Victoria, commonly abbreviated asVic, is astate in southeasternAustralia. It is the second-smallest state (afterTasmania), with a land area of 227,444 km² (87,817 sq mi); the second-most-populous state (afterNew South Wales), with a population of over 7 million; and the most densely populated state in Australia (30.6 per km²). Victoria's economy is thesecond-largest among Australian states and is highly diversified, with service sectors predominating.

Victoria is bordered by New South Wales to the north andSouth Australia to the west and is bounded by theBass Strait to the south (with the exception of a small land border withTasmania located alongBoundary Islet), theSouthern Ocean to the southwest, and theTasman Sea (amarginal sea of theSouth Pacific Ocean) to the southeast. The state encompasses a range of climates and geographical features from itstemperate coastal and central regions to theVictorian Alps in the northeast and thesemi-arid northwest.

Named in honour ofQueen Victoria, Victoria was separated from New South Wales and established as a separateCrown colony in 1851, achievingresponsible government in 1855. TheVictorian gold rush in the 1850s and 1860s significantly increased Victoria's population and wealth. By the time ofAustralian Federation in 1901, Melbourne had become the largest city inAustralasia, and was the seat of Federal government untilCanberra 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 a sports marketing company named it the world's sporting capital. (Full article...)

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Shrine of Remembrance

TheShrine of Remembrance (commonly referred to asThe Shrine) is a war memorial inMelbourne,Victoria,Australia, located inKings Domain onSt Kilda Road. It was built to honour the men and women of Victoria who served inWorld War I, but now functions as a memorial to all Australians who have served in any war. It is a site of annual observances forAnzac Day (25 April) andRemembrance Day (11 November), and is one of the largest war memorials in Australia.

Designed by architectsPhillip Hudson and James Wardrop, both World War I veterans, the Shrine is inclassical style, based on theTomb of Mausolus atHalicarnassus and theParthenon inAthens,Greece. The crowning element at the top of the ziggurat roof references theChoragic Monument of Lysicrates.
Built fromTynong granite, the Shrine originally consisted only of the central sanctuary surrounded by the ambulatory. The sanctuary contains themarble Stone of Remembrance, upon which is engraved the words "Greater love hath no man" (John 15:13); once per year, on 11 November at 11 a.m. (Remembrance Day), a ray of sunlight shines through an aperture in the roof to light up the word "Love" in the inscription. Beneath the sanctuary lies the crypt, which contains a bronze statue of a soldier father and son, and panels listing every unit of theAustralian Imperial Force. (Full article...)
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Portrait of Kong Mengc. 1887

Lowe Kong Meng (born 1830 or 1831; died 22 October 1888) was aChinese-Australian businessman. Born into a trading family inPenang, Kong Meng learned English and French at an early age and worked as an importing merchant around the Indian Ocean. In 1853 he moved toMelbourne where he started a business importing goods for Chinese miners during theVictorian gold rush. After 1860, as the Chinese population in Melbourne peaked, he diversified into other lines of business, including investing in theCommercial Bank of Australia. Kong Meng was a prominent and well-regarded member of Melbourne's elite, and for a time was one of the city's wealthiest men. He was a leading defender of Chinese Australians at a time when their status was politically controversial and they were subjected to targeted taxation, discrimination and violence. (Full article...)
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Thesmooth toadfish (Tetractenos glaber) is a species of fish in the pufferfish familyTetraodontidae. It is native to shallow coastal and estuarine waters of southeastern Australia, where it is widespread and abundant. French naturalistChristophe-Paulin de La Poix de Fréminville described the species in 1813, though early records confused it with its close relative, thecommon toadfish (T. hamiltonii). The two are the only members of the genusTetractenos after going through severaltaxonomic changes since discovery.

Up to 16 cm (6+1⁄4 in) long with distinctive leopard-like dark markings on its dorsal side, the smooth toadfish has a rounded front and tapers to a narrow tail at the back. Unlike most of its relatives, it does not have prominent spines on its body. Like other pufferfish, it can inflate itself with water or air. It forages for its preferred foods—molluscs andcrustaceans—in sand and mud of the bottomsediment. Often anunwanted catch by anglers, the smooth toadfish is highly poisonous because of thetetrodotoxin present in its body, and eating it may result in death. (Full article...)
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Kew Asylum c. 1990

Kew Lunatic Asylum is a decommissioned heritage-listedpsychiatric hospital located between Princess Street and Yarra Boulevard inKew, a suburb ofMelbourne,Australia. Operational from 1871 to 1988, Kew Asylum was one of the largest asylums ever built in Australia. Later known asWillsmere, the complex of buildings were constructed between 1864 and 1872 to the design of architects G.W. Vivian andFrederick Kawerau of the Victorian Public Works Office to house the growing number of "lunatics", "inebriates", and "idiots" in the Colony of Victoria.

The first purpose-built asylum in theColony of Victoria, Kew was also larger and more expensive than its sister asylums atArarat andBeechworth. The asylum's buildings are typical examples of theItalianate architecture style which was popular inVictorian Melbourne. Designed to be elegant, beautiful, yet substantial, and to be viewed as "a magnificent asylum for the insane" with the aim of portraying Melbourne as a civilised and benevolent city whilst avoiding the jail-like appearance of other asylums. These aims were furthered by the use of lowha-ha walls and extensively landscaped grounds. Long considered of cultural and historic significance to Melbourne, Kew Asylum and its complex of buildings were registered on theRegister of the National Estate in March 1978. (Full article...)
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Melbourne Airport (IATA:MEL,ICAO:YMML), also known asTullamarine Airport, is aninternational airport servingMelbourne, Victoria, Australia. Operating24 hours a day with on-site parking, shopping and dining, Melbourne Airport is thesecond-busiest airport in Australia measured by passenger movements. Established in 1970, replacingEssendon Airport, Melbourne Airport is the main and soleinternational airport servingVictoria.

