159-468: Federation Square (marketed and colloquially known as Fed Square ) is a venue for arts, culture and public events on the edge of the Melbourne central business district . It covers an area of 3.2 ha (7.9 acres) at the intersection of Flinders and Swanston Streets built above busy railway lines and across the road from Flinders Street station . It incorporates major cultural institutions such as
318-505: 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
477-421: A bus stop. The following countries' flags have been raised at Federation Square and/or its surroundings at least once: In addition to a number of shops, bars , cafés and restaurants , Federation Square's cultural facilities include: The Melbourne Visitor Centre was located underground, with its entrance at the main corner shard directly opposite Flinders Street Station and St Pauls Cathedral and its exit at
636-673: 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
795-399: A cathedral choir wearing green robes before". With the restoration of the organ in the early 1990s, surplices were restored and cassocks of a deep burgundy were introduced matching the new stencil design hue on the organ pipes. Unique to St Paul's Cathedral is the boys choir role of "Dean's Chorister" created by David Richardson when Dean of Melbourne. The Dean's Chorister primarily has
954-502: 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
1113-404: A corrugated profile to maximize their surface area , and are spaced 60 cm apart. During summer nights, cold air is pumped in the combed space, cooling down the concrete, while heat absorbed during the day is pumped out. The following day, cold air is pumped from the labyrinth out into the atrium through floor vents. This process can keep the atrium up to 12 °C cooler than outside. This
1272-473: A gently sloping amphitheatre, focussed on a large viewing screen for public events, with a secondary sloped plaza area on the main corner. The design was widely supported by the design community but was less popular with the public. The design was also soon criticised when it was realised that the western freestanding 'shard' would block views of the south front of St Paul's Cathedral from Princes Bridge . The mix of occupants and tenants were soon modified, with
1431-581: A gift from Thomas Dyer Edwardes and were dedicated and first rung on 15 November 1889 for the departure of the Governor of Victoria, Sir Henry Loch ( later Baron Loch). The St Paul's Cathedral Society of Bellringers was founded in 1896 and are affiliated with the Australian and New Zealand Association of Bellringers . St Paul's Cathedral has hosted many significant occasions in national, Commonwealth and international history. St Paul's continues to be
1590-574: A great success, and was redeveloped in the 1990s as a smaller, simpler space in front of a new large hotel. Meanwhile, in the late 1960s, a small part of the railway lines had been partly roofed by the construction of the Princes Gate Towers , known as the Gas & Fuel Buildings after their major tenant, the Gas and Fuel Corporation , over the old Princes Bridge station . This included a plaza on
1749-513: A hearing, the square was formally listed in August 2019. With the construction of the upcoming Melbourne Metro Tunnel , an entrance to the underground Town Hall station from the corner of Federation Square was proposed, with a design released in December 2018 that would replace the corner Information Centre. After the heritage listing of the square, a permit was sought to demolish the building and
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#17327727910091908-463: 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,
2067-400: A number of flagpoles, most notably a group of four, three of which permanently fly the Australian, Aboriginal, and Torres Strait Islander flags. The fourth flagpole occasionally flies the flag of a foreign country to celebrate a national holiday of that country, for example an independence day. Prior to 2022 foreign countries' flags were usually flown on a group of eight flagpoles located next to
2226-629: 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
2385-727: 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
2544-456: 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
2703-479: A reference to traditional Melbourne laneways, with vertical 'shards', attached or freestanding, containing discrete functions like the Visitor's Centre, or lifts and stairs. The larger built volumes are relatively simple reinforced concrete buildings with glass walls, but with a second outer skin of cladding carried on heavy steel framing, folded and stepped slightly to create angular undulating surfaces. The cladding
2862-489: A service of thanksgiving was held for its completion. The tower of St Paul's became the tallest structure in central Melbourne and dominated the city's skyline when viewed from the south. While the towers were underway, additions were made to the Chapter House, enlarging the two storey section facing Flinders Street by one bay and one floor, in exactly matching stonework. The architects were Gawler & Drummond, and
3021-449: A set number of tastings. Past tenants have included: In 2009, Virtual Tourist awarded Federation Square with the title of the 'World's Fifth Ugliest Building'. Criticisms of it ranged from its damage to the heritage vista to its similarity to a bombed-out war-time bunker due to its "army camouflage" colours. A judge from Virtual Tourist justified Federation Square's ranking on the ugly list claiming that: "Frenzied and overly complicated,
