' of the [[World's most livable cities#World's Most Livable Cities|world's most liveable cities]] on the basis of a number of attributes which include its broad cultural offerings.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2004/02/06/1075854028808.html
|title = Melbourne 'world's top city' |work=The Age |location=Australia |date=<!-- 6 February -->6 February 2004 | accessdate=18 July 2008}}</ref>
===Festivals===
The city celebrates a wide variety of annual cultural events and festivals of all types, including Australia's largest free community festival—[[Moomba]], the [[Melbourne International Arts Festival]], [[Melbourne International Film Festival]], [[Melbourne International Comedy Festival]] and the [[Melbourne Fringe Festival]].
===Live performance===
{{See also|List of theatres in the Melbourne City Centre}}
The [[Australian Ballet Company|Australian Ballet]] is based in Melbourne, as is the [[Melbourne Symphony Orchestra]]. Melbourne is the second home of [[Opera Australia]] after it merged with [[Victoria State Opera]] in 1996. The [[Victorian Opera (Melbourne)|Victorian Opera]] had its inaugural season in 2006 and operates out of various venues in Melbourne.
Notable theatres and performance venues include [[The Arts Centre (Melbourne)|the Victorian Arts Centre]] (which includes the [[State Theatre (Melbourne)|State Theatre]], [[Hamer Hall, Melbourne|Hamer Hall]], the Playhouse and the Fairfax Studio), [[Melbourne Recital Centre]], [[Sidney Myer Music Bowl]], [[Princess Theatre, Melbourne|Princess Theatre]], [[Regent Theatre, Melbourne|Regent Theatre]], [[Forum Theatre]], [[Palace Theatre, Melbourne|Palace Theatre]], [[Comedy Theatre, Melbourne|Comedy Theatre]], [[Athenaeum, Melbourne|Athenaeum Theatre]], [[Her Majesty's Theatre, Melbourne|Her Majesty's Theatre]], [[Capitol Theatre, Melbourne|Capitol Theatre]], [[Palais Theatre]] and the [[Australian Centre for Contemporary Art]].
A Music Victoria study released in March 2013 presented data of Melbourne's live music industry. The study found at least 460 venues in the city that host 62,000 live concerts annually and contribute A$1 billion per annum to the Victorian economy. A media article on the study explained: "On a typical Saturday night in Melbourne, 97,000 patrons attend a live music venue to see 900 musicians and 740 DJs perform. 2,730 staff are employed every Saturday in Melbourne’s live music venue."<ref>{{cite news|title=Melbourne confirmed as live music capital|url=http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-03-25/melbourne-confirmed-as-live-music-capital/4592234|accessdate=28 September 2013|newspaper=ABC News|date=25 March 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Melbourne Claims Live Music Capital Of Australia Title|url=http://www.noise11.com/news/melbourne-claims-live-music-capital-of-australia-title-20130321|work=Noise11|publisher=Noise11|accessdate=28 September 2013|author=Paul Cashmere|date=21 March 2013}}</ref>
===Street culture===
[[File:Melbourne lane 2010.jpg|thumb|right|Melbourne is known for its extensive network of lively city [[List of lanes and arcades in Melbourne city centre|laneways and arcades]]. (Pictured: [[Centre Place, Melbourne|Centre Place]]).]]
In 2010, Melbourne was named by ''[[International Business Times]]'' as one of the best cities in the world for viewing street art;<ref>Allen, Jessica. [http://uk.ibtimes.com/contents/20100604/worldbest-cities-viewing-street-art.htm The World’s Best Cities for Viewing Street Art]{{dead link|date=August 2013}}, International Business Times (2010). Retrieved 16 October 2010.{{dead link|date=January 2014}}</ref> and in 2008, its street art and lanes were voted by ''[[Lonely Planet]]'' readers as Australia's most popular cultural attraction.<ref name="Graff">Topsfield, Jewel. [http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2008/10/01/1222651140951.html Brumby slams Tourism Victoria over graffiti promotion], ''The Age'' (2008). Retrieved 16 October 2010.</ref>
===Film===
The city has an extensive cinematic history. Indeed, the world's first feature films were produced in Melbourne and its outer suburbs. [[Limelight Department]]'s 1900 ''[[Limelight Department#Soldiers of the Cross|Soldiers of the Cross]]'', the world's first [[religious epic]],<ref>Heath, Roderick (17 February 2010). [http://www.greencine.com/central/australianfilm1 Return to Oz: A History of Australian Cinema I (1896–1968)], greencine.com. Retrieved in 20 October 2010.</ref> anticipated the early 1900s golden age of Melbourne film production—an era marked by the exploration of local history and Australia's emerging identity. The [[Eureka Rebellion|1854 civil insurrection]] of [[Ballarat]] was brought to life on the screen in ''[[Eureka stockade#Eureka Stockade (1907)|Eureka Stockade]]'', and ''[[The Story of the Kelly Gang]]'' (the world's first feature length narrative film and precedent of the "[[Bushranger|Bushranging drama]]"<ref name="Bushranger1">[http://archive.sensesofcinema.com/contents/01/18/oz_western.html More Australian than Aristotelian: The Australian Bushranger Film, 1904–1914. By William Routt]</ref>) followed the escapades of [[Ned Kelly]] and his gang of outlaws. Melbourne filmmakers continued to produce bushranger and convict films, such as 1907's ''[[Robbery Under Arms#Film, TV or theatrical adaptations|Robbery Under Arms]]'' and 1908's ''[[For the Term of His Natural Life#Film, TV or theatrical adaptations|For the Term of His Natural Life]]'', up until 1912, when Victorian politicians banned the screening of bushranger films for what they perceived as the promotion of crime.<ref name="Bushranger1"/>
Melbourne's and Australia's film industries declined soon after and came to a virtual stop in the 1960s. A notable film shot and set in Melbourne during this lull is 1959's ''[[On the Beach (1959 film)|On the Beach]]''. The 1970s saw a major renaissance of Australian film, giving rise to the [[Australian New Wave]], as well as the [[Ocker]] and [[Ozploitation]] genres, instigated by Melbourne-based productions ''[[Stork (film)|Stork]]'' and ''[[Alvin Purple]]'' respectively. Other 1970s Melbourne films, such as ''[[Picnic at Hanging Rock (film)|Picnic at Hanging Rock]]'' and ''[[Mad Max]]'', would achieve worldwide acclaim. 2004 saw the construction of Melbourne's largest film and television studio complex, [[Docklands, Victoria#Docklands Studios Melbourne|Docklands Studios Melbourne]], which has hosted many domestic films and television shows, as well as international features ''[[Ghost Rider (2007 film)|Ghost Rider]]'', ''[[Knowing (film)|Knowing]]'', ''[[Charlotte's Web (2006 film)|Charlotte's Web]]'', ''[[Nightmares and Dreamscapes: From the Stories of Stephen King|Nightmares and Dreamscapes]]'' and ''[[Where the Wild Things Are (film)|Where the Wild Things Are]]'', among others.<ref>[http://www.dsmelbourne.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=18&Itemid=32 Docklands Studios Melbourne Credits]</ref> Melbourne is also home to the headquarters of [[Village Roadshow Pictures]], Australia's largest film production company. Famous modern day actors from Melbourne include [[Cate Blanchett]], [[Rachel Griffiths]], [[Olivia Newton-John]], [[Guy Pearce]], [[Geoffrey Rush]] and [[Eric Bana]].
===Architecture===
{{Further|Architecture of Melbourne|List of tallest buildings in Melbourne}}
[[File:South Melbourne Townhall Dec 2013.jpg|thumb|left|The [[South Melbourne Town Hall]] is of state heritage significance to Victoria being listed on the [[Victorian Heritage Register]] (H0217).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://vhd.heritage.vic.gov.au/vhd/heritagevic#detail_places;1520 |title=Victorian Heritage Database |publisher= Heritage Victoria |date= |accessdate=26 March 2013}}</ref>]]
The city is recognised for its mix of modern architecture which intersects with an extensive range of nineteenth and early twentieth century buildings.<ref>Peter Fischer and Susan Marsden, ''Vintage Melbourne: beautiful buildings from Melbourne city centre'', East Street Publications, Bowden South Australia 2007</ref> Some of the most architecturally noteworthy historic buildings include the [[World Heritage Site]]-listed [[Royal Exhibition Building]], constructed over a two-year period for the [[Melbourne International Exhibition (1880)|Melbourne International Exhibition]] in 1880, A.C. Goode House, a [[Gothic architecture|Neo Gothic]] building located on Collins Street designed by Wright, Reed & Beaver (1891), [[William Pitt (architect)|William Pitt]]'s Venetian Gothic style Old Stock Exchange (1888), [[William Wardell]]'s Gothic Bank (1883) which features some of Melbourne's finest interiors, the incomplete [[Parliament House, Melbourne|Parliament House]], [[St Paul's Cathedral, Melbourne|St Paul's Cathedral]] (1891) and [[Flinders Street Station]] (1909), which was the busiest commuter railway station in the world in the mid-1920s.<ref name="nla.gov.au">[http://www.nla.gov.au/pict/list/vicgovrail.html Melbourne and scenes in Victoria 1925–1926 from Victorian Government Railways] From the National Library of Australia</ref>
[[File:Stalbridge chambers little collins street.jpg|thumb|right|upright=0.7|Stalbridge Chambers (1890–1891) was built during the Victorian period in the [[Renaissance architecture#Mannerism|Mannerist]] style.]]
The city also features the [[Shrine of Remembrance]], which was built as a memorial to the men and women of Victoria who served in [[World War I]] and is now a memorial to all Australians who have served in war. The now demolished [[Queen Anne style architecture|Queen Anne style]] APA Australian Building (1889), the world's 3rd tallest building at the time of completion,<ref name="WalkingMelbourne">{{cite web|title=Walking Melbourne|url=http://www.walkingmelbourne.com/building3_apa-building-the-australian-building.html|accessdate=9 January 2012}}</ref> is said to have anticipated the skyscraper race in [[New York City]] and [[Chicago]].<ref name="Walking Melbourne"/>
In 2012, the city contained a total of 594 high-rise buildings, with 8 under construction, 71 planned and 39 at proposal stage<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.emporis.com/city/melbourne-australia |title=Emporis Skyline Ranking |publisher= Emporis Corporation. All rights reserved |accessdate=2 December 2012}}</ref> making the city's skyline the second largest in Australia. The CBD is dominated by modern office buildings including the [[Rialto Towers]] (1986), built on the site of several grand classical Victorian buildings, two of which—the Rialto Building (1889) designed by [[William Pitt (architect)|William Pitt]] and the Winfield Building (1890) designed by Charles DEbro & Richard Speight—still remain today and more recently hi-rise apartment buildings including [[Eureka Tower]] (2006), which is listed as the [[List of tallest residential buildings in the world|13th tallest residential building in the world]] in January 2014.<ref name=TallestRes>{{cite web |url=http://www.skyscrapercenter.com/List/tallest-residential-100-buildings |title=100 Tallest Residential Buildings in the World |work=Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat |accessdate=3 May 2012}}</ref>
Residential architecture is not defined by a single architectural style, but rather an eclectic mix of houses, townhouses, condominiums, and apartment buildings of various scales in the metropolitan area (particularly in areas of urban sprawl). Free standing dwellings with relatively large gardens are perhaps the most common type of housing outside inner city Melbourne. Victorian terrace housing, townhouses and historic [[Italianate]], [[Tudor revival]] and [[Georgian architecture|Neo-Georgian]] mansions are all common in neighbourhoods such as [[Toorak, Victoria|Toorak]].
==Sport==
{{Main|Sport in Victoria}}
[[File:Melbourne cup 1881.jpg|thumb|left|1881 engraving of the [[Melbourne Cup]], "the race that stops a nation"]]
[[File:Tom wills statue.jpg|thumb|upright|Statue at the [[Melbourne Cricket Ground]] of [[Tom Wills]] umpiring an 1858 school football match. The first games of Australian rules football were played in adjacent [[Yarra Park|parklands]].]]
Melbourne is notable as the host city for the [[1956 Summer Olympic Games]] (the first Olympic Games held in the southern hemisphere, with all previous games held in Europe and the United States),<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.athletesedge.info/og_1956.php|title = 1956 Melbourne | publisher = athletesedge.info| accessdate=2 May 2013}}</ref> along with the [[2006 Commonwealth Games]]. The city is home to three major annual international sporting events: the [[Australian Open]] (one of the four [[Grand Slam (tennis)|Grand Slam]] tennis tournaments); the [[Melbourne Cup]] (horse racing); and the [[Australian Grand Prix]] ([[Formula One]]). Melbourne was proclaimed the "World's Ultimate Sports City", in 2006, 2008 & 2010.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,23463520-2862,00.html | title = Melbourne victorious again | work = Herald Sun| date = 1 April 2008 | publisher = News | accessdate=18 July 2008}}</ref> The city is home to the [[National Sports Museum]], which until 2003 was located outside the members pavilion at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. It reopened in 2008 in the Olympic Stand.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.theage.com.au/news/sport/australian-sports-museum-opens-at-mcg/2008/03/05/1204402550094.html | title = Australian sports museum opens at MCG|date=5 March 2008 | first = Geoff | last = Strong | work= Age | publisher = Fairfax | location = Melbourne | accessdate=18 July 2008}}</ref>
[[Australian rules football]] and [[cricket]] are the most popular sports in Melbourne. It is considered the spiritual home of the two sports in Australia. The first official cricket Test match was played at the [[Melbourne Cricket Ground]] in March 1877. The origins of Australian rules football can be traced to matches played next to the MCG in 1858. The [[Australian Football League]] is headquartered at [[Docklands Stadium]]. Nine of the League's teams are based in the Melbourne metropolitan area: [[Carlton Football Club|Carlton]], [[Collingwood Football Club|Collingwood]], [[Essendon Football Club|Essendon]], [[Hawthorn Football Club|Hawthorn]], [[Melbourne Football Club|Melbourne]], [[North Melbourne Football Club|North Melbourne]], [[Richmond Football Club|Richmond]], [[St Kilda Football Club|St Kilda]], and [[Western Bulldogs]]. Up to five AFL matches are played each week in Melbourne, attracting an average 40,000 people per game.<ref name="AFL12321312">{{cite web |url=http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,24109399-12270,00.html | title = AFL blueprint for third stadium|last=Smith|first=Patrick|date=1 August 2008 | work = Australian | publisher = News | accessdate=22 October 2008}}</ref> Additionally, the city annually hosts the [[AFL Grand Final]].
The city is home to many professional franchises/teams in national competitions including: cricket clubs [[Melbourne Stars]], [[Melbourne Renegades]] and [[Victorian Bushrangers]], which play in the [[Big Bash League]] and other domestic cricket competitions; [[soccer]] clubs [[Melbourne Victory FC|Melbourne Victory]] and [[Melbourne City FC]] (known until June 2014 as Melbourne Heart), which play in the [[A-League]] competition, both teams play their home games at [[AAMI Park]]. [[Rugby league]] club [[Melbourne Storm]]<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.melbournestorm.com.au/default.asp?sec=7&ssec=5 | title = Melbourne Storm: The Beginning | publisher= Melbourne Storm | accessdate = 18 July 2008 | archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/20080714043434/http://www.melbournestorm.com.au/default.asp?sec=7&ssec=5 <!-- Bot retrieved archive --> |archivedate = 14 July 2008}}</ref> which plays in the [[National Rugby League|NRL]] competition; [[rugby union]] club [[Melbourne Rebels]], which plays in the [[Super Rugby]] competition; [[netball]] club [[Melbourne Vixens]], which plays in the trans-Tasman trophy [[ANZ Championship]]; basketball club [[Melbourne Tigers]], which plays in the [[National Basketball League (Australia)|NBL]] competition; [[Bulleen Boomers]] and [[Dandenong Rangers]], which play in the [[Women's National Basketball League|WNBL]]; ice hockey teams [[Melbourne Ice]] and [[Melbourne Mustangs]], who play in the [[Australian Ice Hockey League]]; and baseball club [[Melbourne Aces]], which plays in the [[Australian Baseball League]]. [[Rowing (sport)|Rowing]] is also a large part of Melbourne's sporting identity, with a number of clubs located on the Yarra River, out of which many Australian Olympians trained. The city previously held the nation's premier long distance swimming event the annual [[Race to Prince's Bridge]], in the Yarra River.
In November 2008, it was announced that the [[Victorian Major Events Company]] had informed the [[Australian Olympic Committee]] that Melbourne was considering making bids for either the [[2024 Summer Olympics|2024]] or [[2028 Summer Olympics]].<ref>{{cite web | last = Reilly | first = Tom
| title = City looks to make fresh tilt at Olympics
| work = Age | publisher = Fairfax | location = Melbourne
| date = 18 January 2009
|url=http://www.theage.com.au/national/city-looks-to-make-fresh-tilt-at-olympics-20090117-7jlw.html?page=-1
| accessdate =19 April 2010}}</ref>
==Economy==
{{See also|Category:Companies based in Melbourne}}
[[File:Crown Casino Complex & Melbourne Exhibition Building.jpg|thumb|right|Melbourne's entertainment and conference precinct (Crown Casino and Convention Centre) make substantial annual contributions to the Victorian economy ($2 billion and $3 billion respectively).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.businessday.com.au/business/crown-records-profit-growth-up-130-20100826-13st5.html |title=Crown casino records profit growth, up 130% |publisher=Businessday.com.au |date= |accessdate=10 June 2012}}</ref>]]
Melbourne has a highly diversified economy with particular strengths in finance, manufacturing, research, IT, education, logistics, transportation and tourism. Melbourne is headquarters for many of Australia's largest corporations, including five of the ten largest in the country (based on revenue), and four of the largest six in the country (based on [[market capitalisation]])<ref>[http://www.brw.com.au/lists/detail/?listId=5 BRW 1000]{{Dead link|date=June 2010}}</ref> ([[Australia and New Zealand Banking Group|ANZ]], [[BHP Billiton]] (the world's largest mining company), the [[National Australia Bank]] and [[Telstra]]); as well as such representative bodies and thinktanks as the [[Business Council of Australia]] and the [[Australian Council of Trade Unions]]. The city is home to Australia's largest and busiest [[Port of Melbourne|seaport]] which handles more than $75 billion in trade every year and 39% of the nation's container trade.<ref name="goway"/><ref name="pom">{{cite web
|url=http://www.bernama.com.my/bernama/v3/news.php?id=267171
|title=Port Of Melbourne Sets Shipping Record
|date=13 June 2007
|work=Malaysian National News Agency
|publisher=www.bernama.com.my
|accessdate=18 July 2008
}}{{dead link|date=June 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite news
|url=http://www.theage.com.au/news/National/Growth-of-Australias-largest-port-essential/2004/12/17/1102787275601.html
|title=Growth of Australia's largest port essential
|newspaper=The Age
| location=Melbourne
|date=<!-- 18 December -->18 December 2004
|accessdate=18 July 2008
}}</ref> [[Melbourne Airport]] provides an entry point for national and international visitors, and is Australia's second busiest airport.
Melbourne is also an important financial centre. Two of the [[Big Four (banks)|big four]] banks, [[National Australia Bank|NAB]] and [[Australia and New Zealand Banking Group|ANZ]], are headquartered in Melbourne. The city has carved out a niche as Australia’s leading centre for [[Superannuation in Australia|superannuation]] (pension) funds, with 40% of the total, and 65% of [[Industry superannuation|industry super-funds]] including the $40 billion-dollar Federal Government [[Future Fund]]. The city was rated 41st within the top 50 financial cities as surveyed by the MasterCard Worldwide Centers of Commerce Index (2008),<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mastercard.com/us/company/en/insights/pdfs/2008/MCWW_WCoC-Report_2008.pdf |title=MW-IndexRpt-CoComm FA.indd<!-- Bot generated title --> |format=PDF |accessdate=10 October 2008}}</ref> second only to Sydney (12th) in Australia.
Melbourne is Australia's second-largest industrial centre.<ref>{{cite web|author=Matt Wade |url=http://www.smh.com.au/national/sydney-takes-manufacturing-capital-crown-from-melbourne-20140207-327c3.html |title=Sydney takes manufacturing capital crown from Melbourne |publisher=Smh.com.au |date=2014-02-08 |accessdate=2014-03-30}}</ref> It is the Australian base for a number of significant manufacturers including [[Boeing]], truck-makers [[Kenworth]] and [[Iveco]], [[Cadbury]] as well as [[Bombardier Transportation]] and [[Jayco]], among many others. It is also home to a wide variety of other manufacturers, ranging from petrochemicals and pharmaceuticals to fashion garments, paper manufacturing and food processing.<ref name="sov">{{cite web|url=http://dsdbi.vic.gov.au/our-department/strategies-and-initiatives/a-more-competitive-manufacturing-industry|title=Business Victoria – Manufacturing|date=26 May 2008|publisher=State of Victoria, Australia |accessdate=22 October 2008}}</ref> The city also boasts a research and development hub for [[Ford Australia]], as well as a global design studio and technical centre for [[General Motors]] and [[Toyota]] respectively.
[[CSL Limited|CSL]], one of the world’s top five biotech companies, and [[Sigma Pharmaceuticals]] have their headquarters in Melbourne. The two are the largest listed Australian pharmaceutical companies.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.invest.vic.gov.au/biotechnology-life-sciences|title=Invest Victoria - Biotechnology and Life Sciences}}{{dead link|date=March 2014}}</ref> Melbourne has an important [[Information and Communication Technology|ICT]] industry that employs over 60,000 people (one third of Australia's ICT workforce), with a turnover of $19.8 billion and export revenues of $615 million. In addition, tourism also plays an important role in Melbourne's economy, with approximately 7.6 million domestic visitors and 1.88 million international visitors in 2004.<ref>{{cite web
|url=http://www.dpc.vic.gov.au/domino/Web_Notes/newmedia.nsf/bc348d5912436a9cca256cfc0082d800/55b1f13cef7b139cca256ed80081ebd6!OpenDocument
|title=MELBOURNE AIRPORT PASSENGER FIGURES STRONGEST ON RECORD
|work=Media Release: MINISTER FOR TOURISM
|date=21 July 2004
|publisher=www.dpc.vic.gov.au
|accessdate=18 July 2008
}}{{dead link|date=July 2012}}</ref> In 2008, Melbourne overtook Sydney with the amount of money that domestic tourists spent in the city,<ref>{{cite news
|url=http://www.theage.com.au/news/news/now-sydney-loses-its-tourism-ascendancy/2008/05/16/1211049134065.html?page=fullpage#contentSwap1
| title=Now Sydney loses its tourism ascendancy
|newspaper=The Age
| location=Melbourne |date=19 May 2008 <!-- 19 May -->
| accessdate=18 July 2008
| first=Annabel
| last=Stafford}}</ref> accounting for around $15.8 billion annually.<ref>[http://www.timholding.com.au/portfolios/tourism-and-major-events/]{{dead link|date=June 2011}}</ref> Melbourne has been attracting an increasing share of domestic and international conference markets. Construction began in February 2006 of a $1 billion 5000-seat international convention centre, Hilton Hotel and commercial precinct adjacent to the [[Melbourne Exhibition and Convention Centre]] to link development along the [[Yarra River]] with the [[Southbank, Victoria|Southbank precinct]] and multi-billion dollar [[Melbourne Docklands|Docklands]] redevelopment.<ref>{{cite news
|url=http://www.theage.com.au/news/national/councillors-furious-about-convention-centre-deal/2006/04/30/1146335610761.html
| title = Councillors furious about convention centre deal
|newspaper=The Age
| location=Melbourne
| date = 1 May 2006
| first=Rachel
| last=Kleinman}}</ref>
The most visited attractions are: [[Federation Square]], [[Queen Victoria Market]], [[Crown Casino]], [[Southbank, Victoria|Southbank]], [[Melbourne Zoo]], [[Melbourne Aquarium]], [[Docklands, Victoria|Docklands]], [[National Gallery of Victoria]], [[Melbourne Museum]], Melbourne Observation Deck, [[The Arts Centre|Arts Centre Melbourne]], and the [[Melbourne Cricket Ground]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.onlymelbourne.com.au/melbourne_details.php?id=4481#.UgqoBEg6htI |title=Victoria's Top 20 Attractions |publisher=Only Melbourne |date=2013-09-27 |accessdate=2014-03-30}}</ref>
{{Main|Tourism in Melbourne}}
The Economist Intelligence Unit ranks Melbourne as the fourth most expensive city in the world to live in according to its worldwide cost of living index in 2013.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.cnn.com/2013/02/04/travel/cost-of-living-2013/ |title=What are the most expensive cities to live in?|accessdate=16 February 2014}}</ref>
==Demographics==
{{Main|Demographics of Melbourne}}
[[File:Chinese-new-year-melbourne.JPG|thumb|upright|left|[[Chinese New Year]] celebrations in [[Chinatown, Melbourne|Chinatown]]. Melbourne has a large Chinese population, the oldest continuous Chinese settlement in Australia and the second longest continuous Chinese settlement in the western world.]]
In Greater Melbourne (Greater Capital City Statistical Areas), 63.3% of people were born in Australia. The most common countries of birth were England 3.4%, India 2.7%, China (excludes [[Special administrative region|SARs]] and Taiwan) 2.3%, Italy 1.7% and New Zealand 1.7%. In 2011 the most common ancestries in Greater Melbourne (Greater Capital City Statistical Areas) were [[English Australian|English]] 21.1%, [[Australian]] 20.7%, [[Irish Australian|Irish]] 6.9%, [[Scottish Australian|Scottish]] 5.7%, and [[Italian Australian|Italian]] 5.5%.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.censusdata.abs.gov.au/census_services/getproduct/census/2011/quickstat/2GMEL |title=2011 Census QuickStats: People — demographics & education |publisher=Censusdata.abs.gov.au |date= |accessdate=2014-03-30}}</ref>
Melbourne has the largest [[Greeks|Greek-speaking]] population outside of Europe, a population comparable to some larger Greek cities like [[Larissa]] and [[Volos]].<ref>http://www.oecd.org/gov/regional-policy/50242959.pdf</ref> [[Thessaloniki]] is Melbourne's Greek sister city). The Vietnamese surname [[Nguyen]] is the second most common in Melbourne's phone book after [[Smith (surname)|Smith]].<ref>[http://www.melbourne.vic.gov.au/AboutMelbourne/History/Pages/multiculturalhistory.aspx Melbourne's multicultural history], City of Melbourne. Retrieved 14 November 2010.</ref> The city also features substantial Indian, Sri Lankan, and Malaysian-born communities, in addition to recent South African and Sudanese influxes. The cultural diversity is reflected in the city's restaurants serving various international cuisines.
