Melbourne

A newer version of this article is available: see Melbourne at Schools Wikipedia

Alternate meanings: Melbourne (disambiguation)

Melbourne (pronounced "MEL-buhn") is the capital and largest city of the state of Victoria, and the second largest city in Australia, with a population of 3,366,542 (census 2001). (The locals refer to themselves as 'Melburnians', curiously missing the 'o'.)

The Melbourne skyline

Table of contents

1 Geography
2 Culture
3 History
4 Public transport

4.1 Metcard ticketing
4.2 Trams
4.3 Trains
4.4 Buses

5 Landmarks and tourist information

5.5 Restaurants
5.6 Cafes and nightlife
5.7 Nearby to Melbourne

6 Melbourne in fiction and music
7 Media
8 Famous Melburnians
9 Snippets
10 Related articles

Geography

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

Melbourne is a large commercial and industrial center, with many of Australia's largest companies, and many multinational corporations (approximately one-third of the 100 largest multinationals operating in Australia as of 2002) headquartered there. It is home to Australia's largest port, several prominent universities (including the University of Melbourne, Monash University, Deakin University, Victoria University, La Trobe University, and RMIT University), and much of Australia's automotive industry (including the engine manufacturing facility of Holden, and the Ford and Toyota manufacturing facilities) amongst many other manufacturing industries. The outer suburb of Tullamarine hosts the international Melbourne Airport, which serves Melbourne and the wider state of Victoria.

Culture

While having a large and vibrant arts and cultural life (notably including the yearly Melbourne International Comedy Festival and Melbourne International Film Festival), Melbourne is perhaps best known as one of the most sports-obsessed cities in the world. Melbourne is home to nine of the sixteen teams in the Australian Football League, whose five Melbourne games per week attract an average 35,000 people per game. Melbourne hosts the Australian Open tennis, one of the four Grand Slam tournaments; the Melbourne Cup - the most prestigious handicap horse race in the world; a hugely popular cricket test match starting each year on Boxing Day (Mid summer - 26th December) at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (a massive arena that can hold 100,000 spectators, locally known as the MCG or simply the 'G); the Australian Grand Prix Formula One championship; amongst many other events attracted to the city by the readiness of spectators to attend, as well as aggressive attempts by the state government to attract them. In 2003 it also co-hosted the Rugby Union World Cup, including many pool matches as well as a quarter final - all of which were played at the Telstra Dome. The newest major sporting event to be brought to the city will be the 2006 Commonwealth Games. Melbourne has also broken new ground in the major events industry being the first city outside the United States to host the President's Cup golf tournament (in 1999); the first city in the Southern Hemisphere to host the World Cup Polo Championship (in 2001); the first World Police and Fire Games outside the U.S. (in 1995); and was the only city in the Southern Hemisphere in which the Three Tenors (Luciano Pavarotti, Placido Domingo and Jose Carreras) performed, on their world tour in 1997.

The Melbourne skyline

History

Main article: History of Melbourne.

Melbourne was founded in 1834 by a group of free settlers led by John Batman and John Pascoe Fawkner, unlike many of Australia's capital cities which were founded as penal colonies. With the discovery of gold in central Victoria in the 1850s - and the subsequent Victorian gold rush - Melbourne quickly grew as a port to service the necessary trade. By the time of Federation in 1901, Melbourne was considered Australia's premier city in terms of wealth and growth, and was known throughout the British Empire as "Marvellous Melbourne". Melbourne today is home to the largest number of surviving Victorian Era buildings of any city in the world other than London.

From Federation in 1901, until 1927 and the construction of Canberra, Melbourne was Australia's national capital and seat of government. On May 9th 1901 Australia opened its first parliament in Melbourne.

Melbourne continued to expand steadily throughout the first half of the 20th century, particularly with the post-World War II influx of migrants and the prestige of hosting the Olympic Games in 1956. This was the first time the Olympic Games had ever been held in the Southern Hemisphere (and the only other time was when Sydney hosted the Games in 2000). While continuing to grow, however, Sydney's influence on Australian affairs grew stronger at the expense of Melbourne's. Capitalising on this mood, the Victorian state government of Jeff Kennett (Liberal) revitalised the city throughout the 1990s with aggressive development of new public buildings (such as the Crown Casino, the Melbourne Museum, and the Melbourne Exhibition Centre) and publicising Melbourne's merits both to outsiders and Melburnians. Despite a recent change of government (to Steve Bracks' Labor government), the re-energised city continues to grow rapidly.

