87-793: The Victorian Greens , officially known as the Australian Greens Victoria , is the Victorian state member party of the Australian Greens , a green political party in Australia . The Australian Greens Victoria was formed in 1992, as a response to the formation of the Australian Greens which united pre-existing Green parties in Tasmania, New South Wales, Queensland and the ACT. The first election
174-695: A Labor government being faced with an opposition-controlled Council – a rare occurrence elsewhere in Australia. The electoral system used to elect members of the Legislative Council changed for the 2006 Victorian election , as a result of major reforms passed by the Labor government, led by Steve Bracks , in 2003. Under the new system the State is divided into eight electoral regions, each of which returns five members. These Legislative Council members serve terms linked to
261-511: A ballot of members residing only within those electorate, while state upper house lead candidates are decided by a ballot of all party members residing in the respective electoral region. Federal Senate lead candidates are decided by a ballot of members across the whole state. Victorian election results Three Greens representatives were elected to the Victorian Legislative Council at the 2006 state election. Greg Barber won
348-519: A bicameral Parliament of Victoria , with the Legislative Assembly being the lower house and the Council being the upper house. The Council consisted of 30 members, with five members being elected from each of the six provinces . The Parliament of Victoria first met on 21 November 1856 at the almost completed main sections of Parliament House. James Frederick Palmer was elected first President of
435-728: A child, 307 convicts, 17 convicts' wives, and seven children). They had been sent from England in HMS ; Calcutta under the command of Captain Daniel Woodriff , principally out of fear that the French, who had been exploring the area, might establish their own settlement and thereby challenge British rights to the continent. In 1826, Colonel Stewart, Captain Samuel Wright, and Lieutenant Burchell were sent in HMS Fly (Captain Wetherall) and
522-778: A cooler, mountain climate in the centre of the state. Winters along the coast of the state, particularly around Melbourne , are relatively mild ( see chart ). The coastal plain south of the Great Dividing Range has Victoria's mildest climate. Air from the Southern Ocean helps reduce the heat of summer and the cold of winter. Melbourne and other large cities are located in this temperate region. The Mallee and upper Wimmera are Victoria's warmest regions with hot winds blowing from nearby semi-deserts. Average temperatures exceed 32 °C (90 °F) during summer and 15 °C (59 °F) in winter. Except at cool mountain elevations,
609-660: A house of review, in a similar fashion to its federal counterpart, the Australian Senate . Although it is possible for legislation to be first introduced in the Council, most bills receive their first hearing in the Legislative Assembly. The presiding officer of the chamber is the President of the Legislative Council . The Council presently comprises 40 members serving four-year terms from eight electoral regions each with five members. With each region electing 5 members using
696-569: A new multi-member proportional representation system. The State of Victoria was divided into eight electorates with each electorate represented by five representatives elected by Single Transferable Vote . The total number of upper house members was reduced from 44 to 40 and their term of office is now the same as the lower house members—four years. Elections for the Victorian Parliament are now fixed and occur in November every four years. Prior to
783-455: A population of over 6.9 million; and the most densely populated state in Australia (30.6 per km ). Victoria's economy is the second-largest among Australian states and is highly diversified, with service sectors predominating. Victoria is bordered by New South Wales to the north and South Australia to the west and is bounded by the Bass Strait to the south (with the exception of
870-603: A quota, with a Senate vote of 10.08% In 2010 the Greens vote in Victoria rose to 12.66%, a swing of 4.49%. Richard Di Natale was elected to the Senate and Adam Bandt was elected to the Division of Melbourne with a primary vote of 36.17% (56.04% TPP ). At the 2013 federal election Adam Bandt retained his seat of Melbourne and Former Mayor of Maribyrnong City Council, Janet Rice, was elected to
957-583: A rate of 8,227 per 100,000 people, up 4.4% on the previous year. While there have been some dips along the way, the rate of recorded offences have increased year on year since 2011, when the figure was 6,937.7 offences per 100,000 people. Victoria has a parliamentary form of government based on the Westminster System . Legislative power resides in the Parliament consisting of the Governor (the representative of