Over two-thirds of Melburnians speak only English at home (68.1%). Chinese (mainly [[Cantonese]] and [[Mandarin Chinese|Mandarin]]) is the second-most-common language spoken at home (3.6%), with Greek third, Italian fourth and Vietnamese fifth, each with more than 100,000 speakers.<ref name="qs">{{cite web | work=2006 Census
|url=http://www.censusdata.abs.gov.au/ABSNavigation/prenav/ViewData?&action=401&tabname=Summary&areacode=205&issue=2006&producttype=QuickStats&textversion=true&navmapdisplayed=true&&breadcrumb=PLD&
| title = QuickStats: Melbourne (Statistical Division)
| publisher=Commonwealth of Australia |accessdate=18 July 2008}}</ref> Although Victoria's net interstate migration has fluctuated, the Melbourne statistical division has grown by approximately 70,000 people a year since 2005. Melbourne has now attracted the largest proportion of international overseas immigrants (48,000) finding it outpacing Sydney's international migrant intake on percentage, along with having strong interstate migration from Sydney and other capitals due to more affordable housing and cost of living, which have been two recent key factors driving Melbourne's growth.<ref name="Oleary">{{cite journal|last=O'Leary |first=John|title=Resurgence of Marvellous Melbourne|journal=People and Place|publisher=Monash University|volume=7, 1|page=38
|url=http://elecpress.monash.edu.au/pnp/free/pnpv7n1/v7n1_6oleary.pdf|format=PDF}}</ref>
In recent years, [[Shire of Melton|Melton]], [[City of Wyndham|Wyndham]] and [[City of Casey|Casey]], part of the Melbourne statistical division, have recorded the highest growth rate of all [[Local government in Australia|local government areas]] in Australia. Melbourne could overtake Sydney in population by 2028,<ref>{{cite web
|url=http://www.theage.com.au/national/growth-pains-on-the-citys-fringe-20120731-23d73.html
| title = Growth pains on the city's fringe
| work = The Age | date=1 August 2012 |accessdate=24 Aug 2012}}</ref> The [[Australian Bureau of Statistics|ABS]] has projected in two scenarios that Sydney will remain larger than Melbourne beyond 2056, albeit by a margin of less than 3% compared to a margin of 12% today. Melbourne's population could overtake Sydney by 2037<ref>{{cite web|author=staff writers |url=http://www.news.com.au/business/melbourne-will-be-australias-biggest-city-by-2037/story-e6frfm1i-1225858572349 |title=Business - Melbourne will be Australia's biggest city by 2037 |publisher=News.com.au |date=2010-04-27 |accessdate=2014-03-30}}</ref> or 2039, according to the first scenario projected by the ABS; primarily due to larger levels of internal migration losses assumed for Sydney.<ref name="popprojections">{{cite web |url=http://www.abs.gov.au/AUSSTATS/abs@.nsf/DetailsPage/3222.02006%20to%202101?OpenDocument | title = Population Projections, Australia, 2006 to 2101 | publisher = Australian Bureau of Statistics | accessdate=4 September 2008}}</ref> Another study claims that Melbourne will overtake Sydney by 2040.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.abc.net.au/am/content/2013/s3765418.htm |title=Melbourne to overtake Sydney by 2040 |publisher=abc.net.au |date=2013-05-23 |accessdate=2014-03-30}}</ref>
After a trend of declining population density since World War II, the city has seen increased density in the inner and western suburbs aided in part by Victorian Government planning blueprints, such as [[Postcode 3000]] and [[Melbourne 2030]] which have aimed to curtail the urban sprawl.<ref name="Melbourne2030">{{cite web |url=http://www.dse.vic.gov.au/melbourne2030online/content/introduction/02_summary.html | title = Melbourne 2030 – in summary | publisher = Victorian Government, Department of Sustainability and Environment | accessdate = 5 October 2008}}{{dead link|date=June 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.melbourne.vic.gov.au/info.cfm?top=288&pg=1362 | title = City of Melbourne: Strategic Planning — Postcode 3000 | publisher = City of Melbourne | accessdate = 5 October 2008}}</ref>
==Education==
{{Main|Education in Melbourne}}
[[File:Trinity college university of melbourne.jpg|thumb|[[Trinity College (University of Melbourne)|Trinity College]], part of the [[University of Melbourne]]]]
Melbourne was ranked the world's fourth top university city in 2008 after London, Boston and Tokyo in a poll commissioned by [[the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology]].<ref>{{cite web | date = 30 May 2008 | title = World's top university cities revealed
|url=http://www.rmit.net.au/browse;ID=q3l220b3wzs5
| work = RMIT News | publisher = RMIT University | accessdate = 18 July 2008}}{{dead link|date=July 2012}}</ref> Melbourne is the home of the [[University of Melbourne]], as well as [[Monash University]], the largest university in Australia. The University of Melbourne is the second oldest university in Australia.<ref>{{cite web | title = WEHI: Our research partners | publisher = University of Melbourne |url=http://www.wehi.edu.au/about_us/partners_and_affiliates/the_university_of_melbourne | work = Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research|accessdate=13 July 2011}}</ref> It was ranked first among Australian universities in the 2010 [[Times Higher Education|THES]] international rankings.<ref name="melbuni">{{cite web | date = 6 October 2006 | title = ANU up there with the best
|url=http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/anu-up-there-with-the-best/2006/10/05/1159641468047.html | work = Sydney Morning Herald | publisher = Faifax | accessdate = 12 October 2006}}</ref>
''The 2012–2013 Times Higher Education Supplement'' ranked the University of Melbourne as the 28th (30th by QS ranking) best university in the world. Monash University was ranked as the 99th (60th by QS ranking) best university in the world. Both universities are members of the [[Group of Eight (Australian universities)|Group of Eight]]. [[Swinburne University of Technology]], based in the inner city Melbourne suburb of Hawthorn is ranked 76-100 in the world for Physics by the Academic Ranking of World Universities making Swinburne the only Australian university outside the Group of Eight to achieve a top 100 rating in a science discipline.
Other universities located in Melbourne include [[La Trobe University]], [[RMIT University]], [[Victoria University of Technology|Victoria University]], which has nine campuses across Melbourne's western region, including three in the heart of Melbourne's Central Business District (CBD) and another four within ten kilometres ({{convert|10|km|abbr=off|disp=output only}}) of the CBD, and the St Patrick's campus of the [[Australian Catholic University]]. [[Deakin University]] maintains two major campuses in Melbourne and Geelong, and is the third largest university in Victoria. In recent years, the number of [[international student]]s at Melbourne's universities has risen rapidly, a result of an increasing number of places being made available to full fee paying students.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://uninews.unimelb.edu.au/articleid_3967.html
| title = University of Melbourne's international student offers rise as its demand leaps
| work = Uni News | publisher = University of Melbourne | date=12 January 2007 | accessdate = 18 July 2008}}</ref>
==Media==
===Television===
{{Main|Media in Melbourne}}
[[File:Federation Square (SBS Building).jpg|thumb|right|[[Special Broadcasting Service|SBS]] studios at [[Federation Square]]]]
Six free-to-air television stations service Greater Melbourne and Geelong:
* [[ABC Television|ABC]] Victoria ([[ABV (TV station)|ABV]])
* [[Special Broadcasting Service|SBS]] Victoria (SBS)
* [[Seven Network|Seven]] Melbourne ([[HSV (TV station)|HSV]])
* [[Nine Network|Nine]] Melbourne ([[GTV]])
* [[Network Ten|Ten]] Melbourne ([[ATV (Australia)|ATV]])
* [[C31 Melbourne]] (MGV) – community television
Each station (excluding C31) broadcasts a primary channel and several multichannels. C31 is only broadcast from the transmitters at Mount Dandenong and South Yarra.
Various television shows are produced in Melbourne, most notably ''[[Neighbours]]'', ''[[Kath & Kim (Australian TV series)|Kath & Kim]]'', ''[[Winners and Losers]]'', ''[[Offspring (TV series)|Offspring]]'', ''[[Underbelly (TV series)|Underbelly]]'' and ''[[Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries]]'' along with national news based programs such as ''[[The Project (TV program)|The Project]]'', ''[[Today Tonight]]'' and ''[[ABC News Breakfast]]''
[[Pay television]] in Melbourne is largely delivered through cable and satellite services. [[Foxtel]] and [[Optus Television|Optus]] are the main pay television providers. [[Sky News Australia|Sky News]] and [[Fox Sports (Australia)|Fox Sports]] both have studios facilities based in Melbourne.
===Radio===
A long [[List of radio stations in Australia#Melbourne|list]] of AM and FM radio stations broadcast to greater Melbourne. These include "public" (i.e. state owned [[ABC Radio (Australia)|ABC]] & [[SBS Radio|SBS]]) and [[Community radio#Australia|community]] stations. Many [[Commercial broadcasting|commercial]] stations are networked-owned: [[DMG Radio|DMG]] has [[Nova 100]] and [[Smooth 91.5|Smooth]]; [[Australian Radio Network|ARN]] controls [[Gold 104.3|Gold]] and [[Mix 101.1|Mix]]; and [[Southern Cross Austereo]] runs both [[Fox FM (Melbourne)|Fox]] and [[3MMM|Triple M]]. Stations from towns in regional Victoria may also be heard (e.g. [[93.9 Bay FM]], Geelong ). Youth alternatives include ABC [[Triple J]] and youth run [[3SYN|SYN]]. Triple J, and similarly [[3PBS|PBS]] and [[3RRR|Triple R]], strive to play under represented music. [[3JOY|JOY]] caters for gay and lesbian audiences. For fans of classical music there are [[3MBS]] and [[ABC Classic FM]]. [[Light FM]] is a contemporary Christian station. AM stations include ABC: [[774 ABC Melbourne|774]], [[Radio National]], and [[ABC NewsRadio|News Radio]]; also [[Fairfax Media|Fairfax]] affiliates [[3AW]] ([[talk radio|talk]]) and [[Magic 1278|Magic]] ([[easy listening]]). For sport fans and enthusiasts there is [[SEN 1116]]. Melbourne has many community run stations that serve alternative interests, such as [[3CR (Melbourne)|3CR]] and [[3KND]] (Indigenous). Many suburbs have low powered community run stations serving local audiences.<ref name=cbaa>{{cite web | title = Victoria Members – Community Broadcasting Association of Australia | publisher=CBAA
|url=http://www.cbaa.org.au/Who_We_Are/Victoria-Members | accessdate =28 August 2010}}</ref><!-- dead link<ref name="yahoo">{{cite web |url=http://www.geocities.com/radio1600/
| title=Melbourne Radio Stations Australia > Melbourne
| publisher=Yahoo — geocities | accessdate=2 October 2008}}</ref> -->
===Print===
Three daily newspapers serve Melbourne: the ''[[Herald Sun]]'' (tabloid), ''[[The Age]]'' (formerly broadsheet, now compact) and ''[[The Australian]]'' (national broadsheet). The free ''[[mX (newspaper)|mX]]'' is also distributed weekday afternoon at railway stations and on the streets of central Melbourne.<ref name="MX1">{{cite web |url=http://www.mxnet.com.au/
|title = MX |publisher=Herald and Weekly Times (HWT) <!-- aka News Limited -->
|accessdate=2 October 2008}}</ref>
==Religion==
[[File:St Paul Church.JPG|thumb|left|[[St Paul's Cathedral, Melbourne|St Paul's Cathedral]]]]
Melbourne has a wide range of religious faiths, the most widely held of which is Christianity. This is signified by the city's two large cathedrals—[[St Patrick's Cathedral, Melbourne|St Patrick's]] (Roman Catholic), and [[St Paul's Cathedral, Melbourne|St Paul's]] (Anglican). Both were built in the [[Victorian era]] and are of considerable heritage significance as major landmarks of the city.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.walkingmelbourne.com/period_info2.html?period=Victorian|title=Victorian Architectural Period — Melbourne|publisher=walkingmelbourne.com|accessdate=5 October 2008}}</ref>
According to the 2011 Census, the largest responses on religious belief in Melbourne were [[Roman Catholic]] (27.2%), [[Irreligion|no religion]] (23.5%), [[Anglican]] (10.8%), [[Eastern Orthodox]] (5.5%) and [[Buddhist]] (4.0%).<ref name="qs"/><ref>[http://www.censusdata.abs.gov.au/census_services/getproduct/census/2011/quickstat/2GMEL?opendocument&navpos=220 2011 Census QuickStats Greater Melbourne, Australian Bureau of Statistics]</ref>
About 145,000 Muslims live in Melbourne.<ref name="profile.id.com.au">[http://profile.id.com.au/australia/religion?WebID=260 Religion – Greater Melbourne]</ref> Muslim religious life in Melbourne is centred on more than 25 mosques and a large number of prayer rooms at university campuses, workplaces and other venues. The best-attended mosques are at Preston, Broadmeadows, Newport and Doncaster. Melbourne also has five Islamic schools.<ref>[http://www.emelbourne.net.au/biogs/EM00766b.htm Islam – Entry – eMelbourne – The Encyclopedia of Melbourne Online, 25 February 2010]</ref>
Melbourne has the largest [[Jews|Jewish]] population in Australia, the community numbering 45,000.<ref name="profile.id.com.au"/> The city is also home to the largest number of [[Holocaust]] survivors of any Australian city,<ref name="Freda">{{cite web|url=http://www.australianhumanitiesreview.org/archive/Issue-December-2001/freiberg.html
| title=Judith Berman, Holocaust Remembrance in Australian Jewish Communities, 1945–2000
|last=Freiberg|first=Freda|year=2001|publisher=UWA Press |accessdate=22 October 2008}}</ref> indeed the highest per capita outside [[Israel]] itself.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://home.iprimus.com.au/kadimah/k90.htm | title = The Kadimah & Yiddish Melbourne in the 20th Century | work=Jewish Cultural Centre and National Library: "Kadima" | accessdate=9 January 2007}}</ref> Reflecting this vibrant and growing community, Melbourne has a plethora of Jewish cultural, religious and educational institutions, including over 40 synagogues and 7 full-time parochial day schools,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.bh.org.il/Communities/Archive/Melbourne.asp
| title=Jewish Community of Melbourne, Australia
| publisher=Beth Hatefutsoth — The Nahum Goldmann Museum of the Jewish Diaspora
| accessdate=5 October 2008}} {{Dead link|date=September 2010|bot=H3llBot}}</ref> along with a [[Australian Jewish News|local Jewish newspaper]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://jewishnews.net.au/news/ | title = News
| publisher=The Australian Jewish News | accessdate=28 August 2010}}</ref>
==Governance==
[[File:Parliament House Melbourne 2010.jpg|thumb|right|The [[Parliament of Victoria]] meets in [[Parliament House, Melbourne|Parliament House]]]]
The governance of Melbourne is split between the [[government of Victoria]] and the [[Local Government Areas of Victoria#Municipalities of Greater Melbourne|26 cities and five shires]] which comprise the metropolitan area. There is no ceremonial or political head of Melbourne; however, the [[Lord Mayor of Melbourne|Lord Mayor of the City of Melbourne]] often fulfils such a role as a first amongst equals,<ref>
{{cite news
|last = Dunstan | first= David
|url=http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2004/11/11/1100131127769.html?from=storylhs
| title = The evolution of 'Clown Hall'
|newspaper=The Age
| location=Melbourne
| date= 12 November 2004
| accessdate =8 November 2010}}</ref> particularly when interstate or overseas.
The local councils are responsible for providing the functions set out in the ''Local Government Act'' 1989<ref>[http://www.dms.dpc.vic.gov.au/Domino/Web_Notes/LDMS/PubLawToday.nsf/0/B171E800B03D6A9ECA256E5B00037B12/$FILE/89-11a030.pdf Local Government Act 1989]</ref> such as [[urban planning]] and [[waste management]]. Most other government services are provided or regulated by the [[government of Victoria|Victorian state government]], which governs from [[Parliament House, Melbourne|Parliament House]] in [[Spring Street, Melbourne|Spring Street]]. These include services which are associated with local government in other countries and include public transport, main roads, traffic control, policing, education above preschool level, health and planning of major infrastructure projects. The state government retains the right to override certain local government decisions, including urban planning, and Melburnian issues often feature prominently in state election.
==Infrastructure==
===Health===
[[File:Royal melbourne hospital.jpg|thumb|left|Aerial view of [[Royal Melbourne Hospital]] in [[Parkville, Victoria|Parkville]]]]
The [[Government of Victoria]]'s Department of Health oversees approximately 30 public hospitals in the Melbourne metropolitan region, and 13 health services organisations.<ref>[http://www.health.vic.gov.au/maps/metro_hs.htm Melbourne public hospitals and Metropolitan Health Services] Victorian Department of Health</ref>
There are many major medical, [[neuroscience]] and [[biotechnology]] research institutions located in Melbourne: [[St. Vincent's Institute of Medical Research]], [[Australian Stem Cell Centre]], the [[Burnet Institute]], [[Australian Regenerative Medicine Institute]], Victorian Institute of Chemical Sciences, Brain Research Institute, [[Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre]], the [[Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research]], and the [[Melbourne Neuropsychiatry Centre]].
Other institutions include the [[Howard Florey Institute]], the Murdoch Children's Research Institute, [[Baker IDI Heart and Diabetes Institute]] and the [[Australian Synchrotron]].<ref name="health">{{cite web|url=http://www.health.vic.gov.au/|title=Victorian Government Health Information Web site|publisher=health services, Victoria|accessdate=5 October 2008}}</ref> Many of these institutions are associated with and are located near universities.
Among Australian capital cities, Melbourne ties equal 1st with Canberra for the highest male life expectancy (80.0 years) and ranks second behind Perth in female life expectancy (84.1 years).<ref>[http://www.health.gov.au/internet/ministers/publishing.nsf/Content/mr-yr08-je-je112.htm Sunshine Coast and WA Country and Perth Women among Longest Life Expectancy in the World]{{dead link|date=March 2014}}, [[Department of Health and Ageing]]. Retrieved 15 October 2010.</ref>
===Transport===
{{Main|Transport in Melbourne}}
[[File:Bolte bridge dusk.jpg|thumb|The [[Bolte Bridge]] is part of the [[CityLink]] tollway system.]]
Melbourne has a high dependency on the automobile for transport,<ref name="newman">[http://www.mtf.org.au/binary.php/resouces_presentation/mtf_launch_presentation_071105_handout_.pdf Most Liveable and Best Connected?]{{dead link|date=June 2011}} The Economic Benefits of Investing in Public Transport in Melbourne, by Jan Scheurer, Jeff Kenworthy, and [[Peter Newman (Australian)|Peter Newman]]</ref> particularly in the outer suburban areas where the largest number of cars are bought,<ref>{{cite news | date=10 October 2007
|url=http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,22561141-2862,00.html
| title = Still addicted to cars
|work=Herald Sun |location=Australia | accessdate=18 July 2008}}</ref> with a total of 3.6 million private vehicles using {{convert|22320|km|mi|abbr=on}} of road, and one of the highest lengths of road per capita in the world.<ref name="newman"/> The early 20th century saw an increase in popularity of automobiles, resulting in large-scale suburban expansion,<ref>{{cite news | date = 14 February 2004
|url=http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2004/02/11/1076388428001.html
| title = The cars that ate Melbourne
| work=The Age |location=Australia
| accessdate=18 July 2008}}</ref> and today it has an extensive network of freeways and arterial roadways used by private vehicles including freight as well as public transport systems including bus and taxis. Major highways feeding into the city include the [[Eastern Freeway, Melbourne|Eastern Freeway]], [[Monash Freeway]] and [[West Gate Freeway]] (which spans the large [[West Gate Bridge]]), whilst other freeways circumnavigate the city or lead to other major cities, including [[CityLink]] (which spans the large [[Bolte Bridge]]), [[EastLink, Melbourne|Eastlink]], the [[Western Ring Road, Melbourne|Western Ring Road]], [[Calder Freeway]], [[Tullamarine Freeway]] (main airport link) and the [[Hume Freeway]] which links Melbourne and Sydney.<ref name="VicRoads">{{cite web|url=http://www.vicroads.vic.gov.au/Home/RoadsAndProjects/RoadNetwork/|title=Victoria's Road Network|publisher=VicRoads|accessdate=5 October 2008}}</ref>
[[File:Southern Cross Station.jpg|thumb|[[Southern Cross Station]], Melbourne's main inter-urban train and bus interchange]]
[[File:Melbourne-C2-class-tram-Mulhouse.jpg|thumb|A C2 class [[Trams in Melbourne|Melbourne tram]] in Transdev TSL livery on [[La Trobe Street, Melbourne|La Trobe Street]]]]
Melbourne has an integrated public transport system based around extensive train, tram, bus and taxi systems. [[Flinders Street Station]] was the world's busiest passenger station in 1927 and Melbourne's tram network overtook Sydney's to become the world's largest in the 1940s, at which time 25% of travellers used public transport but by 2003 it had declined to just 7.6%.<!--<ref> {{Dead link| date August 2010|date=May 2012}} http://www.150.theage.com.au/view_bestofarticle.asp?straction=update&inttype=1&intid=1823 Trial by public transport: why the system is failing</ref> --><ref>{{cite web | date = 5 November 2005 | first = Dan | last = Silkstone
|url=http://www.melbournebuses.com.au/melbourne-buses-articles/2005/11/5/trial-by-public-transport-why-the-system-is-failing/
| title = Trial by public transport: why the system is failing
|work=The Age |location=Australia | publisher=Fairfax/Melbourne Buses | accessdate =28 August 2010}}</ref>
The public transport system was privatised in 1999, symbolising the peak of the decline.<ref>{{cite news | first = William | last = Birnbauer | date=9 April 2006
|url=http://www.theage.com.au/news/national/12bn-sting-in-the-rail/2006/04/08/1143916767672.html
| title = $1.2bn sting in the rail |work=The Age | location = Melbourne | accessdate =18 July 2008}}</ref>
Despite privatisation and successive governments persisting with auto-centric urban development into the 21st century,<ref>{{cite news | date = 8 September 2003 |first = Darren | last = Gray
|url=http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2003/09/07/1062901941527.html
| title = Bid to end traffic chaos
| work = The Age | publisher = Fairfax | location=Melbourne
| accessdate =18 July 2008}}</ref> there have since been large increases in public transport patronage, with the mode share for commuters increasing to 14.8% and 8.4% of all trips.<ref>[http://www.aph.gov.au/senate/committee/rrat_ctte/public_transport/report/c02.htm Parliament of Australia:Senate:Committees:Rural and Regional Affairs and Transport Committee:Investment of Commonwealth and State funds in public passenger transport infrastru...<!-- Bot generated title -->]{{dead link|date=July 2012}}</ref> A target of 20% public transport mode share for Melbourne by 2020 was set by the state government in 2006.<ref name="TransportFringe">{{Cite news|last1=Tomazin|first1=Farrah|date=14 January 2008|url=http://www.theage.com.au/news/national/public-transport-makes-inroads-but-not-beyond-the-fringe/2008/01/13/1200159277533.html|title=Public transport makes inroads, but not beyond the fringe | work = The Age | publisher = Fairfax |accessdate=8 October 2010 | location=Melbourne}}</ref> Since 2006 public transport patronage has grown by over 20%.<ref name="TransportFringe"/>
To use Melbourne public transport, passengers must pre-purchase a [http://ptv.vic.gov.au/tickets/myki/buying-your-myki/ MYKI card] from railway stations, convenience stores or online. The [[Myki|MYKI ticketing system]] was introduced by the Victorian Labor Government in 2009 and many problems have arisen since this time.<ref>{{cite news|title=myki machine faults top Leader readers list of complaints|url=http://www.heraldsun.com.au/leader/north/myki-machine-faults-top-leader-readers-list-of-complaints/story-fnglenug-1226608308032|accessdate=21 October 2013|newspaper=The Herald Sun - Leader Newspapers|date=28 March 2013|author=KYLIE ADORANTI|author2=REBECCA DAVID}}</ref> Frustrated consumer sentiment has escalated to a stage where commuters continue to try to attain free rides—by not utilising the card—and writing articles or blogs to vent their frustration.<ref>{{cite news|title=My week in myki hell|url=http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/my-week-in-myki-hell-20120416-1x26g.html|accessdate=21 October 2013|newspaper=The Age|date=16 April 2012|author=Deborah Gough}}</ref>
====Rail====
The [[Melbourne rail network]] has its origins in privately built lines from the 1850s gold rush era, and today the suburban network consists of [[List of Melbourne railway stations|200 suburban stations]] on 16 lines which radiate from the [[City Loop, Melbourne|City Loop]], a partially underground metro section of the network beneath the Central Business District (Hoddle Grid). [[Flinders Street Station]] is Melbourne's busiest railway station, and was the world's busiest passenger station in 1926. It remains a prominent Melbourne landmark and meeting place.<ref name="nla.gov.au"/> The city has rail connections with regional Victorian cities, as well as direct interstate rail services to Sydney and [[Adelaide]] and beyond which depart from Melbourne's other major rail terminus, [[Southern Cross Station]] in Spencer Street. In the 2008–2009 financial year, the Melbourne rail network recorded 213.9 million passenger trips, the highest in its history.<ref>{{cite news
| first = Natalie | last = Marshall
| title = Train travel up, record increase in tram use
| date= 19 August 2009
|url=http://www.theage.com.au/national/train-travel-up-record-increase-in-tram-use-20090819-epsf.html
| accessdate =23 July 2010 |location=Australia | work = The Age | publisher = Fairfax
}}</ref> Many rail lines, along with dedicated lines and [[rail yards]] are also used for freight.
The Overland to Adelaide departs Southern Cross twice a week, while the XPT to Sydney departs twice a day.
=====Melbourne Metro=====
The [[Melbourne Metro]] involves the construction of a nine kilometre rail tunnel through inner Melbourne that will link the [[Sunbury railway line|Sunbury]] and [[Pakenham railway line|Pakenham]]/[[Cranbourne railway line|Cranbourne rail lines]]. The project will include five new underground stations to be located at Arden, [[Parkville, Victoria|Parkville]], CBD North, CBD South and Domain.<ref name="MelbourneMetro">{{cite web|url=http://www.transport.vic.gov.au/projects/pt/melbourne-metro|title=Melbourne Metro Project Page|publisher=Department of Transport (VIC)|accessdate=21 August 2011}}</ref>
====Trams====
{{Main|Trams in Melbourne}}
Melbourne has the largest [[tram network]] in the world<ref name=DOT_tram/><ref name="railpage">{{cite web|url=http://www.railpage.org.au/tram/melbhist.html|title=Melbourne's Tram History|publisher=railpage.org.au|accessdate=28 September 2008}}</ref> which had its origins in the city's 1880s land boom. In the 2010–2011 year 182.7 million passenger trips were made by tram.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.transport.vic.gov.au/pt/facts-and-figures/summary | work=[[Department of Transport (Victoria)|Department of Transport]] | title=Facts & figures | accessdate=19 October 2011}}</ref> Melbourne's is Australia's only tram network to comprise more than a single line and consists of {{convert|250|km|mi|1|abbr=on}} of track, 487 trams, [[List of Melbourne tram routes|28 routes]], and 1,773 [[tram stop]]s.<ref name="YT Facts & Figures">{{cite web|url=http://www.yarratrams.com.au/desktopdefault.aspx/tabid-47//74_read-117/ | work=[[Yarra Trams]] | title=Facts & Figures | accessdate=19 October 2011}}</ref> Sections of the tram network are on roads,<ref name="YT Facts & Figures"/> while others are separated or are [[light rail]] routes.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.yarratrams.com.au/desktopdefault.aspx/tabid-155/173_read-876 | work=[[Yarra Trams]] | title=Milestones, 1981 – 1990 | accessdate=19 October 2011}}</ref> Melbourne's trams are recognised as iconic cultural assets and a tourist attraction. [[W-class Melbourne tram|Heritage trams]] operate on the free [[City Circle Tram|City Circle route]], intended for visitors to Melbourne, and heritage [[Colonial Tramcar Restaurant|restaurant trams]] travel through the city and surrounding areas during the evening.<ref name="Metlink1">{{cite web|url=http://www.metlinkmelbourne.com.au/|title=Metlink — Your guide to public transport in Melbourne and Victoria|publisher=Metlink-Melbourne|accessdate=5 October 2008}}</ref>
Melbourne is currently building 50 new E Class trams with some already in service in 2014. The E Class trams are about 30 metres long and are superior to the C2 class tram of similar length.