Melbourne is built on the land of the Wurundjeri people, the originial Aboriginal inhabitants of the area.

See also: Timeline of Melbourne history.

Public transport

Melbourne's public transport is operated by one tram and one train company under a franchise from the State Government. The system was government-run until the late 1990s. Currently, the system is being rebranded under the single Metlink name, replacing the slew of different company names covering stations and vehicles.

Although not strictly public transport, a major transport project in the past few years is the CityLink tollway.

The VicTrip website provides more information.

Metcard ticketing

All forms of public transport can be accessed by using a single ticket - the Metcard. Metcards come in a variety of forms, ranging from 2 hour tickets to yearly tickets, all using the same tickets by programming the magnetic strip. Metcards are 'validated' when entering or exiting train stations, and getting on trams or buses. However, most suburban train stations are unstaffed and can easily be entered without a ticket, and trams no longer have conductors, making it easy to go short distances without a ticket. Ticket inspectors randomly check trains and trams, but their sometimes heavy-handed tactics have resulted in public discontent and even court cases.

The public transport system is broken up into three ticketing zones: Zone 1 (Yellow), Zone 2 (Blue), and Zone 3 (Red). Tickets are valid within a selected zone or zones. A tourist would be unlikely to need more than a Zone 1 ticket, which can purchased on board trams, staffed train stations and the transport shop within the Melbourne Town Hall on Swanston Street, and costs (January 2004) $5.80 for an all day ticket. Carry coins for the tram-based ticket machines.

Trams

One notable feature of the Melbourne landscape is mobile - the omnipresent tram. Melbourne is the only Australian city to retain its tram system, which services the CBD and inner suburbs. In fact, Melbourne's network is amongst the largest in the world, and is still slowly growing. The classic green-and-gold trams are marketed as a symbol of Melbourne, although many trams today are covered in all-over advertising. The traditional wooden W-class trams have been relegated to limited service due to allegedly faulty brakes, and may not return except in tourist areas. The best way to see them is by taking the free City Circle tourist loop around the CBD. In 2001, the first new Citadis and Combino low-floor trams arrived in the city. These new trams were complemented by a massive upgrade of key city tram stops beginning in 2002. These new "super stops" significantly improve shelter, accessibility, information and safety for travellers.

Trains

The centre of Melbourne's extensive suburban rail network is Flinders Street Station. There are 15 electrified routes, radiating out of the City Loop. The City Loop contains Melbourne's two central stations, Flinders Street and Spencer Street Stations, as well as the underground stations Parliament, Melbourne Central (formerly Museum) and Flagstaff. There are 4 separate subway tunnels connecting these three underground stations, and an elevated viaduct between the two surface stations. Melbourne's train fleet consists of the common Comeng trains, recently refurbished, and the older Hitachi trains, which are not airconditioned and, in the city's summer heat, despised by commuters. However, these trains will progressively be replaced by new X-Trapolis and Siemens trains.

The hub of the Victorian regional rail network, operated by V/Line, is Spencer Street Station.

Buses

Melbourne is a sprawling metropolis, and many suburbs beyond the inner metropolitan area aren't covered by its tram or train networks. In these areas, buses do the work of linking commuters to the train network, large local shopping centres, suburban commercial and industrial districts, and other suburban destinations.

Landmarks and tourist information

Whilst perhaps lacking the showy icons of Sydney and the beaches of the Gold Coast, Melbourne attracts large numbers of tourists, particularly young backpackers. It also hosts a disproportionate number of spectator sports.

Popular sites and events include:

