50 Fun Facts About Melbourne

Melbourne is the capital of which Australian state?

It is also Australia's second-most populous city, home to about 19% of the national population.

Melbourne occupies the northern and eastern shores of which bay?

The enclosed, shallow bay makes the sea warmer than the open ocean in summer and colder in winter.

What are the inhabitants of Melbourne called?

The spelling drops the 'o' from the city's name.

The city was named in 1837 after whom?

William Lamb, 2nd Viscount Melbourne, took his title from Melbourne Hall in Derbyshire.

In which year was Melbourne founded by free settlers from Van Diemen's Land?

Van Diemen's Land is modern-day Tasmania; the settlement was initially known by the Indigenous name Dootigala.

Melbourne was Australia's interim seat of government until which year?

Parliament sat in Melbourne until it moved to the new purpose-built capital, Canberra.

Melbourne hosted the Summer Olympics in which year?

They were the first Olympic Games held outside Europe and the United States.

Melbourne has the world's largest urban network of what?

As of 2021 the system ran 475 vehicles on 250 km of double track.

What Indigenous name is used for the Melbourne area?

In the Boonwurrung language Naarm means 'the Bay'.

Who claimed in the 1830s to have bought 2,400 km² of land from Wurundjeri elders?

None of the parties spoke the same language, and the elders likely saw the exchange as a tanderrum ceremony granting temporary access.

Which governor annulled Batman's Treaty with the Aboriginal elders?

Bourke then governed all of eastern mainland Australia from Sydney and paid compensation to the association.

What is the name of the 1837 street layout at the core of Melbourne's CBD?

The grid measures roughly one mile by half a mile and fronts the Yarra River on its southern edge.

Viscount Melbourne's seat, Melbourne Hall, stands in which English county?

The Australian city therefore shares its name with a small English market town.

In 1851 the district around Melbourne separated from which colony?

The district became the Colony of Victoria with Melbourne as its capital, just as gold was discovered.

By which year had Melbourne overtaken Sydney as Australia's most populous city?

The gold rush nearly doubled the population from 25,000 to 40,000 within months.

Which visiting English journalist coined the phrase 'Marvellous Melbourne' in the 1880s?

The phrase came to stand for the opulence of the land-boom decade, when Melbourne was reputedly the world's richest city.

Where did Australia's first federal parliament convene on 9 May 1901?

The building, opened for the 1880 exhibition, is now World Heritage–listed.

Melbourne's cable tramway system opened in which year?

It became one of the world's most extensive cable systems by 1890.

Which artist painted the 1955 work 'Collins St., 5 pm'?

The painting captured the city centre as the dreary domain of office workers.

The construction of which 1958 building led to CBD height limits being lifted?

Its completion ushered in the skyscraper era in Melbourne's skyline.

The Australian Grand Prix moved to Melbourne from which city?

The move came during the Kennett government's 1990s push for sports tourism.

Since which year has the F1 race been held at the Albert Park Circuit?

Albert Park sits on Bunurong land south of the CBD.

How many days in total did Melbourne spend in COVID-19 lockdown?

Across six lockdowns it was the longest total lockdown period of any city in the world.

In which year did Melbourne record its highest temperature of 46.4 °C?

It was recorded on 7 February, the day of the Black Saturday bushfires.

Which phrase sums up Melbourne's famously changeable weather?

Isolated showers can pass through in minutes, repeat several times a day, and give way to calm sunshine.

Australia 108, Melbourne's tallest building, stands in which district?

Melbourne's CBD is home to more skyscrapers than any other Australian city.

Which suburb is Melbourne's demographic centre?

Urban sprawl to the south-east pulled the population centre well away from the CBD.

Which Melbourne festival is Australia's largest free community festival?

Melbourne topped The Economist's most-liveable-cities list for much of the 2010s, partly for its cultural scene.

In which year was the State Library founded?

It is one of the world's oldest free public libraries and the fourth-most-visited globally as of 2018.

Which 1886 novel set in Melbourne was the fastest-selling crime novel of its era?

Fergus Hume's book predates Sherlock Holmes's debut by a year.

In 2008 Melbourne became the second UNESCO City of what?

It hosts the Melbourne Writers Festival and the nation's largest publishing sector.

Australia's largest seated theatre, the Palais, is in which bayside suburb?

The Palais seats 3,000 people.

Which opera singer took her stage name from her hometown of Melbourne?

She was Australia's first global music star; peach Melba is named after her.

Which band drew an estimated 200,000 people to the Sidney Myer Music Bowl in 1967?

It remains the largest crowd ever for a music concert in Australia.

Which Melbourne music TV show ran from 1974 to 1987?

It helped launch acts as different as AC/DC and Kylie Minogue.

Which art movement took its name from a Melbourne suburb where painters camped?

The impressionists painted en plein air there in the 1880s.

Which 1906 Melbourne production is recognised as the world's first feature-length narrative film?

It was shot a quarter century after Ned Kelly's execution at Old Melbourne Gaol.

Which laneway is Melbourne's best-known street-art destination?

It drew a million visitors a year before the pandemic and more Instagram hashtags than the zoo.

The first Melbourne Cup horse race was held in which year?

It was declared a public holiday for all Melburnians in 1873.

The MCG hosted the first ever Test match in which year?

Australia and England also played the first One Day International there in 1971.

Which club codified the first laws of Australian rules in 1859?

The game grew from matches played in parklands beside the MCG the year before.

Which Melbourne team plays in the National Rugby League?

Victory is the soccer side, the Vixens play netball and the Renegades are a Big Bash cricket team.

Nintendo's Australian headquarters are in which southeastern suburb?

The city also hosts design and technical centres for GM, Toyota and Ford.

Melbourne's main international airport is located in which suburb?

It is Australia's second-busiest airport and the home base of Jetstar.

Which airport was once Melbourne's principal airport?

It now handles regional flights, general aviation and air cargo.

Which Melbourne station was the world's busiest passenger station in the late 1920s?

It remains a landmark and meeting place, serving all lines except three that now use Town Hall station.

How many new stations does the Metro Tunnel include?

The AU$15 billion project runs twin nine-kilometre tunnels under the CBD.

Which dam holds about 60% of Melbourne's water storage capacity?

It sits in the Victorian Alps; the other reservoirs carry secondary supplies.

What is the most common non-English language spoken at home in Melbourne?

At the 2021 census Mandarin led at 4.3%, ahead of Vietnamese and Greek.

After Australia, which country is the most common birthplace of Melbourne residents?

India accounted for 4.9% of Greater Melbourne at the 2021 census.