====Buses====
{{Main|Buses in Melbourne}}
Melbourne's [[bus]] network consists of almost [[List of Melbourne bus routes|300 routes]] which mainly service the outer suburbs and fill the gaps in the network between rail and tram services.<ref name="Metlink1"/><ref name="Buses">{{cite web|url=http://www.getting-around-melbourne.com.au/melbourne-buses.html|title=Melbourne Buses|publisher=getting-around-melbourne.com.au|accessdate=5 October 2008}}</ref> 86.7 million passenger trips were recorded on Melbourne’s buses in 2007.<ref>[http://www.doi.vic.gov.au/DOI/DOIElect.nsf/$UNIDS+for+Web+Display/E16901B882CF37B9CA25744000831A72/$FILE/2008BudgetFactSheet-Patronage.pdf Department of Infrastructure – Patronage Growth]{{dead link|date=June 2011}}</ref>
====Port====
Ship transport is an important component of Melbourne's transport system. The [[Port of Melbourne]] is Australia's largest container and general cargo port and also its busiest. The port handled two million shipping containers in a 12 month period during 2007, making it one of the top five ports in the Southern Hemisphere.<ref name="pom"/> [[Station Pier]] on Port Phillip Bay is the main passenger ship terminal with [[cruise ships]] and the [[TT-Line Pty. Ltd.|Spirit of Tasmania]] ferries which cross [[Bass Strait]] to [[Tasmania]] docking there.<ref name="Tasy">{{cite web|url=http://www.spiritoftasmania.com.au/|title=Spirit of Tasmania — One of Australia's great journeys|publisher=TT-Line Company Pty Ltd|accessdate=5 October 2008}}</ref> Ferries and water taxis run from [[Berth (moorings)|berth]]s along the Yarra River as far upstream as South Yarra and across Port Phillip Bay.
====Air====
Melbourne has [[List of airports in the Melbourne area|four airports]]. [[Melbourne Airport]], at [[Tullamarine]], is the city's main international and domestic gateway and second busiest in Australia. The airport is home base for passenger airlines [[Jetstar Airways]] and [[Tiger Airways Australia]] and cargo airlines [[Australian air Express]] and [[Toll Priority]]; and is a major hub for [[Qantas]] and [[Virgin Australia]]. [[Avalon Airport]], located between Melbourne and [[Geelong]], is a secondary hub of Jetstar. It is also used as a freight and maintenance facility. Buses and taxis are the only forms of public transport to and from the city's main airports. Air Ambulance facilities are available for domestic and international transportation of patients.<ref>http://www.vibha.info Air ambulance australia</ref> Melbourne also has a significant [[general aviation]] airport, [[Moorabbin Airport]] in the city's south east that also handles a small number of passenger flights. [[Essendon Airport]], which was once the city's main airport also handles passenger flights, general aviation and some cargo flights.<ref name="EssendonAir">{{cite web|url=http://www.essendonairport.com.au/|title=Essendon Airport|publisher=Essendon Airport Pty Ltd |accessdate=5 October 2008}}</ref>
====Cycling====
{{main|Cycling in Melbourne}}
Melbourne has a [[bicycle sharing system]]. It was established in 2010<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/share-scheme-out-of-the-blocks-for-city-cyclists-20100531-wrcy.html | first = Clay | last = Lucas | title = Share scheme out of the blocks for city cyclists | work = Age | publisher = Fairfax | date = 1 June 2010 | accessdate = 20 May 2012}}</ref> and uses a network of marked road lanes and [[segregated cycle facilities]].
===Utilities===
[[File:Sugarloaf Reservoir Melbourne.jpg|thumb|upright=1.0|Sugarloaf Reservoir at [[Christmas Hills, Victoria|Christmas Hills]] in the metropolitan area is one of Melbourne's closest water supplies.]]
{{Main|Energy in Victoria}}
Water storage and supply for Melbourne is managed by [[Melbourne Water]], which is owned by the Victorian Government. The organisation is also responsible for management of sewerage and the major water catchments in the region and will be responsible for the [[Wonthaggi desalination plant]] and [[North-South Pipeline|North–South Pipeline]]. Water is stored in a series of reservoirs located within and outside the Greater Melbourne area. The largest dam, the [[Thomson River Dam]], located in the Victorian Alps, is capable of holding around 60% of Melbourne's water capacity,<ref>{{cite web
|url=http://www.melbournewater.com.au/content/water/water_storages/water_storages.asp?bhcp=1
| title = Dam Water Storage Levels | author= | publisher = Melbourne Water
| accessdate = 18 July 2008 }}</ref> while smaller dams such as the [[Upper Yarra Dam]] and the [[Cardinia Reservoir]] carry secondary supplies.
Gas is provided be three distribution companies:
* [[SP AusNet]] which provides gas from Melbournes inner western suburbs to South Western Victoria.
* [[Multinet Gas]] which provides gas from Melbournes inner eastern suburbs to Middle Eastern Victoria. <sub>(Owned by SP AusNet after acquisition but kept trading under the brand name Multinet Gas)</sub>
* [[Envestra]] which provides gas from Melbournes inner northern suburbs to Northern Victoria as well as the majority of South Eastern Victoria.
Electricity is provided by five distribution companies:
* [[Citipower]] which provides power to Melbourne's CBD, and some inner suburbs
* [[Powercor]] which provides power to the outer western suburbs as well as all of western [[Victoria (Australia)|Victoria]] <sub>(Citipower and Powercor are owned by the same entity)</sub>
* [[Jemena]] which provides power to the northern and inner western suburbs
* [[Alinta|United Energy]] which provides power to the inner eastern, south-eastern suburbs and the [[Mornington Peninsula]]
* [[SP AusNet]] which provides power to the outer eastern suburbs and all of the north and east of Victoria.
Numerous telecommunications companies provide Melbourne with terrestrial and mobile telecommunications services and wireless internet services.
==Sister cities==
Melbourne has six international sister cities. According to the City of Melbourne council, "the city as a whole has been nourished by their influence, which extends from educational, cultural and sporting exchanges to unparalleled business networking opportunities."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.melbourne.vic.gov.au/info.cfm?top=161&pg=2979|title=City of Melbourne — International relations — Sister cities|publisher=City of Melbourne|accessdate=2008-04-04}}</ref> The recognised cities are:
{{Col-begin|width=}}
{{Col-break}}
* [[Osaka, Osaka|Osaka]], Japan (1978)
* [[Tianjin]], China (1980)
* [[Thessaloniki]], Greece (1984)
* [[Boston, Massachusetts|Boston]], Massachusetts, United States (1985)
* [[Saint Petersburg]], Russia (1989)
* [[Milan]], Italy (2004)
{{Col-end}}
==See also==
{{Portal|Victoria}}
* [[Crime in Melbourne]]
* [[Education in Victoria]]
* [[Melway]] (the native street directory and general information source in Melbourne)
===Lists===
* [[List of Australian capital cities]]
* [[List of Melbourne suburbs]]
* [[List of museums in Melbourne]]
* [[List of people from Melbourne]]
* [[List of songs about Melbourne]]
* [[Local government in Victoria]]
==References==
{{reflist|30em}}
==Further reading==
*{{Cite book |last=Bell |first=Agnes Paton |title=Melbourne: John Batman's Village |publisher=Cassell Australia |location=Melbourne, Vic |year=1965}}
*{{Cite book |last=Boldrewood |first=Rolf |title=Old Melbourne Memories |publisher=Macmillan and Co |year=1896}}
*{{Cite book |last1=Borthwick |first1=John Stephen |last2=McGonigal |first2=David |title=Insight Guide: Melbourne |publisher=Prentice Hall Travel |year=1990 |isbn=978-0-13-467713-2}}
*{{Cite book |last1=Briggs |first1=John Joseph |title=The History of Melbourne, in the County of Derby: Including Biographical Notices of the Coke, Melbourne, and Hardinge Families |publisher=Bemrose & Son |year=1852}}
*{{Cite book |last1=Brown-May |first1=Andrew |last2=Swain |first2=Shurlee |title=The Encyclopedia of Melbourne |publisher=Cambridge University Press |location=Melbourne, Vic |year=2005}}
*{{Cite book |last1=Carroll |first1=Brian |title=Melbourne: An Illustrated History |publisher=Lansdowne |year=1972 |isbn=978-0-7018-0195-3}}
*{{Cite book |last1=Cecil |first1=David |title=Melbourne |publisher=Bobbs-Merrill |year=1954 |series=Grosset's universal library |lccn=54009486 |url=http://books.google.com/books?id=4\_pHAAAAMAAJ}}
*{{Cite book |last1=Collins |first1=Jock |last2=Mondello |first2=Letizia |last3=Breheney |first3=John |last4=Childs |first4=Tim |title=Cosmopolitan Melbourne. Explore the world in one city |publisher=Big Box Publishing |location=Rhodes, New South Wales |year=1990 |isbn=978-0-9579624-0-8}}
*{{Cite book |last1=Coote |first1=Maree |title=The Melbourne Book: A History of Now |publisher=Melbournestyle Books |year=2003 |edition=2009 |isbn=978-0-9757047-4-5}}
*{{Cite book |editor=Jim Davidson |title=The Sydney-Melbourne Book |publisher=Allen and Unwin |location=North Sydney, New South Wales |year=1986 |isbn=978-0-86861-819-7}}
*{{Cite book |last1=Lewis |first1=Miles Bannatyne |last2=Goad |first2=Philip |last3=Mayne |first3=Alan |title=Melbourne: The City's History and Development |publisher=City of Melbourne |year=1994 |edition=2nd |isbn=978-0-949624-71-0}}
*{{Cite book |last1=McClymont |first1=David |last2=Armstrong |first2=Mark |title=Lonely Planet Melbourne |publisher=Lonely Planet |year=2000 |isbn=978-1-86450-124-7 |url=http://books.google.com/?id=1pwGAAAACAAJ&dq=Melbourne}}
*{{Cite book |last1=Newnham |first1=William Henry |title=Melbourne: The Biography of a City |publisher=F. W. Cheshire |year=1956 |lccn=57032585 |url=http://books.google.com/books?id=IHsrAAAAIAAJ}}
*{{Cite book |last1=O'Hanlon |first1=Seamus |last2=Luckins |first2=Tanja (eds) |title=Go! Melbourne. Melbourne in the Sixties |publisher=Melbourne Publishing Group |location=Beaconsfield, Victoria |year=2005 |isbn=978-0-9757802-0-6}}
*{{Cite book |last1=Priestley |first1=Susan |title=South Melbourne: A History |publisher=Melbourne University Press |year=1995 |isbn=978-0-522-84664-5}}
*{{Cite book |editor=Deborah Tout-Smith |title=Melbourne: A city of stories |publisher=Museum Victoria |year=2009 |isbn=978-0-9803813-7-5}}
==External links==
{{Sister project links|voy=Melbourne}}
* [http://www.melbourne.vic.gov.au/ City of Melbourne official website]
*{{Wikivoyage-inline}}
* [http://www.visitmelbourne.com/ Official tourist board site of Melbourne]
* [http://www.dpcd.vic.gov.au/home/publications-and-research/urban-and-regional-research/metropolitan/victoria-in-future-2008 Population Projections for Melbourne]
* [http://www.weather-melbourne.com/ Melbourne Weather: Current conditions and historical data]
{{Navboxes
|list =
{{Melbourne}}
{{Cities of Victoria}}
{{Local Government Areas of Victoria}}
{{Capital cities of Australia}}
{{Olympic Summer Games Host Cities}}
{{Commonwealth Games Host Cities}}
{{Melbourne landmarks}}
{{Melbourne Skyscrapers}}
{{Theatres in Melbourne}}
{{MuseumVictoria}}
{{Melbourne Sports Teams}}
{{Melbourne public transport}}
}}
[[Category:Melbourne| ]]
[[Category:Australian capital cities]]
[[Category:Coastal cities in Australia]]
[[Category:Former national capitals]]
[[Category:Metropolitan areas of Australia]]
[[Category:Populated places established in 1835]]
[[Category:Populated places established in the 19th century]]
[[Category:Port cities in Australia]]
[[Category:1835 establishments in Australia]]
[[Category:Regions of Victoria (Australia)]]' |
New page wikitext, after the edit (new_wikitext) | '{{about|the Australian metropolis|the city centre or central business district (CBD)|Melbourne City Centre|the local government area within which the Melbourne City Centre is situated|City of Melbourne|other uses|Melbourne (disambiguation)}}
{{redirect|Melbourne City|the football (soccer) club|Melbourne City FC}}
{{pp-move-indef|small=yes}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2013}}
{{Use Australian English|date=January 2012}}
{{Infobox Australian place
| type = city
| name = Melbourne
| state = vic<!--"vic" codes as "Victoria (Australia)". Please leave it as "vic" or else it will point to a disambig page-->
| image = Melbourne montage six frame infobox jpg.jpg
| caption = (From top left to bottom right) [[Melbourne city centre]], [[Flinders Street Station]], [[Shrine of Remembrance]], [[Federation Square]], [[Melbourne Cricket Ground]], [[Royal Exhibition Building]].
| pop = 4347955
| pop_year = 2013
| pop_footnotes = <ref name=ABSERP13>{{Cite web |publisher=[[Australian Bureau of Statistics]]|title=3218.0 - Regional Population Growth, Australia, 2012-13: ESTIMATED RESIDENT POPULATION, States and Territories - Greater Capital City Statistical Areas (GCCSAs) |url=http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/Products/3218.0~2012-13~Main+Features~Main+Features|date=3 April 2014|accessdate=8 April 2014}} ERP at 30 June 2013.</ref>
| poprank = 2nd
| density = 430
| density_footnotes = <ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/Products/3218.0~2011-12~Main+Features~Victoria?OpenDocument#PARALINK2|title=3218.0 - Regional Population Growth, Australia, 2012-13: Victoria: Population Density|publisher=[[Australian Bureau of Statistics]]|date=30 April 2013|accessdate=9 April 2014}}</ref>
| elevation = 31
| force_national_map = yes
| latd =37 |latm =48 |lats =49
| longd =144 |longm =57 |longs =47
| area = 9990.5
| area_footnotes= (GCCSA)<ref name=ABSGCCSAXLS>{{cite web|url=http://www.censusdata.abs.gov.au/CensusOutput/copsub.NSF/All%20docs%20by%20catNo/2011~Community%20Profile~2GMEL/$File/BCP_2GMEL.zip?OpenElement|title=Greater Melbourne: Basic Community Profile|publisher=[[Australian Bureau of Statistics]]|work=2011 Census Community Profiles|date=28 March 2013|format=xls|accessdate=9 April 2014}}</ref>
| est = 30 August 1835
| county = [[County of Grant, Victoria|Grant]], [[County of Bourke, Victoria|Bourke]], [[County of Mornington|Mornington]]
| lga = [[Local Government Areas of Victoria#Municipalities of Greater Melbourne|31 Municipalities across Greater Melbourne]]
| stategov = [[:File:Vic inner regions.png|54 electoral districts and regions]]
| fedgov = [[:File:Map4.gif|23 Divisions]]
| timezone = [[Australian Eastern Standard Time|AEST]]
| utc = +10
| timezone-dst= [[Australian Eastern Daylight Time|AEDT]]
| utc-dst = +11
| location1= Canberra
| dist1= 665
| location2= Sydney
| dist2= 876
| maxtemp = 20.1
| mintemp = 10.2
| rainfall = 646.9
}}
'''Melbourne''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|m|ɛ|l|b|ə|n}})<ref>{{cite book |editor-last=Butler |editor-first=S. |title=[[Macquarie Dictionary]] |edition=5th |article=Melbourne |url=http://www.macquariedictionary.com.au |year=2009 |publisher=Macquarie Dictionary Publishers Pty Ltd |location=Sydney |isbn=978-18-7642-966-9 |pages=1952 pages |nopp=y}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/Melbourne |title=Definition of '''Melbourne''' in Oxford dictionary. Meaning, pronunciation and origin of the word |article=Melbourne |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2013 |website=Oxford Dictionaries |accessdate=7 December 2013}}</ref> is the capital and most populous city in the state of [[Victoria (Australia)|Victoria]], and the [[List of cities in Australia by population|second most populous city]] in [[Australia]].<ref name="CensusQuickStats">{{Census 2006 AUS|id=UCL232200|name=Melbourne (Urban Centre/Locality)|quick=on|accessdate=9 April 2014}}</ref> The name "Melbourne" refers to an [[urban agglomeration]] area (and census statistical division) spanning 9,900 km<sup>2</sup> (3,857.2 sq mi) that comprises the greater metropolis – as well as being a common name for its metropolitan hub, the [[Melbourne City Centre]]. It is a leading financial centre in Australia, as well as the [[Asia-Pacific]] region,<ref>[http://www.longfinance.net/images/GFCI14_30Sept2013.pdf The Global Financial Centres Index 14 (September 2013)]. Y/Zen Group. p 15. Retrieved 4 December 2013.</ref><ref>[http://www.atkearney.com.au/documents/10192/dfedfc4c-8a62-4162-90e5-2a3f14f0da3a 2012 Global Cities Index and Emerging Cities Outlook]. A.T. Kearney. p 2. Retrieved 29 December 2013.</ref> and has been ranked the [[World's Most Livable Cities|world's most livable city]] since 2011 (and among the top three since 2002), according the [[Economist Intelligence Unit]] (EIU).<ref name="EIU2013">{{cite web |url=https://www.eiu.com/public/topical_report.aspx?campaignid=Liveability2013 | title = Global Liveability Ranking and Report August 2013 | accessdate = 28 August 2013 | author = Economist | date = August 2013 | work = The Economist }}</ref><ref name="WestwoodAustralian">Westwood, Matthew (26 November 2013). [http://www.theaustralian.com.au/arts/the-cultural-capitals-perfect-10/story-e6frg8n6-1226768162658# The Cultural Capital's Perfect 10]. ''The Australian''. News Limited. Retrieved 28 December 2013.</ref> In 2013 the EIU also ranked Melbourne the fourth most expensive city in the world, tying with [[Oslo]], [[Norway]].<ref>{{cite news|title=The world's most expensive cities|url=http://www.theguardian.com/cities/datablog/2014/feb/14/most-expensive-cities|accessdate=23 February 2014|newspaper=The Guardian|date=14 February 2014|author=George Arnett|author2=Chris Michael}}</ref> Melbourne is rated highly in the areas of education, entertainment, healthcare, research and development, tourism and sports.<ref name="EIU2013" /><ref>Langmaid, Aaron (28 April 2010). [http://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/were-sports-champion-city-again/story-e6frf9if-1225859380654 We're sport's champion city again]. ''[[Herald Sun]]''. News Limited. Retrieved 29 December 2013.</ref>
It is located on the large natural bay of [[Port Phillip]], with its City Centre situated at the northernmost point of the bay – near to the estuary of the [[Yarra River]].<ref name="GoogleMaps">{{cite web|url=http://maps.google.com.au/maps?hl=en&q=&ie=UTF8&hq=&hnear=Melbourne+CBD,+Melbourne+VIC&gl=au&ei=s9r3SpvrD4uI6wOaytwa&ved=0CBMQ8gEwAA&geocode=FRUAv_0dYfajCA&split=0|title=Melbourne CBD|publisher=[[Google Maps]] |accessdate=11 September 2009}}</ref> The metropolitan area extends south from the City Centre, along the eastern and western shorelines of Port Phillip, and expands into the hinterlands – toward the [[Dandenong Ranges|Dandenong]] and [[Macedon Ranges|Macedon]] mountain ranges, [[Mornington Peninsula]] and [[Yarra Valley]]. The City Centre is located in the municipality known as the [[City of Melbourne]], and the metropolis consists of a [[Local Government Areas of Victoria#Municipalities of Greater Melbourne|further 30 municipalities]].<ref name="MelbLGAs">{{cite web|url=http://www.localgovernment.vic.gov.au/Web20/rwpgslib.nsf/GraphicFiles/Victorian+Local+Government+Directory+-+Sept+09/$file/Victorian+Local+Government+Directory+-+Sept+09.pdf|title=Victorian Local Government Directory|publisher=Department of Planning and Community Development, [[Government of Victoria (Australia)|Government of Victoria]]|page=11|accessdate=11 September 2009}}</ref> Melbourne has a population of 4.35 million,<ref name=ABSERP13/> and the fastest growing population among [[List of Australian capital cities|Australian capital cities]].<ref name="PopulationGrowth">{{cite web |url=http://www.abs.gov.au/AUSSTATS/abs@.nsf/Lookup/3218.0Main+Features12011-12?OpenDocument |title=3218.0 – Regional Population Growth, Australia, 2011–12 |publisher=[[Australian Bureau of Statistics]] |date=30 April 2013 |accessdate=30 April 2013}}</ref>{{failed verification|date=April 2014}} Inhabitants of the city are called Melburnians.<ref name="MacqDict">''[[Macquarie Dictionary|Macquarie Dictionary, Fourth Edition]]'' (2005). Melbourne, The Macquarie Library Pty Ltd. ISBN 1-876429-14-3</ref>
Founded on 30 August 1835 (in what was then the Colony of [[New South Wales]]), by settlers from [[Launceston, Tasmania|Launceston]] in [[Van Diemen's Land]],<ref name="settlement8-9">{{cite web|title=History of the City of Melbourne |publisher= City of Melbourne |pages=8–10 |url=http://www.melbourne.vic.gov.au/AboutMelbourne/History/Documents/history_melbourne_city.PDF|accessdate=11 September 2009}}</ref> it was incorporated as a [[The Crown|Crown]] settlement in 1837.<ref name="settlement8-9"/> It was named "Melbourne" by the [[Governors of New South Wales|Governor]] of New South Wales, Sir [[Richard Bourke]], in honour of the British Prime Minister of the day, [[William Lamb, 2nd Viscount Melbourne]].<ref name="settlement8-9"/> It was declared a city by [[Queen Victoria]] in 1847,<ref name="MilesLewis25"/> before becoming the capital city of the newly created Colony of Victoria in 1851.<ref name="MilesLewis25"/> During the [[Victorian gold rush]] of the 1850s, it was transformed into one of the world's largest and wealthiest cities.<ref name="RobertCervero320"/> After the [[federation of Australia]] in 1901, Melbourne served as the interim [[seat of government]] for the newly created nation of Australia until 1927.<ref name="Constitution">{{cite web|url=http://www.comlaw.gov.au/comlaw/comlaw.nsf/440c19285821b109ca256f3a001d59b7/57dea3835d797364ca256f9d0078c087/$FILE/ConstitutionAct.pdf|archiveurl=http://www.webcitation.org/5o8rxA8US|archivedate=11 March 2010|title=Commonwealth of Australia Constitution Act|publisher=Department of the Attorney-General, [[Government of Australia]]|page=45 (Section 125)|accessdate=11 September 2009}}</ref>
An international centre for [[Performing arts of Australia|performing]] and [[Visual arts of Australia|visual arts]],<ref>King, B. & Jago, L. ''Melbourne''. TTI City Reports 1 (1999). pp 37-51.</ref><ref name="KhouryPrendergastCNN">Khoury, Matt & Prendergast, Luke (20 October. 2011). [http://travel.cnn.com/sydney/visit/reasons-melbourne-liveable-257261 50 reasons Melbourne is the World's most livable city]. CNN Travel. Turner Broadcasting Systems. Retrieved 28 December 2013.</ref> Melbourne is often referred to as Australia's cultural capital.<ref name="WestwoodAustralian" /> It is the birthplace of [[Dance in Australia|Australian dance]] styles; the [[Melbourne Shuffle]] and [[New Vogue (dance)|New Vogue]],<ref name="TheAgeDanceTrance">{{cite web | last1 =Tomazin |first1=Farrah|last2=Donovan|first2=Patrick|last3=Mundell|first3=Meg|date=12 July 2002|url=http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2002/12/07/1038950203557.html|title=Dance trance | work = The Age | publisher = Fairfax |accessdate=16 November 2009 | location=Melbourne}}</ref><ref name="Gwynne202">{{Cite book|last1=Gwynne|first1=Michael|year=1985|title=Ballroom Sequence Dancing|publisher=Princeton Book Company|location= Hightstown |edition=2nd|page=202|isbn=0-7136-2750-6}}</ref> the [[Cinema of Australia|Australian film]] industry (including the world's first feature film),<ref name="Stratton">{{Cite book|last1=Stratton|first1=David|year=1990|title=The Avocado Plantation: Boom and Bust in the Australian Film Industry|publisher=Pan Macmillan|location=Sydney|isbn=0-7329-0250-9}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|url=http://portal.unesco.org/en/ev.php-URL_ID=37899&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html|title = Return of the Kelly Gang|journal=[[UNESCO Courier]]|issn = 1993-8616 |issue=2007 No.5 |last=Chichester|first=Jo |publisher=UN}}</ref> Australian impressionist art (known as the [[Heidelberg School]]),<ref name="AstburyMasters">{{Cite book|last=Astbury|first=David Leigh|title=The Heidelberg School and the rural mythology|place=Melbourne|publisher=Department of Fine Arts, [[University of Melbourne]]|year=1982|url=http://dtl.unimelb.edu.au/R/AF3TPQ9GRMK5VC149A2JTA7EQDRY8XKJBADUM8FTYCFFILSY7F-03467?func=dbin-jump-full&object_id=65984&local_base=GEN01&pds_handle=GUEST|id=65984}}</ref> [[Australian rules football]],<ref name="Now 2003. pg. 182">''The Melbourne Book: A History of Now''. Published 2003. Hardie Grant Books. South Yarra. ISBN 1-74066-049-8. pg. 182</ref> and the [[Television in Australia|Australian television]] industry.<ref name="first24">{{Cite book | title = Australian Television: the first 24 years | publisher=Nelsen/Cinema Papers | year = 1980 | page = 3 | location = Melbourne | accessdate =23 September 2007 }}</ref> In more recent years, it has been recognised as a [[UNESCO]] [[City of Literature]] and a major centre for [[Street art in Melbourne|street art]].<ref name="KhouryPrendergastCNN" /><ref>[http://www.arts.vic.gov.au/Projects_Initiatives/Collaborative_initiatives/Melbourne_-_City_of_Literature#.Urhz8PQW2E8 Melbourne - City of Literature]. Arts Victoria. Government of Victoria (Australia). Retrieved 24 December 2013.</ref> It is home to many of Australia's largest and oldest cultural institutions such as the [[Australian Centre for the Moving Image]], the [[Melbourne Cricket Ground]], [[Melbourne Museum]], [[Melbourne Zoo]], the [[National Gallery of Victoria]] and the UNESCO [[World Heritage Site|World Heritage-listed]] [[Royal Exhibition Building]].