The MCG. From April to September, there are typically one or two Australian rules football matches there per week; the game can be spectacular, it is unique to Australia, relatively inexpensive to attend, and is safe and enjoyable for all, including children. It also hosts the occasional Bledisloe Cup rugby match. During the summer, cricket matches are played there - the most important being the Boxing Day test match between Christmas and New Year's Eve, and several one-day international games in January and February which are perhaps more enjoyable for the casual spectator. The MCG is currently being renovated in preparation for the 2006 Commonwealth Games and will have a maximum capacity of 103,000.
Melbourne Park, home of the Australian Open tennis tournament, one of the four Grand Slam tournaments. Held in January each year.
The Melbourne Museum is located on the north-eastern fringe of the CBD, next to the Old Exhibition Building (built in the 1880s for the World's Fair, and one of few such buildings still standing). To many Melburnians, the most significant exhibit is the preserved body of Phar Lap, the famous racehorse of the Depression era. For those who cannot visit the nearby forested ranges, the Forest Gallery is a living internal facsimile. Technically-inclined visitors may be more interested in CSIRAC, the fifth electronic computer built and the only one of its generation to survive intact. The Museum complex is also home to Melbourne's IMAX cinema.
The State Library of Victoria on Swanston Street, with its massive Domed Reading Room and statue-filled front lawn.
The curiously-named National Gallery of Victoria (not to be confused with the National Gallery of Australia in Canberra), has recently been impressively renovated, and hosts a world-class collection of art including both classical and contemporary pieces. The gallery is split over two sites, the Australian collection at the Ian Potter Centre: NGV Australia at Federation Square, and the NGV International collection housed in the recently renovated St. Kilda Road building.
Rialto Towers, the tallest reinforced concrete structure in the Southern Hemisphere, gives an excellent view of the city from the observation deck on the 55th floor.
The Victorian Arts Centre at Southgate (on the southern banks of the Yarra River, hosts Opera Australia's Melbourne season, the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, the Melbourne Theatre Company, the Australian Ballet Company, Chunky Move (Australia's best-known contemporary dance company) and other touring productions. A Melbourne landmark, the acoustics of the building are better than the opera theatre of the Sydney Opera House and the tickets are considerably cheaper. Given a choice, tourists concerned about the acoustics of an opera might wish to see operas here rather than in Sydney. Unfortunately, the opera season is rather limited. There are also typically several musicals playing in theatres around the CBD, mostly several years after their production on Broadway or the West End, but usually of good quality and at quite reasonable cost.
Crown Casino, a short walk along the Yarra River from the Arts Centre, is a truly gargantuan gambling palace, also containing restaurants, upmarket boutiques, several nightclubs, two hotel towers, a cinema complex, and regular floorshows. Very much Las Vegas in miniature, it is either loved or hated by residents and tourists.
Docklands, Melbourne's newest precinct and largest infrastructure development to date, is also becoming a major attraction, with many restaurants there having won awards and recognition, even though they have only been open since January 2003. The Docklands area opens up the waterfront to the CBD (also nearly doubling its size) and will attract millions of visitors every year.

See also: Tall buildings in Melbourne.

Restaurants

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

Chinatown, on Little Bourke Street and now spreading out onto Russell Street in the CBD, offers numerous restaurants, mainly but not exclusively offering Cantonese cuisine, at the lower end offering Hong Kong-style noodle restaurants up to Flower Drum, renowned for its Peking Duck and generally regarded as Melbourne's best restaurant. There are many other restaurants throughout the CBD.
Lygon Street, in the inner-northern suburb of Carlton, offers a selection of mainly Italian-influenced food. To some extent a tourist strip, the quality is variable with some restaurants with decent reputations and others avoided by locals. The nearby University of Melbourne means that students throng to the better-value places; tourists may consider following their lead.
Brunswick Street in inner-suburban Fitzroy used to be a grungy hotbed of students, musicians, actors, and the like, and still retains some remnant of that edginess with the presence of several live music venues, all manner of eclectic stores, accompanied by restaurants and cafes, many of which serve varied and contemporary menus (though prices have crept up with the growing gentrification of the area). Brunswick Street went through a growth phase and rapidly became a casual place to eat. The rise in number and income level of people living within walking and hearing distance are changing the feel. Several chain companies targeting the upwardly mobile post-university crowd saw the trends (late!) and opened branches on Brunswick Street, putting further rent pressure on the interesting, but low turn-over stores. Almost all buildings in the once light industrial surrounding area have been converted into apartments. This puts parking pressure on the area and noise restrictions over the previously vibrant musical scene. Lunch and a couple of second hand book stores are two choices. Brunswick Street is more vibrant at night than during the day.
Chapel Street, south of the city is a popular destination for fashionable clothes shopping, eating and entertainment. The long street contains commercial areas providing goods and services for local residents. This variety makes the street arguably more interesting than Lygon and Brunswick Streets which have a higher proportion of eating establishments. Chapel Street intersects with Toorak Road, itself offering entertainment, food and shops.