The airport comprises four terminals: one international terminal, two domestic terminals and one budget domestic terminal. It is 18 kilometres (11 miles) northwest of thecity centre, adjacent to the suburb ofTullamarine. The airport has its own suburb with its own postcode —Melbourne Airport, 3045 respectively. The facility presently covers 2,741hectares (6,773acres) of airport property, making MEL among the largest airports in Australia in terms of land area. (Full article...)
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TheMelbourne Storm is arugby league football club based inMelbourne,Victoria,Australia that participates in theNational Rugby League (NRL). The club plays its home games atAAMI Park, and wears a purple and navy blue jersey with gold and white trim.

The first fully professional rugby league team in the state, the club was founded in 1997, playing its first season in the newly reunified NRL competition in 1998. They have won four premierships since their inception, in1999,2012,2017 and2020, and have contested several more grand finals. They won the2007 and2009 grand finals, but were stripped of those premierships followingsalary cap breaches. (Full article...)
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Official portrait, 2010

Julia Eileen Gillard (born 29 September 1961) is an Australian former politician who served as the 27thprime minister of Australia from 2010 to 2013. She held office as theleader of the Labor Party (ALP), having previously served as the 13thdeputy prime minister from 2007 to 2010. She is thefirst and only woman to hold either office.

Born inBarry, Wales, Gillard migrated with her family toAdelaide inSouth Australia in 1966. She attendedMitcham Demonstration School andUnley High School. Gillard went on to study at theUniversity of Adelaide, but switched to theUniversity of Melbourne in 1982, where she graduated with a Bachelor of Laws in 1986 and a Bachelor of Arts in 1989. During this time, she was president of theAustralian Union of Students from 1983 to 1984. In 1987, Gillard joined the law firmSlater & Gordon, eventually becoming apartner in 1990, specialising in industrial law. In 1996, she became chief of staff toJohn Brumby, theLeader of the Opposition in Victoria. Gillard was first elected to theHouse of Representatives at the1998 election for theVictorian division ofLalor. Following the2001 election, she was appointed to theshadow cabinet. In December 2006, Gillard became the running mate of Kevin Rudd in a successfulleadership challenge toKim Beazley, becoming deputy leader of the opposition. After Labor's victory at the2007 election, she was appointed as deputy prime minister, and was also given the roles ofMinister for Education,Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations, andMinister for Social Inclusion. (Full article...)
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George Henry Stevens Trott (5 August 1866 – 9 November 1917) was an Australiancricketer who played 24Test matches as anall-rounder between 1888 and 1898. Although Trott was a versatile batsman, spin bowler and outstanding fielder, "it is as acaptain that he is best remembered, an understanding judge of human nature". After a period of some instability and ill discipline in Australian cricket, he was the first ina succession of assertive Australian captains that includedJoe Darling,Monty Noble andClem Hill, who restored the prestige of the Test team. Respected by teammates and opponents alike for his cricketing judgement, Trott was quick to pick up a weakness in opponents. A right-handed batsman, he was known for his sound defence and vigorous hitting. His slowleg-spin bowling was often able to deceive batsmen through subtle variations of pace andflight, but allowed opposition batsmen to score quickly.

Trott made his Test debut in 1888, ona tour of England, and would tour England another three times (in 1890, 1893 and 1896), scoring more than 1000 runs on each occasion. Forthe 1896 tour, Trott was elected captain by his teammates. DespiteEngland winning the series two Tests to one and retainingThe Ashes, Trott's ability as a captain was highly regarded. Inthe return series in Australia during the 1897–98 season, Trott's team was more successful, winning the five-Test series 4–1 and regaining The Ashes. At a time when thefederation of the Australian colonies was under discussion, the victory saw Trott praised as a "national institution" and his team as having "done more for the federation of Australian hearts than all the big delegates put together". (Full article...)
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2016 Australian Paralympic team portrait of Gallagher

Jessica Gallagher (born 14 March 1986) is an AustralianParalympic alpine skier, track and field athlete,tandem cyclist and rower. She was Australia's second female Winter Paralympian, and the first Australian woman to win a medal at theWinter Paralympics at the2010 Vancouver Games. She competed at the2014 Winter Paralympics inSochi, where she won a bronze medal in the women's giant slalom visually impaired.

She is legally blind, and represents Australia internationally in three sports: skiing, athletics and cycling. Besides her skiing achievements, she has represented Australia in athletics at the2012 Summer Paralympics in London, and won a silver and a bronze medal at the2011 Christchurch IPC Athletics World Championships in long jump and javelin, respectively. She has also represented the state of Victoria as a junior in netball and basketball. Gallagher was selected in the Australian cycling team with her pilotMadison Janssen for the2016 Rio Paralympics. Her "long term goal is to be the first Australian to medal at a summer and winter Paralympics or Olympics". This was achieved when she won a bronze medal in the women's B/VI 1000m time trial in Rio. (Full article...)
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TheSt Kilda Football Club, nicknamed theSaints, is a professionalAustralian rules football club based inMelbourne, Victoria. The club plays in theAustralian Football League (AFL), the sport's elite competition.

Founded in 1873, the club originated in the bayside Melbourne suburb ofSt Kilda and was originally based atJunction Oval. It was a foundation member of both theVictorian Football Association (VFA) in 1877 and theVictorian Football League in 1897, now the nationalAustralian Football League. St Kilda has competed in sevenVFL/AFL Grand Finals, winning only once, in1966 againstCollingwood by one point. St Kilda has also won theminor premiership three times, in1965,1997 and2009. (Full article...)
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Miller readingWisden Cricketers' Almanack in 1951

Keith Ross MillerAM MBE (28 November 1919 – 11 October 2004) was an Australian Testcricketer and aRoyal Australian Air Force pilot during World War II. Miller is widely regarded as Australia's greatest everall-rounder. His ability, irreverent manner and good looks made him a crowd favourite. JournalistIan Wooldridge called Miller "the golden boy" of cricket, leading to him being nicknamed "Nugget".

