Misplaced Pages

#800199

92-526: The Victorian Transport Study , better known as the Lonie Report , was an extensive study of freight and passenger transport within the state of Victoria, Australia . The study was set up on 13 June 1979 by the Government of Victoria , and the report was published on 26 September 1980. Murray Lonie, a retired executive of General Motors and BHP , was appointed to head the study, and the secretary

184-756: A child, 307 convicts, 17 convicts' wives, and seven children). They had been sent from England in HMS ; Calcutta under the command of Captain Daniel Woodriff , principally out of fear that the French, who had been exploring the area, might establish their own settlement and thereby challenge British rights to the continent. In 1826, Colonel Stewart, Captain Samuel Wright, and Lieutenant Burchell were sent in HMS  Fly (Captain Wetherall) and

276-794: A cooler, mountain climate in the centre of the state. Winters along the coast of the state, particularly around Melbourne , are relatively mild ( see chart ). The coastal plain south of the Great Dividing Range has Victoria's mildest climate. Air from the Southern Ocean helps reduce the heat of summer and the cold of winter. Melbourne and other large cities are located in this temperate region. The Mallee and upper Wimmera are Victoria's warmest regions with hot winds blowing from nearby semi-deserts. Average temperatures exceed 32 °C (90 °F) during summer and 15 °C (59 °F) in winter. Except at cool mountain elevations,

368-417: A final report, containing recommendations on every topic covered. The Lonie Report argued that, despite the immense change in demand for various modes of transport since the beginning of the twentieth century, the system was still run by the same methods as prevailed in the nineteenth century. It argued for large-scale deregulation of transport markets, especially by the removal of the current restrictions on

460-649: A human hearth excavated in 1971 was radiocarbon-dated to about 31,000 years BP , making Keilor one of the earliest sites of human habitation in Australia. A cranium found at the site has been dated at between 12,000 and 14,700 years BP . Archaeological sites in Tasmania and on the Bass Strait Islands have been dated to between 20,000 to 35,000 years ago when sea levels were 130 metres below present level allowing First Nations Peoples to move across

552-570: A kangaroo hunting ground. Creation stories describe how Bunjil was responsible for the formation of the bay, or the bay was flooded when the Yarra River was created. Victoria, like Queensland , was named after Queen Victoria , who had been on the British throne for 14 years when the colony was established in 1851. After the founding of the colony of New South Wales in 1788, Australia was divided into an eastern half named New South Wales and

644-583: A new multi-member proportional representation system. The State of Victoria was divided into eight electorates with each electorate represented by five representatives elected by Single Transferable Vote . The total number of upper house members was reduced from 44 to 40 and their term of office is now the same as the lower house members—four years. Elections for the Victorian Parliament are now fixed and occur in November every four years. Prior to

736-521: A number of passenger services withdrawn, including: Thirty-five passenger stations were closed on existing lines, or eighty-two stations when those on closed lines were included. On existing lines, the closed stations were The Cobram and Leongatha services were later again withdrawn by the Kennett Government in August 1993. A number of railway refreshment rooms were also closed, due to

828-511: A plan for the reorganisation and revitalisation of country passenger rail services, was unveiled in February 1981. The following country passenger rail lines were closed: Some of those lines remained open for freight. Passenger services to Cobram, Stony Point and Leongatha were reinstated by the incoming Labor government . The Baxter to Mornington line became a heritage railway . The Cobram and Leongatha passenger services were closed again by

920-602: A rate of 8,227 per 100,000 people, up 4.4% on the previous year. While there have been some dips along the way, the rate of recorded offences have increased year on year since 2011, when the figure was 6,937.7 offences per 100,000 people. Victoria has a parliamentary form of government based on the Westminster System . Legislative power resides in the Parliament consisting of the Governor (the representative of

1012-624: A road bypass of Lilydale on the Maroondah Highway , and argued for the introduction of clearways on main suburban streets to speed up road traffic. Another recommendation of the report was the staggering of school and work hours to spread out the demand on public transport services, which it said would reduce the overcrowding on those services during peak periods, and the number of under-used services at other times. The report argued that be done through employers being encouraged by government to develop more flexible hours. The release of