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#17328730241431044-714: A seat in the Northern Metropolitan Region, Colleen Hartland won a seat in the Western Metropolitan Region after a recount, and Sue Pennicuik won a seat in the Southern Metropolitan Region. The 2010 State elections saw an increase in the Greens vote – a 1.2% swing to give a primary vote of 11.21% with all three MLCs re-elected. At the 2012 Melbourne state by-election , the Greens increased their two-candidate-preferred vote from 43.8 percent to 48.5 percent, but we’re unsuccessful. At
1131-525: A semi-nomadic existence of fishing, hunting and gathering, and farming eels. At the Keilor Archaeological Site , a human hearth excavated in 1971 was radiocarbon-dated to about 31,000 years BP , making Keilor one of the earliest sites of human habitation in Australia. A cranium found at the site has been dated at between 12,000 and 14,700 years BP . Archaeological sites in Tasmania and on
1218-701: A single-member ward in Yarra Ranges with a strong 53% primary vote. Three Green mayors were elected following the elections: Amanda Stone in Yarra, Philip Schier in Mount Alexander, and Helen Harris in Whitehorse. Philip Schier was re-elected in 2009, and Bill Pemberton became Mayor of Whitehorse. Alison Clarke was the 2011 Greens Mayor of the City of Yarra. The state’s 2012 Local government elections saw Greens elect Councillors for
1305-674: A small land border with Tasmania located along Boundary Islet ), the Great Australian Bight portion of the Southern Ocean to the southwest, and the Tasman Sea (a marginal sea of the South Pacific Ocean ) to the southeast. The state encompasses a range of climates and geographical features from its temperate coastal and central regions to the Victorian Alps in the northeast and the semi-arid northwest. The majority of
1392-580: A sports marketing company named it the world's sporting capital. Victoria has 38 seats in the Australian House of Representatives and 12 seats in the Australian Senate . At state level, the Parliament of Victoria consists of the Legislative Assembly and the Legislative Council . The Labor Party , led by Jacinta Allan as premier , has governed Victoria since 2014. The Governor of Victoria ,
1479-459: Is at 39°12' S, which passes through Boundary Islet in the Bass Strait for 85 metres. Victoria contains many topographically, geologically and climatically diverse areas, ranging from the wet, temperate climate of Gippsland in the southeast to the snow-covered Victorian alpine areas which rise to almost 2,000 m (6,600 ft), with Mount Bogong the highest peak at 1,986 m (6,516 ft). There are extensive semi-arid plains to
1566-407: Is considered "at-large", unless a member asks to be moved into another branch. In addition, branches can establish working groups and subcommittees to specialise in specific interest areas, tasks, and campaigns. Each branch elects Office Bearers consisting of at least a Convenor, Treasurer and Secretary. Local Government, State lower house and House of Representatives candidates are preselected by
1653-399: Is divided into distinct geographic regions , most commonly for the purposes of economic development , while others for land management (agriculture or conservation) and for censusing (statistical or meteorological) or electoral purposes. The most commonly used regions are those created by the state government for the purposes of economic development . In addition to Greater Melbourne ,
1740-802: Is heavier. Rainfall is most reliable in Gippsland and the Western District , making them both leading farming areas. Victoria's highest recorded daily rainfall was 377.8 mm (14.87 in) at Tidal River in Wilsons Promontory National Park on 23 March 2011. At March 2024 Victoria had a population of 6,959,200. The Australian Bureau of Statistics estimates that the population may well reach 10.3 million by 2051. Victoria's founding Anglo-Celtic population has been supplemented by successive waves of migrants from Southern and Eastern Europe , Asia and, most recently, Africa and
1827-1031: Is home to numerous Aboriginal groups, including the Boonwurrung , the Bratauolung , the Djadjawurrung , the Gunai , the Gunditjmara , the Taungurung , the Wathaurong , the Wurundjeri , and the Yorta Yorta . There were more than 30 Aboriginal languages spoken in the area prior to European colonisation. In 1770 James Cook claimed the east coast of the Australian continent for the Kingdom of Great Britain . The first European settlement in
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#17328730241431914-425: Is located 10 km (6 mi) south of Bendigo . Due to its central location and the region's historical ties to the gold rush, the town is widely regarded as the "Heart of Gold". The state's capital, Melbourne, contains about 70% of the state's population and dominates its economy, media, and culture. For other cities and towns, see list of localities (Victoria) and local government areas of Victoria . Victoria
