122-498: Toorak ( / ˈ t uː r æ k / ) is a suburb of Melbourne , Victoria , Australia , 5 km (3.1 mi) south-east of Melbourne's Central Business District , located within the City of Stonnington local government area . Toorak recorded a population of 12,817 at the 2021 census . The name Toorak has become synonymous with wealth and privilege, the suburb long having the reputation of being Melbourne's most elite, and ranking among
244-604: A "very substantial financial settlement" with the Commonwealth as compensation for the failure of the 2016 online Census. The census forms were able to be submitted online until 23 September. Once collection was complete, the ABS issued an announcement which confirmed that in spite of the initial online problems, there was a preliminary response rate of more than 96%. This consisted of 4.9 million (over 58%) online submissions and 3.5 million paper forms. The preliminary response rate
366-500: A Hansom Cab (1886), the fastest-selling crime novel of the era, is set in Melbourne, as is Australia's best-selling book of poetry, The Songs of a Sentimental Bloke (1915) by C. J. Dennis . Contemporary Melbourne authors who have set novels in the city include Peter Carey , Helen Garner and Gerald Murnane . Melbourne has Australia's widest range of bookstores, as well as the nation's largest publishing sector. The city also hosts
488-647: A campaign to revive the economy with an aggressive development campaign of public works coupled with the promotion of the city as a tourist destination with a focus on major events and sports tourism. During this period the Australian Grand Prix moved to Melbourne from Adelaide . Major projects included the construction of a new facility for the Melbourne Museum , Federation Square , the Melbourne Convention & Exhibition Centre , Crown Casino and
610-496: A contributing factor to the Australian economic depression of the 1890s and the Australian banking crisis of 1893 . The effects of the depression on the city were profound, with virtually no significant construction until the late 1890s. At the time of Australia's federation on 1 January 1901 Melbourne became the seat of government of the federated Commonwealth of Australia . The first federal parliament convened on 9 May 1901 in
732-670: A diplomatic passport are excluded, as per the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations . Those on vessels between Australian ports, or planes between Australian airports are included. All private dwellings are counted. Caravans in caravan parks and manufactured homes in manufactured home estates are counted if they are occupied. Non-private dwellings are included if they are occupied. This includes hotels, hospitals and prisons. Non occupied residences of owners, managers or caretakers are included and unoccupied, self contained residences in retirement villages are included. The 2016 census had
854-597: A few of the original 19th-century mansions in Toorak remain, due in part to the high land value. Two of the most notable are Illawarra House, which was acquired by the National Trust; and Coonac, the most expensive house in Melbourne. In Toorak, some of the old property names live on as street names or the names of blocks of flats, carved out of or built on their sites; Dunraven Avenue, Millicent Avenue, Iona Avenue, Woorigoleen Road, Myoora Road, and Scotsburn Grove are examples. In
976-460: A major renewal of the CBD and St Kilda Road which significantly modernised the city. New fire regulations and redevelopment saw most of the taller pre-war CBD buildings either demolished or partially retained through a policy of facadism . Many of the larger suburban mansions from the boom era were also either demolished or subdivided. To counter the trend towards low-density suburban residential growth,
1098-581: A new generation of the wealthy, thought by some to be social climbers and nouveau riche . For some of these people, the focus was simply to have the postcode of Toorak, which was SE 2 and now 3142. As a result, many of the larger mansions were demolished and large holdings were subdivided to make way for flats, townhouses and apartments. In the 1980s, larger houses in Neo-Georgian and Neo-Classical styles began to appear. While large mansions have survived in neighbouring Hawthorn , Kew and Armadale , only
1220-439: A paper census had to order such forms via an automated hotline. Letters were sent to each dwelling with unique code numbers that people would need to either login to the census website, or order a paper form if they preferred. By census night, many households had still not received such a letter. Contrary to previous years where censuses were both delivered and retrieved from households by dedicated census employees, in 2016 most of
1342-610: A pastoral estate in Bulleen , now the Heide Museum of Modern Art . The city is also home to the Australian Centre for Contemporary Art , as well as numerous independent galleries and artist-run spaces. In the 2000s, street art proliferated in Melbourne , with Banksy saying its graffiti scene "leads the world", and "laneway galleries" becoming major tourist sites; Hosier Lane for example attracts more Instagram hashtags than some of
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#17328556171521464-686: A population of 1,796 in 2011 (Norfolk Island Government Census). Of these 46.8% were male and 53.2% were female. The enumeration of Norfolk Island was an area of special attention for the ABS. Of all residents over two-thirds (66.7% or 15,614,835) were born in Australia. Over a quarter of the population (26.3% or 6,163,667 persons) said they were born overseas, plus 1.6 million did not state any response. The proportion of overseas-born people from Asia has increased from 33% in 2011 to 40%, while Europe has declined from 40% in 2011 to 34% in 2016. However, England (907,572 or 3.9% of Australia's population) remains
1586-700: A prominent example of the latter style in the CBD. The 1926 Nicholas Building is the city's grandest example of the Chicago School style, while the influence of Art Deco is apparent in the Manchester Unity Building , completed in 1932. The city also features the Shrine of Remembrance , which was built as a memorial to the men and women of Victoria who served in World War I and is now a memorial to all Australians who have served in war. Residential architecture
1708-456: A rapid clearing trend to sunny and relatively calm weather and the temperature rising back to what it was before the shower. This can occur in the space of minutes and can be repeated many times a day, giving Melbourne a reputation for having "four seasons in one day", a phrase that is part of local popular culture . The lowest temperature on record is −2.8 °C (27.0 °F), on 21 July 1869. The highest temperature recorded in Melbourne city