3180-531: A word, image or plan” to put Melbourne on the map. It drew 2300 entries, but only the more bizarre ideas were published, creating "a glorious farce.”, and no winner was declared. In 1996 the Premier Jeff Kennett announced that the Gas & Fuel Buildings would be demolished, and the railyards roofed, and a complex including arts facilities and a large public space would be built. It was to be named Federation Square, and opened in time to celebrate
3339-432: 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 –
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#17327727910093498-472: Is Princes Bridge , which crosses the Yarra River , leading to St Kilda Road . Thus the cathedral has a dominating position from the southern approaches to the city. The location for the cathedral marks the place of the first Christian service held in Melbourne in 1835. Previous buildings on this site include a corn market and St Paul 's Parish Church . St Paul's Cathedral is built on the site where
3657-580: Is a 450-seat space designed to have views of the Yarra River and across to the spire of The Arts Centre . The theatre is lined in wood veneer in similar geometrical patterns to other interiors in the complex. The Edge was named "The BMW Edge" until May 2013, when a new sponsorship deal with Deakin University caused it to be renamed "The Deakin Edge" until 2021. Zinc is a function space underneath
3816-487: Is a subterranean gallery for experimentation with the moving image. Video art, installations, interactives, sound art and net art are all regularly exhibited in this space. Additional venues within ACMI allow computer-based public education, and other interactive presentations. In 2003, ACMI commissioned SelectParks to produce an interactive game-based, site-specific installation called AcmiPark, which replicated and abstracted
3975-627: 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
4134-605: Is clad in glass. Adjoined to the southern shard is a hotel which features the wrap around metallic screen and glass louvers . There are a number of unnamed laneways in the Federation Square complex which connect it to both Flinders Street and the Yarra River via stairways. The stairways between the Western Shard and nearby buildings are also paved in larger flat rectangle sandstone blocks. The riverfront areas extend south to an elevated pedestrian promenade which
4293-528: Is comparable to conventional air conditioning , but using one-tenth the energy and producing one-tenth the carbon dioxide . During winter , the process is reversed, storing warm daytime air in the Labyrinth overnight, and pumping it back into the atrium during the day. The system can also partly cool the ACMI building when the power is not required by the atrium. In the Federation Square complex, there are
4452-406: Is composed of 6 different materials, zinc, perforated zinc, glass, frosted glass, sandstone and no cladding, in a camouflage-like pattern, and created using pinwheel tiling . The 'crossbar' is an east–west built from that runs through the long gallery building, and is clad in perforated black steel panels. Some buildings are named. The building along Flinders Street that houses ACMI and SBS is named
4611-511: Is constructed of the Waurn Ponds limestone with contrasting stripes of the very dark-coloured local bluestone. The dado , floor, high altar and reredos are outstanding examples of High Victorian Gothic polychromy. The reredos is made from Devonshire marble, alabaster and glittering Venetian glass mosaics. One of the carved figures on the pulpit is said to be the image of a former Mayor of Melbourne's daughter who died in infancy. The floor
4770-781: Is entirely paved with encaustic tile imported from the English firm of Maw & Co., featuring both patterned layouts and patterns within the tiles, while the dado is created with patterned glazed tiles. In Persian tile on the rear wall of the narthex is a replica of an 8-pointed star found in two churches of the Anglican Diocese of Iran , the church of St Simon the Zealot in Shiraz and St Luke's Church in Isfahan . There are two baptismal fonts . The round font of Harcourt granite
4929-619: 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 ,
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5088-429: Is in a prominent location at the centre of Melbourne, on the eastern corner of Swanston and Flinders Streets. It is situated diagonally opposite Flinders Street station , which was the hub of 19th-century Melbourne and remains an important transport centre. Immediately to the south of the cathedral, across Flinders Street, is the new public heart of Melbourne, Federation Square . Continuing south down Swanston Street
5247-628: Is in the Deakin Building on Flinders Street. Federation Square has recently become home to several beer award shows, and tastings, including the Australian International Beer Awards trade and public shows, as well as other similar events such as showcases of local and other Australian breweries. These events have been held in the square's outdoor area the Atrium and usually require an entry fee in exchange for
5406-561: 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,
5565-437: 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
5724-693: 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
5883-565: 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
6042-484: 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
6201-543: 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