A member of the record-breakingInvincibles, at the time of his retirement fromTest cricket in 1956, Miller had the best statistics of any all-rounder in cricket history. He often batted high in theorder, sometimes as high as number three. He was a powerful striker of the ball, and one straightsix that he hit at theSydney Cricket Ground was still rising when it hit the upper deck of the grandstand. Miller was famous for varying hisbowling to bemuse batsmen: he made sparing use of slower deliveries and would often adjust his run-up, surprisingly bowling his fastest deliveries from a short run. He was also a finefielder and an especially acrobatic catcher in theslips. (Full article...)
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TheOld Melbourne Gaol is a former jail and currentmuseum onRussell Street, inMelbourne,Victoria,Australia. It consists of abluestone building and courtyard, and is located next to the old City Police Watch House and City Courts buildings, and opposite theRussell Street Police Headquarters. It was first constructed starting in 1839, and during its operation as a prison between 1845 and 1924, it held and executed some of Australia's most notorious criminals, includingbushranger Ned Kelly andserial killer Frederick Bailey Deeming. In total, 133 people were executed byhanging. Though it was used briefly duringWorld War II, it formally ceased operating as a prison in 1924, with parts of the jail being incorporated into theRMIT University, and the rest becoming a museum.

The three-storey museum displays information and memorabilia of the prisoners and staff, includingdeath masks of the executed criminals. At one time the museum displayed what was believed at the time to be Ned Kelly's skull, before it was stolen in 1978, as well as the pencil used by wrongly convictedColin Campbell Ross to protest his innocence in writing, before being executed. (Full article...)
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Bana in 2009

Eric BanadinovićAM (born 9 August 1968), known professionally asEric Bana (/ˈbænə/ ^ⓘ), is an Australian actor. He began his career in the sketch-comedy seriesFull Frontal before gaining notice in the comedy dramaThe Castle (1997) and the biographical crime filmChopper (2000).

After a decade of roles in Australian television shows and films, Bana gained Hollywood's attention for his performance in the war filmBlack Hawk Down (2001) and for playingBruce Banner in the superhero filmHulk (2003). He playedHector in the war epicTroy (2004), and took a leading role inSteven Spielberg's historical thrillerMunich (2005). In 2009, he played the villainNero in the science-fiction filmStar Trek, which was a critical and commercial success. Bana continued to work steadily in the 2010s, portrayingLieutenant Commander Erik S. Kristensen inLone Survivor (2013), and playing police SergeantRalph Sarchie in the horror filmDeliver Us from Evil (2014). In 2018, Bana played the title role in atrue crime miniseries,Dirty John. In 2020, he returned to Australia to star inoutback thrillerThe Dry. (Full article...)
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Irwin in 2005

Stephen Robert Irwin (22 February 1962 – 4 September 2006), known as "the Crocodile Hunter", was an Australianzookeeper,conservationist,television personality,wildlife educator, andenvironmentalist.

Irwin grew up around crocodiles and other types of reptiles and was educated regarding them by his father,Bob. He achieved international fame in the late 1990s from the television seriesThe Crocodile Hunter, an internationally broadcast wildlife documentary series that he co-hosted with his wife,Terri. The couple also hosted the seriesCroc Files,The Crocodile Hunter Diaries, andNew Breed Vets. They also co-owned and operatedAustralia Zoo, founded by Steve's parents inBeerwah, Queensland. They had two children,Bindi andRobert. (Full article...)
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Southern Area Command was one of severalgeographically based commands raised by theRoyal Australian Air Force (RAAF) duringWorld War II. It was formed in March 1940, and initially controlled units located inVictoria,Tasmania,South Australia and southernNew South Wales. Headquartered inMelbourne, Southern Area Command was responsible forair defence,aerial reconnaissance and protection of thesea lanes within its boundaries. From 1942 its operational responsibilities excluded New South Wales.

The area command continued to operate following the end of the war, becoming the hub of Air Force training services. In October 1953, the RAAF began reorganising its command-and-control system from one based on geography to one based on function; Southern Area was re-formed asTraining Command, which in 2006 becameAir Force Training Group, a component ofRAAF Air Command. (Full article...)
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2012 Australian Paralympic team portrait of Carter

Amanda Carter (born 16 July 1964) is an Australian Paralympic wheelchair basketball player. Diagnosed withtransverse myelitis at the age of 24, she began playing wheelchair basketball in 1991 and participated in theAustralia women's national wheelchair basketball team, the Gliders, at three Paralympics from 1992 to 2000. An injury in 2000 forced her to withdraw from the sport, but she came back to the national team in 2009, and was a member of the team that represented Australia and won silver at the2012 London Paralympics.

Due to her 2000 injury, Carter lost considerable mobility in her right arm, and required an elbow reconstruction. She spent 11 weeks on acontinuous passive motion machine, and nine operations were required to treat the elbow. After her comeback in 2008, she played for the Dandenong Rangers in the Australian Women's National Wheelchair Basketball League (WNWBL), the team she had played for before her injury. That year she received a player award from the Dandenong Rangers and was named theMost Valuable Player (MVP) in her 1-point disability classification in the WNWBL and was named to the league's All Star Five. The Rangers won back-to-back WNWBL titles in 2011 and 2012, and she was again named the WNWBL MVP 1 Pointer and to the league's All Star Five in 2012. (Full article...)
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Laurence John Nash (2 May 1910 – 24 July 1986) was aTest cricketer andAustralian rules footballer. An inductee into theAustralian Football Hall of Fame, Nash was a member ofSouth Melbourne's1933 premiership team, captained South Melbourne in 1937 and was the team's leading goal kicker in 1937 and 1945. In cricket, Nash was a fast bowler and hard hitting lower order batsman who played two Test matches forAustralia, taking 10 wickets at 12.80 runs per wicket, and scoring 30 runs at a batting average of 15.