1830-537: A response rate of 95.1% and a net undercount of 1.0%, with 63% of people completing the Census online. In the period leading up to census date the Australian Government decided that the retention period for names and addresses would be increased to up to four years, from 18 months in the 2006 and 2011 censuses, leading to concerns about privacy and data security. As such, some Australian Senate crossbenchers (from
1952-502: A third data release was from 17 October 2017. For the first time, the ABS significantly favoured internet submission of census forms over the traditional paper forms, claiming it expected more than 65% of Australians would complete the census online. Reflecting this new preference, the tagline of the ad campaign for the census was the rhyming slogan "Get online on August 9". Across many regions, paper forms were no longer delivered by default to homes, and households that wished to complete
2074-432: Is Flinders Street station and its main regional rail and road coach terminus is Southern Cross station . It also has Australia's most extensive freeway network and the largest urban tram network in the world . Aboriginal Australians have lived in the Melbourne area for at least 40,000 years. When European colonisers arrived in the 19th century, at least 20,000 Kulin people from three distinct language groups –
2196-436: Is a perception in popular culture of the luxury 4WD as a status symbol , (controversial for their comfort rather than for their off-road abilities) and this has been associated with the suburb of Toorak, such that in popular Australian culture, the term 'Toorak Tractor' has become well established in Australian slang . An example of this was an episode of the popular program Top Gear Australia , aired on SBS TV , in which
2318-543: Is a strip of shops and cafes, located centrally in Toorak Road. The Wesleyan Church (1877), formerly on the corner of Toorak and Williams Roads, was illegally demolished in 1990 by developers and later replaced by a block of flats. Schools in Toorak include St Catherine's School , Loreto Mandeville Hall , St Kevin's College , Glamorgan (now Toorak Campus, the junior school of Geelong Grammar School ) and Toorak Central School (1890). The Royal South Yarra Lawn Tennis Club
2440-407: Is an example of street hierarchy . As a result, there are numerous quiet pedestrian streets. However, traffic congestion is an increasing problem along Toorak Road and Williams Roads. There is limited street parking along the main roads with just a couple of multi-storey car parks and parking lots within proximity of the main Toorak Road shopping strip. There are no level crossings in Toorak. There
2562-604: Is becoming unaffordable for some. Public housing is managed and provided by the Victorian Government's Department of Families, Fairness and Housing , and operates within the framework of the Commonwealth-State Housing Agreement, by which both federal and state governments provide funding for housing. Melbourne is experiencing high population growth, generating high demand for housing. This housing boom has increased house prices and rents, as well as
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#17328556171522684-546: Is home to more skyscrapers than any other Australian city , the tallest being Australia 108 , situated in Southbank. Melbourne's newest planned skyscraper, Southbank By Beulah (also known as "Green Spine"), has recently been approved for construction and will be the tallest structure in Australia by 2025. The CBD and surrounds also contain many significant historic buildings such as the Royal Exhibition Building ,
2806-546: Is known for its music, theatre and arts scenes, as well as its diverse range of cultural events and festivals, including the Melbourne International Arts Festival , Melbourne Fringe Festival and Moomba , Australia's largest free community festival. For much of the 2010s, Melbourne topped The Economist Intelligence Unit 's list of the world's most liveable cities , partly due to its cultural attributes. State Library Victoria , founded in 1854,
2928-437: Is largely protected from the ocean, resulting in greater temperature variation across seasons. Melbourne's urban area is approximately 2,704 km , the largest in Australia and the 33rd largest in the world. The Hoddle Grid , a grid of streets measuring approximately 1 by 1 ⁄ 2 mi (1.61 by 0.80 km), forms the nucleus of Melbourne's central business district (CBD). The grid's southern edge fronts onto
3050-693: Is not defined by a single architectural style, but rather an eclectic mix of large McMansion -style houses (particularly in areas of urban sprawl), apartment buildings, condominiums, and townhouses which generally characterise the medium-density inner-city neighbourhoods. Freestanding dwellings with relatively large gardens are perhaps the most common type of housing outside inner city Melbourne. Victorian terrace housing, townhouses and historic Italianate , Tudor revival and Neo-Georgian mansions are all common in inner-city neighbourhoods such as Carlton, Fitzroy and further into suburban enclaves like Toorak . Often referred to as Australia's cultural capital, Melbourne
3172-554: Is noted for its street art , live music and theatre scenes. It hosts major annual sporting events, such as the Australian Grand Prix and the Australian Open , and also hosted the 1956 Summer Olympics . Melbourne ranked as the world's most livable city for much of the 2010s. Melbourne Airport is the second-busiest airport in Australia and the Port of Melbourne is the nation's busiest seaport. Its main metropolitan rail terminus
3294-481: Is often referred to as Australia's garden city, and the state of Victoria is known as the garden state . There is an abundance of parks and gardens in Melbourne , many close to the CBD with a variety of common and rare plant species amid landscaped vistas, pedestrian pathways and tree-lined avenues. Melbourne's parks are often considered the best public parks in all of Australia's major cities. There are also many parks in
3416-543: Is one of the world's oldest free public libraries and, as of 2018, the fourth most-visited library globally. During the 19th-century boom period, Melbourne-based authors and poets Marcus Clarke , Adam Lindsay Gordon and Rolf Boldrewood produced classic visions of colonial life, and many visiting writers recorded literary responses to the city: for Henry Kendall , it was a "wild bleak Bohemia", while Henry Kingsley stated that, in its rapid growth, Melbourne "surpasses all human experience". Fergus Hume 's The Mystery of
3538-504: Is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria , and the second-most populous city in Australia, after Sydney . Its name generally refers to a 9,993 km (3,858 sq mi) metropolitan area also known as Greater Melbourne , comprising an urban agglomeration of 31 local municipalities , although the name is also used specifically for the local municipality of City of Melbourne based around its central business area . The metropolis occupies much of