6360-573: Is part of his Sketches in Victoria album and was digitised by the National Library of Australia in 2021. Nearly 30 years later with the huge growth of the city and Swanston Street becoming a major thoroughfare, the diocese decided to build a grand cathedral on the site to supersede the 1839 St James Old Cathedral located in the western end of the CBD. The English architect William Butterfield , known for his distinctive interpretation of
6519-538: 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
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6678-694: The Australian Institute of Architects , the Victorian Chapter Heritage Architecture Award 2009 and the Lachlan Macquarie National Award for Heritage Architecture 2009. As part of the work, stone heads of former dean David Richardson and philanthropist Dame Elisabeth Murdoch , created by Melbourne sculptor Smiley Williams and carved by stonemason Daryl Gilbert, were added to the spires and new dalle de verre glass
6837-454: 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
6996-666: The Diocese of Melbourne and the seat of the Archbishop of Melbourne , who is also the metropolitan archbishop of the Province of Victoria . The cathedral was designed by the English Gothic Revival architect William Butterfield and completed in 1891, except for the spires which were built to a different design from 1926 to 1932. It is one of Melbourne's major architectural landmarks . St Paul's Cathedral
7155-594: 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,
7314-635: The Gothic Revival , was commissioned to design the new cathedral. To fit the block, the cathedral is orientated in line with the central city grid, on the north-south axis, rather than facing east, the traditional direction. The foundation stone was laid in 1880 by the Governor of Victoria , John, Earl of Hopetoun ( later Marquess of Linlithgow) , in the presence of the Rt Revd Charles Perry , Bishop of Melbourne . On 22 January 1891
7473-602: 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
7632-605: The Ian Potter Centre , Australian Centre for the Moving Image (ACMI) and the Koorie Heritage Trust as well as cafes and bars in a series of buildings centred around a large paved square, and a glass walled atrium. Melbourne's central city grid was originally designed without a central public square, long seen as a missing element. From the 1920s there were proposals to roof the railway yards on
7791-617: 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
7950-544: 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
8109-426: 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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#17327727910098268-793: 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
8427-463: 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", 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
8586-483: 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
8745-852: 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
8904-597: 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
9063-676: 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
9222-446: 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
9381-406: The bluestone Gothic of St Patrick's Roman Catholic cathedral on the eastern hill of the city. Because the spires are built from Sydney sandstone and are 40 years newer, they are a different and darker colour than the older parts of the building. The interior features rich colours and strident colour contrasts, characteristic of Butterfield's work, compared to the exterior. All the stonework
9540-552: 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
9699-571: The 1990s the constant traffic vibration in central Melbourne led to concerns about the structural soundness of the cathedral, particularly its spires. A public appeal, led by the then Dean of Melbourne, David Richardson , raised A$ 18 million to restore the spires and improve the interior of the building. The seven-year restoration project was completed in 2009, under the guidance of Falkinger Andronas Architects and Heritage Consultants (now Andronas Conservation Architecture). The restoration works were undertaken by Cathedral Stone and were acknowledged by
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#17327727910099858-422: 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
10017-462: 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
10176-411: The Alfred Deakin Building, the building between the plaza space and the river is called the Birrarung Building, while the building that houses the NGV Australia is also called the Ian Potter Centre . Three shards frame the square space. The eastern and southern shards are completely clad in metallic surfaces with angular slots, very similar in design to the Jewish Museum Berlin , while the western shard
10335-449: 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
10494-489: 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
10653-463: The Great West door. The growth of multi-storey buildings in central Melbourne during the later 20th century robbed St Paul's of its claims to height, but with the retail heart height limit of 40m, it has retained its dominance of the immediate area. For about 30 years it was however somewhat dominated by the 16-storey Gas & Fuel buildings built along Flinders Street to the east in 1967, but demolished in 1997 to make way for Federation Square . By
10812-413: 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
10971-469: The Most Reverend Sir Frank Woods (Anglican) and the Most Reverend Sir Frank Little (Roman Catholic). The cathedral choir sang " Ecce vicit Leo " as the Pope entered the cathedral. After this the Pope prayed for Christian unity and lit a metre-long candle. A memorial chapel (pictured right) commemorates this historic occasion: only the third time in four centuries when a reigning Pope had made an official visit to an Anglican cathedral. On 28 November 2007,