2001-454: Is particularly strong in Bendigo and its environs. In 1854 at Ballarat, an armed rebellion against the government of Victoria was made by miners protesting against mining taxes (the " Eureka Stockade "). This was crushed by British troops, but the confrontation persuaded the colonial authorities to reform the administration of mining concessions (reducing the hated mining licence fees) and extend
2088-729: The 2014 state election , the Victorian Greens won their first seats in the Victorian Legislative Assembly with Ellen Sandell elected in Melbourne and Sam Hibbins in Prahran. The victory in Prahran was the first time that the Greens have won a single member constituency at the state or federal level from the Liberal Party anywhere in Australia. Nina Springle and Samantha Dunn also won two extra Legislative Council Seats giving
2175-463: The Australian Bureau of Statistics as being a population cluster of 1,000 or more people. The below figures broadly represent the populations of the contiguous built-up areas of each city: Victoria has a varied climate that ranges from semi-arid temperate with hot summers in the north-west, to temperate and cool along the coast. Victoria's main land feature, the Great Dividing Range, produces
2262-577: The Bass Strait Islands have been dated to between 20,000 to 35,000 years ago when sea levels were 130 metres below present level allowing First Nations Peoples to move across the region of southern Victoria and onto the land bridge of the Bassian plain to Tasmania by at least 35,000 years ago. During the Ice Age about 20,000 years BP , the area now the bay of Port Phillip would have been dry land, and
2349-531: The Middle East . Victoria's population is ageing in proportion with the average of the remainder of the Australian population. About 72% of Victorians are Australian-born. This figure falls to around 66% in Melbourne but rises to higher than 95% in some rural areas in the north west of the state. Less than 1% of Victorians identify themselves as Aboriginal . More than 75% of Victorians live in Melbourne, located in
2436-540: The Victoria State Government has divided Victoria into five regions covering all parts of the state. The five regional Victoria divisions are: The Australian Bureau of Meteorology defines regions for its own purposes, some of which share names with the economic regions, even though the exact boundaries may not correlate. As of November 2014, they are: This is a list of places in the Australian state of Victoria by population. Urban centres are defined by
2523-554: The Wada wurrung , Woiwurrung and Bun wurrung languages describe the flooding of the bay. Hobsons Bay was once a kangaroo hunting ground. Creation stories describe how Bunjil was responsible for the formation of the bay, or the bay was flooded when the Yarra River was created. Victoria, like Queensland , was named after Queen Victoria , who had been on the British throne for 14 years when
2610-566: The Yarra and Werribee rivers would have joined to flow through the heads then south and south west through the Bassian plain before meeting the ocean to the west. Tasmania and the Bass Strait islands became separated from mainland Australia around 12,000 BP, when the sea level was approximately 50m below present levels. Port Phillip was flooded by post-glacial rising sea levels between 8,000 and 6,000 years ago. Oral history and creation stories from
2697-657: The electoral franchise . The following year, the Imperial Parliament granted Victoria responsible government with the passage of the Colony of Victoria Act 1855. Some of the leaders of the Eureka rebellion went on to become members of the Victorian Parliament. In 1857, reflecting the growing presence of Irish Catholic immigrants, John O'Shanassy became the colony's second Premier with the former Young Irelander , Charles Gavan Duffy as his deputy. Melbourne's Protestant establishment
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2784-500: The pink heath (state flower), Leadbeater's possum (state animal) and the helmeted honeyeater (state bird). Ecological communities include Victorian Volcanic Plain grasslands , Northern Plains Grassland and Gippsland Plains Grassy Woodland , all of which are critically endangered. According to Geoscience Australia , the geographic centre of Victoria is located in Mandurang at 36° 51' 15"S, 144° 16' 52" E. The small rural locality
2871-541: The population growth peak of 1969–72. In 2017, Victoria recorded a TFR of 1.724. The "average Victorian" according to the demographic statistics may be described as follows: In the year ending September 2020, the statistics were skewed by the introduction of six new public safety offences relating to the COVID-19 pandemic in Australia . Total offences numbered 551,710, with 32,713 of these being breaches of Chief Health Officer Directions. The total offences occurred at