3660-540: The 2016 census , there were 12,909 people in Toorak. Toorak has an unusual mix of high-, low- and medium-density housing , due to intense subdivision of larger lots in the 1880s, 1920s and 1960s. The predominant housing in Toorak (49.6%) is apartments , particularly walk-up flats. Single-family detached homes are also prevalent (30.2%). Some of these homes are in the form of traditional mansions or newer large residences on significant-sized estates, owned by Melbourne's wealthy and social elite. The architectural style of
3782-569: The Australian Antarctic Territory . Visitors to Australia are included, regardless of how long they are staying for, however those who have been in the country less than a year answer fewer questions on the census. People who enter Australia but do not go through migration formalities are excluded. This includes those on ships in Australian waters that remain on the ship at port. Foreign diplomats and their families or those who travel on
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3904-530: The Australian Dream . This, coupled with the popularity of the private automobile after 1945, led to the auto-centric urban structure now present today in the middle and outer suburbs. Much of metropolitan Melbourne is accordingly characterised by low-density sprawl, whilst its inner-city areas feature predominantly medium-density, transit-oriented urban forms. The city centre, Docklands, St. Kilda Road and Southbank areas feature high-density forms. Melbourne
4026-449: The CityLink tollway . Other strategies included the privatisation of some of Melbourne's services, including power and public transport, and a reduction in funding to public services such as health, education and public transport infrastructure. Since the mid-1990s, Melbourne has maintained significant population and employment growth. There has been substantial international investment in
4148-458: The Commonwealth of Australia was counted as 23,401,892 – an increase of 8.8 per cent or 1,894,175 people over the 2011 census . Norfolk Island joined the census for the first time in 2016, adding 1,748 to the population. The ABS annual report revealed that $ 24 million in additional expenses accrued due to the outage on the census website. Results from the 2016 census were available to
4270-573: The Empire of Japan , and the government requisitioned the Melbourne Cricket Ground for military use. In the immediate years after World War II , Melbourne expanded rapidly, its growth boosted by post-war immigration to Australia , primarily from Southern Europe and the Mediterranean . While the "Paris End" of Collins Street began Melbourne's boutique shopping and open air cafe cultures,
4392-567: The Greens , Nick Xenophon Team and Jacqui Lambie Network ) said they would not complete those specific sections of the census, despite the fines associated with incorrect completion of the census. According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics the first release of census data became available to the public on the ABS website on 11 April 2017, two months earlier than for any previous census. The second release of data occurred on 27 June 2017 and
4514-584: The Heidelberg School of impressionists, named after a suburb where they camped to paint en plein air in the 1880s. The Australian tonalists followed in the 1910s, some of whom founded Montsalvat in Eltham , Australia's oldest surviving art colony. Mid-century Melbourne became a stronghold of figurative modernism through the paintings of the Antipodeans and Angry Penguins ; the latter group often met at
4636-569: The Liberal Party of Australia ). However, the seat would fall to the Labor Party for the first time ever in the 2022 Federal Election , with candidate Michelle Ananda-Rajah winning the seat as Labor took government from the coalition. At State level, it mostly falls within the electorate of Malvern (currently held by the Liberals' Michael O'Brien ) since the 2006 Victorian State Election , with
4758-593: The Melbourne Bounce genre and the Melbourne Shuffle dance style, both of which emerged from the city's underground rave scene. Established in 1861, the National Gallery of Victoria is Australia's oldest and largest art museum, and houses its collection across two sites: NGV International in Southbank and NGV Australia at Federation Square. Several art movements originated in Melbourne, most famously
4880-535: The Melbourne Town Hall and Parliament House . Although the area is described as the centre , it is not actually the demographic centre of Melbourne at all, due to an urban sprawl to the southeast, the demographic centre being located at Camberwell . Melbourne is typical of Australian capital cities in that after the turn of the 20th century, it expanded with the underlying notion of a 'quarter acre home and garden' for every family, often referred to locally as
5002-426: The Melbourne Town Hall , St Patrick's cathedral, though many remained incomplete for decades. The layout of the inner suburbs on a largely one-mile grid pattern, cut through by wide radial boulevards and parklands surrounding the central city, was largely established in the 1850s and 1860s. These areas rapidly filled with the ubiquitous terrace houses, as well as with detached houses and grand mansions, while some of
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5124-750: The Melbourne Writers Festival and the Victorian Premier's Literary Awards . In 2008, it became the second UNESCO City of Literature . Melbourne is home to many theatres , eight of which are concentrated in the East End Theatre District , including the Victorian era Athenaeum , Her Majesty's and Princess theatres, as well as the Forum and the Regent . Other heritage-listed theatres include
5246-466: The Otway and Macedon Ranges , which block much of the rainfall arriving from the north and west. Port Phillip is often warmer than the surrounding oceans or the land mass, particularly in spring and autumn; this can set up a " bay effect rain ", similar to the " lake effect " seen in colder climates, where showers are intensified leeward of the bay. Relatively narrow streams of heavy showers can often affect
5368-472: The Royal Exhibition Building , subsequently moving to the Victorian Parliament House, where it sat until it moved to Canberra in 1927. The Governor-General of Australia resided at Government House in Melbourne until 1930, and many major national institutions remained in Melbourne well into the twentieth century. During World War II the city hosted American military forces who were fighting
5490-815: The Selwyn fault , which transects Mount Martha and Cranbourne . The western portion of the metropolitan area lies within the Victorian Volcanic Plain grasslands vegetation community, and the southeast falls in the Gippsland Plains Grassy Woodland zone. Melbourne extends northward through the undulating bushland valleys of the Yarra Valley 's tributaries— Moonee Ponds Creek (toward Melbourne Airport ), Merri Creek , Darebin Creek and Plenty River . The city reaches southeast through Dandenong to