The main passenger airport serving the metropolis and the state is [[Melbourne Airport]], which is the second busiest in Australia, and the [[Port of Melbourne]] is Australia's busiest seaport for containerised and general cargo.<ref>{{cite media release | year=2006 |url=http://www.legislation.vic.gov.au/domino/Web_Notes/newmedia.nsf/798c8b072d117a01ca256c8c0019bb01/1b374a6d8cae09e9ca2571cb0003c23a!OpenDocument |title= Government outlines vision for Port of Melbourne Freight Hub |accessdate=26 July 2007}}{{dead link|date=August 2013}}</ref> Melbourne has an extensive [[Transport in Melbourne|transport network]]. The main [[Railways in Melbourne|metropolitan train]] terminus is [[Flinders Street Station]], and the main [[Rail transport in Victoria|regional train]] and coach terminus is [[Southern Cross Station]]. Melbourne has the [[Trams in Melbourne|world's largest tram network]].<ref name=DOT_tram>{{cite web|url=http://210.15.220.118/east_west_report/Investing_in_Transport_East_West-Chapter03.pdf|title=Investing in Transport Chapter 3 – East/West, Section 3.1.2 – Tram Network|format=PDF|publisher=Department of Transport, [[Government of Victoria (Australia)|Government of Victoria]]|accessdate=21 November 2009}}{{dead link|date=July 2012}}</ref>
{{TOCLimit|4}}
==History==
{{details|History of Melbourne}}
{{See also|Timeline of Melbourne history|History of Victoria}}
===Early history and foundation===
{{Further2|[[Foundation of Melbourne]]}}
[[File:Landing at melbourne 1840.jpg|thumb|right|Melbourne Landing, 1840; watercolour by W. Liardet (1840)]]
Before the arrival of European settlers, the area was occupied for an estimated 31,000 to 40,000 years.<ref>Gary Presland, ''The First Residents of Melbourne's Western Region'', (revised edition), Harriland Press, 1997. ISBN 0-646-33150-7. Presland says on page 1: "There is some evidence to show that people were living in the [[Maribyrnong River]] valley, near present day [[Keilor]], about 40,000 years ago."</ref> At the time of European settlement, it was inhabited by under 20,000<ref name="rbg.vic.gov.au">[http://www.rbg.vic.gov.au/__data/page/1062/Indig.pdf ]{{Dead link|date=June 2010}}</ref> [[hunter-gatherer]]s from three [[Indigenous Australian|indigenous]] [[Kulin|regional tribes]]: the [[Wurundjeri]], [[Bunurong|Boonwurrung]] and [[Wathaurong]].<ref>Gary Presland, ''Aboriginal Melbourne: The Lost Land of the Kulin People'', Harriland Press (1985), Second edition 1994, ISBN 0-9577004-2-3. This book describes in some detail the archaeological evidence regarding aboriginal life, culture, food gathering and land management, particularly the period from the flooding of Bass Strait and Port Phillip from about 7–10,000 years ago, up to the European colonisation in the nineteenth century.</ref> The area was an important meeting place for the clans of the [[Kulin]] nation alliance and a vital source of food and water.<ref name="settlement"/><ref name="merrimerri">Isabel Ellender and Peter Christiansen, ''People of the Merri Merri. The Wurundjeri in Colonial Days'', Merri Creek Management Committee, 2001 ISBN 0-9577728-0-7</ref>
The first European settlement in Victoria was established by Colonel [[David Collins (governor)|David Collins]] in October 1803, at [[Sullivan Bay, Victoria|Sullivan Bay]], near present-day [[Sorrento, Victoria|Sorrento]], but this settlement was relocated to what is now [[Hobart]], Tasmania, in February 1804, due to a perceived lack of resources.
It would be 30 years before another settlement was attempted.<ref>{{cite web| last = Button | first = James| title = Secrets of a forgotten settlement| work = The Age | publisher = Fairfax | location=Melbourne| date = 4 October 2003|url=http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2003/10/03/1064988393029.html?from=storyrhs| accessdate =19 October 2008}}</ref>
In May and June 1835, the area which is now central and northern Melbourne was explored by [[John Batman]], a leading member of the [[Port Phillip Association]] in [[Van Diemen's Land]] (now known as Tasmania), who negotiated a purchase of {{convert|600000|acre|km2}} with eight Wurundjeri elders.<ref name="settlement"/><ref name="merrimerri"/> Batman selected a site on the northern bank of the Yarra River, declaring that "this will be the place for a village".<ref>{{cite book|last=Annear|first=Robyn|year=2005|title=Bearbrass: Imagining Early Melbourne|location=Melbourne, Victoria|publisher=Black Inc|page=6|isbn=1863953973}}</ref> Batman then returned to [[Launceston, Tasmania|Launceston]] in Tasmania. In early August 1835 a different group of settlers, including [[John Pascoe Fawkner]], left Launceston on the ship [[Enterprize (1829)|Enterprize]]. Fawkner was forced to disembark at Georgetown, Tasmania, because of outstanding debts. The remainder of the party continued and arrived at the mouth of the Yarra River on 15 August 1835. On 30 August 1835 the party disembarked and established a settlement at the site of the current Melbourne Immigration Museum. Batman and his group arrived on 2 September 1835 and the two groups ultimately agreed to share the settlement.
[[Batman's Treaty]] with the Aborigines was annulled by the [[New South Wales]] government (which at the time governed all of eastern mainland Australia), which compensated the association.<ref name="settlement">{{cite web | title = Foundation of the Settlement |work=History of the City of Melbourne | publisher= City of Melbourne | year = 1997 |url=http://www.melbourne.vic.gov.au/AboutMelbourne/History/Pages/SettlementtoCity.aspx | accessdate =13 July 2010}}</ref> In 1836, [[Governor Bourke]] declared the city the administrative capital of the [[Port Phillip District]] of New South Wales, and commissioned the first plan for the city, the [[Hoddle Grid]], in 1837.<ref name="COM2">{{cite web|url=http://www.melbourne.vic.gov.au/info.cfm?top=53|title= Roads |publisher=City of Melbourne|accessdate=29 September 2008}}</ref> Later that year the settlement was named "Melbourne" after the [[Prime Minister of the United Kingdom|British Prime Minister]], [[William Lamb, 2nd Viscount Melbourne]], whose [[Family seat|seat]] was [[Melbourne Hall]] in the [[market town]] of [[Melbourne, Derbyshire|Melbourne]], [[Derbyshire]]. On 13 April 1837, the settlement's [[General Post Office, Melbourne|general post office]] was officially opened with that name.<ref name = "PostOffice">{{cite web | last = Premier Postal History | title = Post Office List |url=https://www.premierpostal.com/cgi-bin/wsProd.sh/Viewpocdwrapper.p?SortBy=VIC&country= | accessdate =11 April 2008 }}</ref>
Between 1836 and 1842, Victorian Aboriginal groups were largely dispossessed of their land.<ref>James Boyce, 1835: The Founding of Melbourne and the Conquest of Australia, Black Inc, 2011, page 151 citing Richard Broome, "Victoria" in McGrath (ed.), Contested Ground: 129</ref> By January 1844, there were said to be 675 Aborigines resident in squalid camps in Melbourne.<ref>James Boyce, 1835: The Founding of Melbourne and the Conquest of Australia, Black Inc, 2011, p.186</ref> The British Colonial Office appointed five [[Protector of Aborigines|Aboriginal Protectors]] for the Aborigines of Victoria, in 1839, however their work was nullified by a land policy that favoured [[Squatting (pastoral)|squatters]] to take possession of Aboriginal lands.<ref>James Boyce, 1835: The Founding of Melbourne and the Conquest of Australia, Black Inc, 2011, p.199</ref> By 1845, fewer than 240 wealthy Europeans held all the pastoral licences then issued in Victoria and became a powerful political and economic force in Victoria for generations to come.<ref>James Boyce, 1835: The Founding of Melbourne and the Conquest of Australia, Black Inc, 2011, p.163</ref>
Melbourne was declared a city by [[letters patent]] of [[Victoria of the United Kingdom|Queen Victoria]], issued on 25 June 1847.<ref name="MilesLewis25">{{cite book|last=Lewis|first=Miles|title=Melbourne: the city's history and development|edition=2nd|publisher=City of Melbourne |location=Melbourne|year=1995|page=25|isbn=0-949624-71-3}}</ref> The Port Phillip District became the separate Colony of Victoria in 1851, with Melbourne as its capital. With the Aboriginal population dispossessed of their lands and their management of fire having been disrupted for almost 15 years, the Colony experienced for the first time its largest-ever bushfires, burning about 25% of the land area of Victoria on [[Black Thursday (1851)|Black Thursday]] on 6 February 1851.
===Victorian gold rush===
{{Further2|[[Victorian gold rush]]}}
[[File:Canvas town south melbourne victoria 1850s.jpg|thumb|"Canvas Town", South Melbourne in the 1850s depicting temporary accommodation for the thousands who poured into Melbourne each week during the gold rush.]] [[File:Melbourne international exhibition 1880.jpg|thumb|Lithograph of the [[Royal Exhibition Building]] (now a [[World Heritage site]]) built to host the [[World's Fair]] of 1880]]
The discovery of gold in Victoria in 1851 led to the [[Victorian gold rush]], and Melbourne, which served as the major port and provided most services for the region, experienced rapid growth. Within months, the city's population had increased by nearly three-quarters, from 25,000 to 40,000 inhabitants.<ref name="gold1850">{{cite web |url=http://sbs.com.au/sbsmain/gold/story.html?storyid=49
|title=Gold |author=Victorian Cultural Collaboration
|publisher=Special Broadcasting Service |accessdate=18 July 2008
|archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/20080724135849/http://sbs.com.au/sbsmain/gold/story.html?storyid=49 <!-- Bot retrieved archive --> |archivedate = 24 July 2008}}</ref> Thereafter, growth was exponential and by 1865, Melbourne had overtaken Sydney as Australia's most populous city.<ref name="largeby1865">{{cite web|url=http://www.atse.org.au/index.php?sectionid=289 |title=The Snowy Mountains Scheme and Multicultural Australia |publisher=ATSE |accessdate=21 June 2010}}{{dead link|date=August 2013}}</ref>
An influx of interstate and overseas migrants, particularly Irish, German and Chinese, saw the development of slums including a temporary "tent city" established on the southern banks of the Yarra. Chinese migrants founded a [[Chinatown, Melbourne|Chinatown]] in 1851, which remains the longest continuous Chinese settlement in the Western World.<ref>{{Cite journal |url=http://www.chinatownmelbourne.com.au/ | title=Welcome to Chinatown | publisher=Chinatown Melbourne |accessdate=11 December 2012}}</ref> In the aftermath of the [[Eureka Rebellion]], mass public support for the plight of the miners in Melbourne resulted in major political changes to the colony. The various nationalities involved in the Eureka Stockade revolt and [[Burke and Wills expedition]] give some indication of migration flows in the second half of the nineteenth century.<ref name="annear">{{cite book |last=Annear|first=Robyn|title=Nothing But Gold |publisher=Text |year=1999}}</ref>
The population growth and flow of gold into the city helped stimulate a program of grand civic building beginning with the design and construction of many of Melbourne's surviving institutional buildings including [[Parliament House, Melbourne|Parliament House]], the [[Old Treasury Building, Melbourne|Treasury Building]] and Treasury Reserve, the [[Old Melbourne Gaol]], [[Victoria Barracks, Melbourne|Victoria Barracks]], the [[State Library of Victoria|State Library]], [[Supreme Court of Victoria|Supreme Court]], [[University of Melbourne|University]], [[Melbourne GPO|General Post Office]], [[Government House, Melbourne|Government House]], [[Immigration Museum, Melbourne|Customs House]] the [[Melbourne Town Hall]], [[St Paul's Cathedral, Melbourne|St Paul's]], [[St Patrick's Cathedral, Melbourne|St Patrick's]] cathedrals and several major markets including the surviving [[Queen Victoria Market]]. The city's inner suburbs were planned, to be linked by boulevards and gardens. Melbourne had become a major finance centre, home to several banks, the [[Melbourne Mint|Royal Mint]] to Australia's first [[Australian Securities Exchange|stock exchange]] in 1861.<ref name="caslon">{{cite web|url=http://www.caslon.com.au/timeline6.htm|title=Media Business Communication time line since 1861|publisher=Caslon|accessdate=29 September 2008}}{{dead link|date=March 2014}}</ref> Grand private buildings were built in this era, including the [[Melbourne Athenaeum|Athenaeum Hall]] and several large hotels. The aboriginal population continued to decline with an estimated 80% total decrease by 1863, due primarily to introduced diseases, particularly [[smallpox]],<ref name="rbg.vic.gov.au"/> frontier violence and dispossession from their lands.
===Land boom and bust===
[[File:Federal Coffee Palace Melbourne.jpg|thumb|left|upright|The Federal Coffee Palace; one of many temperance hotels erected in the late 19th century]]
The economic boom of the Victorian gold rush peaked during the 1880s, by which time Melbourne had become the richest city in the world,<ref name="RobertCervero320">{{cite book|last=Cervero|first=Robert B.|title= The Transit Metropolis: A Global Inquiry|publisher=Island Press|year=1998|location=Chicago|page=320|isbn=1-55963-591-6}}</ref> and the largest after London in the [[British Empire]].<ref>Statesmen's Year Book 1889</ref> Melbourne hosted two international exhibitions at the large purpose-built [[Royal Exhibition Building|Exhibition Building]] between 1880 and 1890, spurring the construction of several prestigious hotels including the Menzies, Federal and the [[Hotel Windsor (Melbourne)|Grand (Windsor)]].
In 1855 the [[Melbourne Cricket Club]] secured possession of its now famous ground, the [[MCG]]. Members of the [[Melbourne Football Club]] codified [[Australian football]] in 1859, and Yarra rowing clubs and "regattas" became popular about the same time. In 1861 the [[Melbourne Cup]] was first run. In 1864 Melbourne acquired its first public monument—the Burke and Wills statue. In 1880 a telephone exchange was established and in the same year the foundations of St. Paul's Cathedral were laid; in 1881 electric light was installed in the Eastern Market building, and in the following year a generating station capable of supplying 2,000 incandescent lamps was in operation.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article3807950 | title = The Story of Melbourne | work = Argus |location = Melbourne, Australia | date = 9 September 1926 | accessdate = 24 January 2012 | page = 8 Supplement: An Historic Souvenir|publisher = National Library of Australia}}</ref> In 1885 the first cable tram in Melbourne was built. Cable tramways were in general use until the 1920s, when they were superseded by electric motors. Electric trams were introduced into the suburbs in 1906.<ref>{{cite web |first = Bill | last = Beatty |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article43017571 | title = Australian Almanac | work = Australian Women's Weekly | location = | date = 8 November 1967 | accessdate = 16 February 2012 |page=33 | publisher = National Library of Australia}}</ref>
During a visit in 1885 English journalist [[George Augustus Henry Sala]] coined the phrase "Marvellous Melbourne", which stuck long into the twentieth century and is still used today by Melburnians.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2004/01/09/1073437468105.html | title = He came, he saw, he marvelled | first = James | last = Button | work = The Age | publisher = Fairfax | date = 10 January 2004 | accessdate = 7 July 2012}}</ref> Growing building activity culminated in a "land boom" which, in 1888, reached a peak of speculative development fuelled by consumer confidence and escalating land value.<ref name="University1">{{cite book | title = The Land Boomers | first = Michael | last = Cannon | publisher = Melbourne University Press; Cambridge University Press | year = 1966}}</ref> As a result of the boom, large commercial buildings, [[coffee palace]]s, [[terrace house|terrace housing]] and palatial mansions proliferated in the city.<ref name="University1"/> The establishment of a hydraulic facility in 1887 allowed for the local manufacture of elevators, resulting in the first construction of high-rise buildings;<ref>{{cite web| author = |url=http://museumvictoria.com.au/marvellous/powered/lifts.asp |title=Marvellous Melbourne – Introduction of the Hydraulic Lift |publisher= Museum Victoria |accessdate=21 June 2010}}</ref> most notably 1889's APA (The Australian) Building, the world's tallest office building upon completion and Melbourne's tallest for over half a century.<ref name="University1"/> This period also saw the expansion of a major radial rail-based transport network.<ref name="Miles47">{{cite book | year = 1995
| first = Lewis | last = Miles | title = Melbourne the city's history and development | publisher = City of Melbourne | page = 47}}</ref>
A brash [[boosterism]] that had typified Melbourne during this time ended in 1891 with a severe depression of the city's economy, sending the local finance and property industries into a period of chaos<ref name="University1"/><ref name="localhistories">{{cite web|url=http://www.localhistories.org/melbourne.html | title = A Brief History of Melbourne | last = Lambert | first = Tim | publisher= Local Histories | accessdate=29 September 2008}}</ref> during which 16 small banks and building societies collapsed and 133 limited companies went into liquidation. The Melbourne financial crisis was a contributing factor in the [[Economic history of Australia|Australian economic depression of the 1890s]] and the [[Australian banking crisis of 1893]]. The effects of the depression on the city were profound, although it recovered enough to grow slowly during the early twentieth century.<ref name="Britannica1">{{cite web |url=http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/373808/Melbourne/12674/Growth-of-the-city|title=Melbourne (Victoria) – growth of the city | publisher = Encyclopædia Britannica| accessdate = 29 September 2008}}</ref><ref name="welovemelbourne">{{cite web |url=http://www.we-love-melbourne.net/Melbourne-history.html | title=Fast Facts on Melbourne History | publisher = We Love Melbourne | accessdate = 29 September 2008}}</ref>
===Federation of Australia===
{{Further2|[[Federation of Australia]]}}
[[File:Opening of the first parliament.jpg|thumb|right|''[[The Big Picture (painting)|The Big Picture]]'', the opening of the first [[Parliament of Australia]] on 9 May 1901, painted by [[Tom Roberts]]]]
At the time of Australia's [[Federation of Australia|federation]] on 1 January 1901, Melbourne became the seat of government of the federation. The first federal parliament was convened on 9 May 1901 in the Royal Exhibition Building, subsequently moving to the Victorian Parliament House where it was located until 1927, when it was moved to [[Canberra]]. The [[Governor-General of Australia]] resided at [[Government House, Melbourne|Government House]] in Melbourne until 1930 and many major national institutions remained in Melbourne well into the twentieth century.<ref name="Miles113">Lewis, Miles ''(Melbourne the city's history and development)'' p. 113–114</ref>
===Post-war period===
In the immediate years after World War II, Melbourne expanded rapidly, its growth boosted by [[Post war immigration to Australia]], primarily from Southern Europe and the [[Mediterranean region|Mediterranean]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://museumvictoria.com.au/origins/keydates.aspx?cid=13 |title=1961 – the Impact of Post-War Immigration |publisher = Museum Victoria | accessdate = 21 June 2010}}</ref> While the "Paris End" of Collins Street began Melbourne's boutique shopping and open air [[cafe]] cultures,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2003/05/28/1053801445880.html | title = Boutique battle at Paris end of town |first = Misha | last= Ketchel |work = Age |publisher = Fairfax | date= 11 December 2012}}</ref> the city centre was seen by many as stale—the dreary domain of office workers—something expressed by [[John Brack]] in his famous painting ''[[Collins St., 5 pm]]'' (1955).<ref>[http://www.ipa.org.au/publications/1691/the-art-of-the-forgotten-people The art of the forgotten people] by Tom Wilson</ref>
Height limits in the Melbourne CBD were lifted in 1958, after the construction of [[ICI House]], transforming the city's skyline with the introduction of skyscrapers. Suburban expansion then intensified, serviced by new indoor malls beginning with [[Chadstone Shopping Centre]].<ref>[http://www.slv.vic.gov.au/gallery/image.php?id=802 Chadstone Shopping Centre, Wolfgang Sievers, 1960. State Library of Victoria collection]{{Dead link|date=June 2010}}</ref> The post-war period also saw a major renewal of the CBD and [[St Kilda Road]] which significantly modernised the city.<ref>Judith Raphael Buckrich (1996) Melbourne's Grand Boulevard: the Story of St Kilda Road. Published State Library of Victoria</ref> New fire regulations and redevelopment saw most of the taller pre-war CBD buildings either [[demolish]]ed or partially retained through a policy of [[Facadism#Melbourne|facadism]]. Many of the larger suburban mansions from the boom era were also either demolished or subdivided.
[[File:Melbourne Collins Street Architecture.jpg|thumb|Melbourne features an extensive juxtaposition of modern and [[Victorian era]] buildings. ]]To counter the trend towards low-density suburban residential growth, the government began a series of controversial public housing projects in the inner city by the [[Housing Commission of Victoria]], which resulted in demolition of many neighbourhoods and a proliferation of high-rise towers.<ref>{{cite book | first = William | last= Logan | title = The Gentrification of inner Melbourne: a political geography of inner city housing | publisher = University of Queensland Press | year = 1985 | location = Brisbane, Australia | pages = 148–160 |url=| id = | isbn = 0-7022-1729-8 }}</ref> In later years, with the rapid rise of motor vehicle ownership, the investment in freeway and highway developments greatly accelerated the outward suburban sprawl and declining inner city population. The [[Henry Bolte|Bolte]] government sought to rapidly accelerate the modernisation of Melbourne. Major road projects including the remodelling of [[St Kilda Junction]], the widening of [[Hoddle Street]] and then the extensive [[1969 Melbourne Transportation Plan]] changed the face of the city into a car-dominated environment.<ref>{{cite web | last = Millar | first = Royce | title = Road to ... where? | work=Age | publisher = Fairfax | date = 7 November 2005 |url=http://www.theage.com.au/news/national/road-to-where/2005/11/06/1131211946903.html | accessdate= 11 December 2012}}</ref>
Australia's financial and mining booms between 1969 and 1970 resulted in establishment of the headquarters of many major companies ([[BHP Billiton]] and [[Rio Tinto Group|Rio Tinto]], among others) in the city. [[Nauru]]'s then booming economy resulted in several ambitious investments in Melbourne, such as [[Nauru House]].<ref>{{cite web |last=Shepherd|first=Dick|title=Hotel men expected to press for Govt. aid |url=http://news.google.com.au/newspapers?id=2eFUAAAAIBAJ&sjid=0JADAAAAIBAJ&pg=6710,571748&hl=en |accessdate=25 April 2011| work=Age | publisher = Fairfax | date=4 February 1972}}</ref> Melbourne remained Australia's main business and financial centre until the late 1970s, when it began to lose this primacy to Sydney.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2003/12/30/1072546531264.html?from=storyrhs
| title = Tell Melbourne it's over, we won
| work = Sydney Morning Herald | publisher = Fairfax
| date = 31 December 2003 | accessdate=18 July 2008}}</ref>
As the centre of Australia's "[[rust belt]]", Melbourne experienced an economic downturn between 1989 to 1992, following the collapse of several local financial institutions. In 1992 the newly elected [[Jeff Kennett|Kennett]] government began a campaign to revive the economy with an aggressive development campaign of [[public works]] coupled with the promotion of the city as a tourist destination with a focus on major events and sports tourism.<ref>{{cite web | last = Saward | first = Joe | title = Interview – Judith Griggs | work = Grandprix | publisher= Inside F1 | date = 1 February 1996 |url=http://www.grandprix.com/ft/ft00208.html | accessdate =14 May 2010}}</ref> During this period the [[Australian Grand Prix]] moved to Melbourne from Adelaide. Major projects included the construction of a new facility for the [[Melbourne Museum]], [[Federation Square]], the [[Melbourne Exhibition and Convention Centre]], [[Crown Casino]] and the [[CityLink]] [[Toll road|tollway]]. Other strategies included the privatisation of some of Melbourne's services, including power and public transport, and a reduction in funding to public services such as health, education and public transport infrastructure.<ref name="Miles206">Lewis, Miles ''Melbourne the city's history and development'' p203,205–206</ref>
===Contemporary Melbourne===
Since the mid-1990s, Melbourne has maintained significant population and employment growth. There has been substantial international investment in the city's industries and property market. Major inner-city urban renewal has occurred in areas such as [[Southbank, Victoria|Southbank]], [[Port Melbourne]], [[Melbourne Docklands]] and more recently, [[South Wharf, Victoria|South Wharf]]. According to the [[Australian Bureau of Statistics]], Melbourne sustained the highest population increase and economic growth rate of any Australian capital city in the three years ended June 2004.<!--Update?--><ref>{{cite web | date = 24 March 2005
|url=http://www.theage.com.au/news/National/Melbournes-population-booms/2005/03/23/1111525222758.html
| title = Melbourne's population booms | work =The Age |location=Australia | accessdate =18 July 2008 | first1=Melissa | last1=Marino | first2=Tim | last2=Colebatch}}</ref> These factors have led to population growth and further suburban expansion through the 2000s.
{{Wide image|Melbourne from Waterfront City, Docklands Pano, 20.07.06.jpg|700px|A panoramic view of the Melbourne Docklands and the city skyline from Waterfront City looking across [[Melbourne Docklands#Victoria Harbour|Victoria Harbour]].}}
{{wideimage|Melbourne Night Skyline (2013).jpg|700px|Melbourne skyline at night.}}
From 2006, the growth of the city extended into "green wedges" and beyond the city's [[urban growth boundary]]. Predictions of the city's population reaching 5 million people pushed the state government to review the growth boundary in 2008 as part of its Melbourne @ Five Million strategy.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.vic.gov.au/planningmelbourne | title = Delivering Melbourne's newest sustainable communities | work=Victoria Online | publisher=State of Victoria | date = 21 September 2006 | accessdate=21 June 2010}}{{dead link|date=July 2012}}</ref> In 2009, Melbourne was less affected by the [[Late-2000s financial crisis]] in comparison to other Australian cities. At this time, more new jobs were created in Melbourne than any other Australian capital—almost as many as the next two fastest growing cities, Brisbane and Perth, combined,<ref>The Age, 12 February 2010</ref> and Melbourne's property market remained strong,<ref>{{cite news | first = Tom |last = Ormonde | date = 14 November 2009
|url=http://www.theage.com.au/opinion/society-and-culture/housing-the-bubble-that-no-one-dares-burst-20091113-iemr.html
| title = Housing the bubble that no one dares burst | accessdate =21 June 2010
| work=Age | location=Melbourne}}</ref> resulting in historically high property prices and widespread rent increases.<ref>{{cite web | date= 16 February 2008
|url=http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2008/02/16/1202760669052.html
|title = Rent crisis forces urgent action | work=Age | location = Melbourne | accessdate =21 June 2010 | first=Jason | last=Dowling}}</ref>
==Geography==
===Topography===
{{main|Geography of Melbourne}}
Melbourne is located in the south-eastern part of mainland Australia, within the state of [[Victoria (Australia)|Victoria]]. Geologically, it is built on the confluence of [[Quaternary]] lava flows to the west, [[Silurian]] [[mudstone]]s to the east, and [[Holocene]] sand accumulation to the southeast along [[Port Phillip]]. The southeastern suburbs are situated on the [[Selwyn fault]] which transects [[Mount Martha, Victoria|Mount Martha]] and [[Cranbourne, Victoria|Cranbourne]].