2958-549: The single transferable vote system of proportional representation . Each region elects five members. The quota for a seat in each region is 16.7% (one-sixth), approximately 70,000. Small parties never receive this amount on the First Count in Victoria's Legislative Council elections but through the vote transfers that are part of STV, some candidates of small parties do receive vote transfers from other small-party candidates and pass quota that way. STV thus results in an increase in
3045-406: The single transferable vote , the quota in each region for election, after distribution of preferences, is 16.7% (one-sixth). Ballot papers for elections for the Legislative Council have above and below the line voting . Voting above the line requires only a '1' being placed in one box, and group voting tickets voting has applied since 1988. Semi-optional voting is available if a voter votes below
3132-574: The 2006 election, the Legislative Council consisted of 44 members elected to eight-year terms from 22 two-member electorates. Victorian Legislative Council Opposition (13) Liberal (11) National (2) The Victorian Legislative Council ( VLC ) is the upper house of the bicameral Parliament of Victoria , Australia, the lower house being the Legislative Assembly . Both houses sit at Parliament House in Spring Street, Melbourne . The Legislative Council serves as
3219-410: The 2016 census, 72.2% of Victorians speak English at home. Speakers of other languages include Mandarin (3.2%), Italian (1.9%), Greek (1.9%), Vietnamese (1.7%), and Arabic (1.3%). In the 2016 Census, 47.9% of Victorians described themselves as Christian , 10.6% stated that they followed other religions and 32.1% stated that they had no religion or held secular or other spiritual beliefs. In
3306-440: The 2016 census, the most commonly nominated ancestries were: 0.8% of the population, or 47,788 people, identified as Indigenous Australians ( Aboriginal Australians and Torres Strait Islanders ) in 2016. At the 2016 census, 64.9% of residents were born in Australia. The other most common countries of birth were England (2.9%), India (2.9%), Mainland China (2.7%), New Zealand (1.6%) and Vietnam (1.4%). As of
3393-424: The Council . The Legislative Council was later elected from a varying number of provinces. In 1882, several new provinces were created while Central and Eastern were abolished. In 1904, more provinces were created and two members (MLCs) represented each province. The terms for members were two Assembly terms, and one member was elected in rotation at each election, by majority-preferential (AV) vote. Until 1950,
3480-489: The Greens contested in Victoria was the 1993 federal election where the party contested the seat of La Trobe. Peter Singer ran as the party’s a lead Senate candidate in 1996, recording 2.9% of the vote, before Charmaine Clarke recorded 2.5% of the vote in 1998. In March 1999 , barrister David Risstrom was elected to the Melbourne City Council , following numerous local government campaigns in Victoria. Risstrom
3567-574: The King), the executive (the Government), and two legislative chambers. The Parliament of Victoria consists of the lower house Legislative Assembly , the upper house Legislative Council and the monarch . Eighty-eight members of the Legislative Assembly are elected to four-year terms from single-member electorates. In November 2006, the Victorian Legislative Council elections were held under
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3654-701: The Legislative Assembly from 22 two-member provinces. Half the members were elected at each election on a rotation basis. This old system tended to favour the Liberal Party and the National Party (often in Coalition) over the Labor Party and other parties; as the Liberal party's support was more evenly spread across the state, compared to Labor's wasted votes in already safe provinces. This resulted in many instances of
3741-582: The Legislative Assembly, which has fixed four-year terms unless earlier dissolved in exceptional circumstances. Each electoral region covers 11 contiguous Legislative Assembly electoral districts and has 420,000 electors. Five regions are metropolitan (Melbourne and environs) ( Eastern Metropolitan , Northern Metropolitan , South Eastern Metropolitan , Southern Metropolitan , and Western Metropolitan ) and three are non-urban regions ( Eastern Victoria , Northern Victoria and Western Victoria ). Since 2006, Legislative Council members have been elected using
3828-479: The Legislative Council has had 40 members serving four-year terms, elected from eight electoral regions, each returning five members. Prior to the 2006 election, the Legislative Council consisted of 44 members elected for two terms of the Legislative Assembly from 22 two-member provinces. Half the members were elected at each election on a rotation basis. The number of members was increased to 44 from 36 in 1976 and from 34 in 1967. Property qualifications for voting in