5612-595: The Woiwurrung language of the indigenous inhabitants , with words of similar pronunciation meaning "black crow" or "reedy swamp". From 1854 Toorak House served as the residence of the first Governor of Victoria , Captain Sir Charles Hotham KCB RN and his successors, until the completion of the present Government House (1876) in the Kings Domain . Toorak Post Office opened around June 1858. During
5734-575: The World Heritage -listed Royal Exhibition Building (1880), the General Post Office (1867), Hotel Windsor (1884) and the Block Arcade (1891). Comparatively little remains of Melbourne's pre-gold rush architecture; St James Old Cathedral (1839) and St Francis' Church (1845) are among the few examples left in the CBD. Many of the CBD's Victorian boom-time landmarks were also demolished in
5856-645: The Wurundjeri , Bunurong and Wathaurong – resided in the area. It was an important meeting place for the clans of the Kulin nation alliance and a vital source of food and water. In June 2021, the boundaries between the land of two of the traditional owner groups, the Wurundjeri and Bunurong, were agreed after being drawn up by the Victorian Aboriginal Heritage Council . The borderline runs across
5978-499: The Yarra River . More recent office, commercial and public developments in the adjoining districts of Southbank and Docklands have made these areas into extensions of the CBD in all but name. A byproduct of the CBD's layout is its network of lanes and arcades , such as Block Arcade and Royal Arcade . Melbourne's CBD has become Australia's most densely populated area, with approximately 19,500 residents per square kilometre, and
6100-536: The market town of Melbourne , Derbyshire . That year, the settlement's general post office officially opened with that name. Between 1836 and 1842, Victorian Aboriginal groups were largely dispossessed of their land by British colonists. In 1840, the Superintendent of the Port Phillip District , Charles La Trobe issued a directive to banish Aborigines from the immediate vicinity of Melbourne. This
6222-725: The 2010s the State Government of Victoria initiated a number of major infrastructure projects designed to reduce congestion in Melbourne and encourage economic growth, including the Metro Tunnel , the West Gate Tunnel , the Level Crossing Removal Project and the Suburban Rail Loop . New urban renewal zones were initiated in inner-city areas like Fisherman's Bend and Arden , while suburban growth continued on
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#17328556171526344-513: The 2016 Census data can be used with confidence. The Census form had 51 questions relating to the characteristics of individuals, plus an extra nine questions relating to households. Of the sixty questions, the following two questions were optional: The population counts for Australian states and territories were that New South Wales remains the most populous state, with 7,480,228 people counted, ahead of Victoria (5,926,624) and Queensland (4,703,193). Australian Capital Territory (ACT) experienced
6466-462: The 2024 Global Financial Centres Index . The city's eclectic architecture blends Victorian era structures, such as the World Heritage -listed Royal Exhibition Building , with one of the world's tallest skylines . Additional landmarks include the Melbourne Cricket Ground and the National Gallery of Victoria . Noted for its cultural heritage , the city gave rise to Australian rules football , Australian impressionism and Australian cinema , and
6588-595: The Bay was filled with teatree scrub where boorrimul (emu) and marram (kangaroo) were hunted. The first British settlement in Victoria , then part of the penal colony of New South Wales , was established by Colonel David Collins in October 1803, at Sullivan Bay , near present-day Sorrento . The following year, due to a perceived lack of resources, these settlers relocated to Van Diemen's Land (present-day Tasmania ) and founded
6710-589: The Colony of Victoria, with Melbourne as its capital. The discovery of gold in Victoria in mid-1851 sparked a gold rush , and Melbourne, the colony's major port, experienced rapid growth. Within months, the city's population had nearly doubled from 25,000 to 40,000 inhabitants. Exponential growth ensued, and by 1865 Melbourne had overtaken Sydney as Australia's most populous city. An influx of intercolonial and international migrants, particularly from Europe and China, saw
6832-469: The Melbourne CBD in the back-beaches of Rye , Sorrento and Portsea . Melbourne has a temperate oceanic climate ( Köppen climate classification Cfb ), with warm summers and cool winters. Melbourne is well known for its changeable weather conditions , mainly due to it being located on the boundary of hot inland areas and the cool southern ocean. This temperature differential is most pronounced in
6954-573: The area and established a settlement at the site of the current Melbourne Immigration Museum . Batman and his group arrived the following month and the two groups ultimately agreed to share the settlement, initially known by the native name of Dootigala. Batman's Treaty with the Aboriginal elders was annulled by Richard Bourke , the Governor of New South Wales (who at the time governed all of eastern mainland Australia), with compensation paid to members of
7076-535: The association. In 1836, Bourke declared the city the administrative capital of the Port Phillip District of New South Wales , and commissioned the first plan for its urban layout, the Hoddle Grid , in 1837. Known briefly as Batmania, the settlement was named Melbourne on 10 April 1837 by Bourke after the British Prime Minister , William Lamb, 2nd Viscount Melbourne , whose seat was Melbourne Hall in
7198-499: The availability of all types of housing. Subdivision regularly occurs in the outer areas of Melbourne, with numerous developers offering house and land packages. However, since the release of Melbourne 2030 in 2002, planning policies have encouraged medium-density and high-density development in existing areas with good access to public transport and other services. As a result of this, Melbourne's middle and outer-ring suburbs have seen significant brownfields redevelopment. On
7320-732: The avant-garde picture palace The Capitol and St Kilda's Palais Theatre , Australia's largest seated theatre with a capacity of 3,000 people. The Arts Precinct in Southbank is home to Arts Centre Melbourne (which includes the State Theatre and Hamer Hall ), as well as the Melbourne Recital Centre , Malthouse Theatre and Southbank Theatre , home of the Melbourne Theatre Company , Australia's oldest professional theatre company. The Australian Ballet , Opera Australia and Melbourne Symphony Orchestra are also based in
7442-436: The back of the 1850s gold rush and 1880s land boom, Melbourne became renowned as one of the world's great Victorian-era cities, a reputation that persists due to its diverse range of Victorian architecture . High concentrations of well-preserved Victorian-era buildings can be found in the inner suburbs, such as Carlton , East Melbourne and South Melbourne . Outstanding examples of Melbourne's built Victorian heritage include