The son of a leading Australian rules footballer of the early twentieth century who had also played cricket against the touringMarylebone Cricket Club in 1921, Nash was a star sportsman as a boy. Following the family's relocation from Victoria to Tasmania, he began to make a name for himself as both a footballer and a cricketer, and became both one of the earliest professional club cricketers in Australia and one of the first fully professional Australian rules footballers. Nash made his Test cricket debut in 1932, against South Africa and hisVictorian Football League (VFL) debut in 1933. (Full article...)
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The first series of Australian crime television drama seriesUnderbelly originally aired from 13 February 2008 to 7 May 2008 on theNine Network and is loosely based on the real events of the 1995–2004gangland war in Melbourne. It depicts the key players in Melbourne's criminal underworld, including theCarlton Crew and their rival,Carl Williams. The series is based on the bookLeadbelly: Inside Australia's Underworld, by journalistsJohn Silvester and Andrew Rule, and borrows its name from the successfulUnderbelly true crimeanthology book series also authored by Silvester and Rule. An alternative and significantly updatedtie-in novel,Underbelly: The Gangland War, was released as their 13th book in the series. The series is produced by the Australian Film Finance Corporation, in association with Film Victoria. Theexecutive producers are Des Monaghan and Jo Horsburgh.

The lead-up toUnderbelly involved a heavy marketing campaign which covered radio, print, billboards and an increased online presence, including the use ofsocial networking tools. At a reported cost of $500,000, both this marketing investment and potentially millions of dollars in advertising revenue were claimed to be put at risk by theVictorian Supreme Court's injunction, as the series was expected to attract 800,000 to 1 million viewers in Victoria alone. The injunction was put in place to ensure that upcoming criminal trials were not unfair to the accused, because the series contained fictionalised re-enactments of several disputed events.Underbelly began screening on 13 February 2008 on the Nine Network in all states and territories except Victoria and some regional parts of New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania and the Northern Territory. An edited version of the series premiered in Victoria on 14 September 2008 after the injunction was partially lifted, although only the first five episodes were shown. In 2011, the injunction was partially lifted and the series was screened as "Underbelly: Uncut". This rebroadcast included scenes from the original DVD release, as well as several significant changes that were made to keep the show current, including a newly recorded final voiceover and the crediting of several characters that were previously uncredited (allowable due to the ending of related trials). Some previously named characters in the final episode however are now unable to be named, resulting in a continued banning of the sale of the video release in Victoria. (Full article...)
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The Tanami Desert where Ricky Megee was stranded for 71 days

Ricky Megee (born 1970/1971) is an Australian, most notable for having been stranded in theOutback and surviving for 71 days in 2006. Megee later gave contradictory statements as to how he came to be stranded crossing theNorthern Territory andWestern Australia. On one occasion he said that his car broke down, and on another that he had beencarjacked by an armed gang. However, a doctor later confirmed that Megee's appearance was consistent with having lived in extreme conditions. Like most deserts, theTanami can reach 40 °C (104 °F) during the day but still be very cold at night. Megee made his own primitive shelters and survived by drinking rainwater and eating small animals and available vegetation for nourishment. He was eventually discovered by a group of station hands nearKatherine, Northern Territory, and taken to Darwin for medical assistance. Although some doubts were later raised as to the exact chain of events as Megee related them, the police did not find evidence that a criminal offence had occurred. (Full article...)
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The2008 Australian Grand Prix (officially known as the2008 Formula 1 ING Australian Grand Prix) was aFormula One motor race held on 16 March 2008 at theMelbourne Grand Prix Circuit,Melbourne, Australia. It was the first race of the2008 Formula One season. In qualifying for the event,Lewis Hamilton for theMcLaren team started frompole position ahead ofRobert Kubica in theBMW Sauber by 0.15 seconds.

The 58-lap race featured threesafety car interruptions due to collisions on lap 1, 26, and 42. A high rate of attrition meant that only 7 cars of the 22 participants finished the race, with six beingclassified after sixth placeRubens Barrichello was disqualified for exiting thepit lane illegally. Of the six, Hamilton lead most of the race and finished first ahead ofNick Heidfeld in second in a BMW Sauber andNico Rosberg in third in aWilliams. This was Rosberg's firstpodium finish. In winning the race, Hamilton and McLaren led theDrivers' Championship andConstructors Championship, respectively. (Full article...)
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White in Melbourne,c. 1940

Sir Thomas Walter White,KBE, DFC, VD (26 April 1888 – 13 October 1957) was an Australian politician and pilot in theFirst World War. In 1914 he became one of the first airmen trained for theAustralian Flying Corps (AFC), and the following year he was among the first AFC members to see action when he was deployed to the Middle East with theMesopotamian Half Flight. After carrying out several missions behind Turkish lines, he was captured in November 1915 but escaped in July 1918. White was awarded theDistinguished Flying Cross and twicementioned in despatches for his war service. He marriedVera Deakin, aRed Cross worker and daughter of former Australian prime ministerAlfred Deakin, in 1920.

White began his parliamentary career in 1929 when he was elected to theHouse of Representatives as theMember for Balaclava in Victoria. He served asMinister for Trade and Customs inJoseph Lyons'sUnited Australia Party government from 1933 to 1938, but resigned when he was excluded from Lyons's innercabinet. He joined theRoyal Australian Air Force (RAAF) shortly after the outbreak of the Second World War and saw service in Australia and the United Kingdom. Returning to parliament as a member of the newly formedLiberal Party in 1945, he served asMinister for Air andMinister for Civil Aviation inRobert Menzies's government from 1949 to 1951. His term coincided with the commitment of RAAF squadrons to theKorean War and theMalayan Emergency. Australia'shigh commissioner to the United Kingdom from 1951 to 1956, White wasknighted in 1952 and died in 1957. (Full article...)
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Trumble in around 1893

Hugh Trumble (19 May 1867 – 14 August 1938) was an Australiancricketer who played 32 Test matches as abowling all-rounder between 1890 and 1904. Hecaptained theAustralian team in two Tests, winning both. Trumble took 141 wickets in Test cricket—a world record at the time of his retirement—at anaverage of 21.78 runs per wicket. He isone of only four bowlers to twice take ahat-trick in Test cricket. Observers in Trumble's day, including the authoritativeWisden Cricketers' Almanack, regarded him as ranking among the great Australian bowlers of theGolden Age of cricket. He was named as one of theWisden Cricketers of the Year in 1897 and theAustralian Cricket Hall of Fame, established in 1996, inducted him in 2004.