3915-609: The Legislative Council in March 1854 and was sent to Britain where it was passed by the United Kingdom Parliament as the Victoria Constitution Act 1855 , received Royal Assent on 16 July 1855 and was proclaimed in Victoria on 23 November 1855. The Constitution established a Westminster-style system of responsible government that continues in Victoria today. The new Constitution came into effect in 1856. It created
4002-400: The Legislative Council was elected and ready to sit. The Legislative Council met for the first time in November 1851 at St Patrick's Hall, which had been built in 1847 in Bourke Street, Melbourne . The Legislative Council sat there until the opening of the Parliament House in 1856. James Frederick Palmer was the presiding officer of the Council, then called speaker. The Legislative Council
4089-413: The Legislative Council was elected on a restricted property-based franchise and always had a conservative majority. Until 1958, elections for the Legislative Council were not held in conjunction with those for the Legislative Assembly, but starting at the 1961 election they have been held at the same time. Prior to the 2006 election, the Legislative Council consisted of 44 members elected for two terms of
4176-502: The Lieutenant-Governor and 20 were elected from 16 "electoral districts", with Melbourne electing three members, and Geelong and the county of Bourke electing two members each. The electors were male British subjects over the age of 21 years, who owned freehold valued at £100 or a householder paying rent of £10 per year, both very large sums at the time. Members of the Legislative Council were unpaid, further restricting participation of those without independent means. It took some time before
4263-404: The Senate and joined Richard Di Natale to become Victoria's second Greens senator. She won 10.77% of the vote which increased above a quota after distribution of preferences. At the 2016 federal election Adam Bandt was re-elected to a third term - the Greens also returning one Senator. At the 2019 federal election Adam Bandt was re-elected to a fourth term, while Janet Rice was also re-elected to
4350-451: The Senate. At the 2022 federal election, Bandt was again re-elected, and was joined by Lidia Thorpe , who was elected to represent Victoria for the Greens. Victoria (state) Victoria , commonly abbreviated as Vic , is a state in southeastern Australia. It is the second-smallest state (after Tasmania ), with a land area of 227,444 km (87,817 sq mi); the second-most-populated state (after New South Wales ), with
4437-496: The Victorian population is concentrated in the central-south area surrounding Port Phillip , and in particular within the metropolitan area of Greater Melbourne , Victoria's state capital and largest city and also Australia's second-largest city , where over three-quarters of the culturally diverse population live (35.1% of inhabitants being immigrants ). The state is also home to four of Australia's 20 largest cities : Melbourne , Geelong , Ballarat and Bendigo . Victoria
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#17328730241434524-425: The area occurred in 1803 at Sullivan Bay . Much of Victoria was included in 1836 in the Port Phillip District of New South Wales. Named in honour of Queen Victoria , Victoria was separated from New South Wales and established as a separate Crown colony in 1851, achieving responsible government in 1855. The Victorian gold rush in the 1850s and 1860s significantly increased Victoria's population and wealth. By
4611-414: The brigs Dragon and Amity , took a number of convicts and a small force composed of detachments of the 3rd and 93rd regiments. The expedition landed at Settlement Point (now Corinella ), on the eastern side of Western Port Bay, which was the headquarters until the abandonment of Western Port at the insistence of Governor Darling about 12 months afterwards. Victoria's next settlement was at Portland , on
4698-428: The centre of Victoria. Average temperatures are less than 9 °C (48 °F) in winter and below 0 °C (32 °F) in the highest parts of the ranges. The state's lowest minimum temperature of −11.7 °C (10.9 °F) was recorded at Omeo on 15 June 1965, and again at Falls Creek on 3 July 1970. Temperature extremes for the state are listed in the table below: Rainfall in Victoria increases from south to
4785-578: The colony was established in 1851. After the founding of the colony of New South Wales in 1788, Australia was divided into an eastern half named New South Wales and a western half named New Holland , under the administration of the colonial government in Sydney. The first British settlement in the area later known as Victoria was established in October 1803 under Lieutenant-Governor David Collins at Sullivan Bay on Port Phillip. It consisted of 402 people (five government officials, nine officers of marines, two drummers, and 39 privates, five soldiers' wives and