SECTION 10

#1732771779801

1104-416: A trend that has continued in more recent years, albeit one apparently acceptable to government as a means of encouraging people to shift to public transport. The Lonie Report seems to have been predicated upon a view that high levels of subsidy would be unacceptable to government and voters alike, which has not proven to be the case. Victoria, Australia Victoria , commonly abbreviated as Vic ,

1196-519: A western half named New Holland , under the administration of the colonial government in Sydney. The first British settlement in the area later known as Victoria was established in October 1803 under Lieutenant-Governor David Collins at Sullivan Bay on Port Phillip. It consisted of 402 people (five government officials, nine officers of marines, two drummers, and 39 privates, five soldiers' wives and

1288-401: Is a state in southeastern Australia. It is the second-smallest state (after Tasmania ), with a land area of 227,444 km (87,817 sq mi); the second-most-populated state (after New South Wales ), with a population of over 6.9 million; and the most densely populated state in Australia (30.6 per km ). Victoria's economy is the second-largest among Australian states and

1380-518: Is at 39°12' S, which passes through Boundary Islet in the Bass Strait for 85 metres. Victoria contains many topographically, geologically and climatically diverse areas, ranging from the wet, temperate climate of Gippsland in the southeast to the snow-covered Victorian alpine areas which rise to almost 2,000 m (6,600 ft), with Mount Bogong the highest peak at 1,986 m (6,516 ft). There are extensive semi-arid plains to

1472-399: Is divided into distinct geographic regions , most commonly for the purposes of economic development , while others for land management (agriculture or conservation) and for censusing (statistical or meteorological) or electoral purposes. The most commonly used regions are those created by the state government for the purposes of economic development . In addition to Greater Melbourne ,

1564-828: Is heavier. Rainfall is most reliable in Gippsland and the Western District , making them both leading farming areas. Victoria's highest recorded daily rainfall was 377.8 mm (14.87 in) at Tidal River in Wilsons Promontory National Park on 23 March 2011. At March 2024 Victoria had a population of 6,959,200. The Australian Bureau of Statistics estimates that the population may well reach 10.3 million by 2051. Victoria's founding Anglo-Celtic population has been supplemented by successive waves of migrants from Southern and Eastern Europe , Asia and, most recently, Africa and

1656-541: Is highly diversified, with service sectors predominating. Victoria is bordered by New South Wales to the north and South Australia to the west and is bounded by the Bass Strait to the south (with the exception of a small land border with Tasmania located along Boundary Islet ), the Great Australian Bight portion of the Southern Ocean to the southwest, and the Tasman Sea (a marginal sea of

1748-425: Is located 10 km (6 mi) south of Bendigo . Due to its central location and the region's historical ties to the gold rush, the town is widely regarded as the "Heart of Gold". The state's capital, Melbourne, contains about 70% of the state's population and dominates its economy, media, and culture. For other cities and towns, see list of localities (Victoria) and local government areas of Victoria . Victoria

1840-459: Is particularly strong in Bendigo and its environs. In 1854 at Ballarat, an armed rebellion against the government of Victoria was made by miners protesting against mining taxes (the " Eureka Stockade "). This was crushed by British troops, but the confrontation persuaded the colonial authorities to reform the administration of mining concessions (reducing the hated mining licence fees) and extend

1932-471: The Australian Bureau of Statistics as being a population cluster of 1,000 or more people. The below figures broadly represent the populations of the contiguous built-up areas of each city: Victoria has a varied climate that ranges from semi-arid temperate with hot summers in the north-west, to temperate and cool along the coast. Victoria's main land feature, the Great Dividing Range, produces

SECTION 20

#1732771779801

2024-708: The Australian Senate . At state level, the Parliament of Victoria consists of the Legislative Assembly and the Legislative Council . The Labor Party , led by Jacinta Allan as premier , has governed Victoria since 2014. The Governor of Victoria , the representative of the monarch in the state, is currently Margaret Gardner . Victoria is divided into 79 local government areas , as well as several unincorporated areas which