11130-408: The NGV Kids Corner, which is an interactive education section aimed at small children and families, and the NGV Studio. The Australian Centre for the Moving Image known as ACMI has two cinemas that are equipped to play every film, video and digital video format, with attention to high-quality acoustics. The screen gallery, built along the entire length of what was previously a train station platform,
11289-589: The NGV, and is known as the NGVI). There are over 20,000 Australian artworks, including paintings, sculpture, photography, fashion and textiles, and the collection is the oldest and most well known in the country. Well-known works at the Ian Potter Centre include Frederick McCubbin 's Pioneers (1904) and Tom Roberts ' Shearing the Rams (1890). Also featured are works from Sidney Nolan , John Perceval , Margaret Preston and Fred Williams . Indigenous art includes works by William Barak and Emily Kngwarreye . The National Gallery at Federation Square also features
11448-643: The State Government established the Melbourne Arts Precinct Corporation to manage the delivery of the new park, the management of Federation Square, and to better connect the various arts institutions in Southbank to each other and through to the CBD. In October 2023 the Age newspaper ran a series of articles on the square, providing a range of opinions on its strengths and weaknesses. The failure of many cafes and shops over
11607-529: 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
11766-551: 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
11925-441: The attached chapter house in matching style in 1889. The pipe organ was commissioned from the English builder T. C. Lewis , one of the most prominent organ builders of the 19th century. For nearly 40 years, without the spires , the cathedral presented as a rather solid, horizontal mass, but was nevertheless the subject of postcards and photographs. In the early 1920s, having determined not to complete Butterfield's design, it
12084-499: 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
12243-760: 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
12402-436: 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
12561-434: 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
12720-490: The cathedral (without the spires) was consecrated by the Rt Revd Field Flowers Goe, Bishop of Melbourne. The building work was marked by disputes between Butterfield and the church authorities in Melbourne, leading to Butterfield's resignation in 1884. The job was then awarded to a local architect, Joseph Reed , who completed the building generally faithfully to Butterfield's design and who also designed
12879-516: The cathedral is the responsibility of the director of music and the music foundation, established in 1993, provides funding for the musical life of the cathedral. The director of music at St Paul's Cathedral, until the appointment of Philip Nicholls in 2013, was also the organist. A former director of music and organist, June Nixon, was awarded a Lambeth doctorate ( DMus ) by George Carey , Archbishop of Canterbury , in 1999. This recognised her long contribution to choral and organ music and marks
13038-571: The centenary of Australia's Federation in 2001, and would include performing arts facilities, a gallery, a cinemedia centre, the public space, a glazed wintergarden, and ancillary cafe and retail spaces. An architectural design competition was announced that received 177 entries from around the world. Five designs were shortlisted, which included entries from high-profile Melbourne architects Denton Corker Marshall and Ashton Raggatt McDougall , and lesser known Sydney architect Chris Elliott, and London based architects Jenny Lowe and Adrian Hawker. The jury
13197-432: The chaotic feel of the complex is made worse by a web of unsightly wires from which overhead lights dangle." It continues to be a 'pet hate' of Melburnians and was discussed on ABC's Art Nation . After its opening on 26 October 2002, Federation Square remained controversial among Melburnians due to its unpopular architecture , but also because of its successive cost blowouts and construction delays (as its name suggests, it
13356-473: The choice venue for many state funerals and has played host to those of many prime ministers, premiers , governors, governors-general and other significant people. On 28 November 1986, on his arrival in Melbourne, Pope John Paul II paid a visit to St Paul's Cathedral in recognition of the dialogue between the Anglican and Roman Catholic churches in Melbourne fostered by their respective former archbishops,
13515-500: The cinemedia centre becoming the new body known as ACMI , offices for multicultural broadcaster SBS added, and the gallery space becoming the Australian art wing of the National Gallery of Victoria , which became the Ian Potter Centre. The performance arts space was dropped, the number of commercial tenancies increased, and the south end of the Atrium became an auditorium. A new substantially rearranged design incorporating
13674-551: 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
13833-399: 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
13992-546: 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
14151-430: 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
14310-660: 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