A tall and thinoff spinner, Trumble delivered the ball at a quicker pace than most spin bowlers, using his height and uncommonly long fingers to his greatest advantage. He was at his best on the softerpitches of England, but his accuracy and variations in pace enabled him to take wickets on the harder pitches of Australia as well. He was a dependablelower order batsman and a finefielder in theslips. He was recognised as a shrewd thinker about the game and was popular with team-mates and opponents, with a penchant for practical jokes. (Full article...)
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R v Thomas was an Australian court case decided in theVictorian Court of Appeal on 18 August 2006. It concerned the conviction in February 2006 ofJoseph Thomas (nicknamed "Jihad Jack" in the media) onterrorism-related charges, specifically receiving funds fromAl Qaeda. The appeal revolved around theadmissibility of aconfession Thomas made during an interrogation inPakistan in 2003. The court found that theevidence, which was crucial to Thomas' convictions, was inadmissible because it had not been given voluntarily. The court accordingly quashed his convictions, but after further hearings ordered on 20 December 2006 that he be retried rather thanacquitted. (Full article...)
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Subsp.integrifolia

Banksia integrifolia, commonly known as thecoast banksia, is aspecies oftree that grows along the east coast ofAustralia. One of the most widely distributedBanksia species, it occurs betweenVictoria andCentral Queensland in a broad range ofhabitats, from coastaldunes tomountains. It is highly variable in form, but is most often encountered as a tree up to 25 metres (82 ft) in height. Itsleaves have dark green upper surfaces and white undersides, a contrast that can be striking on windy days.

It is one of the four originalBanksia species collected bySir Joseph Banks in 1770, and one of four species published in 1782 as part ofCarolus Linnaeus the Younger's original description of the genus. It has had a complicatedtaxonomic history, with numerous species and varieties ascribed to it, only to be rejected or promoted to separate species. Modern taxonomy recognises threesubspecies:B. integrifolia subsp.integrifolia,B. integrifolia subsp.compar andB. integrifolia subsp.monticola. (Full article...)
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Catherine BakerOBE (1861–1953) was an Irish-born Australian teacher best known for championing the work of her friendJoseph Furphy, whose novelSuch Is Life had received an indifferent reception upon its initial publication in 1909 but was later embraced by critics and the public.Miles Franklin incorporated Baker's recollections into the essay "Who Was Joseph Furphy?", which won theS. H. Prior Memorial Prize in 1939. Baker was appointed an OBE in 1937 for her efforts in promoting Furphy's work and to broader Australian literature. She was an influential part of the Australian literary scene, supporting, writing to and encouraging writers such asAda Cambridge,Victor Kennedy,Edith Coleman, the poetMarie E. J. Pitt, journalistAlice Henry and the poetJohn Shaw Neilson. She was made a life member of the Henry Lawson Society, and honoured with a bronze plaque by the society in 1936. Shortly before her death in 1953 she was made vice-president of theAustralian Council for Civil Liberties. (Full article...)

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Southern Cross railway station (until 2005 known asSpencer Street station) is a major railway station inDocklands,Melbourne. It is onSpencer Street, betweenCollins andLa Trobe Streets, at the western edge of theMelbourne central business district. TheDocklands Stadium sports arena is 500 metres north-west of the station.

The station is owned, operated and maintained by Civic Nexus, a subsidiary ofIFM Investors and operating as Southern Cross Station Pty Ltd, under a 30-year lease to 2036 from the Victorian State Government, as part of apublic-private partnership.

The station is the terminus of thestate's regional railway network operated byV/Line,The Overland rail service toAdelaide, andNSW TrainLink XPT services toSydney. It is also served by suburban rail services operated byMetro Trains, being one of five stations on theCity Loop, a mostly underground railway that encircles the Central Business District. It is the second busiest railway station in Melbourne's metropolitan network, with 19.551 million metropolitan passenger movements recorded in 2018/9. In 2018/9 the station also recorded an additional 6.306 million regional passengers through the V/Line network.

Southern Cross also has a coach terminal underneath the Spencer Outlet shopping complex.SkyBus services toMelbourne Airport and since 2017 toAvalon Airport operate from there, as well asFirefly Express andGreyhound Australia interstate coach services, a coach ran public bus (684) andV/Line coach services toMildura,Yarram,Mansfield, and other parts of Victoria not served by rail.

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Image 1

The entrance to Luna Park

Luna Park Melbourne is a historicamusement park located on the foreshore ofPort Phillip Bay inSt Kilda,Melbourne,Victoria. It opened on 13 December 1912, with a formal opening a week later, and has been operating almost continuously ever since. (Full article...)
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Bendigo city centre

Bendigo (/ˈbɛndɪɡoʊ/BEN-dig-oh) is an Australian city in north-centralVictoria. The city is located in theBendigo Valley near the geographical centre of the state and approximately 150 kilometres (93 mi) north-west ofMelbourne, the state capital.

As of 2022, Bendigo has a population of 103,818 making it Australia's 19th-largestcity by population. Bendigo is the fourth-largest inland city in Australia and the fourth-most populous city in Victoria. (Full article...)
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Aerial photograph of Queen Victoria Market

TheQueen Victoria Market (also known colloquially as theVic Market orQueen Vic) is a major landmark and publicmarketplace in thecentral business district (CBD) ofMelbourne,Victoria, Australia. Covering over seven hectares (17 acres), it is the largest open air market in theSouthern Hemisphere.