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#17328556171527564-434: The blocks. The Aboriginal population continued to decline, with an estimated 80% total decrease by 1863, due primarily to introduced diseases (particularly smallpox ), frontier violence and dispossession of their lands. The 1880s saw extraordinary growth: consumer confidence, easy access to credit, and steep increases in land prices led to an enormous amount of construction. During this "land boom", Melbourne reputedly became
7686-551: The city centre was seen by many as stale—the dreary domain of office workers—something expressed by John Brack in his famous painting Collins St., 5 pm (1955). Up until the 21st century, Melbourne was considered Australia's "industrial heartland". Height limits in the CBD were lifted in 1958, after the construction of ICI House , transforming the city's skyline with the introduction of skyscrapers. Suburban expansion then intensified, served by new indoor malls beginning with Chadstone Shopping Centre . The post-war period also saw
7808-399: The city from west to east, with the CBD , Richmond and Hawthorn included in Wurundjeri land, and Albert Park , St Kilda and Caulfield on Bunurong land. However, this change in boundaries is still disputed by people on both sides of the dispute including N'arweet Carolyn Briggs . The name Narrm is commonly used by the broader Aboriginal community to refer to the city, stemming from
7930-530: The city of Hobart . It would be 30 years before another settlement was attempted. In May and June 1835, John Batman , a leading member of the Port Phillip Association in Van Diemen's Land, explored the Melbourne area, and later claimed to have negotiated a purchase of 2,400 km (600,000 acres) with eight Wurundjeri elders. However, the nature of the treaty has been heavily disputed, as none of
8052-430: The city's industries and property market. Major inner-city urban renewal has occurred in areas such as Southbank , Port Melbourne , Melbourne Docklands and South Wharf . Melbourne sustained the highest population increase and economic growth rate of any Australian capital city from 2001 to 2004. From 2006, the growth of the city extended into "green wedges" and beyond the city's urban growth boundary . Predictions of
8174-653: The city's population reaching 5 million people pushed the state government to review the growth boundary in 2008 as part of its Melbourne @ Five Million strategy. In 2009, Melbourne was less affected by the Great Recession in comparison to other Australian cities. At this time, more new jobs were created in Melbourne than any other Australian city—almost as many as the next two fastest growing cities, Brisbane and Perth, combined, and Melbourne's property market remained highly priced, resulting in historically high property prices and widespread rent increases. Beginning in
8296-638: The city's traditional destinations, like the Melbourne Zoo . Melbourne's many public artworks range from the Burke and Wills monument (1865) to the abstract sculpture Vault (1978), the latter a popular reference point amongst Melbourne designers. 2016 Australian census The 2016 Australian census was the 17th national population census held in Australia . The census was officially conducted with effect on Tuesday, 9 August 2016. The total population of
8418-441: The city. Nauru 's then booming economy resulted in several ambitious investments in Melbourne, such as Nauru House . Melbourne remained Australia's main business and financial centre until the late 1970s, when it began to lose this primacy to Sydney. Melbourne experienced an economic downturn between 1989 and 1992, following the collapse of several local financial institutions. In 1992, the newly elected Kennett government began
8540-444: The city. The establishment of the Melbourne Hydraulic Power Company in 1886 led to the availability of high-pressure piped water, allowing for the installation of hydraulically powered elevators , which led to the construction of the first high-rise buildings in the city. The period also saw the huge expansion of a significant radial rail-based transport network throughout the city and suburbs. Melbourne's land-boom peaked in 1888,
8662-454: The closure. The census website was restored at 2:30 pm on 11 August. On the same day Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull stated his unhappiness over the event, which had "been a failure of the ABS", with his expectation that "heads will roll" once a review was complete. Leader of the opposition Bill Shorten said that the 2016 census had been the "worst-run ... in the history of Australia". The ABS blamed service provider IBM for
8784-548: The countryside from the late 1850s. Construction started on further major public buildings in the 1860s and 1870s, such as the Supreme Court , Government House , and the Queen Victoria Market . The central city filled up with shops and offices, workshops, and warehouses. Large banks and hotels faced the main streets, with fine townhouses in the east end of Collins Street, contrasting with tiny cottages down laneways within
8906-645: The decades after World War II, including the Federal Coffee Palace (1888) and the APA Building (1889), one of the tallest early skyscrapers upon completion. Heritage listings and heritage overlays have since been introduced in an effort to prevent further losses of the city's historic fabric. In line with the city's expansion during the early 20th century, suburbs such as Hawthorn and Camberwell are defined largely by Federation and Edwardian architectural styles. The City Baths , built in 1903, are
9028-428: The east, Prahran and Armadale , at Malvern Road to the south and the suburbs of Richmond , Burnley and Hawthorn on the north side of the river. The suburb's main street is considered to be Toorak Road , on which the commercial area of Toorak Village is located. Toorak was named after Toorak House, an Italianate residence built in 1849 by merchant James Jackson. The name of the house may have originated from
9150-480: The eastern boundary), Grange Road, Orrong Road, St Georges Road and Kooyong Road. The east–west arterials include Alexandra Avenue (at the northern boundary), Toorak Road (which runs midway through the suburb) and Malvern Road (at the southern boundary). Alexandra Avenue becomes St Georges Road and both along with Grange Road feed onto the MacRobertson Bridge, Toorak's main river crossing. Toorak's road planning
9272-471: The eastern fringe at Gembrook . Melbourne receives 48.6 clear days annually. Dewpoint temperatures in the summer range from 9.5 to 11.7 °C (49.1 to 53.1 °F). Melbourne is also prone to isolated convective showers forming when a cold pool crosses the state, especially if there is considerable daytime heating. These showers are often heavy and can include hail, squalls, and significant drops in temperature, but they often pass through very quickly with