14469-523: 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. St Paul%27s Cathedral, Melbourne St Paul's Cathedral is an Anglican cathedral in Melbourne , Australia. It is the cathedral church of
14628-441: 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
14787-532: 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,
14946-724: The commercial use of a cultural space. Opposition groups including Our City Our Square and the National Trust of Australia (Victoria) then nominated Fed Square to the Victorian Heritage Register , which resulted in an interim decision to list in October 2018. Apple cancelled the plans in April 2019 after the application to Heritage Victoria to demolish the Birrarung Building was denied, and after
15105-429: The corner, which was elevated above the street and little used. Between the plaza and Batman Avenue, which ran along the north bank of the Yarra River , were the extensive Jolimont Railway Yards , and the through train lines running into Flinders Street station under Swanston Street. In 1978 the idea of roofing the railyards was again proposed as part of a State Government competition for a landmark, asking for “an idea,
15264-564: 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
15423-478: The crossing, with choir below, sanctuary and altar beyond, and a pair of towers framing the ceremonial main entrance. The stonework is a mixture of sandstone from the Barrabool Hills and Waurn Ponds limestone , giving the cathedral a warm colouring, when most other grand 19th century public buildings are faced in lighter sandstone imported from other states. It is also quite different in appearance to
15582-660: 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
15741-553: The east. There have been proposals for office towers and, more recently, a combination of open space and a hotel, or another campus for the National Gallery of Victoria to house their contemporary art collection. In December 2017, the Andrews government announced that one of the buildings of the square, the Birrarung Building, would be demolished to make way for a freestanding Apple Store , generating strong criticism over
15900-471: 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
16059-472: 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
16218-656: The first public Christian service in Melbourne was conducted in 1835. The block was then a government reserve far from the centre of town to the west, and used as a corn market. By 1848 the site was then adjacent to the first Princes Bridge across the Yarra River, and the prominent site was granted to the Anglican Church. The bluestone Church of St Paul the Apostle was consecrated in 1852. Colonial artist Samuel Thomas Gill sketched St. Paul's Church in 1854. A lithographic print titled 'St. Paul's Church Melbourne 1854'
16377-405: The first woman to be so honoured. The cathedral's pipe organ was built by T. C. Lewis and Co of Brixton , England. Over six and half thousand pounds were spent on its construction, shipping and installation before it was played at the cathedral's inaugural service in 1891. Various modifications and maintenance works have been carried out since then, culminating in an A$ 726,000 restoration which
16536-575: 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
16695-525: The gallery building, and opens onto the Yarra river bank. It was intended as an entirely commercial part of the development of Federation Square, and is used for wedding receptions, corporate events, launches, and the like. The Ian Potter Centre , also known as the NGVA, houses the Australian part of the art collection of the National Gallery of Victoria (NGV), in the building along the eastern side. (The St Kilda Rd building now houses that International works of
16854-547: 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
17013-557: 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
17172-409: The introduction of An Australian Prayer Book in the late 1970s, new cassocks of a green colour approximating that of the new prayer book cover (and coincidentally, that of the visible organ pipework at the time) were introduced and surplices were discontinued. On a visit to the cathedral in 1985 by the then Archbishop of Canterbury, a somewhat astonished Robert Runcie exclaimed that he had "never seen
17331-580: 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
17490-460: The main square is paved in 470,000 ochre -coloured sandstone blocks from Western Australia and invokes images of the outback . The paving is designed as a huge urban artwork, called Nearamnew , by Paul Carter and gently rises above street level, containing a number of textual pieces inlaid in its undulating surface. There are a small number of landscaped sections in the square and plaza which are planted with Eucalyptus trees. A key part of
17649-662: 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
17808-430: 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
17967-561: 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
18126-465: The musical life of the cathedral. St Paul's has a ring of 12 bells set for change ringing in the key of C♯ , with an extra bell to allow different subsets of the full number to be rung still to a diatonic scale. All 13 bells were cast by Mears & Stainbank of Whitechapel Bell Foundry in 1889. The tenor originally weighed 31 cwt but after the whole set was sent to Taylor's Bell Foundry in 1963 for retuning it now weighs 29cwt. The bells were
18285-440: 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