Cafes and nightlife

As one would expect from a city its size, Melbourne contains all manner of pubs, bars, and nightclubs. The CBD contains a wide variety of venues, from the ubiquitous faux-Irish pubs proliferating around the world, to some very upmarket establishments (such as the Supper Club, which offers all manner of exclusive wines at exclusive prices), serious jazz venues (Bennetts Lane), fashionable nightclubs and dance venues, and massive pickup joints (of which The Metro on Bourke St is perhaps the biggest). The restaurant strips, particularly Brunswick St. have their own bars, some of which are the best rock venues in Melbourne. King St, on the southern side of the CBD, was traditionally a nightclub strip and still hosts several, but many are now exotic dancing venues (a final note in this topic, small brothels are legal in Victoria and are found discreetly dotted throughout the suburbs). Chapel St. Prahran, is perhaps the trendiest, most upmarket (and most expensive) nightlife strip. The final area of note is St Kilda, background for the TV show The Secret Life of Us, which is the home of several huge music venues including the famous Esplanade Hotel (known as 'the Espy'), the Prince of Wales, and The Palace Complex. On its beachside setting, it also combines the upmarket with the grungy.

The recent influx of city-dwellers have given rise to the numerous underground bars and sidewalk cafes in the alleys between Flinders St - Flinders Lane and Bourke St - Lonsdale St. Notable alleys include Block Arcade/Block Place (off Little Collins), Degraves St (off Flinders Lane), and Hardware Lane (between Bourke & Lonsdale).

Melbourne is a reasonably cheap and easy place to shop. There are large numbers of souvenir shops on Swanston Street in the central business district selling the usual array of t-shirts, didgeridoos, boomerangs, and the like. There are innumerable clothing shops for every budget, though bargain hunters may wish to try the outlet stores in Bridge Road, Richmond.

Nearby to Melbourne

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

The Yarra valley region, producer of high-quality wine and with beautiful rainforest scenery nearby.
The Surf Coast near Geelong, with excellent surf beaches and the spectacular views of the Great Ocean Road (Voted the world's best road trip in 2003).
Bendigo.
Ballarat, a small city once the centre of the gold rush. A requisite for any history buff's itinerary.
Phillip Island, home of the Australian Motorcycle Grand Prix, also has one of the few easily-accessible colonies of little penguins.
Gippsland region, home of the Gourmet Deli Tours, the Gippsland Lakes, Wilsons Promontory (the most southerly point of the Australian mainland), and many picturesque towns such as Bairnsdale, Lakes Entrance, and Warragul- centre of one of the richest dairy farming districts in Australia. The ghost town of Walhalla is filled with goldmining memorabilia and can easily fill a day with interesting walks and activities.

To do: finish dining and nightlife areas, mention some of the day trips (Surf Coast, Phillip Island, Yarra Ranges, Winery Tours)

See also: Urban walks in Melbourne

Melbourne in fiction and music

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

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

Singer Paul Kelly has written several well-known songs about aspects of the city close to the heart of many Melburnians, notably "Leaps and Bounds" and "Saint Kilda to Kings Cross".

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

Media

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

The three commercial television channels and the ABC produce a nightly news bulletin in Melbourne, and the Seven network produces one edition of its current affairs show Today Tonight there. The ABC also produces a weekly state-based current affairs show, Stateline, in Melbourne. The Special Broadcasting Service (SBS) provides world news coverage, as well as an assortment of foreign film and television. Channel 31 is a public access which screens mostly foreign-language television for migrant communities, and amateur lifestyle programs. Melbourne has a wide range of radio stations. In terms of current affairs radio, the most notable locally-produced stations are ABC Local Radio (774 3LO) and 1278 3AW, both featuring extensive local news coverage and talkback. Australia's most successful community radio station, 3RRR, is a Melbourne institution. For years, JJJ has been extremely popular with Melbourne's youth, featuring mostly alternative or experimental music, and local talent. SYN FM, at 90.7 FM is another youth station, with its unique policy of having no person at the station older than 26; it is staffed entirely by youth and students, and the shows are presented by the same.

Famous Melburnians

Snippets

An Arctic Tern was found in October 1982 on Melbourne's beach. Ringed as a young chick not yet able to fly on the Farne Islands, Northumberland, UK in late June 1982, it had completed the 22,000km (shortest sea route) journey in no more than 3 months.