Constructed in stages from the 1860s and officially opened in 1878, the Queen Victoria Market is the last remaining major market in the CBD, and along withPrahran Market andSouth Melbourne Market, the last of the city's Victorian era markets still operating. It is listed on both theVictorian Heritage Register and theNational Heritage List, and is one ofMelbourne's major tourist sites, attracting approximately 10 million visitors annually. (Full article...)
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TheSt Kilda Football Club, nicknamed theSaints, is a professionalAustralian rules football club based inMelbourne, Victoria. The club plays in theAustralian Football League (AFL), the sport's elite competition.

Founded in 1873, the club originated in the bayside Melbourne suburb ofSt Kilda and was originally based atJunction Oval. It was a foundation member of both theVictorian Football Association (VFA) in 1877 and theVictorian Football League in 1897, now the nationalAustralian Football League. St Kilda has competed in sevenVFL/AFL Grand Finals, winning only once, in1966 againstCollingwood by one point. St Kilda has also won theminor premiership three times, in1965,1997 and2009. (Full article...)
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Aerial view of Sunbury, Victoria

Sunbury (/ˈsʌnbəri/SUN-bər-ee,locally/ˈsʌnbri/SUN-bree) is a satellite town ofVictoria,Australia, 38 kilometres (24 mi) north-west of Melbourne'sCentral Business District, located within theCity of Hume local government area. Sunbury recorded a population of 38,851 at the2021 census.

Statistically, Sunbury is considered part ofGreater Melbourne, as per theVictorian Government's 2009 decision to extend theurban growth boundary in 2011 to include the area in the Melbourne Urban Area as the north-western fringe of theGreater Melbourne area, giving its land urban status and value. (Full article...)
Image 6

TheAustralian Grand Prix is an annualFormula One motor racing event, taking place inMelbourne, Victoria. The event is contracted to be held at least until 2035. One of the oldest surviving motorsport competitions held in Australia, the Grand Prix has moved frequently with 23 different venues having been used since it was first run atPhillip Island in1928. The race became part of the Formula One World Championship in1985. Since1996, it has been held at theAlbert Park Circuit in Melbourne, with the exceptions of2020 and 2021, when the races were cancelled due to theCOVID-19 pandemic. Before that, it was held inAdelaide.

Historically, the Australian Grand Prix was held as either the last race of the season, when held at Adelaide, or as the opening round or early on at Melbourne. In2022, it returned to the calendar as the third race of the season, following theBahrain andSaudi Arabian Grands Prix. In2025, the Grand Prix was moved back to the opening race slot of the season. (Full article...)
Image 7

Left -Mount Dandenong andright - Mount Corhanwarrabul, viewed fromMooroolbark

TheDandenong Ranges (commonly justthe Dandenongs) are a set of lowmountain ranges inVictoria,Australia, approximately 35 km (22 mi) east of the state capitalMelbourne. A minor branch of theGreat Dividing Range, the Dandenongs consist mostly of rollinghills, rising to 633 m (2,077 ft) atMount Dandenong, as well as steeply weatheredvalleys andgullies covered in thicktemperate rainforest, predominantly of tallmountain ash trees and denseferny undergrowth. The namesakeDandenong Creek and most of its left-bank tributaries (particularly theEumemmerring Creek) originate fromheadwaters in these mountain ranges. Two of Melbourne's most importantstorage reservoirs, theCardinia andSilvan Reservoir, are also located within the Dandenongs.

After European settlement in thePort Phillip Bay region, the range was used as a major local source oftimber for Melbourne. The ranges were popular withday-trippers from the 1870s onwards. Much of the Dandenongs were protected asparklands as early as 1882, and by 1987 these parklands were amalgamated to form theDandenong Ranges National Park, which was subsequently expanded in 1997. The range receives light to moderatesnowfalls a few times in most years, frequently between late winter and late spring. (Full article...)
Image 8

The Royal Exhibition Building, with its fountain on the southern or Carlton Gardens side

TheRoyal Exhibition Building is aUNESCO World Heritage-listed building inMelbourne, Victoria,Australia, built in 1879–1880 as part of the international exhibition movement, which presented over 50 exhibitions between 1851 and 1915 around the globe. The building sits on approximately 26 hectares (64 acres), is 150 metres (490 ft) long and is surrounded by four city streets. It is situated at 9 Nicholson Street in theCarlton Gardens, flanked by Victoria, Carlton and Rathdowne Streets, at the north-eastern edge of thecentral business district. It was built to host theMelbourne International Exhibition in 1880–81, and then hosted the even largerCentennial International Exhibition in 1888. It was then chosen as the site for theFederation of the Commonwealth of Australia in 1901. The building is representative of the financial wealth and pride that the city of Melbourne and state of Victoria had in the 1870s. Throughout the 20th century smaller sections and wings of the building were subject to demolition and fire; however, the main building, known as the Great Hall, survived.

On 1 October 1980, it was announced thatQueen Elizabeth II had conferred the title of "Royal" to the Exhibition Building. It received restoration throughout the 1990s and in 2004 became the first building in Australia to be awarded UNESCO World Heritage status, being one of the last remaining major 19th-centuryexhibition buildings in the world. It is the world's most complete surviving site from the International Exhibition movement 1851–1914. It sits adjacent to theMelbourne Museum and is the largest item inMuseum Victoria's collection. Today, the building hosts various exhibitions and other events and is closely tied with events at the Melbourne Museum. (Full article...)
Image 9
TheRichmond Football Club, nicknamed theTigers or colloquially theTiges, is a professionalAustralian rules football team competing in theAustralian Football League (AFL). Founded in 1885 in theMelbourne suburb ofRichmond, the club competed in theVictorian Football Association (VFA) from 1885 to 1907, winning two premierships. Richmond then joined the Victorian Football League (now known as the AFL) from the 1908 season and has since won13 premierships, most recently in 2020.