18444-533: The new program was revealed in late 1998. After the 1999 State election, while construction was well underway, the incoming Bracks Government ordered a report by the University of Melbourne 's Professor Evan Walker into the 'western shard' to be located on the corner of Flinders and Swanston Streets, which concluded in February 2000 that the "heritage vista" towards St Paul's cathedral should be preserved, and
18603-446: 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
18762-754: 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
18921-531: The opposite shard. The Visitor Centre was intended to replace a facility which was previously located at the turn of the 19th-century town hall administration buildings on Swanston Street. The Visitors Centre was demolished in December 2018 to make way for an entrance to the rapid transit station to be built under the Swanston Street, and the visitors centre returned to the Town Hall. The Edge theatre
19080-483: 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
19239-524: The plaza around it, which was granted on the basis that the Information Centre was not the original design for the 'Western Shard', and it was demolished by January 2019, though without a final approved design for the new entrance. In early 2022, following the decision to build a new National Gallery Victoria Contemporary behind the NGV, with a linear public space connection through to St Kilda Road,
19398-597: The plaza design is its large and fixed public television screen, which has been used to broadcast major sporting events such as the AFL Grand Final and the Australian Open every year. It is currently the biggest broadcasting screen in Australia. The architecture of the square is in the deconstructivist style, with both plan and elevations designed around slightly angular, 'cranked' geometries, rather than tradition orthogonal grids. The built forms are mainly slightly bent north–south volumes, separated by glazed gaps,
19557-455: The precinct is designed to connect the historical central district of the city with the Yarra River and a new park Birrarung Marr . The complex of buildings forms a rough U-shape around the main open-air square, oriented to the west. The eastern end of the square is formed by the glazed walls of The Atrium. While bluestone is used for the majority of the paving in the Atrium and St Paul's Court, matching footpaths elsewhere in central Melbourne,
19716-465: The precinct. It is a laneway -like space, five stories high with glazed walls and roof. The exposed metal structure and glazing patterns follow the pinwheel tiling pattern used elsewhere in the precinct's building facades . The "labyrinth" is a passive cooling system sandwiched above the railway lines and below the middle of the square. The concrete structure consists of 1.2 km of interlocking, honeycombed walls. It covers 1600 m. The walls have
19875-563: 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
20034-579: The real-world architecture of Federation Square. It also houses highly innovative mechanisms for interactive, multi-player sound and musical composition. Transport hotel and bar is a three-level hotel complex adjacent to the southern shard on the south western corner of the square. It has a ground-floor public bar, restaurant and cocktail lounge on the rooftop. The Melbourne offices of the Special Broadcasting Service (SBS), one of Australia's two publicly funded national broadcasters,
20193-637: 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 ,
20352-667: 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
20511-519: The role of leading the choir with the "virge" or ceremonial mace, a task formerly performed by the head chorister. In 2016, the 125th anniversary of the cathedral's consecration, the Girls' Voices of the Cathedral Choir were established and female lay clerks were also permitted to join the choir. The Girls' and Boys' Voices now sing the same number of services per week, and take an equal share in
20670-399: 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
20829-417: 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
20988-416: The shard be no more than 8m in height. Budgets on the project blew out significantly due to the initial cost being seriously underestimated, given the expense of covering the railyards, changes to the brief, the need to resolve construction methods for the angular design, and the long delays. Among measures taken to cut costs was concreting areas originally designed for paving. The final cost of construction
21147-553: The southeast corner of Flinders and Swanston Streets for a public square, with more detailed proposals prepared in the 1950s and 1960s. In the 1960s, the Melbourne City Council decided that the best place for the City Square was the corner of Swanston and Collins Streets , opposite the town hall. The first temporary square opened in 1968, and a permanent version opened in 1981. It was however not considered
21306-416: 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
21465-510: 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
21624-699: 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
21783-560: 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
21942-419: The week and for two of the four Sunday services. The choir is also called upon for special occasions including chapter Evensongs, synod services, state funerals, concerts, carol services and seasonal services. Since the early 1990s the choir cassocks are of a deep burgundy colour, matching the stencil design hue on the organ pipes. Originally the choir wore traditional black cassocks and white surplices, but with