2116-638: The Kennett Government . Jeff Kennett himself publicly endorsed the Lonie Report. The Hamer Government's plans to close several suburban rail lines were halted because of strong protests. However, the St. Kilda and Port Melbourne lines were converted to light rail a few years later. Late-night services on the Upfield Line were eliminated (they were restored in 1997) and a multimodal fare system

2208-600: The Middle East . Victoria's population is ageing in proportion with the average of the remainder of the Australian population. About 72% of Victorians are Australian-born. This figure falls to around 66% in Melbourne but rises to higher than 95% in some rural areas in the north west of the state. Less than 1% of Victorians identify themselves as Aboriginal . More than 75% of Victorians live in Melbourne, located in

2300-727: The South Pacific Ocean ) to the southeast. The state encompasses a range of climates and geographical features from its temperate coastal and central regions to the Victorian Alps in the northeast and the semi-arid northwest. The majority of the Victorian population is concentrated in the central-south area surrounding Port Phillip , and in particular within the metropolitan area of Greater Melbourne , Victoria's state capital and largest city and also Australia's second-largest city , where over three-quarters of

2392-609: The Victoria State Government has divided Victoria into five regions covering all parts of the state. The five regional Victoria divisions are: The Australian Bureau of Meteorology defines regions for its own purposes, some of which share names with the economic regions, even though the exact boundaries may not correlate. As of November 2014, they are: This is a list of places in the Australian state of Victoria by population. Urban centres are defined by

2484-627: The Yorta Yorta . There were more than 30 Aboriginal languages spoken in the area prior to European colonisation. In 1770 James Cook claimed the east coast of the Australian continent for the Kingdom of Great Britain . The first European settlement in the area occurred in 1803 at Sullivan Bay . Much of Victoria was included in 1836 in the Port Phillip District of New South Wales. Named in honour of Queen Victoria , Victoria

2576-674: The electoral franchise . The following year, the Imperial Parliament granted Victoria responsible government with the passage of the Colony of Victoria Act 1855. Some of the leaders of the Eureka rebellion went on to become members of the Victorian Parliament. In 1857, reflecting the growing presence of Irish Catholic immigrants, John O'Shanassy became the colony's second Premier with the former Young Irelander , Charles Gavan Duffy as his deputy. Melbourne's Protestant establishment

2668-505: The pink heath (state flower), Leadbeater's possum (state animal) and the helmeted honeyeater (state bird). Ecological communities include Victorian Volcanic Plain grasslands , Northern Plains Grassland and Gippsland Plains Grassy Woodland , all of which are critically endangered. According to Geoscience Australia , the geographic centre of Victoria is located in Mandurang at 36° 51' 15"S, 144° 16' 52" E. The small rural locality

2760-546: The population growth peak of 1969–72. In 2017, Victoria recorded a TFR of 1.724. The "average Victorian" according to the demographic statistics may be described as follows: In the year ending September 2020, the statistics were skewed by the introduction of six new public safety offences relating to the COVID-19 pandemic in Australia . Total offences numbered 551,710, with 32,713 of these being breaches of Chief Health Officer Directions. The total offences occurred at

2852-464: The (then) 211 Victorian local government areas , wrote submissions to the study, as did a large number of lobby groups representing various positions on the question of transport planning. The writing of the report was done between December 1979 and its final publication in September 1980. It was presented to Transport Minister Rob Maclellan , and was released as a total of twenty-five volumes and

Lonie Report - Misplaced Pages Continue

2944-524: The 2006 election, the Legislative Council consisted of 44 members elected to eight-year terms from 22 two-member electorates. New Deal (railway) The Victorian Railways had been stuck in something of a "time warp" for a number of decades. The Bland Report of 1972 recommended the restructuring of railway management, the closure of uneconomic branch lines, and the replacement of most country rail passenger services with road coaches. By

3036-410: The 2016 census, 72.2% of Victorians speak English at home. Speakers of other languages include Mandarin (3.2%), Italian (1.9%), Greek (1.9%), Vietnamese (1.7%), and Arabic (1.3%). In the 2016 Census, 47.9% of Victorians described themselves as Christian , 10.6% stated that they followed other religions and 32.1% stated that they had no religion or held secular or other spiritual beliefs. In