Melbourne extends along the [[Yarra River]] towards the [[Yarra Valley]] and the [[Dandenong Ranges]] to the east. It extends northward through the undulating bushland valleys of the Yarra's tributaries—[[Moonee Ponds Creek]] (toward Tullamarine Airport), [[Merri Creek]], [[Darebin Creek]] and [[Plenty River]]—to the outer suburban growth corridors of [[Craigieburn, Victoria|Craigieburn]] and [[Whittlesea, Victoria|Whittlesea]].
The city reaches south-east through [[Dandenong, Victoria|Dandenong]] to the growth corridor of [[Pakenham, Victoria|Pakenham]] towards [[West Gippsland]], and southward through the [[Dandenong Creek]] valley, the [[Mornington Peninsula]] and the city of [[Frankston, Victoria|Frankston]] taking in the peaks of [[Olivers Hill, Victoria|Olivers Hill]], Mount Martha and [[Arthurs Seat, Victoria|Arthurs Seat]], extending along the shores of Port Phillip as a single [[conurbation]] to reach the exclusive suburb of [[Portsea, Victoria|Portsea]] and [[Point Nepean]]. In the west, it extends along the [[Maribyrnong River]] and its tributaries north towards [[Sunbury, Victoria|Sunbury]] and the foothills of the [[Shire of Macedon Ranges|Macedon Ranges]], and along the flat volcanic plain country towards [[Melton, Victoria|Melton]] in the west, [[Werribee]] at the foothills of the [[You Yangs]] [[granite]] ridge and [[Geelong]] as part of the greater metropolitan area to the south-west.
Melbourne's major bayside beaches are located in the south-eastern suburbs along the shores of Port Phillip Bay, in areas like [[Port Melbourne]], [[Albert Park, Victoria|Albert Park]], [[St Kilda, Victoria|St Kilda]], [[Elwood, Victoria|Elwood]], [[Brighton, Victoria|Brighton]], [[Sandringham, Victoria|Sandringham]], [[Mentone, Victoria|Mentone]] and [[Frankston, Victoria|Frankston]] although there are beaches in the western suburbs of [[Altona, Victoria|Altona]] and [[Williamstown, Victoria|Williamstown]]. The nearest [[ocean surface wave|surf]] beaches are located {{convert|85|km|mi|}} south-east of the Melbourne CBD in the back-beaches of [[Rye, Victoria|Rye]], [[Sorrento, Victoria|Sorrento]] and [[Portsea, Victoria|Portsea]].<ref name="smhbeach">{{cite web | last=Russell |first=Mark
|url=http://www.smh.com.au/news/victoria/lifes-a-beach-in-melbourne/2006/01/02/1136050380503.html
| title =Life's a beach in Melbourne
| date=2 January 2006 | work=Sydney Morning Herald
| accessdate =29 September 2008}}</ref><ref name="epabeach">{{cite web |url=http://epanote2.epa.vic.gov.au/EPA/Publications.nsf/2f1c2625731746aa4a256ce90001cbb5/d494227d97812f42ca2574330000f2c6/$FILE/1240.pdf |format=PDF|title=Beach Report 2007–08 |publisher=EPA |accessdate=29 September 2008}}</ref>
<gallery widths="200px" heights="200px">
File:Melbourne_by_night.jpg|View of the CBD of Melbourne from the [[Rialto Towers]] observation deck. The [[Eureka Tower]] features prominently in the centre of the image
File:Greater Melbourne Map 4 - May 2008.png|Map of Melbourne and [[Geelong]] urban areas
</gallery>
===Climate===
{{Further|Extreme weather events in Melbourne}}
[[File:Victoria Avenue - Canterbury.jpg|thumb|Autumn in suburban [[Canterbury, Victoria|Canterbury]]]]
Melbourne has a moderate [[oceanic climate]] ([[Köppen climate classification]] ''Cfb'')<ref>{{cite book |last=Tapper|first=Andrew|last2=Tapper|first2=Nigel|title=The weather and climate of Australia and New Zealand|year=1996|publisher=Oxford University Press|location=Melbourne, Australia | isbn=0-19-553393-3 |edition=First|editor=Gray, Kathleen|page=300}}</ref><ref>{{cite book | last1 = Linacre | first1 = Edward | last2 = Geerts | first2= Bart | title = Climates and Weather Explained | publisher = Routledge | location = London | year = 1997 | page = 379 |url=http://books.google.com/?id=mkZa1KLHCAQC&lpg=PA379&pg=PA379#v=onepage&q= | isbn = 0-415-12519-7}}</ref> and is well known for its changeable weather conditions. This is mainly due to Melbourne's location situated on the boundary of the very hot inland areas and the cool southern ocean. This temperature differential is most pronounced in the spring and summer months and can cause very strong cold fronts to form. These cold fronts can be responsible for all sorts of severe weather from gales to severe thunderstorms and hail, large temperature drops, and heavy rain.
Port Phillip is often warmer than the surrounding oceans and/or the land mass, particularly in spring and autumn; this can set up a "bay effect" similar to the "[[lake-effect snow|lake effect]]" seen in colder climates where showers are intensified leeward of the bay. Relatively narrow streams of heavy showers can often affect the same places (usually the eastern suburbs) for an extended period of time, while the rest of Melbourne and surrounds stays dry. Overall, Melbourne is, owing to the [[rain shadow]] of the [[Otway Ranges]], nonetheless drier than average for southern Victoria. Within the city and surrounds, however, rainfall varies widely, from around {{convert|425|mm|in|0}} at [[Little River, Victoria|Little River]] to {{convert|1250|mm|in|0}} on the eastern fringe at [[Gembrook, Victoria|Gembrook]].
Melbourne is also prone to isolated convective showers forming when a cold pool crosses the state, especially if there is considerable daytime heating. These showers are often heavy and can contain hail and squalls and significant drops in temperature, but they pass through very quickly at times with a rapid clearing trend to sunny and relatively calm weather and the temperature rising back to what it was before the shower. This occurs often in the space of minutes and can be repeated many times in a day, giving Melbourne a reputation for having "four seasons in one day",<ref name="Bureau">{{BoM Aust stats|site_ref=cw_086071|site_name=Melbourne Regional Office|accessdate=9 November 2010}}</ref> a phrase that is part of local [[popular culture]] and familiar to many visitors to the city.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.melbourne.vic.gov.au/info.cfm?top=269&pg=2325 | title = Welcome to Melbourne | publisher = City of Melbourne | accessdate = 18 July 2008}}</ref>
Melbourne is somewhat colder than other mainland Australian state capital cities in the winter, but not enormously so, with only a small variation in winter temperatures. The lowest temperature on record is {{convert|-2.8|C|F}}, on 4 July 1901.<ref name="snow">{{cite web |url=http://www.theage.com.au/news/national/snow-misses-cbd-lunch-appointment/2005/08/10/1123353351466.html |title=Snow misses CBD lunch appointment | date = 10 August 2005 | work= Age | publisher = Fairfax | location=Melbourne |accessdate=18 July 2008 |first1=Steve |last1=Waldon |first2=Julia |last2=Medew}}</ref> However, snowfalls are very rare: the most recent occurrence of sleet in the CBD was on 25 July 1986 and the most recent snowfalls in the outer eastern suburbs and [[Mount Dandenong]] were on 10 August 2005.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2005/08/10/1123353352628.html | title = Snow falls in Melbourne | newspaper = Sydney Morning Herald | publisher = Fairfax | date = 10 August 2005 | accessdate = 1 July 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bom.gov.au/announcements/media_releases/vic/20050810.shtml |title = Snow in Victoria | publisher= Bureau of Meteorology | accessdate = 1 July 2010}}</ref> More commonly, Melbourne experiences frosts and fog in winter.
Melbourne summers are notable for occasional days of extreme heat, which has [[global warming|increased in frequency]] over the [[Extreme weather events in Melbourne|past decade]].<ref name="Bureau"/> This occurs when the synoptic pattern is conducive to the transportation of very hot air from central Australia over to the south east corner of the continent. The inland deserts of Australia are amongst the hottest areas on earth, particularly the inland parts of north-west Australia. Every summer, intense heat builds starting in the [[Pilbara]] district of Western Australia around October/November and spreading widely over the tropical and subtropical inland parts of the continent by January. In the summer months, the southern part of the continent straddles the westerly wind belt to the south and the subtropical high pressure ridge to the north. The intense heat buildup occurs where high pressure is highly dominant in the upper levels of the atmosphere over the tropics and subtropics of Australia in summer allowing for a huge area of stable atmospheric conditions to predominate. On occasion a strong cold front will develop in summer and bring the westerlies further north than their mean summer position. On these occasions, north-west winds will develop ahead of the cold front's passage and sometimes these can be very strong, even gale force. When this occurs the hot air from the inland is dragged right down over south east Australia, occasionally even as far as southern Tasmania. As this air mass is carried entirely over the continental land mass it remains unmodified, i.e. it does not pick up additional moisture from a body of water and retains most if not all of its heat. On these occasions, the normally temperate parts of southern Victoria, including Melbourne, can experience the full fury of the desert climate albeit only briefly as the cold front responsible usually passes through relatively quickly allowing cool southerly winds from the southern ocean to replace the hot desert air. The highest temperature recorded in Melbourne city was {{convert|46.4|C|F}}, on [[Black Saturday bushfires|7 February 2009]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bom.gov.au/climate/averages/tables/cw_086071_All.shtml |title = Monthly climate statistics | publisher= Bureau of Meteorology | accessdate = 30 March 2012}}</ref>
{{Melbourne City weatherbox}}
{{Weather box
|location = [[Mount Dandenong, Victoria|Mount Dandenong]] (Eastern Suburb)
|collapsed = y
|metric first = Yes
|single line = Yes
|rain colour = green
|Jan record high C = 37.3
|Feb record high C = 39.3
|Mar record high C = 33.6
|Apr record high C = 28.0
|May record high C = 20.3
|Jun record high C = 15.0
|Jul record high C = 16.0
|Aug record high C = 20.0
|Sep record high C = 22.7
|Oct record high C = 28.7
|Nov record high C = 33.2
|Dec record high C = 36.2
|year record high C = 39.3
|Jan high C = 22.1
|Feb high C = 22.9
|Mar high C = 19.7
|Apr high C = 15.4
|May high C = 11.7
|Jun high C = 8.8
|Jul high C = 8.2
|Aug high C = 9.6
|Sep high C = 11.6
|Oct high C = 14.8
|Nov high C = 17.3
|Dec high C = 19.9
|year high C = 15.2
|Jan low C = 11.5
|Feb low C = 12.6
|Mar low C = 11.3
|Apr low C = 9.0
|May low C = 6.0
|Jun low C = 4.4
|Jul low C = 3.6
|Aug low C = 4.2
|Sep low C = 5.0
|Oct low C = 6.8
|Nov low C = 8.3
|Dec low C = 9.8
|year low C = 7.8
|Jan record low C = 4.0
|Feb record low C = 4.7
|Mar record low C = 3.7
|Apr record low C = 0.7
|May record low C = -0.4
|Jun record low C = -1.0
|Jul record low C = -2.3
|Aug record low C = -2.0
|Sep record low C = -1.8
|Oct record low C = -0.6
|Nov record low C = 0.5
|Dec record low C = 2.3
|year record low C = -2.3
|Jan rain mm = 70.2
|Feb rain mm = 61.2
|Mar rain mm = 74.6
|Apr rain mm = 102.0
|May rain mm = 129.6
|Jun rain mm = 98.4
|Jul rain mm = 95.5
|Aug rain mm = 116.8
|Sep rain mm = 106.0
|Oct rain mm = 104.8
|Nov rain mm = 109.4
|Dec rain mm = 95.7
|Jan rain days = 12.1
|Feb rain days = 8.4
|Mar rain days = 12.4
|Apr rain days = 13.7
|May rain days = 18.2
|Jun rain days = 17.8
|Jul rain days = 20.0
|Aug rain days = 19.7
|Sep rain days = 17.5
|Oct rain days = 16.5
|Nov rain days = 15.2
|Dec rain days = 12.9
|unit rain days = 0.2mm
|source 1 = [[Bureau of Meteorology (Australia)|Bureau of Meteorology]]<ref>{{BoM Aust stats|site_ref=cw_086243_All|site_name=MOUNT DANDENONG GTV9|accessdate=June 2013|date=May 2013}}</ref>
|date=May 2014}}
{{Weather box
|location = [[Laverton, Victoria|Laverton]] (Western Suburb)
|collapsed = y
|metric first = Yes
|single line = Yes
|rain colour = green
|Jan record high C = 45.0
|Feb record high C = 47.5
|Mar record high C = 41.5
|Apr record high C = 35.5
|May record high C = 27.3
|Jun record high C = 24.3
|Jul record high C = 23.5
|Aug record high C = 26.8
|Sep record high C = 31.2
|Oct record high C = 37.4
|Nov record high C = 40.3
|Dec record high C = 44.3
|year record high C = 47.4
|Jan high C = 25.7
|Feb high C = 25.5
|Mar high C = 23.6
|Apr high C = 20.2
|May high C = 16.8
|Jun high C = 14.2
|Jul high C = 13.7
|Aug high C = 14.9
|Sep high C = 17.0
|Oct high C = 19.2
|Nov high C = 21.5
|Dec high C = 23.8
|year high C = 19.7
|Jan low C = 13.7
|Feb low C = 14.2
|Mar low C = 12.5
|Apr low C = 9.8
|May low C = 7.7
|Jun low C = 5.8
|Jul low C = 5.0
|Aug low C = 5.5
|Sep low C = 6.6
|Oct low C = 8.2
|Nov low C = 10.2
|Dec low C = 12.0
|year low C = 9.3
|Jan record low C = 5.2
|Feb record low C = 5.0
|Mar record low C = 2.7
|Apr record low C = 0.3
|May record low C = -0.9
|Jun record low C = -3.3
|Jul record low C = -4.4
|Aug record low C = -3.7
|Sep record low C = -1.7
|Oct record low C = -1.0
|Nov record low C = 0.8
|Dec record low C = 3.6
|year record low C = -4.4
|Jan rain mm = 39.3
|Feb rain mm = 47.4
|Mar rain mm = 35.3
|Apr rain mm = 45.1
|May rain mm = 46.6
|Jun rain mm = 38.7
|Jul rain mm = 38.7
|Aug rain mm = 44.7
|Sep rain mm = 49.4
|Oct rain mm = 56.7
|Nov rain mm = 53.1
|Dec rain mm = 45.9
|Jan rain days = 7.3
|Feb rain days = 7.2
|Mar rain days = 8.7
|Apr rain days = 10.9
|May rain days = 13.8
|Jun rain days = 14.1
|Jul rain days = 15.3
|Aug rain days = 15.7
|Sep rain days = 14.7
|Oct rain days = 14.3
|Nov rain days = 11.9
|Dec rain days = 9.9
|unit rain days = 0.2mm
|source 1 = [[Bureau of Meteorology (Australia)|Bureau of Meteorology]]<ref>{{BoM Aust stats|site_ref=cw_087031_All|site_name=Laverton RAAF|accessdate=February 2014|date=February 2014}}</ref>
|date=February 2014}}
{{Weather box
|location = [[Melbourne Airport]] (Northern city limits)
|collapsed = y
|metric first = Yes
|single line = Yes
|rain colour = green
|Jan record high C = 44.6
|Feb record high C = 46.8
|Mar record high C = 40.8
|Apr record high C = 34.5
|May record high C = 27.0
|Jun record high C = 21.8
|Jul record high C = 22.7
|Aug record high C = 25.6
|Sep record high C = 30.2
|Oct record high C = 36.0
|Nov record high C = 39.6
|Dec record high C = 43.8
|year record high C = 46.8
|Jan high C = 26.3
|Feb high C = 26.5
|Mar high C = 24.0
|Apr high C = 20.3
|May high C = 16.6
|Jun high C = 13.6
|Jul high C = 13.1
|Aug high C = 14.4
|Sep high C = 16.6
|Oct high C = 19.2
|Nov high C = 21.9
|Dec high C = 24.4
|year high C = 19.7
|Jan low C = 13.7
|Feb low C = 14.1
|Mar low C = 12.6
|Apr low C = 10.2
|May low C = 8.3
|Jun low C = 6.2
|Jul low C = 5.4
|Aug low C = 5.9
|Sep low C = 7.0
|Oct low C = 8.4
|Nov low C = 10.4
|Dec low C = 12.0
|year low C = 9.5
|Jan record low C = 6.0
|Feb record low C = 4.8
|Mar record low C = 3.7
|Apr record low C = 1.2
|May record low C = 0.6
|Jun record low C = -0.9
|Jul record low C = -2.5
|Aug record low C = -2.5
|Sep record low C = -1.1
|Oct record low C = 1.3
|Nov record low C = 0.9
|Dec record low C = 3.5
|year record low C = -2.5
|Jan rain mm = 41.1
|Feb rain mm = 44.4
|Mar rain mm = 37.8
|Apr rain mm = 43.2
|May rain mm = 40.1
|Jun rain mm = 39.8
|Jul rain mm = 35.4
|Aug rain mm = 46.0
|Sep rain mm = 46.9
|Oct rain mm = 54.4
|Nov rain mm = 62.9
|Dec rain mm = 48.5
|Jan rain days = 8.3
|Feb rain days = 7.0
|Mar rain days = 9.1
|Apr rain days = 10.2
|May rain days = 12.5
|Jun rain days = 13.4
|Jul rain days = 14.0
|Aug rain days = 15.5
|Sep rain days = 14.1
|Oct rain days = 13.5
|Nov rain days = 11.6
|Dec rain days = 9.5
|unit rain days = 0.2mm
|source 1 = [[Bureau of Meteorology (Australia)|Bureau of Meteorology]]<ref>{{BoM Aust stats|site_ref=cw_086282_All|site_name=Melbourne Airport|accessdate=February 2014|date=February 2014}}</ref>
|date=February 2014}}
{{Weather box
|location = [[Mornington, Victoria|Mornington]] (Southern coastal suburb)
|collapsed = y
|metric first = Yes
|single line = Yes
|rain colour = green
|Jan record high C = 40.2
|Feb record high C = 41.6
|Mar record high C = 37.4
|Apr record high C = 30.7
|May record high C = 25.7
|Jun record high C = 19.3
|Jul record high C = 19.3
|Aug record high C = 23.3
|Sep record high C = 26.1
|Oct record high C = 29.4
|Nov record high C = 35.1
|Dec record high C = 38.7
|year record high C = 41.6
|Jan high C = 25.0
|Feb high C = 25.0
|Mar high C = 23.3
|Apr high C = 19.4
|May high C = 16.2
|Jun high C = 13.5
|Jul high C = 12.8
|Aug high C = 13.8
|Sep high C = 15.9
|Oct high C = 18.1
|Nov high C = 20.3
|Dec high C = 23.1
|year high C = 18.9
|Jan low C = 13.4
|Feb low C = 13.9
|Mar low C = 12.9
|Apr low C = 10.9
|May low C = 9.1
|Jun low C = 7.2
|Jul low C = 6.5
|Aug low C = 6.9
|Sep low C = 8.1
|Oct low C = 9.5
|Nov low C = 10.7
|Dec low C = 12.1
|year low C = 10.1
|Jan record low C = 7.3
|Feb record low C = 7.4
|Mar record low C = 2.5
|Apr record low C = 3.8
|May record low C = 0.6
|Jun record low C = -0.6
|Jul record low C = -1.2
|Aug record low C = -0.1
|Sep record low C = -0.6
|Oct record low C = 3.4
|Nov record low C = 4.5
|Dec record low C = 6.6
|year record low C = -1.2
|Jan rain mm = 44.1
|Feb rain mm = 43.1
|Mar rain mm = 49.4
|Apr rain mm = 62.6
|May rain mm = 70.2
|Jun rain mm = 71.2
|Jul rain mm = 69.0
|Aug rain mm = 71.3
|Sep rain mm = 71.8
|Oct rain mm = 69.6
|Nov rain mm = 60.1
|Dec rain mm = 54.3
|Jan rain days = 7.1
|Feb rain days = 6.5
|Mar rain days = 8.0
|Apr rain days = 10.8
|May rain days = 13.8
|Jun rain days = 14.7
|Jul rain days = 15.3
|Aug rain days = 15.6
|Sep rain days = 14.4
|Oct rain days = 13.0
|Nov rain days = 10.6
|Dec rain days = 8.6
|unit rain days = 0.2mm
|source 1 = [[Bureau of Meteorology (Australia)|Bureau of Meteorology]]<ref>{{BoM Aust stats|site_ref=cw_086079_All|site_name=Mornington|accessdate=February 2014|date=February 2014}}</ref>
|date=February 2014}}
==Urban structure==
{{See also|Melbourne city centre|List of heritage listed buildings in Melbourne|Lanes and arcades of Melbourne|Parks and gardens of Melbourne|List of tallest buildings in Melbourne}}
{{Wide image|Melbourne Skyline from Rialto Equirectangular Crop - Nov 2008.jpg|1000px|A panoramic view of [[Melbourne central business district|Melbourne's CBD]] with urban sprawl towards [[Mount Dandenong]].}}
The [[Hoddle Grid]] (dimensions of {{convert|1|by|0.5|mi|km}}) forms the centre of Melbourne's [[central business district]]. The grid's southern edge fronts onto the Yarra River. Office, commercial and public developments in the adjoining districts of [[Southbank, Victoria|Southbank]] and [[Melbourne Docklands|Docklands]] have made these redeveloped areas into extensions of the CBD in all but name. The city centre has a reputation for its historic and prominent [[List of lanes and arcades in Melbourne city centre|lanes and arcades]] (most notably [[Block Arcade, Melbourne|Block Place]] and [[Royal Arcade, Melbourne|Royal Arcade]]) which contain a variety of shops and cafés<ref>{{cite news
|url=http://www.theage.com.au/news/Opinion/Melbournes-love-affair-with-lanes/2004/12/31/1104344983928.html
| title=Melbourne's love affair with lanes <!-- Opinion -->
|newspaper=The Age |location=Australia
| date=<!-- 10 August -->10 August 2005
| first=Suzy |last = Freeman-Greene
| accessdate=18 July 2008
}}</ref> and are a byproduct of the city's layout.<ref><!-- cite book--> Essential but unplanned : the story of Melbourne's lanes. Weston Bate. City of Melbourne : State Library of Victoria, 1994</ref>
{{Multiple image
| align = right
| direction = horizontal
| header =
| header_align = left/right/center
| header_background =
| footer = Aerial view of [[Albert Park and Lake|Albert Park]] and a speaker's mound in Speakers' Corner at [[Birrarung Marr, Melbourne|Birrarung Marr]].
| footer_align = left/right/center
| footer_background =
| width =
| image1 = Albert_park_aerial.jpg
| width1 = 150
| caption1 =
| image2 = Birrarung Marr Speakers Corner.jpg
| width2 = 150
| caption2 = }}
Melbourne's CBD, compared with other Australian cities, has comparatively unrestricted height limits and as a result of waves of post-war development contains five of the six [[List of tallest buildings in Australia|tallest buildings in Australia]], the tallest of which is the [[Eureka Tower]], situated in Southbank. It has an observation deck near the top from where you can see above all of Melbourne's structures.<ref name="Eureka1">{{cite web
|url=http://www.eurekatower.com.au/main.cfm|title=Eureka Tower|publisher=Eureka Tower Official
|accessdate=29 September 2008 |archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/20080718162147/http://www.eurekatower.com.au/main.cfm <!-- Bot retrieved archive --> |archivedate = 18 July 2008}}</ref> The Rialto tower, the city's second tallest, remains the tallest building in the old CBD; its observation deck for visitors has recently closed.<ref>{{cite news
| first = Marika |last = Dobbin
|url=http://www.theage.com.au/travel/travel-news/end-in-view-for-rialtos-top-deck-20091007-gn8m.html
| title =End in view for Rialto's top deck
|newspaper=The Age
| location=Melbourne
| date =8 October 2009
|accessdate=8 February 2010}}</ref>
The CBD and surrounds also contain many significant historic buildings such as the [[Royal Exhibition Building]], the [[Melbourne Town Hall]] and [[Parliament House, Melbourne|Parliament House]].<ref name="Walking Melbourne">{{cite web|url=http://www.walkingmelbourne.com/|title=Walking Melbourne, Heritage, Architecture, Skyscraper and Buildings Database|publisher=Walking Melbourne|accessdate=28 September 2008}}</ref><ref name="MTG">{{cite web|url=http://www.melbourneaustralia.org/arts-architecture.html|title=Melbourne Architecture|publisher=Melbourne Travel Guide|accessdate=28 September 2008}}{{dead link|date=June 2011}}</ref>
Although the area is described as the ''centre'', it is not actually the demographic centre of Melbourne at all, due to an urban sprawl to the south east, the demographic centre being located at [[Glen Iris, Victoria|Glen Iris]].<ref>{{cite news
|url=http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2002/08/04/1028157880515.html
|title=Glen Iris still the heart of city's sprawl
|newspaper=The Age
| location=Melbourne
|date=<!-- 5 August -->5 August 2002
|accessdate=18 July 2008
}}</ref>
Melbourne is typical of Australian capital cities in that after the turn of the 20th century, it expanded with the underlying notion of a 'quarter acre home and garden' for every family, often referred to locally as the [[Australian Dream]]. This, coupled with the popularity of the private automobile after 1945, led to the auto-centric urban structure now present today in the middle and outer suburbs. Much of [[Metropolitan area|metropolitan]] Melbourne is accordingly characterised by low density sprawl, whilst its inner city areas feature predominantly medium-density, transit-oriented urban forms. The city centre, Docklands, St. Kilda Road and Southbank areas feature high-density forms.