22101-473: The works were done in 1926. The 1960s saw extensive work completed to the exterior of the cathedral and in 1989 the organ was restored with the help of a major National Trust appeal. Further major restoration works were completed in 2009 with significant repairs to the spires, the installation of a coloured glass lantern in the Moorhouse Tower and coloured glass doors and a glass walled airlock at
22260-482: 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
22419-473: 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
22578-443: The years was noted, as well as the rough surface affecting mobility, the lack of shade, and the lack of clear paths through the site, concluding that the square was still a 'work in progress'. Federation Square occupies roughly a whole urban block bounded by Swanston , Flinders , and Russell Streets and the Yarra River . The open public square is directly opposite Flinders Street station and St Paul's Cathedral . The layout of
22737-548: 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
22896-470: Was approximately $ 467 million (over four times the original estimate), the main funding primarily from the state government, with $ 64 million from the City of Melbourne, some from the federal government , while private operators and sponsors paid for fitouts or naming rights. The square was opened on 26 October 2002. Unlike many Australian landmarks, it was not opened by the reigning monarch, Elizabeth II , nor
23055-482: Was chaired by Professor Neville Quarry . The winner announced on 28 July 1997, a consortium led by Lab Architecture Studio directed by Donald Bates and Peter Davidson from London , with the Dutch landscape architects Karres en Brands , directed by Sylvia Karres and Bart Brands, teamed with local executive architects Bates Smart for the second stage. The design, originally costed at between $ 110 and $ 128 million,
23214-458: Was completed in 1990 with the help of a National Trust appeal. In its restored state the organ has four manuals and pedals with 53 stops, all with electro-pneumatic action, and is housed in the cathedral's south transept behind newly stencilled façade pipes. Originally formed in 1888 in conjunction with the choir of All Saints' St Kilda , the cathedral choir led the procession for the official opening in 1891. The choir sings at Evensong throughout
23373-413: Was complex and irregular, with gently angled 'cranked' geometries predominating in both the planning and the facade treatment of the various buildings and the wintergardens that surrounded and defined the open spaces. A series of 'shards' provided vertical accents, while interconnected laneways and stairways and the wintergarden would connect Flinders Street to the Yarra River. The open square was arranged as
23532-408: Was created by Janusz and Magda Kuszbicki for the west doors and the "Eighth Day" lantern in the Moorhouse Tower. Besides Sunday and weekday Eucharists the cathedral "maintains the English tradition" of a daily choral Evensong , being the only Australian Anglican cathedral to do so. The plan of St Paul's is a traditional Latin cross , with a long nave, side aisles, short transepts, a tower at
23691-697: Was decided to hold a competition for the design of new spires. The winner, announced in Feb 1925, was John Barr, of Sydney , with a traditional Gothic Revival style, and the central spire much taller than the original design. Construction started in July 1926, using a stone from the Sydney area that was different to the original Barabool stone. The central tower was named the Moorhouse Spire, and reached its full height of 312 ft (95m) in 1932, and on 30 April 1933
23850-489: 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
24009-410: 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
24168-499: 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
24327-490: 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
24486-419: Was installed when the cathedral was first built. In 1912 the immersion font was built in memory of Field Flowers Goe , third Bishop of Melbourne. The dean of St Paul's Cathedral, who is responsible for its day-to-day running, is formally styled the "Dean of Melbourne": Music plays an integral part of worship at St Paul's, and the repertoire of Anglican church music can be heard during services. Music at
24645-532: 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
24804-489: Was once part of Batman Avenue and is lined with tall established trees of both deciduous exotic species and Australian eucalpyts. More recently, the vaults adjacent to the Princes Bridge have been converted into Federation Wharf, a series of cafes and boat berths. Some of the areas between the stairs and lanes leading to the river are landscaped with shady tree ferns. The " atrium " is one of the major public spaces in
24963-403: Was she invited to its unveiling; she visited Federation Square in October 2011. In 2006, Federation Wharf redeveloped the vaults under Princes Walk (a former roadway) into a large bar, with extensive outdoor areas on the Yarra riverbank, with elevator access to Federation Square. Several proposals have been prepared for the area known as Federation Square East, the remaining area of railyards to
25122-476: 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
25281-402: Was to have opened in time for the centenary of Australian Federation on 1 January 2001). The construction manager was Multiplex . Melbourne Melbourne ( / ˈ m ɛ l b ər n / MEL -bərn , locally [ˈmæɫbən] ; Boonwurrung / Woiwurrung : Narrm or Naarm ) is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria , and
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