From 1885 to 1964, Richmond's home ground was thePunt Road Oval, (formerly named Richmond Cricket Ground), which is still utilised as their headquarters, training facility and hostingAFL Women's (AFLW) andreserves matches. Since the 1965 season, theMelbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) has been the club's official home ground. (Full article...)
Image 10

Werribee Zoo hippo exhibit

Werribee Open Range Zoo is an African themed zoo inWerribee, about 32 kilometres (20 mi) south-west ofMelbourne,Victoria,Australia. It is part of the Zoological Parks and Gardens Board or Zoos Victoria, which also includesMelbourne Zoo,Kyabram Fauna Park, andHealesville Sanctuary. It is situated on approximately 225 hectares (560 acres) and is located on theWerribee River inWerribee Park, adjacent to theWerribee Park Mansion. It was originally agistment land to the Melbourne Zoo. Werribee Open Range Zoo was home to 360 animals of 40 species as of 2021. (Full article...)
Image 11

View toward Docklands, includingDocklands Stadium, October 2017

Docklands is an inner-city suburb inMelbourne,Victoria, Australia, on the western end of thecentral business district. Docklands had a population of 15,495 at the2021 census.

Primarily a waterfront area centred on the banks of theYarra River, it is bounded bySpencer Street,Wurundjeri Way and Montague Street to the east, the Yarra River andMoonee Ponds Creek to the west, Footscray Road and Dynon Road to the north and Lorimer Street, Boundary Road and theWest Gate Freeway across the Yarra River to the south. (Full article...)
Image 12

View of the Port of Sale

Sale is a city situated in theGippsland region ofVictoria, Australia and the council capital of the Shire of Wellington. It had an estimated population of 15,305 in 2022 according to theAustralian Bureau of Statistics. The total population including the immediate area around the town is approximately 19,000 according to shire website. (Full article...)
Image 13
TheMelbourne Storm is arugby league football club based inMelbourne,Victoria,Australia that participates in theNational Rugby League (NRL). The club plays its home games atAAMI Park, and wears a purple and navy blue jersey with gold and white trim.

The first fully professional rugby league team in the state, the club was founded in 1997, playing its first season in the newly reunified NRL competition in 1998. They have won four premierships since their inception, in1999,2012,2017 and2020, and have contested several more grand finals. They won the2007 and2009 grand finals, but were stripped of those premierships followingsalary cap breaches. (Full article...)
Image 14

View of AAMI Park from the tennis centre opposite

TheMelbourne Rectangular Stadium, currently known asAAMI Park for sponsorship reasons, is amulti-purpose stadium located in theMelbourne Sports and Entertainment Precinct in the suburb ofEast Melbourne,Melbourne,Victoria, Australia. Built in 2010, it is a rectangular sporting stadium with a capacity of 30,050, and is the home of variousrugby league,rugby union andassociation football teams.

It is Melbourne's first large, purpose-built rectangular stadium. Prior to this project, the primary venues were the oval-configuredMelbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) andDocklands Stadium, primarily suited forAustralian rules football andcricket. The city's former largest rectangular stadium,Olympic Park, had been repurposed from a track and field facility. (Full article...)
Image 15

Melbourne tram in 2009 featuring Melbourne Storm advertising livery

Rugby league football has been played and watched by people in the Australian state ofVictoria since the early 20th century. While for most of its history there the game's popularity has been marginal due to the dominance ofAustralian rules football in Victoria, rugby league's popularity has rapidly increased in recent years in the state's capital ofMelbourne, due mainly to the introduction of a professional Melbourne-based team in the national competition. The governing body isNRL Victoria.

In 1998 the first professional club, theMelbourne Storm, was established as an expansion club to join theNational Rugby League premiership, the only professional rugby league club located across theBarassi Line. (Full article...)

More selected articles

Did you know(auto-generated)

... thatthe largest IMAX cinema in the Southern Hemisphere is in Melbourne?
... that Argentine naval officerBarry Melbourne Hussey was known asEl Ingles ('The Englishman') by his comrades?
... that thegovernment of Victoria, Australia, hasa program to remove 110level crossings by 2030, the fastest rate in the state's history?
... that theVictoria State Government has ordered 100G-class trams, which is the largest domestic order in Australian history?

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Environment of Victoria (state)

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Geology of Victoria (state)

Health in Victoria (state)

History of Victoria (state)

Images of Victoria (state)

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Society in Victoria (state)

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Stations in Victoria (state)

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Victoria portal

Years in Victoria (state)

Victoria (state) stubs

Victoria (state) articles missing geocoordinate data

In the News (for Australia)

7 September 2025 –Leongatha mushroom murders: Erin Patterson is sentenced tolife in prison plus an extra 25 years without parole for 33 years for the 2023 poisoning of four relatives withBeef Wellingtons laced with poisonousdeath cap mushrooms, killing three and injuring the other inLeongatha,Victoria,Australia.(BBC News)
26 August 2025 –Australia–Iran relations,Terrorism in Australia,Antisemitism in Australia: Australian prime minister Anthony Albanese announces the closure of the Australian embassy inTehran, the expulsion of Iranian ambassadors from Australia, and designation of theIslamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) as aterrorist organization after anAustralian Security Intelligence Organisation investigation links the IRGC to least twoantisemitic attacks, including the2024 Melbourne synagogue attack and an arson attack on aNorth Bondi kosher restaurant.(Sydney Morning Herald)(Reuters)
26 August 2025 –Porepunkah police shootings: Twopolice officers are shot and killed and a third is wounded in a suspectedsovereign citizen terrorist attack inPorepunkah,Victoria, Australia, sending the town into lockdown. The perpetrator remains at large.(ABC News Australia)
24 August 2025 –Gaza war protests: An estimated 300,000 people acrossAustralia, including at least 100,000 inMelbourne, march to protest the Israeli escalation of the Gaza war and its plans to militarily seize the entirety ofGaza, while also calling for theAustralian government tosanction Israel.(AP)