4872-423: The country's first federal capital. Victoria's northern border follows a straight line from Cape Howe to the start of the Murray River and then follows the Murray River as the remainder of the northern border. On the Murray River, the border is the southern bank of the river. This precise definition was not established until 1980, when a ruling by Justice Ninian Stephen of the High Court of Australia settled
4959-415: The first Greens mayor of Hobsons Bay for 2019. In 2020, local elections raised the number of elected Greens councillors from 29 to 36, including three out of nine in Darebin , four out of eleven in Merri-bek , and five out of nine in Yarra , the first jurisdiction in Australia to have a majority Green chamber. In April 2024, both Greens councillors in Monash − Anjalee de Silva and Josh Fergeus − left
5046-420: The first time to the City of Ballarat (Belinda Coates) and the City of Greater Dandenong (Matthew Kirwan). Local government elections in 2016 saw the number of Green Councillors across Victoria, rise from 17 to 29. This included first-time breakthroughs with the election of Josh Fergeus in Monash, Peter Castaldo in Banyule, Michael Schilling in Cardinia, and Jonathon Marsden in Hobsons Bay , who went on to become
5133-437: The inland monthly temperatures are 2–7 °C (4–13 °F) warmer than around Melbourne (see chart). Victoria's highest maximum temperature of 48.8 °C (119.8 °F) was recorded in Hopetoun on 7 February 2009, during the 2009 southeastern Australia heat wave . The Victorian Alps in the northeast are the coldest part of Victoria. The Alps are part of the Great Dividing Range mountain system extending east–west through
5220-505: The line. The Chamber of the Legislative Council is noticeably red - all carpet and furnishings in the chamber are red, which is a symbol of royalty and nobility. This aesthetic is in line with the United Kingdom's House of Lords . The separate colony of Victoria was proclaimed on 1 July 1851 and writs for the election of the first Legislative Council were issued at the same time for the 20 elected members. The Legislative Council initially consisted of 30 members, 10 of whom were nominated by
5307-504: The lower house. In the upper house the party suffered a near-wipeout, as its primary vote went slightly backwards and it became the victim of complex preference deals that benefited other minor parties and saw only leader Samantha Ratnam retain her seat. In the 2022 state election, the Greens retained the seats of Brunswick, Melbourne and Prahran, and gained the seat of Richmond with a 12.9% swing from Labor. Federal election results Ethicist and animal liberation activist Peter Singer
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#17328730241435394-461: The northeast, with higher averages in areas of high altitude. Mean annual rainfall exceeds 1,800 millimetres (71 inches) in some parts of the northeast but is less than 280 mm (11 in) in the Mallee. Rain is heaviest in the Otway Ranges and Gippsland in southern Victoria and in the mountainous northeast. Snow generally falls only in the mountains and hills in the centre of the state. Rain falls most frequently in winter, but summer precipitation
5481-463: The number of minor parties represented in the Legislative Council as compared to the Instant-runoff voting system. Under Instant-runoff voting , in 2002 for example, the traditional big three - Labor, Liberal and National - took all the seats - Greens with 314,000 voters overall did not take one seat. In 2006 the Greens took almost exactly the same number of votes that it had in 2002 and this time won three seats, just slightly less than its 10 percent of
5568-399: The party a total of 5 seats in the upper house. The Greens gained a third seat in the Victorian Legislative Assembly at the 2017 Northcote state by-election , which was won by Lidia Thorpe . In the 2018 state election , the Greens lost Northcote to Labor MP Kat Theophanous , but they held the seats of Melbourne and Prahran and picked up the seat of Brunswick , retaining 3 seats in
5655-419: The party. On Saturday 12 November 2005 at the national conference in Hobart the Australian Greens abandoned their long-standing tradition of having no official leader and approved a process whereby a parliamentary leader could be elected by the Greens Parliamentary Party Room. The Victorian division of the party announced Greg Barber as the inaugural leader of the party in December 2010. Decisions affecting
5742-490: The question as to which state had jurisdiction in the unlawful death of a man on an island in the middle of the river. The ruling clarified that no part of the watercourse is in Victoria. The border also rests at the southern end of the Great Dividing Range , which stretches along the east coast and terminates west of Ballarat. It is bordered by South Australia to the west and shares Australia's shortest land border with Tasmania . The official border between Victoria and Tasmania
