Melbourne

Melbourne nightlife

Melbourne is the capital of Victoria and the second most populated city after Sydney Located in the south east of Australia Melbourne was founded in 1835 by free settlers and flourished during the gold rush of the 1850.

The climate is temperate and Melbourne is noted for its changeable weather conditions. Melbourne is often said to have “four seasons in one day. Although Melbourne is colder than most Australian capital cities but snow falls are rare although it does happen. Fogs and frosts are much more common during winter. In spring there are long periods of mild weather and clear skies. Summers are hot and dry with temperatures around 40 degrees Celsius.

CLIMATE DATA

Month                                      Dec                  Mar                  Jun                   Sep

Max Temp                                24.1                23.8                  14.0                   17.2

Min Temp                                 12.8                13.1                   6.9                     7.9

Rainfall Total mm                    59.1                 50.6                  49.8                   58.7

Rain Days                                10.5                 9.3                    14.2                   14.8

Buying a Home

Home prices in Melbourne are climbing but it is still possible to fulfill the great Australian dream of owning a “quarter acre home and garden”

Public Transport

Metlink in Melbourne

Melbourne has a transport structure known as Metlink. The famous tram network is the only one with more than a single line left in Australia. Indeed it is one for the world’s most extensive tram systems. Visitors to the city are treated to a free City Circle Tram, which takes in many of the cities sights and there are also restaurant trams, the first of their kind in the world.

There is an electric train system with more than15 lines which are serviced from Flinders Street Station, a prominent Melbourne landmark. There are rail connections to regional areas and interstate services to and Adelaide which arrive and depart from Southern Cross Station. In addition there are around 300 bus routes around the city and to the suburbs.

Melbourne has four significant airports, Melbourne International Airport often referred to as Tullamarine, is the city's main international and domestic gateway. Avalon Airport, located between Melbourne and Geelong,is the main hub of Jetstar, it is also used as a freight and maintenance facility.Moorabbin Airport is used for general aviation and Essendon Airport, which was once the city's main airport before the construction of the airport at Tullamarine, handles general aviation and some cargo flights, and is the base of the Victoria Police air wing and air ambulance.

Education

       The University of Melbourne

Melbourne has some of the oldest universities in Australia. The University of Melbourne is the nation’s second oldest and one of the largest. Another large

university is Monash University.  Both of these are members of the Group of Eight with La Trobe, RMIT, Deakin, Swinburne, Victoria and Australia Catholic University making up the rest. In recent years the number of international students at Melbourne’s universities has risen, this is a result of the increasing number of places being made available to full fee paying students.

Although non-tertiary education is free 35% of students attend a private primary or secondary school.  The majority of private schools are Catholic and the rest are independent. The most prestigious of the independent schools belong to Associated Public Schools of Victoria or the Associated Grammar Schools of Victoria.  

Demography

                
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Melbourne is a very multicultural city with almost a quarter of the population born overseas. The city is home to residents from 233 countries, who speak over 180 languages and follow 116 religion beliefs.  About 43.5 % of Melburnians were either born oversea or have a parent that was born overseas.

Health Care

The State Government oversees about 30 public hospitals and 13 health service organisations in the Melbourne metropolitan area. The major hospitals are The Royal Melbourne, The Alfred Hospital and the Austin Hospital. Major private hospitals include EpworthHospital and St Vincent’s.

The are also major medical and biotechnological research centres such as Burnside Institute, Peter Callum Cancer Institute, Baker heart Institute and Australian Synchroton.

Recreation

Melbourne sports capital of Australia

Melbourne has the reputation for being the sports capital of Australia. The city hosts many major sporting events such as the Melbourne Spring Racing Carnival which features the Melbourne Cup, the Australian Formula One Grand Prix, Australian Open Tennis Championship and the AFL Grand Final. Melbourne hosted the 1956 Olympic Games which were the first to be held in the southern hemisphere and also the 2006 Commonwealth Games. Not forgetting the Cricket, local, international tests and one day games at the famous Melbourne Cricket ground, MCG.

The Australian Football League was started in Melbourne and today the city is home to nine of the sixteen teams in the league. The city is also home to the Melbourne Storm who play in the national ruby competition and the Melbourne Victory the soccer team who play in the national soccer competition.

Apart from the many major sporting events, sport on a smaller scale is well catered for with numerous venues for all sports including all codes of football, netball, swimming, athletics.

Cycling is a very popular pastime in Melbourne. There are extensive off-road paths and flat terrain. Beach Road combines with the Nepean Highway forming a 90 kilometre stretch to Port Melbourne to Sorrento and incorporates the Bayside

Trail and is the city’s most popular training route and attracts cyclists from around the world.