Melbourne is often referred to as Australia's garden city, and the state of Victoria was once known as ''the garden state''.<ref name="Age3">{{cite news
|url=http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2008/03/10/1205125821732.html
|title=Victoria: the garden state or greenhouse capital?
|newspaper=The Age
| location=Melbourne
|accessdate=29 September 2008
| date=11 March 2008
|first1=Clay |last1=Lucas
|first2=Royce |last2=Millar}}</ref><ref name="wilmap">{{cite web|url=http://www.wilmap.com.au/vic.html|title=Victoria|publisher=wilmap.com.au|accessdate=29 September 2008}}</ref><ref name="goway">{{cite web|url=http://www.goway.com/downunder/australia/victoria/|title=Victoria Australia, aka "The Garden State"|publisher=goway.com|accessdate=29 September 2008}}</ref> There is an abundance of [[Melbourne parks and gardens|parks and gardens in Melbourne]],<ref name="COM">{{cite web|url=http://www.melbourne.vic.gov.au/info.cfm?top=25&pg=617|title=City of Melbourne — Parks and Gardens|publisher=City of Melbourne|accessdate=28 September 2008}}</ref> many close to the [[Melbourne Central Business District|CBD]] with a variety of common and rare plant species amid landscaped vistas, pedestrian pathways and tree-lined avenues. There are also many parks in the surrounding suburbs of Melbourne, such as in the municipalities of [[City of Stonnington|Stonnington]], [[City of Boroondara|Boroondara]] and [[City of Port Phillip|Port Phillip]], south east of the central business district. The extensive area covered by urban Melbourne is formally divided into hundreds of suburbs (for addressing and postal purposes), and administered as local government areas<ref name="vicnet">{{cite web|url=http://www.vicnet.net.au/government/localgovt/|title=Vicnet Directory — Local Government|publisher=Vicnet|accessdate=29 September 2008}}{{dead link|date=June 2011}}</ref> 31 of which are located within the metropolitan area.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.liveinvictoria.vic.gov.au/living-in-victoria/melbourne-and-regional-victoria/melbourne |title=Metropolitan Melbourne – Live in Victoria |publisher=Liveinvictoria.vic.gov.au |date=12 August 2009 |accessdate=21 June 2010}}</ref>
===Housing===
{{Main|Housing in Victoria, Australia}}
[[File:Victorian terrace on canterbury road, Middle Park.jpg|thumb|"Melbourne Style" terrace houses are common in the inner suburbs and have been the subject of gentrification.]]
Melbourne has minimal public housing, and high demand for increasingly unaffordable rental housing.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://news.domain.com.au/domain/real-estate-news/city-shortage-pushes-up-rents-20110418-1dksd.html | title = City shortage pushes up rents | date = 17 April 2011 | first = Andrew |last = Wilson | work = Domain | publisher = Fairfax | accessdate = 7 July 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.theage.com.au/national/the-rental-pressure-cooker-20100402-rjvb.html |location=Australia |work=The Age | title = The rental pressure cooker | date=3 April 2010 | publisher = Fairfax }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.theage.com.au/business/melbourne-housing-now-severely-unaffordable-20110123-1a17l.html?comments=141 |location=Australia |work=The Age | title=Melbourne housing now 'severely unaffordable' | date = 24 January 2011 | publisher = Fairfax }}</ref> Public housing is usually provided by the [[Housing Commission of Victoria]], and operates within the framework of the Commonwealth-State Housing Agreement, by which federal and state governments provide housing funding.
Melbourne is experiencing high population growth, generating high demand for housing. This housing boom has increased house prices and rents, as well as the availability of all types of housing. [[Subdivision (land)|Subdivision]] regularly occurs in the outer areas of Melbourne, with numerous developers offering house and land packages. However, after 10 years of planning policies to encourage [[Medium-density housing|medium-density]] and [[High density housing|high-density]] development in existing areas with greater access to [[public transport]] and other services, Melbourne's middle and outer ring suburbs are seeing significant [[Brownfield land|brownfields]] redevelopment.<ref>[http://urbanmelbourne.info/projectdatabase Project Database | Urban Melbourne]</ref>
==Environment==
{{See also|Environmental issues in Australia}}
Like many urban environments, Melbourne faces some significant environmental issues, many of them relating to the city's large urban footprint and urban sprawl and the demand for infrastructure and services. One such issue is water usage, drought and low rainfall. Drought in Victoria, low rainfalls and high temperatures deplete Melbourne water supplies and climate change may have a long-term impact on the water supplies of Melbourne.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.melbournewater.com.au/content/water/water_storages/water_storages.asp?bhcp=1 |title=Water Storages: Water Report | publisher = Melbourne Water |date=26 June 2009 |accessdate=21 June 2010}}</ref> Melbourne has been in a drought since 1997.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://drought.melbournewater.com.au/content/history_of_drought.asp | title = Drought, impact on water, meeting the challenge | publisher = Melbourne Water | accessdate = 21 June 2010}}{{dead link|date=August 2013}}</ref> In response to low water supplies and low rainfall due to drought, the government implemented [[Water restrictions in Australia|water restrictions]] and a range of other options including: water recycling schemes for the city, incentives for household water tanks, greywater systems, water consumption awareness initiatives, and other water saving and reuse initiatives; also, in June 2007, the Bracks Government announced that a $3.1 billion [[Wonthaggi desalination plant]] would be built on Victoria's south-east coast, capable of treating 150 billion litres of water per year,<ref>{{cite web
|url=http://www.theage.com.au/news/national/desal-plant-to-be-publicprivate-deal/2007/09/19/1189881595089.html
| title=Desal plant to be public-private deal
| work= Age | publisher = Fairfax | location=Melbourne
| date=20 September 2007 | accessdate=18 July 2008
| first=David |last=Rood}}</ref> as well as a {{convert|70|km|mi|abbr=on}} pipeline from the Goulburn area in Victoria's north to Melbourne and a new water pipeline linking Melbourne and [[Geelong]]. Both projects are being conducted under controversial Public-Private Partnerships and a multitude of independent reports have found that neither project is required to supply water to the city and that Sustainable Water Management is the best solution. In the meantime, the drought must be weathered.<ref>{{cite web
|url=http://www.melbournewater.com.au/content/current_projects/water_supply/seawater_desalination_plant/seawater_desalination_plant.asp
| title = Water Supply: Seawater Desalination Plant
| author = | publisher = Melbourne Water | accessdate = 18 July 2008}}</ref>
In response to [[Attribution of recent climate change]], the [[City of Melbourne]], in 2002, set a target to reduce [[carbon emissions]] to net zero by 2020<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.melbourne.vic.gov.au/info.cfm?top=218&pa=4025&pa2=1612&pg=1618 |title= Re-directing to Home Page | publisher = Melbourne Water |accessdate=21 June 2010}}</ref> and Moreland City Council established the Zero Moreland program, however not all metropolitan municipalities have followed, with the [[City of Glen Eira]] notably deciding in 2009 not to become carbon neutral.<ref>{{cite web | last = Riordan |first = Paul |url=http://archive.today/MetY | title= Glen Eira against green tide | publisher= News |accessdate=13 September 2014}}</ref> Melbourne has one of the largest urban footprints in the world due to its low density housing, resulting in a vast suburban sprawl, with a high level of car dependence and minimal public transport outside of inner areas.<ref name="Urbanfootprint">{{cite book | first1 = R | last1 = Cardew | first2 = P | last2 = Fanning | first3 = J | last3 = George| title = Urban Footprints and Stormwater Management: A Council Survey | pages = 16–25|year=1998 | publisher = Australian Institute of Urban Studies}}</ref> Much of the vegetation within the city are non-native species, most of European origin, and in many cases plays host to [[invasive species]] and noxious weeds.<ref name="weeds">{{cite web |url=http://www.weeds.org.au/target.htm|title=Target Species for Biological Control| publisher = Australian Weeds Committee | accessdate=29 September 2008}}</ref> Significant introduced urban pests include the [[Common Myna]],<ref>{{cite web
| first = Jeremy | last = Thompson
|url=http://www.abc.net.au/7.30/content/2002/s595922.htm
| title=Scientists declare war on Indian mynah
| work=7.30 Report | date=1 July 2002 |publisher = Australian Broadcasting Corporation
| accessdate= 18 July 2008}}</ref> [[Feral Pigeon]],<ref name="Pidgeonproblem">{{cite web |url=http://www.melbourne.vic.gov.au/opm/bc/CTEE/meetings/CSCaCD_51_20040907.pdf | format=PDF | title = Update on Pigeon Management Issue |last=Bradbury|first=Garth |date= 7 September 2004|publisher =City of Melbourne|accessdate=22 October 2008}} {{Dead link|date=September 2010|bot=H3llBot}}</ref> [[Brown Rat]],<ref>{{cite web
|url=http://www.heraldsun.com.au/victoria-a-rats-nest/story-fna7dq6e-1225756926897
| title = Victoria a Rat's Nest
| work = Herald Sun | publisher = News | date = 1 August 2009 | accessdate = 7 July 2012 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=Benson |first=Eugene |url=http://www.mymooneevalley.com.au/news/local/news/general/rodent-rampage/1573452.aspx |title=Rodent Rampage |publisher= Fairfax | date=21 July 2009 |accessdate=21 June 2010}}</ref> [[German wasp|European Wasp]],<ref>{{cite web
|url=http://www.csiro.au/resources/ps1sm.html
|title=The picnickers nightmare: European wasp
|publisher = CSIRO | accessdate=18 July 2008}}</ref> [[Common Starling]] and [[Red Fox]].<ref>Marks, C.A. & Bloomfield, T.E. (1999) Distribution and density estimates for urban foxes (Vulpes vulpes) in Melbourne: implications for rabies control</ref> Many outlying suburbs, particularly towards the [[Yarra Valley]] and the hills to the north-east and east, have gone for extended periods without regenerative fires leading to a lack of saplings and undergrowth in urbanised native bushland. The Department of Sustainability and Environment partially addresses this problem by regularly burning off.<ref name="environ">{{cite web|url=http://www.environment.gov.au/biodiversity/publications/series/paper8/paper9.html|title=Fire and Biodiversity: The Effects and Effectiveness of Fire Management | publisher =Australian Government — Department of environment|accessdate=29 September 2008}}{{dead link|date=March 2014}}</ref><ref name="stateoffire">{{cite book | last1 = Murray | first1 = Robert | first2 = Kate | last2 = White | first3 = P | last3 = Kock | title = State of Fire: A History of Volunteer Firefighting and the Country Fire Authority in Victoria | publisher = Hargreen |year=1995|pages=339 pages|isbn=0-949905-63-1}}</ref> Several [[national park]]s have been designated around the urban area of Melbourne, including the [[Mornington Peninsula National Park]], [[Port Phillip Heads Marine National Park]] and [[Point Nepean, Victoria|Point Nepean National Park]] in the south east, [[Organ Pipes National Park]] to the north and [[Dandenong Ranges National Park]] to the east. There are also a number of significant state parks just outside Melbourne.<ref name="parkweb">{{cite web|url=http://www.parkweb.vic.gov.au/1aboutus.cfm|title=About Parks Victoria|publisher=parkweb.vic.gov.au|accessdate=29 September 2008}}{{Dead link | date = July 2012}}</ref><ref>Wild Places of Greater Melbourne. R Taylor, 9780957747104, CSIRO Publishing, January 1999, 224pp, PB</ref> Responsibility for regulating pollution falls under the jurisdiction of the [[Environment Protection Authority Victoria|EPA]] Victoria and several local councils. Air pollution, by world standards, is classified as being good. Summer and autumn are the worst times of year for atmospheric haze in the urban area.<ref name="Age3"/><ref>{{cite web
|url=http://www.dar.csiro.au/information/urbanpollution.html
|title=Urban and regional air pollution
|author=CSIRO: Marine and atmospheric research
|publisher = CSIRO | accessdate=18 July 2008
|archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/20080223170558/http://www.dar.csiro.au/information/urbanpollution.html <!-- Bot retrieved archive --> |archivedate = 23 February 2008}}</ref>
Another recent environmental issue in Melbourne was the Victorian government project of channel deepening Melbourne Ports by dredging Port Phillip Bay—the [[Port Phillip Channel Deepening Project]]. It was subject to controversy and strict regulations among fears that beaches and marine wildlife could be affected by the disturbance of [[heavy metals]] and other industrial sediments.<ref name="epabeach"/><ref>{{cite web
|url=http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/02/05/2155149.htm
|title=Garrett approves Port Phillip Bay dredging
|work=ABC News
|date=5 February 2008
|publisher=Australian Broadcasting Corporation
|accessdate=18 July 2008
}}</ref> Other major pollution problems in Melbourne include levels of bacteria including [[Escherichia coli|E. coli]] in the [[Yarra River]] and its tributaries caused by septic systems,<ref>{{cite news
|url=http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,23784623-2862,00.html
|title=E coli running riot in Yarra River
|date=31 May 2008
|work=Herald Sun |location=Australia
|publisher= News |accessdate=18 July 2008
| first=Ashley
| last=Gardiner}}</ref> as well as [[litter]]. Up to 350,000 cigarette butts enter the storm water runoff every day.<ref>{{cite web
|url=http://www.aius.org.au/indicators/sectiontype.cfm?ThemeID=11&SectionTypeID=2
|title=AIUS Indicators
|work=Environmental indicators for Metropolitan Melbourne
|author=Australian Institute of Urban Studies and City of Melbourne
|publisher=Australian Institute of Urban Studies
|accessdate=18 July 2008}}{{Dead link|date=September 2010|bot=H3llBot}}</ref> Several programs are being implemented to minimise beach and river pollution.<ref name="epabeach"/><ref name="litter1">{{cite web|url=http://www.litter.vic.gov.au/resources/documents/Victoria%27s_Litter_Strategy_Sep95.pdf|format=PDF|title=Victoria's Litter reduction Strategy | publisher = State Government of Victoria |accessdate=29 September 2008}}</ref> In February 2010, ''[[The Transition Decade]]'', an initiative to transition human society, economics and environment towards sustainability, was launched in Melbourne.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://beyondzeroemissions.org/transition-decade-launch-ten-year-transition-safe-climate-and-sustainable-future |title= Transition decade launch |publisher = Beyond Zero Emissions |date=19 January 2010 |accessdate=21 June 2010}}</ref>
==Culture==
{{Main|Culture of Melbourne}}
[[File:State Library of Victoria La Trobe Reading room 5th floor view.jpg|thumb|left|upright=0.5|La Trobe Reading Room in the [[State Library of Victoria]]]]
[[File:Princess Theatre.jpg|thumb|right|[[Princess Theatre, Melbourne|Princess Theatre]]]]
[[File:Len French ceiling National Gallery of Victoria.jpg|thumb|right|The stained glass ceiling of the Great Hall of the [[National Gallery of Victoria]]]]
Melbourne is an international cultural centre, with cultural endeavours spanning major events and festivals, drama, musicals, comedy, music, art, architecture, literature, film and television. Melbourne is the birthplace of [[Cinema of Australia|Australian film]] and [[Television in Australia|television]],<ref name="first24"/> [[Australian rules football]],<ref name="Now 2003. pg. 182"/> the [[Heidelberg School]] of [[Australian Impressionism]], Australian [[contemporary dance]] (including the [[Melbourne Shuffle]] and [[New Vogue (dance)|New Vogue]] styles), and is home to the [[National Gallery of Victoria]], Australia's oldest and largest public art museum. In 2008, Melbourne became the second city after [[Edinburgh]] to be declared a [[UNESCO City of Literature]]. It has thrice shared top position in a survey by ''[[The Economist]]'' of the [[World's most livable cities#World's Most Livable Cities|world's most liveable cities]] on the basis of a number of attributes which include its broad cultural offerings.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2004/02/06/1075854028808.html
|title = Melbourne 'world's top city' |work=The Age |location=Australia |date=<!-- 6 February -->6 February 2004 | accessdate=18 July 2008}}</ref>
===Festivals===
The city celebrates a wide variety of annual cultural events and festivals of all types, including Australia's largest free community festival—[[Moomba]], the [[Melbourne International Arts Festival]], [[Melbourne International Film Festival]], [[Melbourne International Comedy Festival]] and the [[Melbourne Fringe Festival]].
===Live performance===
{{See also|List of theatres in the Melbourne City Centre}}
The [[Australian Ballet Company|Australian Ballet]] is based in Melbourne, as is the [[Melbourne Symphony Orchestra]]. Melbourne is the second home of [[Opera Australia]] after it merged with [[Victoria State Opera]] in 1996. The [[Victorian Opera (Melbourne)|Victorian Opera]] had its inaugural season in 2006 and operates out of various venues in Melbourne.
Notable theatres and performance venues include [[The Arts Centre (Melbourne)|the Victorian Arts Centre]] (which includes the [[State Theatre (Melbourne)|State Theatre]], [[Hamer Hall, Melbourne|Hamer Hall]], the Playhouse and the Fairfax Studio), [[Melbourne Recital Centre]], [[Sidney Myer Music Bowl]], [[Princess Theatre, Melbourne|Princess Theatre]], [[Regent Theatre, Melbourne|Regent Theatre]], [[Forum Theatre]], [[Palace Theatre, Melbourne|Palace Theatre]], [[Comedy Theatre, Melbourne|Comedy Theatre]], [[Athenaeum, Melbourne|Athenaeum Theatre]], [[Her Majesty's Theatre, Melbourne|Her Majesty's Theatre]], [[Capitol Theatre, Melbourne|Capitol Theatre]], [[Palais Theatre]] and the [[Australian Centre for Contemporary Art]].
A Music Victoria study released in March 2013 presented data of Melbourne's live music industry. The study found at least 460 venues in the city that host 62,000 live concerts annually and contribute A$1 billion per annum to the Victorian economy. A media article on the study explained: "On a typical Saturday night in Melbourne, 97,000 patrons attend a live music venue to see 900 musicians and 740 DJs perform. 2,730 staff are employed every Saturday in Melbourne’s live music venue."<ref>{{cite news|title=Melbourne confirmed as live music capital|url=http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-03-25/melbourne-confirmed-as-live-music-capital/4592234|accessdate=28 September 2013|newspaper=ABC News|date=25 March 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Melbourne Claims Live Music Capital Of Australia Title|url=http://www.noise11.com/news/melbourne-claims-live-music-capital-of-australia-title-20130321|work=Noise11|publisher=Noise11|accessdate=28 September 2013|author=Paul Cashmere|date=21 March 2013}}</ref>
===Street culture===
[[File:Melbourne lane 2010.jpg|thumb|right|Melbourne is known for its extensive network of lively city [[List of lanes and arcades in Melbourne city centre|laneways and arcades]]. (Pictured: [[Centre Place, Melbourne|Centre Place]]).]]
In 2010, Melbourne was named by ''[[International Business Times]]'' as one of the best cities in the world for viewing street art;<ref>Allen, Jessica. [http://uk.ibtimes.com/contents/20100604/worldbest-cities-viewing-street-art.htm The World’s Best Cities for Viewing Street Art]{{dead link|date=August 2013}}, International Business Times (2010). Retrieved 16 October 2010.{{dead link|date=January 2014}}</ref> and in 2008, its street art and lanes were voted by ''[[Lonely Planet]]'' readers as Australia's most popular cultural attraction.<ref name="Graff">Topsfield, Jewel. [http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2008/10/01/1222651140951.html Brumby slams Tourism Victoria over graffiti promotion], ''The Age'' (2008). Retrieved 16 October 2010.</ref>
===Film===
The city has an extensive cinematic history. Indeed, the world's first feature films were produced in Melbourne and its outer suburbs. [[Limelight Department]]'s 1900 ''[[Limelight Department#Soldiers of the Cross|Soldiers of the Cross]]'', the world's first [[religious epic]],<ref>Heath, Roderick (17 February 2010). [http://www.greencine.com/central/australianfilm1 Return to Oz: A History of Australian Cinema I (1896–1968)], greencine.com. Retrieved in 20 October 2010.</ref> anticipated the early 1900s golden age of Melbourne film production—an era marked by the exploration of local history and Australia's emerging identity. The [[Eureka Rebellion|1854 civil insurrection]] of [[Ballarat]] was brought to life on the screen in ''[[Eureka stockade#Eureka Stockade (1907)|Eureka Stockade]]'', and ''[[The Story of the Kelly Gang]]'' (the world's first feature length narrative film and precedent of the "[[Bushranger|Bushranging drama]]"<ref name="Bushranger1">[http://archive.sensesofcinema.com/contents/01/18/oz_western.html More Australian than Aristotelian: The Australian Bushranger Film, 1904–1914. By William Routt]</ref>) followed the escapades of [[Ned Kelly]] and his gang of outlaws. Melbourne filmmakers continued to produce bushranger and convict films, such as 1907's ''[[Robbery Under Arms#Film, TV or theatrical adaptations|Robbery Under Arms]]'' and 1908's ''[[For the Term of His Natural Life#Film, TV or theatrical adaptations|For the Term of His Natural Life]]'', up until 1912, when Victorian politicians banned the screening of bushranger films for what they perceived as the promotion of crime.<ref name="Bushranger1"/>
Melbourne's and Australia's film industries declined soon after and came to a virtual stop in the 1960s. A notable film shot and set in Melbourne during this lull is 1959's ''[[On the Beach (1959 film)|On the Beach]]''. The 1970s saw a major renaissance of Australian film, giving rise to the [[Australian New Wave]], as well as the [[Ocker]] and [[Ozploitation]] genres, instigated by Melbourne-based productions ''[[Stork (film)|Stork]]'' and ''[[Alvin Purple]]'' respectively. Other 1970s Melbourne films, such as ''[[Picnic at Hanging Rock (film)|Picnic at Hanging Rock]]'' and ''[[Mad Max]]'', would achieve worldwide acclaim. 2004 saw the construction of Melbourne's largest film and television studio complex, [[Docklands, Victoria#Docklands Studios Melbourne|Docklands Studios Melbourne]], which has hosted many domestic films and television shows, as well as international features ''[[Ghost Rider (2007 film)|Ghost Rider]]'', ''[[Knowing (film)|Knowing]]'', ''[[Charlotte's Web (2006 film)|Charlotte's Web]]'', ''[[Nightmares and Dreamscapes: From the Stories of Stephen King|Nightmares and Dreamscapes]]'' and ''[[Where the Wild Things Are (film)|Where the Wild Things Are]]'', among others.<ref>[http://www.dsmelbourne.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=18&Itemid=32 Docklands Studios Melbourne Credits]</ref> Melbourne is also home to the headquarters of [[Village Roadshow Pictures]], Australia's largest film production company. Famous modern day actors from Melbourne include [[Cate Blanchett]], [[Rachel Griffiths]], [[Olivia Newton-John]], [[Guy Pearce]], [[Geoffrey Rush]] and [[Eric Bana]].
===Architecture===
{{Further|Architecture of Melbourne|List of tallest buildings in Melbourne}}
[[File:South Melbourne Townhall Dec 2013.jpg|thumb|left|The [[South Melbourne Town Hall]] is of state heritage significance to Victoria being listed on the [[Victorian Heritage Register]] (H0217).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://vhd.heritage.vic.gov.au/vhd/heritagevic#detail_places;1520 |title=Victorian Heritage Database |publisher= Heritage Victoria |date= |accessdate=26 March 2013}}</ref>]]
The city is recognised for its mix of modern architecture which intersects with an extensive range of nineteenth and early twentieth century buildings.<ref>Peter Fischer and Susan Marsden, ''Vintage Melbourne: beautiful buildings from Melbourne city centre'', East Street Publications, Bowden South Australia 2007</ref> Some of the most architecturally noteworthy historic buildings include the [[World Heritage Site]]-listed [[Royal Exhibition Building]], constructed over a two-year period for the [[Melbourne International Exhibition (1880)|Melbourne International Exhibition]] in 1880, A.C. Goode House, a [[Gothic architecture|Neo Gothic]] building located on Collins Street designed by Wright, Reed & Beaver (1891), [[William Pitt (architect)|William Pitt]]'s Venetian Gothic style Old Stock Exchange (1888), [[William Wardell]]'s Gothic Bank (1883) which features some of Melbourne's finest interiors, the incomplete [[Parliament House, Melbourne|Parliament House]], [[St Paul's Cathedral, Melbourne|St Paul's Cathedral]] (1891) and [[Flinders Street Station]] (1909), which was the busiest commuter railway station in the world in the mid-1920s.<ref name="nla.gov.au">[http://www.nla.gov.au/pict/list/vicgovrail.html Melbourne and scenes in Victoria 1925–1926 from Victorian Government Railways] From the National Library of Australia</ref>
[[File:Stalbridge chambers little collins street.jpg|thumb|right|upright=0.7|Stalbridge Chambers (1890–1891) was built during the Victorian period in the [[Renaissance architecture#Mannerism|Mannerist]] style.]]
The city also features the [[Shrine of Remembrance]], which was built as a memorial to the men and women of Victoria who served in [[World War I]] and is now a memorial to all Australians who have served in war. The now demolished [[Queen Anne style architecture|Queen Anne style]] APA Australian Building (1889), the world's 3rd tallest building at the time of completion,<ref name="WalkingMelbourne">{{cite web|title=Walking Melbourne|url=http://www.walkingmelbourne.com/building3_apa-building-the-australian-building.html|accessdate=9 January 2012}}</ref> is said to have anticipated the skyscraper race in [[New York City]] and [[Chicago]].<ref name="Walking Melbourne"/>
In 2012, the city contained a total of 594 high-rise buildings, with 8 under construction, 71 planned and 39 at proposal stage<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.emporis.com/city/melbourne-australia |title=Emporis Skyline Ranking |publisher= Emporis Corporation. All rights reserved |accessdate=2 December 2012}}</ref> making the city's skyline the second largest in Australia. The CBD is dominated by modern office buildings including the [[Rialto Towers]] (1986), built on the site of several grand classical Victorian buildings, two of which—the Rialto Building (1889) designed by [[William Pitt (architect)|William Pitt]] and the Winfield Building (1890) designed by Charles DEbro & Richard Speight—still remain today and more recently hi-rise apartment buildings including [[Eureka Tower]] (2006), which is listed as the [[List of tallest residential buildings in the world|13th tallest residential building in the world]] in January 2014.<ref name=TallestRes>{{cite web |url=http://www.skyscrapercenter.com/List/tallest-residential-100-buildings |title=100 Tallest Residential Buildings in the World |work=Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat |accessdate=3 May 2012}}</ref>
Residential architecture is not defined by a single architectural style, but rather an eclectic mix of houses, townhouses, condominiums, and apartment buildings of various scales in the metropolitan area (particularly in areas of urban sprawl). Free standing dwellings with relatively large gardens are perhaps the most common type of housing outside inner city Melbourne. Victorian terrace housing, townhouses and historic [[Italianate]], [[Tudor revival]] and [[Georgian architecture|Neo-Georgian]] mansions are all common in neighbourhoods such as [[Toorak, Victoria|Toorak]].
==Sport==
{{Main|Sport in Victoria}}
[[File:Melbourne cup 1881.jpg|thumb|left|1881 engraving of the [[Melbourne Cup]], "the race that stops a nation"]]
[[File:Tom wills statue.jpg|thumb|upright|Statue at the [[Melbourne Cricket Ground]] of [[Tom Wills]] umpiring an 1858 school football match. The first games of Australian rules football were played in adjacent [[Yarra Park|parklands]].]]