5829-481: The representative of the monarch in the state, is currently Margaret Gardner . Victoria is divided into 79 local government areas , as well as several unincorporated areas which the state administers directly. The state of Victoria was home to many Aboriginal Australian nations that had occupied the land for tens of thousands of years before European settlement . According to Gary Presland , Aboriginal people have lived in Victoria for about 40,000 years, living
5916-487: The south west coast of what is now Victoria. Edward Henty settled Portland Bay in 1834. Melbourne was founded in 1835 by John Batman , who set up a base in Indented Head , and John Pascoe Fawkner . From settlement, the region around Melbourne was known as the Port Phillip District, a separately administered part of New South Wales. Shortly after, the site now known as Geelong was surveyed by Assistant Surveyor W. H. Smythe, three weeks after Melbourne. And in 1838, Geelong
6003-433: The state party are made through the State Council, a 15 member governing body made up of 14 State Councillors elected by the membership and 1 State Councillor appointed by the First Nations working group. Local branch catchment areas are based on local government area boundaries. A member residing within a branch catchment area is generally registered to that branch, while a member residing outside of any branch catchment area
6090-603: The state's south. The greater Melbourne metropolitan area is home to an estimated 5,207,145 people. Urban centres outside Melbourne include Geelong , Ballarat , Bendigo , Shepparton , Mildura , Warrnambool , Wodonga and the Latrobe Valley . Victoria is Australia's most urbanised state: nearly 90% of residents living in cities and towns. State Government efforts to decentralise population have included an official campaign run since 2003 to encourage Victorians to settle in regional areas, however Melbourne continues to rapidly outpace these areas in terms of population growth. At
6177-523: The survey, 31.7% of Victorians stated they had no religion, Roman Catholics were 23.2%, 9.4% did not answer the question, 9% were Anglican and 3.5% were Eastern Orthodox . In 2017 the proportion of couples marrying in a civil ceremony in Victoria was 77.3%; the other 22.7% were married in a religious ceremony. The government predicts that nearly a quarter of Victorians will be aged over 60 by 2021. The 2016 census revealed that Australian median age has crept upward from 35 to 37 since 2001, which reflects
6264-474: The time of Australian Federation in 1901, Melbourne had become the largest city in Australasia , and was the seat of Federal government until Canberra became the national capital in 1927. The state continued to grow strongly through various periods of the 20th and 21st centuries due to high levels of international and interstate migration. Melbourne hosts a number of museums, art galleries, and theatres; in 2016
6351-556: The treaty is unknown, although it is believed to have been by the Merri Creek . According to historian Meyer Eidelson, it is generally believed to have occurred on the Merri near modern-day Rushall Station. On 1 July 1851, writs were issued for the election of the first Victorian Legislative Council, and the absolute independence of Victoria from New South Wales was established proclaiming a new Colony of Victoria. Days later, still in 1851 gold
6438-405: The vote should have given it proportionally. The Democratic Labour Party also won a seat, the first one it had won in 50 years. STV was such that the success for those two parties was achieved while at the same time Labor, Liberal and National parties each still took a number of seats. At the same time, the Council's ability to block supply was removed. Since the 2006 Victorian state election ,
6525-571: The west and northwest. There is an extensive series of river systems in Victoria. Most notable is the Murray River system. Other rivers include: Ovens River , Goulburn River , Patterson River , King River , Campaspe River , Loddon River , Wimmera River , Elgin River, Barwon River , Thomson River , Snowy River , Latrobe River , Yarra River , Maribyrnong River , Mitta River , Hopkins River , Merri River and Kiewa River . The state symbols include
6612-488: The world" and the largest gold nugget . In the decade 1851–1860 Victoria produced 20 million ounces of gold, one-third of the world's output. In 1855 the Geological Survey collected and determined the major ion chemistry for groundwater in Victoria. Immigrants arrived from all over the world to search for gold, especially from Ireland and China. By 1857, 26,000 Chinese miners worked in Victoria, and their legacy