Rowing on the Yarra River is popular with schools and universities and there are many boatsheds along the river. On Port Phillip Bay boating is popular and jetskiing, kitesurfing and windsurfing are pass times on St Kilda Beach.

Arts and Entertainment

Melbourne Theaters

For those who like a flutter the Crown Casino Complex has a large range of poker machines, gambling rooms and nightclubs.

There are numerous restaurants in Melbourne offering a diverse range of cuisines. The Melbourne Food and Wine Festival is held annually.

Melbourne has been the setting for many movies, television dramas and novels.

On The Beach starring Ava Gardner, Gregory Peck and Anthony Perkins was filmed in >Melbourne and more recently movies such as Mad Max, Chopper, Romper Stomper,Mr Nice Guy and The Castle. Novels such as Mystery of a Hansom Cab and Power Without Glory were set in Melbourne. Division 4, Homicide, Neighbours, Secret Life of Us and MDA are just a few of the tele dramas produced in Melbourne

Melbourne is also the home of the Australian Ballet, the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, The Victorian Opera and is second home of Opera Australia.

Melbourne has more theatres than any other Australian city including the Regent Theatre, Her Majesty’s Theatre and Princess Theatre.

The Business Environment

The Economy

Melbourne is home to three of Australia’s largest corporations: Telstra, National Australia Bank and BHP Billiton. There is the Business Council of Australia and Australian Council of Trade Unions and many companies listed on the Australian Stock Market.Melbourne is indeed a large and commercial centre. Many multinational companies have their Australian office in Melbourne

Australia’s largest seaport is in Melbourne as is much of Australia’s automotive industry which includes Ford and Toyota manufacturing facilities and the engine manufacturing of Holden.

Melbourne is a technology hub. It has a strong IT industry that employs people representing one third of Australia’s IT workforce. Tourism plays an important part in Melbourne>’s economy with approximately 7.6 million domestic visitors and 1.88 million international visitors in 2004.

Shopping

Melbourne Shopping

Since the 19^th century, when doing “The Block” was a sign of prestige, shopping has been a major part of the Melbourne way of life. Some of Australia ’s best shopping strips are in Melbourne. There is the famous Chapel Street, which stretches for many blocks, heritage arcades like the Royal Arcade and the Block plus many more intimate shops in the cities laneways. Then there are the large centres such as Chadstone Shopping Centre which markets itself as the “Fashion Capital” or if looking for the more exclusive a visit to Toorak Village is not to be missed. Bridge Road in Ricmond is known for its many factory outlets.

Of course there are chain department and discount stores along with extended hours of trade supermarkets, local shopping villages, numerous markets and street stalls. What you need or want is never hard to find or far away.

Melbourne and Surrounds

Things to Do

Discover some of the history of Melbourne by visiting some interesting sites, Como house is a colonial mansion set on 5 acres of historic gardens. It was owned from 1865 to 1959 by the Armytage Family who had a large influence on Melbourne society.

There is the Heritage Golden mile which is a walking track that links many of Melbourne’s historic buildings. Spend an afternoon at the Melbourne Museum or if you dare an evening at the Old Gaol may test your mantle. Feel the chilling atmosphere by candlelight and get an insight into life in this prison in bygone days.

Day Trips

Under an hour from the city a visit to the Ranges is popular with locals and tourist alike. Tall forests, peaceful gardens and you can even take ride on the Puffing Billy Steam Railway and or partake in devonshire tea.

The Yarra Valley is also only an hour from Melbourne and is a great day trip to the winery, wine tasting at the regions celler doors and you can even take a hot air balloon ride.

A one day tour of the Mornington Peninsular give you the chance to see the wild beaches of Bass Strait and the clam waters of Port Phillip Bay.

Further A Field                                   

     Great Ocean Road

One of Australia’s if not the world’s most scenic drives is the Great Ocean Road from Geelong in the east to Nelson in the west view tranquil bays, pounding surf, huge cliffs, lush forests, towing rock formations and visit resort towns along the way.

From the Great Ocean road you can also visit the Grampians, rugged mountain ranges, amazing wildflower displays and aboriginal rock art sites inside the Grampians National Park.  From August to October the wildflowers are at their best. One of the main attractions is the Aboriginal art sites and there are many sites in the park where you can see their ancient work.

Visit the Goldfields, see beautifully preserved historic towns and buildings, learn about the history of the area and even find some gold.  See Ballarat, Bendigo, Maryborough and the smaller towns of Dunolly, Avoca and Ararat.