9394-468: The establishment of slums, including Chinatown and a temporary "tent city" on the southern banks of the Yarra. In the aftermath of the 1854 Eureka Rebellion , mass public support for the plight of the miners resulted in major political changes to the colony, including improvements in working conditions across mining, agriculture, manufacturing and other local industries. At least twenty nationalities took part in
9516-462: The external territories of Christmas Island , Cocos (Keeling) Islands , and Norfolk Island . It does not include the other external territories of Australia. People who leave Australia but do not go through migration formalities are included, counted as part of an "Off-Shore Statistical Areas Level 1" in Tasmania. This includes those on oil and gas rigs near Australia and those at the Australian bases of
9638-478: The failure in the online census, saying that IBM had advised on the preparedness and resilience to DDoS attacks and had not offered any further protections that could be employed. On 31 August, Parliament initiated an inquiry into the 2016 census. It released its findings on 24 November and found that no individual party was responsible but it was shared between the government, IBM, and the sub-contractors. Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has confirmed that IBM made
9760-561: The five peoples of the Kulin nation, the traditional custodians of the land encompassing Melbourne are the Boonwurrung , Woiwurrung and the Wurundjeri peoples. In 1803, a short-lived British penal settlement was established at Port Phillip, then part of the Colony of New South Wales . Melbourne was founded in 1835 with the arrival of free settlers from Van Diemen's Land (modern-day Tasmania ). It
9882-454: The five years to 2016, according to census data. The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) said 116,000 people were homeless on census night in 2016, representing 50 homeless people per 10,000. The majority of homeless people in Australia were male. In addition, Indigenous Australians and recent migrants were over-represented among the homeless. The 2016 census was the first to offer an option other than "male" or "female", however, this option
10004-539: The government began a series of controversial public housing projects in the inner city by the Housing Commission of Victoria , which resulted in the demolition of many neighbourhoods and a proliferation of high-rise towers. In later years, with the rapid rise of motor vehicle ownership, the investment in freeway and highway developments greatly accelerated the outward suburban sprawl and declining inner-city population. The Bolte government sought to rapidly accelerate
10126-549: The growth corridor of Pakenham towards West Gippsland . In the west, it extends along the Maribyrnong River and its tributaries north towards Sunbury . Melbourne's major bayside beaches are in the various suburbs along the shores of Port Phillip Bay, in areas like Port Melbourne , Albert Park , St Kilda , Elwood , Brighton , Sandringham , Mentone , Frankston , Altona , Williamstown and Werribee South. The nearest surf beaches are 85 km (53 mi) south of
10248-458: The land boom of the 1880s, many large and elaborate mansions were erected in Toorak, often in the Italianate style. Following East Melbourne and then St Kilda , Toorak, along with Brighton , became the new favored location for the wealthy. The suburb was hit particularly hard by the 1890s economic depression and many wealthy landowners declared bankruptcy and were forced to sell. Nonetheless,
10370-571: The largest population growth of any state or territory over the past five years, with an increase of 11.2% while Tasmania had the smallest growth at 3.0% since the last census in 2011. Persons count based on place of usual residence on Census night. The inclusion of Norfolk Island in Other Territories was new for 2016, following an amendment to the Acts Interpretation Act, 1901. In the 2016 Census, there were 1,748 people, compared with
10492-562: The late 1970s and early 1980s, including the Little Band scene and St Kilda 's Crystal Ballroom scene, which gave rise to Dead Can Dance and Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds . More recent independent acts from Melbourne to achieve global recognition include The Avalanches , Gotye and King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard . Melbourne is also regarded as a centre of EDM , and lends its name to
10614-633: The major roads developed as shopping streets. Melbourne quickly became a major finance centre, home to several banks, the Royal Mint , and (in 1861) Australia's first stock exchange . In 1855, the Melbourne Cricket Club secured possession of its now famous ground, the MCG . Members of the Melbourne Football Club codified Australian football in 1859, and in 1861, the first Melbourne Cup race
10736-549: The mansions is predominantly Italianate and colonial . There are also extant stands of semi-detached housing (20.1%), including terraces, which were traditionally fashionable with the middle class and later gentrified. Toorak falls within the federal electorate of Higgins . The seat of Higgins was created in 1949 and held by Harold Holt CH 1949–1967, Sir John Gorton PC GCMG AC CH 1968–1975, Roger Shipton OAM 1975–1990, Peter Costello AC 1990–2009, Kelly O'Dwyer 2009–2019 and Katie Allen 2019–2022 (all on behalf of
10858-430: The modernisation of Melbourne. Major road projects including the remodelling of St Kilda Junction , the widening of Hoddle Street and then the extensive 1969 Melbourne Transportation Plan changed the face of the city into a car-dominated environment. Australia's financial and mining booms during 1969 and 1970 resulted in establishment of the headquarters of many major companies ( BHP and Rio Tinto , among others) in
10980-627: The most common country of birth, followed by New Zealand (518,466 or 2.2%). It was question 12 on the 2016 Census Household Paper Form. Proportion of overseas-born population. The highest reported ancestries in Australia and for the external territory of Norfolk Island as a percentage of population. Results of the ABS Census of Population and Housing, 2016 are as follows. There were 649,171 Indigenous Australians , who made up 2.8% of Australia's population. The number of homeless people in Australia jumped by more than 14,000 – or 14 per cent – in
11102-496: The most famous Melburnian of the Edwardian era. The Sidney Myer Music Bowl in Kings Domain hosted the largest crowd ever for a music concert in Australia when an estimated 200,000 attendees saw Melbourne band The Seekers in 1967. Airing between 1974 and 1987, Melbourne's Countdown helped launch the careers of local acts as diverse as AC/DC and Kylie Minogue . Several distinct post-punk scenes flourished in Melbourne during
11224-463: The most prestigious in Australia. It has the highest average property values in Melbourne, and is one of the most expensive suburbs in Australia. It is the nation's second highest earning postcode after Point Piper in Sydney . Located on a rise on the south side (or left bank) of a bend in the Yarra River , Toorak is bordered by South Yarra , at Williams Road on the west, Malvern , at Glenferrie Road on