6699-491: Was briefly Premier. In 1893 widespread bank failures brought to an end a sustained period of prosperity and of increasingly wild speculation in land and construction. Melbourne nonetheless retained, as the legacy of the gold rush, its status as Australia's primary financial centre and largest city. In 1901, Victoria became a state in the Commonwealth of Australia . While Canberra was being built, Melbourne served until 1927 as
6786-515: Was declared void as Batman did not have permission from the Crown to establish Melbourne. Today, the meaning and interpretation of this treaty is contested. Some argue it was a pretence for taking Aboriginal land in exchange for trinkets, while others argue it was significant in that it sought to recognise Aboriginal land rights . The exact location of the meeting between Batman and the Kulin men with whom he made
6873-434: Was discovered near Ballarat , and subsequently at Bendigo . Later discoveries occurred at many sites across Victoria. This triggered one of the largest gold rushes the world has ever seen. The colony grew rapidly in both population and economic power. In 10 years, the population of Victoria increased sevenfold from 76,000 to 540,000. All sorts of gold records were produced, including the "richest shallow alluvial goldfield in
6960-588: Was elected as Moonee Valley's first, and Victoria's fifth Green Mayor. In the Mayoral vote for 2007–08 Bendigo elected Cr David Jones again, making him the First Green Mayor to serve two terms and Bendigo to become the first council in Australia to have three Green Mayors. The 2008 local government elections saw the first elections of Greens Councillors into Darebin, Glen Eira, Manningham, Queenscliffe, Surf Coast and Casey Councils, and saw Samantha Dunn re-elected in
7047-513: Was elected to and became Mayor the City of Greater Bendigo, and a total of 14 Green local government councillors held office across Victoria, in Cities or Shires of Melbourne, Yarra, Maribyrnong, Moreland, Moonee Valley, Yarra Ranges, Whitehorse, Brimbank, Mount Alexander and Greater Bendigo. In the yearly mayoral elections in 2006, Greater Bendigo Councillors elected back to back Green Mayors by electing Julie Rivendell to succeed David Jones, and Ben Opie
7134-408: Was expanded in 1853 to 18 nominees and 36 elected members. A further expansion of the Council occurred in 1855, when 8 new members were elected from five new electorates, with one new nominee. The first Legislative Council existed for five years and was responsible for at least three significant and enduring contributions to the parliamentary system of Victoria: The new constitution was approved by
7221-523: Was ill-prepared "to countenance so startling a novelty". In 1858–59, Melbourne Punch cartoons linked Duffy and O'Shanassy to the terrors of the French Revolution . In 1862 Duffy's Land Act attempted, but failed, through a system of extended pastoral licences, to break the land-holding monopoly of the so-called "squatter" class . In 1871, having led, on behalf of small farmers, opposition to Premier Sir James McCulloch 's land tax , Duffy, himself,
7308-643: Was officially declared a town, despite earlier European settlements dating back to 1826. On 6 June 1835, just under two years before Melbourne was officially recognised as a settlement, John Batman, the leader of the Port Phillip Association presented Wurundjeri Elders with a land use agreement. This document, now referred to as the Batman treaty , was later given to the British government to claim that local Aboriginal people had given Batman access to their land in exchange for goods and rations. The treaty itself
7395-415: Was re-elected and three more Greens were elected to Yarra City Council, giving the Greens 4 out of 9 seats on Council. In 2003 Yarra City Councillor Greg Barber became Australia's first Greens Mayor. Janet Rice was elected to Maribyrnong City Council in 2003 with a primary vote of 42%. In 2005 Janet Rice was re-elected to a second term at Maribyrnong City Council and subsequently became Mayor. David Jones
7482-433: Was re-elected in 2001 and retired in 2004 in order to contest the Senate in the Australian national elections of that year. Fraser Brindley, previously elected to Moreland City Council as a Greens representative in 2002, ran successfully for Melbourne City Council in 2004. The first Greens candidate in Australia to be elected in a single-member electorate was Gurm Sekhon, elected to Yarra City Council in 2001. In 2002 Sekhon
7569-522: Was the lead candidate for the Victorian Greens during the 1996 federal election , in which the Greens polled a total of 1.90% in the House of Representatives and 2.94% in the Senate . Since then the Victorian Greens' vote has grown with 8.17% of the vote in the lower house at the 2007 federal election . In 2007 Richard Di Natale ran as the lead Victorian Senate candidate and again the Greens narrowly missed out on
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