Melbourne is notable as the host city for the [[1956 Summer Olympic Games]] (the first Olympic Games held in the southern hemisphere, with all previous games held in Europe and the United States),<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.athletesedge.info/og_1956.php|title = 1956 Melbourne | publisher = athletesedge.info| accessdate=2 May 2013}}</ref> along with the [[2006 Commonwealth Games]]. The city is home to three major annual international sporting events: the [[Australian Open]] (one of the four [[Grand Slam (tennis)|Grand Slam]] tennis tournaments); the [[Melbourne Cup]] (horse racing); and the [[Australian Grand Prix]] ([[Formula One]]). Melbourne was proclaimed the "World's Ultimate Sports City", in 2006, 2008 & 2010.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,23463520-2862,00.html | title = Melbourne victorious again | work = Herald Sun| date = 1 April 2008 | publisher = News | accessdate=18 July 2008}}</ref> The city is home to the [[National Sports Museum]], which until 2003 was located outside the members pavilion at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. It reopened in 2008 in the Olympic Stand.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.theage.com.au/news/sport/australian-sports-museum-opens-at-mcg/2008/03/05/1204402550094.html | title = Australian sports museum opens at MCG|date=5 March 2008 | first = Geoff | last = Strong | work= Age | publisher = Fairfax | location = Melbourne | accessdate=18 July 2008}}</ref>
[[Australian rules football]] and [[cricket]] are the most popular sports in Melbourne. It is considered the spiritual home of the two sports in Australia. The first official cricket Test match was played at the [[Melbourne Cricket Ground]] in March 1877. The origins of Australian rules football can be traced to matches played next to the MCG in 1858. The [[Australian Football League]] is headquartered at [[Docklands Stadium]]. Nine of the League's teams are based in the Melbourne metropolitan area: [[Carlton Football Club|Carlton]], [[Collingwood Football Club|Collingwood]], [[Essendon Football Club|Essendon]], [[Hawthorn Football Club|Hawthorn]], [[Melbourne Football Club|Melbourne]], [[North Melbourne Football Club|North Melbourne]], [[Richmond Football Club|Richmond]], [[St Kilda Football Club|St Kilda]], and [[Western Bulldogs]]. Up to five AFL matches are played each week in Melbourne, attracting an average 40,000 people per game.<ref name="AFL12321312">{{cite web |url=http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,24109399-12270,00.html | title = AFL blueprint for third stadium|last=Smith|first=Patrick|date=1 August 2008 | work = Australian | publisher = News | accessdate=22 October 2008}}</ref> Additionally, the city annually hosts the [[AFL Grand Final]].
The city is home to many professional franchises/teams in national competitions including: cricket clubs [[Melbourne Stars]], [[Melbourne Renegades]] and [[Victorian Bushrangers]], which play in the [[Big Bash League]] and other domestic cricket competitions; [[soccer]] clubs [[Melbourne Victory FC|Melbourne Victory]] and [[Melbourne City FC]] (known until June 2014 as Melbourne Heart), which play in the [[A-League]] competition, both teams play their home games at [[AAMI Park]]. [[Rugby league]] club [[Melbourne Storm]]<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.melbournestorm.com.au/default.asp?sec=7&ssec=5 | title = Melbourne Storm: The Beginning | publisher= Melbourne Storm | accessdate = 18 July 2008 | archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/20080714043434/http://www.melbournestorm.com.au/default.asp?sec=7&ssec=5 <!-- Bot retrieved archive --> |archivedate = 14 July 2008}}</ref> which plays in the [[National Rugby League|NRL]] competition; [[rugby union]] club [[Melbourne Rebels]], which plays in the [[Super Rugby]] competition; [[netball]] club [[Melbourne Vixens]], which plays in the trans-Tasman trophy [[ANZ Championship]]; basketball club [[Melbourne Tigers]], which plays in the [[National Basketball League (Australia)|NBL]] competition; [[Bulleen Boomers]] and [[Dandenong Rangers]], which play in the [[Women's National Basketball League|WNBL]]; ice hockey teams [[Melbourne Ice]] and [[Melbourne Mustangs]], who play in the [[Australian Ice Hockey League]]; and baseball club [[Melbourne Aces]], which plays in the [[Australian Baseball League]]. [[Rowing (sport)|Rowing]] is also a large part of Melbourne's sporting identity, with a number of clubs located on the Yarra River, out of which many Australian Olympians trained. The city previously held the nation's premier long distance swimming event the annual [[Race to Prince's Bridge]], in the Yarra River.
In November 2008, it was announced that the [[Victorian Major Events Company]] had informed the [[Australian Olympic Committee]] that Melbourne was considering making bids for either the [[2024 Summer Olympics|2024]] or [[2028 Summer Olympics]].<ref>{{cite web | last = Reilly | first = Tom
| title = City looks to make fresh tilt at Olympics
| work = Age | publisher = Fairfax | location = Melbourne
| date = 18 January 2009
|url=http://www.theage.com.au/national/city-looks-to-make-fresh-tilt-at-olympics-20090117-7jlw.html?page=-1
| accessdate =19 April 2010}}</ref>
==Economy==
{{See also|Category:Companies based in Melbourne}}
[[File:Crown Casino Complex & Melbourne Exhibition Building.jpg|thumb|right|Melbourne's entertainment and conference precinct (Crown Casino and Convention Centre) make substantial annual contributions to the Victorian economy ($2 billion and $3 billion respectively).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.businessday.com.au/business/crown-records-profit-growth-up-130-20100826-13st5.html |title=Crown casino records profit growth, up 130% |publisher=Businessday.com.au |date= |accessdate=10 June 2012}}</ref>]]
Melbourne has a highly diversified economy with particular strengths in finance, manufacturing, research, IT, education, logistics, transportation and tourism. Melbourne is headquarters for many of Australia's largest corporations, including five of the ten largest in the country (based on revenue), and four of the largest six in the country (based on [[market capitalisation]])<ref>[http://www.brw.com.au/lists/detail/?listId=5 BRW 1000]{{Dead link|date=June 2010}}</ref> ([[Australia and New Zealand Banking Group|ANZ]], [[BHP Billiton]] (the world's largest mining company), the [[National Australia Bank]] and [[Telstra]]); as well as such representative bodies and thinktanks as the [[Business Council of Australia]] and the [[Australian Council of Trade Unions]]. The city is home to Australia's largest and busiest [[Port of Melbourne|seaport]] which handles more than $75 billion in trade every year and 39% of the nation's container trade.<ref name="goway"/><ref name="pom">{{cite web
|url=http://www.bernama.com.my/bernama/v3/news.php?id=267171
|title=Port Of Melbourne Sets Shipping Record
|date=13 June 2007
|work=Malaysian National News Agency
|publisher=www.bernama.com.my
|accessdate=18 July 2008
}}{{dead link|date=June 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite news
|url=http://www.theage.com.au/news/National/Growth-of-Australias-largest-port-essential/2004/12/17/1102787275601.html
|title=Growth of Australia's largest port essential
|newspaper=The Age
| location=Melbourne
|date=<!-- 18 December -->18 December 2004
|accessdate=18 July 2008
}}</ref> [[Melbourne Airport]] provides an entry point for national and international visitors, and is Australia's second busiest airport.
Melbourne is also an important financial centre. Two of the [[Big Four (banks)|big four]] banks, [[National Australia Bank|NAB]] and [[Australia and New Zealand Banking Group|ANZ]], are headquartered in Melbourne. The city has carved out a niche as Australia’s leading centre for [[Superannuation in Australia|superannuation]] (pension) funds, with 40% of the total, and 65% of [[Industry superannuation|industry super-funds]] including the $40 billion-dollar Federal Government [[Future Fund]]. The city was rated 41st within the top 50 financial cities as surveyed by the MasterCard Worldwide Centers of Commerce Index (2008),<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mastercard.com/us/company/en/insights/pdfs/2008/MCWW_WCoC-Report_2008.pdf |title=MW-IndexRpt-CoComm FA.indd<!-- Bot generated title --> |format=PDF |accessdate=10 October 2008}}</ref> second only to Sydney (12th) in Australia.
Melbourne is Australia's second-largest industrial centre.<ref>{{cite web|author=Matt Wade |url=http://www.smh.com.au/national/sydney-takes-manufacturing-capital-crown-from-melbourne-20140207-327c3.html |title=Sydney takes manufacturing capital crown from Melbourne |publisher=Smh.com.au |date=2014-02-08 |accessdate=2014-03-30}}</ref> It is the Australian base for a number of significant manufacturers including [[Boeing]], truck-makers [[Kenworth]] and [[Iveco]], [[Cadbury]] as well as [[Bombardier Transportation]] and [[Jayco]], among many others. It is also home to a wide variety of other manufacturers, ranging from petrochemicals and pharmaceuticals to fashion garments, paper manufacturing and food processing.<ref name="sov">{{cite web|url=http://dsdbi.vic.gov.au/our-department/strategies-and-initiatives/a-more-competitive-manufacturing-industry|title=Business Victoria – Manufacturing|date=26 May 2008|publisher=State of Victoria, Australia |accessdate=22 October 2008}}</ref> The city also boasts a research and development hub for [[Ford Australia]], as well as a global design studio and technical centre for [[General Motors]] and [[Toyota]] respectively.
[[CSL Limited|CSL]], one of the world’s top five biotech companies, and [[Sigma Pharmaceuticals]] have their headquarters in Melbourne. The two are the largest listed Australian pharmaceutical companies.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.invest.vic.gov.au/biotechnology-life-sciences|title=Invest Victoria - Biotechnology and Life Sciences}}{{dead link|date=March 2014}}</ref> Melbourne has an important [[Information and Communication Technology|ICT]] industry that employs over 60,000 people (one third of Australia's ICT workforce), with a turnover of $19.8 billion and export revenues of $615 million. In addition, tourism also plays an important role in Melbourne's economy, with approximately 7.6 million domestic visitors and 1.88 million international visitors in 2004.<ref>{{cite web
|url=http://www.dpc.vic.gov.au/domino/Web_Notes/newmedia.nsf/bc348d5912436a9cca256cfc0082d800/55b1f13cef7b139cca256ed80081ebd6!OpenDocument
|title=MELBOURNE AIRPORT PASSENGER FIGURES STRONGEST ON RECORD
|work=Media Release: MINISTER FOR TOURISM
|date=21 July 2004
|publisher=www.dpc.vic.gov.au
|accessdate=18 July 2008
}}{{dead link|date=July 2012}}</ref> In 2008, Melbourne overtook Sydney with the amount of money that domestic tourists spent in the city,<ref>{{cite news
|url=http://www.theage.com.au/news/news/now-sydney-loses-its-tourism-ascendancy/2008/05/16/1211049134065.html?page=fullpage#contentSwap1
| title=Now Sydney loses its tourism ascendancy
|newspaper=The Age
| location=Melbourne |date=19 May 2008 <!-- 19 May -->
| accessdate=18 July 2008
| first=Annabel
| last=Stafford}}</ref> accounting for around $15.8 billion annually.<ref>[http://www.timholding.com.au/portfolios/tourism-and-major-events/]{{dead link|date=June 2011}}</ref> Melbourne has been attracting an increasing share of domestic and international conference markets. Construction began in February 2006 of a $1 billion 5000-seat international convention centre, Hilton Hotel and commercial precinct adjacent to the [[Melbourne Exhibition and Convention Centre]] to link development along the [[Yarra River]] with the [[Southbank, Victoria|Southbank precinct]] and multi-billion dollar [[Melbourne Docklands|Docklands]] redevelopment.<ref>{{cite news
|url=http://www.theage.com.au/news/national/councillors-furious-about-convention-centre-deal/2006/04/30/1146335610761.html
| title = Councillors furious about convention centre deal
|newspaper=The Age
| location=Melbourne
| date = 1 May 2006
| first=Rachel
| last=Kleinman}}</ref>
The most visited attractions are: [[Federation Square]], [[Queen Victoria Market]], [[Crown Casino]], [[Southbank, Victoria|Southbank]], [[Melbourne Zoo]], [[Melbourne Aquarium]], [[Docklands, Victoria|Docklands]], [[National Gallery of Victoria]], [[Melbourne Museum]], Melbourne Observation Deck, [[The Arts Centre|Arts Centre Melbourne]], and the [[Melbourne Cricket Ground]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.onlymelbourne.com.au/melbourne_details.php?id=4481#.UgqoBEg6htI |title=Victoria's Top 20 Attractions |publisher=Only Melbourne |date=2013-09-27 |accessdate=2014-03-30}}</ref>
{{Main|Tourism in Melbourne}}
The Economist Intelligence Unit ranks Melbourne as the fourth most expensive city in the world to live in according to its worldwide cost of living index in 2013.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.cnn.com/2013/02/04/travel/cost-of-living-2013/ |title=What are the most expensive cities to live in?|accessdate=16 February 2014}}</ref>
==Demographics==
{{Main|Demographics of Melbourne}}
[[File:Chinese-new-year-melbourne.JPG|thumb|upright|left|[[Chinese New Year]] celebrations in [[Chinatown, Melbourne|Chinatown]]. Melbourne has a large Chinese population, the oldest continuous Chinese settlement in Australia and the second longest continuous Chinese settlement in the western world.]]
In Greater Melbourne (Greater Capital City Statistical Areas), 63.3% of people were born in Australia. The most common countries of birth were England 3.4%, India 2.7%, China (excludes [[Special administrative region|SARs]] and Taiwan) 2.3%, Italy 1.7% and New Zealand 1.7%. In 2011 the most common ancestries in Greater Melbourne (Greater Capital City Statistical Areas) were [[English Australian|English]] 21.1%, [[Australian]] 20.7%, [[Irish Australian|Irish]] 6.9%, [[Scottish Australian|Scottish]] 5.7%, and [[Italian Australian|Italian]] 5.5%.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.censusdata.abs.gov.au/census_services/getproduct/census/2011/quickstat/2GMEL |title=2011 Census QuickStats: People — demographics & education |publisher=Censusdata.abs.gov.au |date= |accessdate=2014-03-30}}</ref>
Melbourne has the largest [[Greeks|Greek-speaking]] population outside of Europe, a population comparable to some larger Greek cities like [[Larissa]] and [[Volos]].<ref>http://www.oecd.org/gov/regional-policy/50242959.pdf</ref> [[Thessaloniki]] is Melbourne's Greek sister city). The Vietnamese surname [[Nguyen]] is the second most common in Melbourne's phone book after [[Smith (surname)|Smith]].<ref>[http://www.melbourne.vic.gov.au/AboutMelbourne/History/Pages/multiculturalhistory.aspx Melbourne's multicultural history], City of Melbourne. Retrieved 14 November 2010.</ref> The city also features substantial Indian, Sri Lankan, and Malaysian-born communities, in addition to recent South African and Sudanese influxes. The cultural diversity is reflected in the city's restaurants serving various international cuisines.
Over two-thirds of Melburnians speak only English at home (68.1%). Chinese (mainly [[Cantonese]] and [[Mandarin Chinese|Mandarin]]) is the second-most-common language spoken at home (3.6%), with Greek third, Italian fourth and Vietnamese fifth, each with more than 100,000 speakers.<ref name="qs">{{cite web | work=2006 Census
|url=http://www.censusdata.abs.gov.au/ABSNavigation/prenav/ViewData?&action=401&tabname=Summary&areacode=205&issue=2006&producttype=QuickStats&textversion=true&navmapdisplayed=true&&breadcrumb=PLD&
| title = QuickStats: Melbourne (Statistical Division)
| publisher=Commonwealth of Australia |accessdate=18 July 2008}}</ref> Although Victoria's net interstate migration has fluctuated, the Melbourne statistical division has grown by approximately 70,000 people a year since 2005. Melbourne has now attracted the largest proportion of international overseas immigrants (48,000) finding it outpacing Sydney's international migrant intake on percentage, along with having strong interstate migration from Sydney and other capitals due to more affordable housing and cost of living, which have been two recent key factors driving Melbourne's growth.<ref name="Oleary">{{cite journal|last=O'Leary |first=John|title=Resurgence of Marvellous Melbourne|journal=People and Place|publisher=Monash University|volume=7, 1|page=38
|url=http://elecpress.monash.edu.au/pnp/free/pnpv7n1/v7n1_6oleary.pdf|format=PDF}}</ref>
In recent years, [[Shire of Melton|Melton]], [[City of Wyndham|Wyndham]] and [[City of Casey|Casey]], part of the Melbourne statistical division, have recorded the highest growth rate of all [[Local government in Australia|local government areas]] in Australia. Melbourne could overtake Sydney in population by 2028,<ref>{{cite web
|url=http://www.theage.com.au/national/growth-pains-on-the-citys-fringe-20120731-23d73.html
| title = Growth pains on the city's fringe
| work = The Age | date=1 August 2012 |accessdate=24 Aug 2012}}</ref> The [[Australian Bureau of Statistics|ABS]] has projected in two scenarios that Sydney will remain larger than Melbourne beyond 2056, albeit by a margin of less than 3% compared to a margin of 12% today. Melbourne's population could overtake Sydney by 2037<ref>{{cite web|author=staff writers |url=http://www.news.com.au/business/melbourne-will-be-australias-biggest-city-by-2037/story-e6frfm1i-1225858572349 |title=Business - Melbourne will be Australia's biggest city by 2037 |publisher=News.com.au |date=2010-04-27 |accessdate=2014-03-30}}</ref> or 2039, according to the first scenario projected by the ABS; primarily due to larger levels of internal migration losses assumed for Sydney.<ref name="popprojections">{{cite web |url=http://www.abs.gov.au/AUSSTATS/abs@.nsf/DetailsPage/3222.02006%20to%202101?OpenDocument | title = Population Projections, Australia, 2006 to 2101 | publisher = Australian Bureau of Statistics | accessdate=4 September 2008}}</ref> Another study claims that Melbourne will overtake Sydney by 2040.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.abc.net.au/am/content/2013/s3765418.htm |title=Melbourne to overtake Sydney by 2040 |publisher=abc.net.au |date=2013-05-23 |accessdate=2014-03-30}}</ref>
After a trend of declining population density since World War II, the city has seen increased density in the inner and western suburbs aided in part by Victorian Government planning blueprints, such as [[Postcode 3000]] and [[Melbourne 2030]] which have aimed to curtail the urban sprawl.<ref name="Melbourne2030">{{cite web |url=http://www.dse.vic.gov.au/melbourne2030online/content/introduction/02_summary.html | title = Melbourne 2030 – in summary | publisher = Victorian Government, Department of Sustainability and Environment | accessdate = 5 October 2008}}{{dead link|date=June 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.melbourne.vic.gov.au/info.cfm?top=288&pg=1362 | title = City of Melbourne: Strategic Planning — Postcode 3000 | publisher = City of Melbourne | accessdate = 5 October 2008}}</ref>
==Education==
{{Main|Education in Melbourne}}
[[File:Trinity college university of melbourne.jpg|thumb|[[Trinity College (University of Melbourne)|Trinity College]], part of the [[University of Melbourne]]]]
Melbourne was ranked the world's fourth top university city in 2008 after London, Boston and Tokyo in a poll commissioned by [[the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology]].<ref>{{cite web | date = 30 May 2008 | title = World's top university cities revealed
|url=http://www.rmit.net.au/browse;ID=q3l220b3wzs5
| work = RMIT News | publisher = RMIT University | accessdate = 18 July 2008}}{{dead link|date=July 2012}}</ref> Melbourne is the home of the [[University of Melbourne]], as well as [[Monash University]], the largest university in Australia. The University of Melbourne is the second oldest university in Australia.<ref>{{cite web | title = WEHI: Our research partners | publisher = University of Melbourne |url=http://www.wehi.edu.au/about_us/partners_and_affiliates/the_university_of_melbourne | work = Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research|accessdate=13 July 2011}}</ref> It was ranked first among Australian universities in the 2010 [[Times Higher Education|THES]] international rankings.<ref name="melbuni">{{cite web | date = 6 October 2006 | title = ANU up there with the best
|url=http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/anu-up-there-with-the-best/2006/10/05/1159641468047.html | work = Sydney Morning Herald | publisher = Faifax | accessdate = 12 October 2006}}</ref>
''The 2012–2013 Times Higher Education Supplement'' ranked the University of Melbourne as the 28th (30th by QS ranking) best university in the world. Monash University was ranked as the 99th (60th by QS ranking) best university in the world. Both universities are members of the [[Group of Eight (Australian universities)|Group of Eight]]. [[Swinburne University of Technology]], based in the inner city Melbourne suburb of Hawthorn is ranked 76-100 in the world for Physics by the Academic Ranking of World Universities making Swinburne the only Australian university outside the Group of Eight to achieve a top 100 rating in a science discipline.
Other universities located in Melbourne include [[La Trobe University]], [[RMIT University]], [[Victoria University of Technology|Victoria University]], which has nine campuses across Melbourne's western region, including three in the heart of Melbourne's Central Business District (CBD) and another four within ten kilometres ({{convert|10|km|abbr=off|disp=output only}}) of the CBD, and the St Patrick's campus of the [[Australian Catholic University]]. [[Deakin University]] maintains two major campuses in Melbourne and Geelong, and is the third largest university in Victoria. In recent years, the number of [[international student]]s at Melbourne's universities has risen rapidly, a result of an increasing number of places being made available to full fee paying students.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://uninews.unimelb.edu.au/articleid_3967.html
| title = University of Melbourne's international student offers rise as its demand leaps
| work = Uni News | publisher = University of Melbourne | date=12 January 2007 | accessdate = 18 July 2008}}</ref>
==Media==
===Television===
{{Main|Media in Melbourne}}
[[File:Federation Square (SBS Building).jpg|thumb|right|[[Special Broadcasting Service|SBS]] studios at [[Federation Square]]]]
Six free-to-air television stations service Greater Melbourne and Geelong:
* [[ABC Television|ABC]] Victoria ([[ABV (TV station)|ABV]])
* [[Special Broadcasting Service|SBS]] Victoria (SBS)
* [[Seven Network|Seven]] Melbourne ([[HSV (TV station)|HSV]])
* [[Nine Network|Nine]] Melbourne ([[GTV]])
* [[Network Ten|Ten]] Melbourne ([[ATV (Australia)|ATV]])
* [[C31 Melbourne]] (MGV) – community television
Each station (excluding C31) broadcasts a primary channel and several multichannels. C31 is only broadcast from the transmitters at Mount Dandenong and South Yarra.
Various television shows are produced in Melbourne, most notably ''[[Neighbours]]'', ''[[Kath & Kim (Australian TV series)|Kath & Kim]]'', ''[[Winners and Losers]]'', ''[[Offspring (TV series)|Offspring]]'', ''[[Underbelly (TV series)|Underbelly]]'' and ''[[Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries]]'' along with national news based programs such as ''[[The Project (TV program)|The Project]]'', ''[[Today Tonight]]'' and ''[[ABC News Breakfast]]''
[[Pay television]] in Melbourne is largely delivered through cable and satellite services. [[Foxtel]] and [[Optus Television|Optus]] are the main pay television providers. [[Sky News Australia|Sky News]] and [[Fox Sports (Australia)|Fox Sports]] both have studios facilities based in Melbourne.
===Radio===
A long [[List of radio stations in Australia#Melbourne|list]] of AM and FM radio stations broadcast to greater Melbourne. These include "public" (i.e. state owned [[ABC Radio (Australia)|ABC]] & [[SBS Radio|SBS]]) and [[Community radio#Australia|community]] stations. Many [[Commercial broadcasting|commercial]] stations are networked-owned: [[DMG Radio|DMG]] has [[Nova 100]] and [[Smooth 91.5|Smooth]]; [[Australian Radio Network|ARN]] controls [[Gold 104.3|Gold]] and [[Mix 101.1|Mix]]; and [[Southern Cross Austereo]] runs both [[Fox FM (Melbourne)|Fox]] and [[3MMM|Triple M]]. Stations from towns in regional Victoria may also be heard (e.g. [[93.9 Bay FM]], Geelong ). Youth alternatives include ABC [[Triple J]] and youth run [[3SYN|SYN]]. Triple J, and similarly [[3PBS|PBS]] and [[3RRR|Triple R]], strive to play under represented music. [[3JOY|JOY]] caters for gay and lesbian audiences. For fans of classical music there are [[3MBS]] and [[ABC Classic FM]]. [[Light FM]] is a contemporary Christian station. AM stations include ABC: [[774 ABC Melbourne|774]], [[Radio National]], and [[ABC NewsRadio|News Radio]]; also [[Fairfax Media|Fairfax]] affiliates [[3AW]] ([[talk radio|talk]]) and [[Magic 1278|Magic]] ([[easy listening]]). For sport fans and enthusiasts there is [[SEN 1116]]. Melbourne has many community run stations that serve alternative interests, such as [[3CR (Melbourne)|3CR]] and [[3KND]] (Indigenous). Many suburbs have low powered community run stations serving local audiences.<ref name=cbaa>{{cite web | title = Victoria Members – Community Broadcasting Association of Australia | publisher=CBAA
|url=http://www.cbaa.org.au/Who_We_Are/Victoria-Members | accessdate =28 August 2010}}</ref><!-- dead link<ref name="yahoo">{{cite web |url=http://www.geocities.com/radio1600/
| title=Melbourne Radio Stations Australia > Melbourne
| publisher=Yahoo — geocities | accessdate=2 October 2008}}</ref> -->
===Print===
Three daily newspapers serve Melbourne: the ''[[Herald Sun]]'' (tabloid), ''[[The Age]]'' (formerly broadsheet, now compact) and ''[[The Australian]]'' (national broadsheet). The free ''[[mX (newspaper)|mX]]'' is also distributed weekday afternoon at railway stations and on the streets of central Melbourne.<ref name="MX1">{{cite web |url=http://www.mxnet.com.au/
|title = MX |publisher=Herald and Weekly Times (HWT) <!-- aka News Limited -->
|accessdate=2 October 2008}}</ref>
==Religion==
[[File:St Paul Church.JPG|thumb|left|[[St Paul's Cathedral, Melbourne|St Paul's Cathedral]]]]
Melbourne has a wide range of religious faiths, the most widely held of which is Christianity. This is signified by the city's two large cathedrals—[[St Patrick's Cathedral, Melbourne|St Patrick's]] (Roman Catholic), and [[St Paul's Cathedral, Melbourne|St Paul's]] (Anglican). Both were built in the [[Victorian era]] and are of considerable heritage significance as major landmarks of the city.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.walkingmelbourne.com/period_info2.html?period=Victorian|title=Victorian Architectural Period — Melbourne|publisher=walkingmelbourne.com|accessdate=5 October 2008}}</ref>
According to the 2011 Census, the largest responses on religious belief in Melbourne were [[Roman Catholic]] (27.2%), [[Irreligion|no religion]] (23.5%), [[Anglican]] (10.8%), [[Eastern Orthodox]] (5.5%) and [[Buddhist]] (4.0%).<ref name="qs"/><ref>[http://www.censusdata.abs.gov.au/census_services/getproduct/census/2011/quickstat/2GMEL?opendocument&navpos=220 2011 Census QuickStats Greater Melbourne, Australian Bureau of Statistics]</ref>
About 145,000 Muslims live in Melbourne.<ref name="profile.id.com.au">[http://profile.id.com.au/australia/religion?WebID=260 Religion – Greater Melbourne]</ref> Muslim religious life in Melbourne is centred on more than 25 mosques and a large number of prayer rooms at university campuses, workplaces and other venues. The best-attended mosques are at Preston, Broadmeadows, Newport and Doncaster. Melbourne also has five Islamic schools.<ref>[http://www.emelbourne.net.au/biogs/EM00766b.htm Islam – Entry – eMelbourne – The Encyclopedia of Melbourne Online, 25 February 2010]</ref>
Melbourne has the largest [[Jews|Jewish]] population in Australia, the community numbering 45,000.<ref name="profile.id.com.au"/> The city is also home to the largest number of [[Holocaust]] survivors of any Australian city,<ref name="Freda">{{cite web|url=http://www.australianhumanitiesreview.org/archive/Issue-December-2001/freiberg.html
| title=Judith Berman, Holocaust Remembrance in Australian Jewish Communities, 1945–2000
|last=Freiberg|first=Freda|year=2001|publisher=UWA Press |accessdate=22 October 2008}}</ref> indeed the highest per capita outside [[Israel]] itself.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://home.iprimus.com.au/kadimah/k90.htm | title = The Kadimah & Yiddish Melbourne in the 20th Century | work=Jewish Cultural Centre and National Library: "Kadima" | accessdate=9 January 2007}}</ref> Reflecting this vibrant and growing community, Melbourne has a plethora of Jewish cultural, religious and educational institutions, including over 40 synagogues and 7 full-time parochial day schools,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.bh.org.il/Communities/Archive/Melbourne.asp
| title=Jewish Community of Melbourne, Australia
| publisher=Beth Hatefutsoth — The Nahum Goldmann Museum of the Jewish Diaspora
| accessdate=5 October 2008}} {{Dead link|date=September 2010|bot=H3llBot}}</ref> along with a [[Australian Jewish News|local Jewish newspaper]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://jewishnews.net.au/news/ | title = News
| publisher=The Australian Jewish News | accessdate=28 August 2010}}</ref>
==Governance==
[[File:Parliament House Melbourne 2010.jpg|thumb|right|The [[Parliament of Victoria]] meets in [[Parliament House, Melbourne|Parliament House]]]]
The governance of Melbourne is split between the [[government of Victoria]] and the [[Local Government Areas of Victoria#Municipalities of Greater Melbourne|26 cities and five shires]] which comprise the metropolitan area. There is no ceremonial or political head of Melbourne; however, the [[Lord Mayor of Melbourne|Lord Mayor of the City of Melbourne]] often fulfils such a role as a first amongst equals,<ref>
{{cite news
|last = Dunstan | first= David
|url=http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2004/11/11/1100131127769.html?from=storylhs
| title = The evolution of 'Clown Hall'
|newspaper=The Age
| location=Melbourne
| date= 12 November 2004
| accessdate =8 November 2010}}</ref> particularly when interstate or overseas.