11346-440: The nation's largest city in 2029–30 at just over 5.9 million, exceeding 6 million people the following year. Melbourne is in the southeastern part of mainland Australia, within the state of Victoria . Geologically, it is built on the confluence of Quaternary lava flows to the west, Silurian mudstones to the east, and Holocene sand accumulation to the southeast along Port Phillip . The southeastern suburbs are situated on
11468-446: The north and Dandenong Ranges National Park to the east. There are also a number of significant state parks just outside Melbourne. The extensive area covered by urban Melbourne is formally divided into hundreds of suburbs (for addressing and postal purposes), and administered as local government areas, 31 of which are located within the metropolitan area. Melbourne has minimal public housing and high demand for rental housing, which
11590-730: The northern and eastern coastlines of Port Phillip Bay and spreads into the Mornington Peninsula , part of West Gippsland , as well as the hinterlands towards the Yarra Valley , the Dandenong Ranges , and the Macedon Ranges . As of 2023, the population of the metropolitan area was 5.2 million (19% of the population of Australia ); inhabitants are referred to as "Melburnians". The area of Melbourne has been home to Aboriginal Victorians for over 40,000 years and serves as an important meeting place for local Kulin nation clans. Of
11712-470: The paperwork relating to the census was delivered from and to the ABS by Australia Post . The 2016 census was met by a significant controversy, which meant that many Australians could not complete the census online on the designated census day. The ABS census website shut down at about 7:30 pm AEST on the night the census was to be completed. According to the ABS, throughout 9 August the census website received four denial-of-service attacks . At 7:30 pm, when
11834-483: The parties spoke the same language, and the elders likely perceived it as part of the gift exchanges which had taken place over the previous few days amounting to a tanderrum ceremony which allows temporary, not permanent, access to and use of the land. Batman selected a site on the northern bank of the Yarra River , declaring that "this will be the place for a village" before returning to Van Diemen's Land. In August 1835, another group of Vandemonian settlers arrived in
11956-563: The precinct. Many of Melbourne's theatres join the Melbourne Town Hall in hosting the annual Melbourne International Comedy Festival , one of the world's three largest comedy festivals. Melbourne has been called "the live music capital of the world"; one study found it has more music venues per capita than any other world city sampled, with 17.5 million patron visits to 553 venues in 2016. Australia's first global music star, opera singer Nellie Melba , took her stage name from her hometown. Composer Percy Grainger followed her in becoming
12078-921: The presenters, tongue-in-cheek , drove a $ 200,000 tractor along Toorak Road. Toorak's only railway station is Heyington , on the Glen Waverley line , which crosses the Yarra from Richmond on the Heyington Railway Bridge, to the suburb's north. Despite its name, Toorak railway station is located in Armadale. The Pakenham , Frankston and Cranbourne railway line group to which this station belongs runs close to Toorak's southern boundary. Other nearby stations include Hawksburn , in South Yarra and Kooyong , in Kooyong. Trams have run down Toorak Road since 1888. Route 58 runs along Toorak Road to Glenferrie Road, at
12200-587: The public on 11 April 2017, from the Australian Bureau of Statistics website, two months earlier than for any previous census. The second release of data occurred on 27 June 2017 and a third data release was from 17 October 2017. Australia's next census took place in 2021 . The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) states the aim of the 2016 Australian census is "to count every person who spent Census night, 9 August 2016, in Australia." The census covers every Australian state and mainland territory, as well as
12322-614: The rebellion, giving some indication of immigration flows at the time. With the wealth brought in from the gold rush and the subsequent need for public buildings, a program of grand civic construction soon began. The 1850s and 1860s saw the commencement of Parliament House , the Treasury Building , the Old Melbourne Gaol , Victoria Barracks , the State Library , University of Melbourne , General Post Office , Customs House ,
12444-639: The richest city in the world, and the second-largest (after London) in the British Empire . The decade began with the Melbourne International Exhibition in 1880, held in the large purpose-built Exhibition Building . A telephone exchange was established that year, and the foundations of St Paul's were laid. In 1881, electric light was installed in the Eastern Market , and a generating station capable of supplying 2,000 incandescent lamps
12566-399: The same places (usually the eastern suburbs) for an extended period, while the rest of Melbourne and surrounds stays dry. Overall, the area around Melbourne is, owing to its rain shadow, nonetheless significantly drier than average for southern Victoria. Within the city and surrounds, rainfall varies widely, from around 425 mm (17 in) at Little River to 1,250 mm (49 in) on
12688-450: The site was being heavily used, a software failure meant that the ABS was unable to keep blocking the denial-of-service attacks, leading to the failure of a router. As a result, the ABS decided to close down the system as a precaution. The 15th Chief Statistician , David Kalisch stated that no census data were compromised. The Australian Signals Directorate assisted the ABS to bring the infrastructure back online more than 24 hours after
12810-416: The spring and summer months and can cause strong cold fronts to form. These cold fronts can be responsible for varied forms of severe weather from gales to thunderstorms and hail , large temperature drops and heavy rain. Winters, while exceptionally dry by southern Victorian standards, are nonetheless drizzly and overcast. The lack of winter rainfall is owed to Melbourne's rain shadowed location between
12932-561: The suburb remained and is still Melbourne's home of " old money ". During the Interwar period , many houses were built in the Tudor revival style; many houses were also designed by society Architect Marcus Martin in the Moderne style over a Georgian building form. In the period of post- World War II prosperity, rising standards of living and land values caused Toorak to become highly sought after by
