Victoria
Victoria is a state located in the south-eastern corner of Australia. It is the smallest mainland state in area but the most densely populated and urbanised. Victoria began in the 1830s as a farming community. The discovery of gold in 1851 transformed it into a leading industrial and commercial centre. Victoria is the second most populous Australian state, after New South Wales, with an estimated population of 5,037,700 as at September 2005. Melbourne is Victoria’s capital and largest city, with more than 70% of all Victorians living there.
Victoria has a varied climate despite its small size. It ranges from semi-arid and hot in the north-west, to temperate and cool along the coast. Victoria’s main land feature, the Great Dividing Range, produces a cooler, mountain climate in the centre of the state.
Some major tourist destinations in Victoria include: Ballarat, Beechworth, Bendigo, Buchan Caves, Echuca, Fairy penguins, Geelong, Geelong Waterfront, Gippsland Lakes, Gliding, Mornington Peninsula, Phillip Island, Great Ocean Road, Maldon, Melbourne Casino, Melbourne Cricket Ground, Murray River golf clubs, Port Fairy Folk Festival, Puffing Billy, Skiing in Victoria, Sovereign Hill, The Twelve Apostles. Other popular activities include whale watching, hang-gliding and hot air ballooning.
Culture and sport
Australian rules football
Victoria is the home of Aussie Rules, with 10 of the 16 clubs of the national league (see Australian Football League) based in Victoria, and the traditional Grand Final held at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on the last Saturday in September.
Surfing
Each Easter, Bells Beach hosts the Rip Curl Pro World Championship.
Melbourne
Melbourne is the second most populous city in Australia, with a metropolitan area population of approximately 3.7 million (2006 estimate). Located in the country’s south-east, Melbourne is the state capital of Victoria and is home to over 70% of all Victorians.
Today, Melbourne is a major centre of commerce, industry and cultural activity. Often referred to as both the “cultural and sporting capital of Australia” it is home to many of Australia’s major annual sporting and cultural events, and was the host of the 1956 Summer Olympics and the 2006 Commonwealth Games. Melbourne is renowned for its Victorian architecture including the World Heritage Royal Exhibition Building as well as its notable landmarks which include the iconic Flinders Street Station, the Melbourne Cricket Ground, and the extensive tram network, the third largest in the world and the largest in the Southern Hemisphere. Melbourne has been tied with other cities as the World’s Most Liveable City on a number of occasions.
Entertainment
The Royal Arcade, just one of the arcades, lanes and malls that make Melbourne a shopping magnet for both locals and tourists.Gambling is a large part of Melbourne’s culture. The elaborate rooms of the Crown Casino entertainment complex house poker machines, games and nightclubs. Gambling is also tied to many of Melbourne’s sports, where race betting and footy tipping are part of the way of life.
Melbourne’s restaurants are numerous and present a diverse range of cuisines. The city has a reputation as a culinary capital, celebrated by the annual Melbourne Food and Wine Festival. As well as the famous “Little Italy” of Lygon Street in Carlton, other favourite inner city dining locations for Melburnians include Fitzroy Street St Kilda, Brunswick Street Fitzroy, Victoria St Collingwood, the CBD, and the Docklands and Southbank precincts. Flower Drum in Market Lane next to Chinatown is often regarded as Melbourne’s finest restaurant by The Age Good Food Guide, as well as been ranked in the top 50 best restaurants in the world by Restaurant Magazine. In 2006, Jamie Oliver selected Melbourne as the location for “Fifteen Melbourne”, the Australian restaurant for his reality television show Jamie’s Kitchen Australia.
Shopping or “retail therapy” has been a big part of Melbourne’s way of life since the late 19th century, when “doing the Block” was a sign of prestige. Today, the city is home to some of Australia’s best shopping strips, such as the famous Chapel Street which stretches many blocks through South Yarra and Prahran, while heritage arcades such as the Block and the Royal Arcade and the CBD’s myriad lanes offer a more intimate shopping experience. The large Chadstone Shopping Centre markets itself as the “Fashion Capital”. Strip shopping localities includeToorak Village, known for its exclusiveness, and Bridge Road in Richmond, known for its extensive factory outlets.
Dance music is a thriving part of the Melbourne scene; the city is considered the nation’s dance music capital.[51] Dance parties take place most of the year, the city frequently attracting some of the world’s best DJs. Some of the biggest nightclubs in the world are found in Melbourne, including the Melbourne Metro Nightclub (2500 capacity) and QBH (2100 capacity). Melbourne is the birthplace of the Melbourne Shuffle, a style of dance that has been exported to South East Asia and continues to evolve to date.
Check our Melbourne gallery!
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