edit

Topics

Victoria

Topics

Regions and
sub-regions / districts

Barwon South West	Barwon Great South Coast
Gippsland	Central Gippsland East Gippsland Latrobe Valley South Gippsland West Gippsland
Grampians	Central Highlands Wimmera Southern Mallee
Hume	Goulburn Ovens Murray Central Hume Goulburn Valley Lower Hume Upper Hume
Loddon Mallee	Loddon Campaspe Mallee
Greater Melbourne	Inner Metro Inner South-east Western Northern Eastern Southern
Unincorporated areas	Elizabeth Island Falls Creek French Island Gabo Island Lady Julia Percy Island Lake Mountain Mount Baw Baw Mount Buller Mount Hotham Mount Stirling Sandstone Island
Other districts	Bellarine Goldfields Mornington Peninsula North Central Otways Port Phillip Sunraysia Victorian Alps Western District Western Port Yarra Valley

Cities and towns

v t e Melbourne
History Timeline Geography Climate Extreme weather Demographics Ecology Economy Transportation Culture Architecture Skyscrapers Tourism Education Sports
Outline Category Commons

To-do list

Here are sometasks you can do to help at WikiProject Victoria:

A list of articles needing cleanup associated with this project is available. See alsothe tool's wiki page andthe index of WikiProjects.

Requests: –Missing topics
- Local Government Association of Victoria – request from pre 2016
- Maroon, Victoria – request from pre 2016
- University of Western Victoria – request from pre 2016
- Lincoln Square (Melbourne)
- Awakenings Festival – Horsham
- Central Goulburn Irrigation Area
- Rochester Irrigation Area
- Wimmera Mallee Pipeline Project
- Heytesbury fires – (1886)
- Victoria bushfire season 1969 – Lara (1969)
- Barwon (region) – sub-region ofBarwon South West (region)
- Great South Coast (region) – sub-region ofBarwon South West (region)
- Loddon Campaspe (region) – sub-region ofLoddon Mallee
- Redlinks in navbox (Protected areas in Victoria)
  - Aura Vale Lake Park (part of Cardinia Reservoir Parks)
  - Barwon Bluff Marine Sanctuary
  - Beechworth Historic Park
  - Beware Reef Marine Sanctuary
  - Birrarrung Park (part of Yarra Valley Parklands)
  - Candlebark Park (part of Yarra Valley Parklands)
  - Cape Liptrap Coastal Park
  - Cardinia Creek Parklands
  - Cardinia Reservoir Parks
  - Corner Inlet Marine and Coastal Park
  - Eagle Rock Marine Sanctuary
  - Jawbone Marine Sanctuary
  - Lake Tyers State Park
  - Longridge Park Camp (part of Yarra Valley Parklands)
  - Marengo Reefs Marine Sanctuary
  - Maribyrnong Valley Parklands
  - Maroondah Reservoir Park
  - Merri Marine Sanctuary
  - Mushroom Reef Marine Sanctuary
  - Nooramunga Marine and Coastal Park
  - Nortons Park (part ofDandenong Valley Parklands)
  - Point Cooke Marine Sanctuary – part covered inPoint Cook Coastal Park#Marine
  - Point Danger Marine Sanctuary
  - Point Gellibrand Heritage Park
  - Ricketts Point Marine Sanctuary
  - Shallow Inlet Marine and Coastal Park
  - Shepherds Bush (Victoria) (part ofDandenong Valley Parklands)
  - Silvan Reservoir Park
  - Steiglitz Historic Park
  - Sugarloaf Reservoir Parks
  - The Arches Marine Sanctuary
  - Tirhatuan Park (part ofDandenong Valley Parklands)
  - Wabba Wilderness Park
  - Wilsons Promontory Marine Park
  - Wimmera River Heritage Area Park
  - Woodlands Historic Park
  - Yarra Flats Park (part of Yarra Valley Parklands)
  - Yarra Valley Parklands
Expand: –stubs: 5,189
- List of schools in Victoria
- Mount Rothwell Biodiversity Interpretation Centre
- Melbourne Workers Theatre
- City West Water
- Belgrave Lantern Festival
- Red Tuesday bushfires – (1898)
- 1925–26 Victorian bushfire season – Black Sunday (1926)
- Linton Bushfire – (1998)
- 2003 Eastern Victorian alpine bushfires
- Mount Lubra bushfire – (2006)
- 2006–07 Eastern Victoria Great Divide bushfires
- Goulburn (region) – sub-region ofHume (region)
- Ovens Murray (region) – sub-region ofHume (region)
Images: –requested images: 258
- Lakeside Mental Hospital

Melbourne To-do

Here are someWikiProject Melbourne articles which attract a high number of "page hits" but are only rated asStub Class, or otherwise need additional citations or attention:
Suburbs:	Derrimut,South Wharf,Menzies Creek,Save Our State (Australia)
Landmarks:	101 Collins Street,120 Collins Street,Bourke Place,Hamer Hall,Melbourne Mint
Events:	Melbourne International Festival of Brass,Melbourne Underground Film Festival,Great Bookie Robbery,Extreme weather events in Melbourne
Transport:	All of the stations on thePuffing Billy Railway need expanding or merging to the main article, especially the request stops which are just tin sheds
Sporting Clubs:	Caroline Springs George Cross FC
Streets:	Little Bourke Street,Hardware Lane,Hosier Lane
People:	Alannah Hill,Meek (street artist),Vexta
Institutions:	Eltham High School,Glen Eira Town Hall,Boxing Day Test
Venues:
Miscellaneous:	Collins St., 5 pm,Yarra Valley,Coops Shot Tower,Melbourne Talk Radio,Melbourne University Publishing,The Herald and Weekly Times,
Edit ordiscuss this list.