The local councils are responsible for providing the functions set out in the ''Local Government Act'' 1989<ref>[http://www.dms.dpc.vic.gov.au/Domino/Web_Notes/LDMS/PubLawToday.nsf/0/B171E800B03D6A9ECA256E5B00037B12/$FILE/89-11a030.pdf Local Government Act 1989]</ref> such as [[urban planning]] and [[waste management]]. Most other government services are provided or regulated by the [[government of Victoria|Victorian state government]], which governs from [[Parliament House, Melbourne|Parliament House]] in [[Spring Street, Melbourne|Spring Street]]. These include services which are associated with local government in other countries and include public transport, main roads, traffic control, policing, education above preschool level, health and planning of major infrastructure projects. The state government retains the right to override certain local government decisions, including urban planning, and Melburnian issues often feature prominently in state election.
==Infrastructure==
===Health===
[[File:Royal melbourne hospital.jpg|thumb|left|Aerial view of [[Royal Melbourne Hospital]] in [[Parkville, Victoria|Parkville]]]]
The [[Government of Victoria]]'s Department of Health oversees approximately 30 public hospitals in the Melbourne metropolitan region, and 13 health services organisations.<ref>[http://www.health.vic.gov.au/maps/metro_hs.htm Melbourne public hospitals and Metropolitan Health Services] Victorian Department of Health</ref>
There are many major medical, [[neuroscience]] and [[biotechnology]] research institutions located in Melbourne: [[St. Vincent's Institute of Medical Research]], [[Australian Stem Cell Centre]], the [[Burnet Institute]], [[Australian Regenerative Medicine Institute]], Victorian Institute of Chemical Sciences, Brain Research Institute, [[Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre]], the [[Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research]], and the [[Melbourne Neuropsychiatry Centre]].
Other institutions include the [[Howard Florey Institute]], the Murdoch Children's Research Institute, [[Baker IDI Heart and Diabetes Institute]] and the [[Australian Synchrotron]].<ref name="health">{{cite web|url=http://www.health.vic.gov.au/|title=Victorian Government Health Information Web site|publisher=health services, Victoria|accessdate=5 October 2008}}</ref> Many of these institutions are associated with and are located near universities.
Among Australian capital cities, Melbourne ties equal 1st with Canberra for the highest male life expectancy (80.0 years) and ranks second behind Perth in female life expectancy (84.1 years).<ref>[http://www.health.gov.au/internet/ministers/publishing.nsf/Content/mr-yr08-je-je112.htm Sunshine Coast and WA Country and Perth Women among Longest Life Expectancy in the World]{{dead link|date=March 2014}}, [[Department of Health and Ageing]]. Retrieved 15 October 2010.</ref>
===Transport===
{{Main|Transport in Melbourne}}
[[File:Bolte bridge dusk.jpg|thumb|The [[Bolte Bridge]] is part of the [[CityLink]] tollway system.]]
Melbourne has a high dependency on the automobile for transport,<ref name="newman">[http://www.mtf.org.au/binary.php/resouces_presentation/mtf_launch_presentation_071105_handout_.pdf Most Liveable and Best Connected?]{{dead link|date=June 2011}} The Economic Benefits of Investing in Public Transport in Melbourne, by Jan Scheurer, Jeff Kenworthy, and [[Peter Newman (Australian)|Peter Newman]]</ref> particularly in the outer suburban areas where the largest number of cars are bought,<ref>{{cite news | date=10 October 2007
|url=http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,22561141-2862,00.html
| title = Still addicted to cars
|work=Herald Sun |location=Australia | accessdate=18 July 2008}}</ref> with a total of 3.6 million private vehicles using {{convert|22320|km|mi|abbr=on}} of road, and one of the highest lengths of road per capita in the world.<ref name="newman"/> The early 20th century saw an increase in popularity of automobiles, resulting in large-scale suburban expansion,<ref>{{cite news | date = 14 February 2004
|url=http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2004/02/11/1076388428001.html
| title = The cars that ate Melbourne
| work=The Age |location=Australia
| accessdate=18 July 2008}}</ref> and today it has an extensive network of freeways and arterial roadways used by private vehicles including freight as well as public transport systems including bus and taxis. Major highways feeding into the city include the [[Eastern Freeway, Melbourne|Eastern Freeway]], [[Monash Freeway]] and [[West Gate Freeway]] (which spans the large [[West Gate Bridge]]), whilst other freeways circumnavigate the city or lead to other major cities, including [[CityLink]] (which spans the large [[Bolte Bridge]]), [[EastLink, Melbourne|Eastlink]], the [[Western Ring Road, Melbourne|Western Ring Road]], [[Calder Freeway]], [[Tullamarine Freeway]] (main airport link) and the [[Hume Freeway]] which links Melbourne and Sydney.<ref name="VicRoads">{{cite web|url=http://www.vicroads.vic.gov.au/Home/RoadsAndProjects/RoadNetwork/|title=Victoria's Road Network|publisher=VicRoads|accessdate=5 October 2008}}</ref>
[[File:Southern Cross Station.jpg|thumb|[[Southern Cross Station]], Melbourne's main inter-urban train and bus interchange]]
[[File:Melbourne-C2-class-tram-Mulhouse.jpg|thumb|A C2 class [[Trams in Melbourne|Melbourne tram]] in Transdev TSL livery on [[La Trobe Street, Melbourne|La Trobe Street]]]]
Melbourne has an integrated public transport system based around extensive train, tram, bus and taxi systems. [[Flinders Street Station]] was the world's busiest passenger station in 1927 and Melbourne's tram network overtook Sydney's to become the world's largest in the 1940s, at which time 25% of travellers used public transport but by 2003 it had declined to just 7.6%.<!--<ref> {{Dead link| date August 2010|date=May 2012}} http://www.150.theage.com.au/view_bestofarticle.asp?straction=update&inttype=1&intid=1823 Trial by public transport: why the system is failing</ref> --><ref>{{cite web | date = 5 November 2005 | first = Dan | last = Silkstone
|url=http://www.melbournebuses.com.au/melbourne-buses-articles/2005/11/5/trial-by-public-transport-why-the-system-is-failing/
| title = Trial by public transport: why the system is failing
|work=The Age |location=Australia | publisher=Fairfax/Melbourne Buses | accessdate =28 August 2010}}</ref>
The public transport system was privatised in 1999, symbolising the peak of the decline.<ref>{{cite news | first = William | last = Birnbauer | date=9 April 2006
|url=http://www.theage.com.au/news/national/12bn-sting-in-the-rail/2006/04/08/1143916767672.html
| title = $1.2bn sting in the rail |work=The Age | location = Melbourne | accessdate =18 July 2008}}</ref>
Despite privatisation and successive governments persisting with auto-centric urban development into the 21st century,<ref>{{cite news | date = 8 September 2003 |first = Darren | last = Gray
|url=http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2003/09/07/1062901941527.html
| title = Bid to end traffic chaos
| work = The Age | publisher = Fairfax | location=Melbourne
| accessdate =18 July 2008}}</ref> there have since been large increases in public transport patronage, with the mode share for commuters increasing to 14.8% and 8.4% of all trips.<ref>[http://www.aph.gov.au/senate/committee/rrat_ctte/public_transport/report/c02.htm Parliament of Australia:Senate:Committees:Rural and Regional Affairs and Transport Committee:Investment of Commonwealth and State funds in public passenger transport infrastru...<!-- Bot generated title -->]{{dead link|date=July 2012}}</ref> A target of 20% public transport mode share for Melbourne by 2020 was set by the state government in 2006.<ref name="TransportFringe">{{Cite news|last1=Tomazin|first1=Farrah|date=14 January 2008|url=http://www.theage.com.au/news/national/public-transport-makes-inroads-but-not-beyond-the-fringe/2008/01/13/1200159277533.html|title=Public transport makes inroads, but not beyond the fringe | work = The Age | publisher = Fairfax |accessdate=8 October 2010 | location=Melbourne}}</ref> Since 2006 public transport patronage has grown by over 20%.<ref name="TransportFringe"/>
To use Melbourne public transport, passengers must pre-purchase a [http://ptv.vic.gov.au/tickets/myki/buying-your-myki/ MYKI card] from railway stations, convenience stores or online. The [[Myki|MYKI ticketing system]] was introduced by the Victorian Labor Government in 2009 and many problems have arisen since this time.<ref>{{cite news|title=myki machine faults top Leader readers list of complaints|url=http://www.heraldsun.com.au/leader/north/myki-machine-faults-top-leader-readers-list-of-complaints/story-fnglenug-1226608308032|accessdate=21 October 2013|newspaper=The Herald Sun - Leader Newspapers|date=28 March 2013|author=KYLIE ADORANTI|author2=REBECCA DAVID}}</ref> Frustrated consumer sentiment has escalated to a stage where commuters continue to try to attain free rides—by not utilising the card—and writing articles or blogs to vent their frustration.<ref>{{cite news|title=My week in myki hell|url=http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/my-week-in-myki-hell-20120416-1x26g.html|accessdate=21 October 2013|newspaper=The Age|date=16 April 2012|author=Deborah Gough}}</ref>
====Rail====
The [[Melbourne rail network]] has its origins in privately built lines from the 1850s gold rush era, and today the suburban network consists of [[List of Melbourne railway stations|200 suburban stations]] on 16 lines which radiate from the [[City Loop, Melbourne|City Loop]], a partially underground metro section of the network beneath the Central Business District (Hoddle Grid). [[Flinders Street Station]] is Melbourne's busiest railway station, and was the world's busiest passenger station in 1926. It remains a prominent Melbourne landmark and meeting place.<ref name="nla.gov.au"/> The city has rail connections with regional Victorian cities, as well as direct interstate rail services to Sydney and [[Adelaide]] and beyond which depart from Melbourne's other major rail terminus, [[Southern Cross Station]] in Spencer Street. In the 2008–2009 financial year, the Melbourne rail network recorded 213.9 million passenger trips, the highest in its history.<ref>{{cite news
| first = Natalie | last = Marshall
| title = Train travel up, record increase in tram use
| date= 19 August 2009
|url=http://www.theage.com.au/national/train-travel-up-record-increase-in-tram-use-20090819-epsf.html
| accessdate =23 July 2010 |location=Australia | work = The Age | publisher = Fairfax
}}</ref> Many rail lines, along with dedicated lines and [[rail yards]] are also used for freight.
The Overland to Adelaide departs Southern Cross twice a week, while the XPT to Sydney departs twice a day.
=====Melbourne Metro=====
The [[Melbourne Metro]] involves the construction of a nine kilometre rail tunnel through inner Melbourne that will link the [[Sunbury railway line|Sunbury]] and [[Pakenham railway line|Pakenham]]/[[Cranbourne railway line|Cranbourne rail lines]]. The project will include five new underground stations to be located at Arden, [[Parkville, Victoria|Parkville]], CBD North, CBD South and Domain.<ref name="MelbourneMetro">{{cite web|url=http://www.transport.vic.gov.au/projects/pt/melbourne-metro|title=Melbourne Metro Project Page|publisher=Department of Transport (VIC)|accessdate=21 August 2011}}</ref>
====Trams====
{{Main|Trams in Melbourne}}
Melbourne has the largest [[tram network]] in the world<ref name=DOT_tram/><ref name="railpage">{{cite web|url=http://www.railpage.org.au/tram/melbhist.html|title=Melbourne's Tram History|publisher=railpage.org.au|accessdate=28 September 2008}}</ref> which had its origins in the city's 1880s land boom. In the 2010–2011 year 182.7 million passenger trips were made by tram.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.transport.vic.gov.au/pt/facts-and-figures/summary | work=[[Department of Transport (Victoria)|Department of Transport]] | title=Facts & figures | accessdate=19 October 2011}}</ref> Melbourne's is Australia's only tram network to comprise more than a single line and consists of {{convert|250|km|mi|1|abbr=on}} of track, 487 trams, [[List of Melbourne tram routes|28 routes]], and 1,773 [[tram stop]]s.<ref name="YT Facts & Figures">{{cite web|url=http://www.yarratrams.com.au/desktopdefault.aspx/tabid-47//74_read-117/ | work=[[Yarra Trams]] | title=Facts & Figures | accessdate=19 October 2011}}</ref> Sections of the tram network are on roads,<ref name="YT Facts & Figures"/> while others are separated or are [[light rail]] routes.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.yarratrams.com.au/desktopdefault.aspx/tabid-155/173_read-876 | work=[[Yarra Trams]] | title=Milestones, 1981 – 1990 | accessdate=19 October 2011}}</ref> Melbourne's trams are recognised as iconic cultural assets and a tourist attraction. [[W-class Melbourne tram|Heritage trams]] operate on the free [[City Circle Tram|City Circle route]], intended for visitors to Melbourne, and heritage [[Colonial Tramcar Restaurant|restaurant trams]] travel through the city and surrounding areas during the evening.<ref name="Metlink1">{{cite web|url=http://www.metlinkmelbourne.com.au/|title=Metlink — Your guide to public transport in Melbourne and Victoria|publisher=Metlink-Melbourne|accessdate=5 October 2008}}</ref>
Melbourne is currently building 50 new E Class trams with some already in service in 2014. The E Class trams are about 30 metres long and are superior to the C2 class tram of similar length.
====Buses====
{{Main|Buses in Melbourne}}
Melbourne's [[bus]] network consists of almost [[List of Melbourne bus routes|300 routes]] which mainly service the outer suburbs and fill the gaps in the network between rail and tram services.<ref name="Metlink1"/><ref name="Buses">{{cite web|url=http://www.getting-around-melbourne.com.au/melbourne-buses.html|title=Melbourne Buses|publisher=getting-around-melbourne.com.au|accessdate=5 October 2008}}</ref> 86.7 million passenger trips were recorded on Melbourne’s buses in 2007.<ref>[http://www.doi.vic.gov.au/DOI/DOIElect.nsf/$UNIDS+for+Web+Display/E16901B882CF37B9CA25744000831A72/$FILE/2008BudgetFactSheet-Patronage.pdf Department of Infrastructure – Patronage Growth]{{dead link|date=June 2011}}</ref>
====Port====
Ship transport is an important component of Melbourne's transport system. The [[Port of Melbourne]] is Australia's largest container and general cargo port and also its busiest. The port handled two million shipping containers in a 12 month period during 2007, making it one of the top five ports in the Southern Hemisphere.<ref name="pom"/> [[Station Pier]] on Port Phillip Bay is the main passenger ship terminal with [[cruise ships]] and the [[TT-Line Pty. Ltd.|Spirit of Tasmania]] ferries which cross [[Bass Strait]] to [[Tasmania]] docking there.<ref name="Tasy">{{cite web|url=http://www.spiritoftasmania.com.au/|title=Spirit of Tasmania — One of Australia's great journeys|publisher=TT-Line Company Pty Ltd|accessdate=5 October 2008}}</ref> Ferries and water taxis run from [[Berth (moorings)|berth]]s along the Yarra River as far upstream as South Yarra and across Port Phillip Bay.
====Air====
Melbourne has [[List of airports in the Melbourne area|four airports]]. [[Melbourne Airport]], at [[Tullamarine]], is the city's main international and domestic gateway and second busiest in Australia. The airport is home base for passenger airlines [[Jetstar Airways]] and [[Tiger Airways Australia]] and cargo airlines [[Australian air Express]] and [[Toll Priority]]; and is a major hub for [[Qantas]] and [[Virgin Australia]]. [[Avalon Airport]], located between Melbourne and [[Geelong]], is a secondary hub of Jetstar. It is also used as a freight and maintenance facility. Buses and taxis are the only forms of public transport to and from the city's main airports. Air Ambulance facilities are available for domestic and international transportation of patients.<ref>http://www.vibha.info Air ambulance australia</ref> Melbourne also has a significant [[general aviation]] airport, [[Moorabbin Airport]] in the city's south east that also handles a small number of passenger flights. [[Essendon Airport]], which was once the city's main airport also handles passenger flights, general aviation and some cargo flights.<ref name="EssendonAir">{{cite web|url=http://www.essendonairport.com.au/|title=Essendon Airport|publisher=Essendon Airport Pty Ltd |accessdate=5 October 2008}}</ref>
====Cycling====
{{main|Cycling in Melbourne}}
Melbourne has a [[bicycle sharing system]]. It was established in 2010<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/share-scheme-out-of-the-blocks-for-city-cyclists-20100531-wrcy.html | first = Clay | last = Lucas | title = Share scheme out of the blocks for city cyclists | work = Age | publisher = Fairfax | date = 1 June 2010 | accessdate = 20 May 2012}}</ref> and uses a network of marked road lanes and [[segregated cycle facilities]].
===Utilities===
[[File:Sugarloaf Reservoir Melbourne.jpg|thumb|upright=1.0|Sugarloaf Reservoir at [[Christmas Hills, Victoria|Christmas Hills]] in the metropolitan area is one of Melbourne's closest water supplies.]]
{{Main|Energy in Victoria}}
Water storage and supply for Melbourne is managed by [[Melbourne Water]], which is owned by the Victorian Government. The organisation is also responsible for management of sewerage and the major water catchments in the region and will be responsible for the [[Wonthaggi desalination plant]] and [[North-South Pipeline|North–South Pipeline]]. Water is stored in a series of reservoirs located within and outside the Greater Melbourne area. The largest dam, the [[Thomson River Dam]], located in the Victorian Alps, is capable of holding around 60% of Melbourne's water capacity,<ref>{{cite web
|url=http://www.melbournewater.com.au/content/water/water_storages/water_storages.asp?bhcp=1
| title = Dam Water Storage Levels | author= | publisher = Melbourne Water
| accessdate = 18 July 2008 }}</ref> while smaller dams such as the [[Upper Yarra Dam]] and the [[Cardinia Reservoir]] carry secondary supplies.
Gas is provided be three distribution companies:
* [[SP AusNet]] which provides gas from Melbournes inner western suburbs to South Western Victoria.
* [[Multinet Gas]] which provides gas from Melbournes inner eastern suburbs to Middle Eastern Victoria. <sub>(Owned by SP AusNet after acquisition but kept trading under the brand name Multinet Gas)</sub>
* [[Envestra]] which provides gas from Melbournes inner northern suburbs to Northern Victoria as well as the majority of South Eastern Victoria.
Electricity is provided by five distribution companies:
* [[Citipower]] which provides power to Melbourne's CBD, and some inner suburbs
* [[Powercor]] which provides power to the outer western suburbs as well as all of western [[Victoria (Australia)|Victoria]] <sub>(Citipower and Powercor are owned by the same entity)</sub>
* [[Jemena]] which provides power to the northern and inner western suburbs
* [[Alinta|United Energy]] which provides power to the inner eastern, south-eastern suburbs and the [[Mornington Peninsula]]
* [[SP AusNet]] which provides power to the outer eastern suburbs and all of the north and east of Victoria.
Numerous telecommunications companies provide Melbourne with terrestrial and mobile telecommunications services and wireless internet services.
==Sister cities==
Melbourne has six international sister cities. According to the City of Melbourne council, "the city as a whole has been nourished by their influence, which extends from educational, cultural and sporting exchanges to unparalleled business networking opportunities."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.melbourne.vic.gov.au/info.cfm?top=161&pg=2979|title=City of Melbourne — International relations — Sister cities|publisher=City of Melbourne|accessdate=2008-04-04}}</ref> The recognised cities are:
{{Col-begin|width=}}
{{Col-break}}
* [[Osaka, Osaka|Osaka]], Japan (1978)
* [[Tianjin]], China (1980)
* [[Thessaloniki]], Greece (1984)
* [[Boston, Massachusetts|Boston]], Massachusetts, United States (1985)
* [[Saint Petersburg]], Russia (1989)
* [[Milan]], Italy (2004)
{{Col-end}}
==See also==
{{Portal|Victoria}}
* [[Crime in Melbourne]]
* [[Education in Victoria]]
* [[Melway]] (the native street directory and general information source in Melbourne)
===Lists===
* [[List of Australian capital cities]]
* [[List of Melbourne suburbs]]
* [[List of museums in Melbourne]]
* [[List of people from Melbourne]]
* [[List of songs about Melbourne]]
* [[Local government in Victoria]]
==References==
{{reflist|30em}}
==Further reading==
*{{Cite book |last=Bell |first=Agnes Paton |title=Melbourne: John Batman's Village |publisher=Cassell Australia |location=Melbourne, Vic |year=1965}}
*{{Cite book |last=Boldrewood |first=Rolf |title=Old Melbourne Memories |publisher=Macmillan and Co |year=1896}}
*{{Cite book |last1=Borthwick |first1=John Stephen |last2=McGonigal |first2=David |title=Insight Guide: Melbourne |publisher=Prentice Hall Travel |year=1990 |isbn=978-0-13-467713-2}}
*{{Cite book |last1=Briggs |first1=John Joseph |title=The History of Melbourne, in the County of Derby: Including Biographical Notices of the Coke, Melbourne, and Hardinge Families |publisher=Bemrose & Son |year=1852}}
*{{Cite book |last1=Brown-May |first1=Andrew |last2=Swain |first2=Shurlee |title=The Encyclopedia of Melbourne |publisher=Cambridge University Press |location=Melbourne, Vic |year=2005}}
*{{Cite book |last1=Carroll |first1=Brian |title=Melbourne: An Illustrated History |publisher=Lansdowne |year=1972 |isbn=978-0-7018-0195-3}}
*{{Cite book |last1=Cecil |first1=David |title=Melbourne |publisher=Bobbs-Merrill |year=1954 |series=Grosset's universal library |lccn=54009486 |url=http://books.google.com/books?id=4\_pHAAAAMAAJ}}
*{{Cite book |last1=Collins |first1=Jock |last2=Mondello |first2=Letizia |last3=Breheney |first3=John |last4=Childs |first4=Tim |title=Cosmopolitan Melbourne. Explore the world in one city |publisher=Big Box Publishing |location=Rhodes, New South Wales |year=1990 |isbn=978-0-9579624-0-8}}
*{{Cite book |last1=Coote |first1=Maree |title=The Melbourne Book: A History of Now |publisher=Melbournestyle Books |year=2003 |edition=2009 |isbn=978-0-9757047-4-5}}
*{{Cite book |editor=Jim Davidson |title=The Sydney-Melbourne Book |publisher=Allen and Unwin |location=North Sydney, New South Wales |year=1986 |isbn=978-0-86861-819-7}}
*{{Cite book |last1=Lewis |first1=Miles Bannatyne |last2=Goad |first2=Philip |last3=Mayne |first3=Alan |title=Melbourne: The City's History and Development |publisher=City of Melbourne |year=1994 |edition=2nd |isbn=978-0-949624-71-0}}
*{{Cite book |last1=McClymont |first1=David |last2=Armstrong |first2=Mark |title=Lonely Planet Melbourne |publisher=Lonely Planet |year=2000 |isbn=978-1-86450-124-7 |url=http://books.google.com/?id=1pwGAAAACAAJ&dq=Melbourne}}
*{{Cite book |last1=Newnham |first1=William Henry |title=Melbourne: The Biography of a City |publisher=F. W. Cheshire |year=1956 |lccn=57032585 |url=http://books.google.com/books?id=IHsrAAAAIAAJ}}
*{{Cite book |last1=O'Hanlon |first1=Seamus |last2=Luckins |first2=Tanja (eds) |title=Go! Melbourne. Melbourne in the Sixties |publisher=Melbourne Publishing Group |location=Beaconsfield, Victoria |year=2005 |isbn=978-0-9757802-0-6}}
*{{Cite book |last1=Priestley |first1=Susan |title=South Melbourne: A History |publisher=Melbourne University Press |year=1995 |isbn=978-0-522-84664-5}}
*{{Cite book |editor=Deborah Tout-Smith |title=Melbourne: A city of stories |publisher=Museum Victoria |year=2009 |isbn=978-0-9803813-7-5}}
==External links==
{{Sister project links|voy=Melbourne}}
* [http://www.melbourne.vic.gov.au/ City of Melbourne official website]
*{{Wikivoyage-inline}}
* [http://www.visitmelbourne.com/ Official tourist board site of Melbourne]
* [http://www.dpcd.vic.gov.au/home/publications-and-research/urban-and-regional-research/metropolitan/victoria-in-future-2008 Population Projections for Melbourne]
* [http://www.weather-melbourne.com/ Melbourne Weather: Current conditions and historical data]
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[[Category:Melbourne| ]]
[[Category:Australian capital cities]]
[[Category:Coastal cities in Australia]]
[[Category:Former national capitals]]
[[Category:Metropolitan areas of Australia]]
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[[Category:Populated places established in the 19th century]]
[[Category:Port cities in Australia]]
[[Category:1835 establishments in Australia]]
[[Category:Regions of Victoria (Australia)]]' |