13054-737: The suburb's eastern boundary. Route 72 runs along Malvern Road, the suburb's southern boundary. Cycling facilities are poor, with few marked on road lanes. MacRobertson Bridge and Gardiners Creek pedestrian bridge, however, the bridge provides pedestrians access to the Main Yarra Trail and shared bicycle and pedestrian paths in nearby Burnley . Pedestrians are serviced by an extensive network of footpaths and pedestrian crossings . ^ = territory divided with another LGA Melbourne Melbourne ( / ˈ m ɛ l b ər n / MEL -bərn , locally [ˈmæɫbən] ; Boonwurrung / Woiwurrung : Narrm or Naarm )
13176-496: The surrounding suburbs of Melbourne, such as in the municipalities of Stonnington , Boroondara and Port Phillip , southeast of the central business district. Several national parks have been designated around the urban area of Melbourne, including the Mornington Peninsula National Park , Port Phillip Heads Marine National Park and Point Nepean National Park in the southeast, Organ Pipes National Park to
13298-625: The traditional name recorded for the area on which the Melbourne city centre is built. The word is closely related to Narm-narm , being the Boonwurrung word for Port Phillip Bay . Narrm means scrub in Eastern Kulin languages which reflects the Creation Story of how the Bay was filled by the creation of the Birrarung (Yarra River). Before this, the dry Melbourne region extended out into the Bay and
13420-553: The urban periphery in Melbourne's outer west and east in suburbs like Wyndham Vale and Cranbourne . Middle suburbs like Box Hill became denser as a greater proportion of Melburnians began living in apartments. A construction boom resulted in 34 new skyscrapers being built in the central business district between 2010 and 2020. In 2020, Melbourne was classified as an Alpha city by the Globalization and World Cities Research Network . Out of all major Australian cities, Melbourne
13542-610: The western part of the suburb falling within the electorate of Prahran (currently held by Sam Hibbins on behalf the Australian Greens ). At local council level, Toorak falls within the City of Stonnington. Toorak has historically voted for conservative political parties. The Liberal Party retained the seat of Malvern in the 2018 State Election, although there was a 10.1% swing to the Australian Labor Party. The Toorak Village
13664-476: The world's largest and wealthiest metropolises. After the federation of Australia in 1901, Melbourne served as the interim seat of government of the new nation until Canberra became the permanent capital in 1927. Today, Melbourne is culturally diverse and, among world cities, has the 4th largest foreign born population . It is a leading financial centre in the Asia-Pacific region, ranking 28th globally in
13786-464: The year it hosted the Centennial Exhibition. The brash boosterism that had typified Melbourne during that time ended in the early 1890s. The bubble supporting the local finance and property industries burst, resulting in a severe economic depression. Sixteen small land banks and building societies collapsed, and 133 limited companies went into liquidation. The Melbourne financial crisis was
13908-537: Was 46.4 °C (115.5 °F), on 7 February 2009 . While snow is occasionally seen at higher elevations in the outskirts of the city, and dustings were observed in 2020, it has not been recorded in the Central Business District since 1986. The sea temperature in Melbourne is warmer than the surrounding ocean during the summer months, and colder during the winter months. This is predominately due to Port Phillip Bay being an enclosed and shallow bay that
14030-484: Was enforced later that same year by the mass-arrest and imprisonment of hundreds of Indigenous people during the Lettsom raid . However, Aboriginal people still managed to continue living near the settlement and by January 1844 there were said to be 675 residing in squalid camps around Melbourne. The British Colonial Office had appointed five Aboriginal Protectors for the Aboriginal people of Victoria, in 1839, but their work
14152-451: Was founded in 1884 and is located in Toorak. Kooyong Stadium , former home of the Australian Open , is located on Glenferrie Road. The most popular form of transport in Toorak is the automobile. CityLink runs along north eastern Toorak, though there are no interchanges within the suburb, although there is access to the freeway via MacRobertson Bridge and interchanges at Burnley . Main arterials running north–south are Williams Road (at
14274-410: Was held. Melbourne acquired its first public monument, the Burke and Wills statue, in 1864. With the gold rush largely over by 1860, Melbourne continued to grow on the back of continuing gold-mining, as the major port for exporting the agricultural products of Victoria (especially wool) and with a developing manufacturing sector protected by high tariffs. An extensive radial railway network spread into
14396-499: Was in operation by 1882. The Melbourne cable tramway system opened in 1885 and became one of the world's most extensive systems by 1890. In 1885, visiting English journalist George Augustus Henry Sala coined the phrase "Marvellous Melbourne", which stuck long into the twentieth century and has come to refer to the opulence and energy of the 1880s, during which time large commercial buildings, grand hotels, banks, coffee palaces , terrace housing and palatial mansions proliferated in
14518-483: Was incorporated as a Crown settlement in 1837, and named after the then- Prime Minister of the United Kingdom , William Lamb, 2nd Viscount Melbourne . Declared a city by Queen Victoria in 1847, it became the capital of the newly separated Colony of Victoria in 1851. During the 1850s Victorian gold rush , the city entered a lengthy boom period that, by the late 1880s, had transformed it into Australia's, and one of
14640-523: Was nullified by a land policy that favoured squatters who took possession of Aboriginal lands. By 1845, fewer than 240 wealthy Europeans held all the pastoral licences then issued in Victoria and became a powerful political and economic force in Victoria for generations to come. Letters patent of Queen Victoria , issued on 25 June 1847, declared Melbourne a city. On 1 July 1851, the Port Phillip District separated from New South Wales to become
14762-526: Was similar to the previous two census response rates of 95.8% in 2006 and 96.5% in 2011. An independent panel established by the Australian Statistician to quality assure the data from the 2016 census found it was fit for purpose, comparable to previous Australian and international censuses and can be used with confidence. The Independent Assurance Panel I established to provide extra assurance and transparency of Census data quality concluded that
14884-471: Was the worst affected by the COVID-19 pandemic and spent a long time under lockdown restrictions, with Melbourne experiencing six lockdowns totalling 262 days. While this contributed to a net outflow of migration causing a slight reduction in Melbourne's population over the course of 2020 to 2022, Melbourne is projected to be the fastest growing capital city in Australia from 2023–24 onwards, overtaking Sydney as
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