City Overview Melbourne
The rivalry between the proud, lively Melbourne and the metropolis of Sydney has over time led Melbourne to strive for excellence in every respect.
The dynamic and cosmopolitan city lies on the beautiful Port Phillip Bay and is the political and cultural capital of the state of Victoria.
Numerous gardens and parks give the city a pleasant, spacious character. The skyline is characterized by elegant church towers, but also modern skyscrapers, which tower over the elegant Victorian buildings and green streets.
However, what characterizes Melbourne is not its architecture, but its multicultural residents. The cultural influences from Europe and Asia have led to a varied and dynamic development of theater, music, art and literature.
In a variety of restaurants you can enjoy the culinary art of the international population, both in the street cafes on the Crown Promenade on the Yarra River, the busy pizzerias in Carlton and the colorful Chinese restaurants in Chinatown as well as in the excellent fish restaurants in the trendy district of St Kilda Beach.
Important facts
Area code: (0) 3
Population: 4,800,000
Latitude: -37.814251
Longitude: 144.963169
Weather in Melbourne
One topic is always discussed in this city – the weather. Melbourne has four different seasons; the temperate climate is usually quite pleasant. However, the winters can sometimes be cold and the summers can be hit by a few heat waves. Sometimes you can experience all four seasons in one day: Welcome to Melbourne!
Melbourne City History
Melbourne lies on both sides of the Yarra River in an area that has been home to Australia’s Aborigines for thousands of years. The riverside attracted British settlers who founded the Port Phillip Settlement of the New South Wales colony in 1835.
In 1851, a separate colony was created in New South Wales, which was named “Victoria” after the Queen. Melbourne got the name of the British Prime Minister, Lord Melbourne.
In the same year, gold was discovered near Ballarat and Bendigo, west of Melbourne. The resulting gold rush turned the city into a powerful financial center and it became the first capital until Canberra was founded in 1927.
The gold rush era brought thousands of Chinese migrants to Melbourne. The wave of immigration after the end of the Second World War transformed Melbourne with around 1 million people from countries such as Italy, Greece and Great Britain into a “melting pot” of many cultures. Today, more than three million people from around 140 countries live here. The Australians of Italian, Greek and Chinese descent are the most represented, and they even inhabit their own quarters.
Melbourne is the third largest Greek-speaking community in the world (after the Greek cities of Athens and Thessaloniki), and the Vietnamese surname “Nguyen” is the second most common in the Melbourne phone book after “Smith”!