3128-440: The 2016 census, the most commonly nominated ancestries were: 0.8% of the population, or 47,788 people, identified as Indigenous Australians ( Aboriginal Australians and Torres Strait Islanders ) in 2016. At the 2016 census, 64.9% of residents were born in Australia. The other most common countries of birth were England (2.9%), India (2.9%), Mainland China (2.7%), New Zealand (1.6%) and Vietnam (1.4%). As of

3220-460: The ABE to BE conversions and the long-type BW cars used in Z sets to boost capacity. The October 1981 timetable required a handful of the older railmotors to stay in service, with two of the unreliable Tulloch DRC and four of the worn-out DERM types. These were run with one of the ex-W-type MT trailers, or if the railmotor failed then it would be replaced with a loco-hauled train using one of each type of

3312-510: The Bass Strait islands became separated from mainland Australia around 12,000 BP, when the sea level was approximately 50m below present levels. Port Phillip was flooded by post-glacial rising sea levels between 8,000 and 6,000 years ago. Oral history and creation stories from the Wada wurrung , Woiwurrung and Bun wurrung languages describe the flooding of the bay. Hobsons Bay was once

3404-615: The DERM fleet had been dropped, and instead four 60 ft Harris carriages were to be rebuilt to complement the DRCs. The electric interurban sets had been dropped in late 1982; by this point the order for suburban Comeng vehicles had been nearly doubled (due to failures in refurbishing the Harris suburban fleet for continued electric network operation), so the interurban Comeng fleet wouldn't have been delivered until late 1986. The passenger network

3496-460: The DRC railcars were in good condition, and the DERM fleet was only achieving 38% availability; this required 'scratch' sets of between 2 and 4 older wooden carriages hauled by locomotives as replacements. VicRail looked into the costs of buying a new fleet of railmotors and found the cost for a 2-carriage airconditioned railmotor to be in the range of $ 1.6-2.5 million each. An alternative, cheaper proposal

3588-652: The Government to look at the need to acquire further rolling stock, deliberations that would ultimately result in the introduction of the 130 km/h (81 mph) Sprinter railcar . The strong foundations laid in the 1981 New Deal undoubtedly led to further massive investment in Country Rail Passenger services in Victoria in the early 2000s which resulted in the total re-building of Spencer Street station (Melbourne) as Southern Cross station . Also

3680-668: The King), the executive (the Government), and two legislative chambers. The Parliament of Victoria consists of the lower house Legislative Assembly , the upper house Legislative Council and the monarch . Eighty-eight members of the Legislative Assembly are elected to four-year terms from single-member electorates. In November 2006, the Victorian Legislative Council elections were held under

3772-507: The Lonie Report by the government of Rupert Hamer led immediately to severe criticism, particularly from the large number of people who used the rail services that the report recommended eliminating. As a result of public protests in the last three months of 1980, the Hamer Government was forced to reject a number of the report's recommendations. All tram services were retained, and the $ 115 million New Deal for Country Passengers ,

Lonie Report - Misplaced Pages Continue

3864-613: The Lonie Report had, as an underlying assumption, falling levels of public transport patronage. It failed to foresee Melbourne's rapid population growth, due to immigration , and increasing population density. The Lonie Report noted the rapidly increasing levels of government subsidy to public transport. According to the report, at the time, cost recovery through fares was 53% for the Melbourne & Metropolitan Tramways Board and 49% for VicRail , both of which would now be considered high rates of cost recovery. Increasing subsidy levels are

3956-578: The State. To some extent, the Lonie Report followed on from the Bland Report , a 1972 inquiry into land transport in Victoria by Sir Henry Bland , but was extended to cover a much greater number of topics, including, but not limited to, ports and air transport . There were special sections for the transport of certain important commodities, including cement and grain . Between June and December 1979, 41 individuals, 21 government agencies, and 28 of

4048-790: The Victorian Railways Board in July 1980, with the Victorian Railways having by then been re-branded as VicRail . By February 1981. Reiher's lobbying had resulted in a $ 115 million commitment from the Hamer Government to revitalize country rail passenger services in Victoria, the concept of which originated within the Planning Branch of VicRail. VicRail pushed hard for the new timetables to be introduced by October 1981 so they would operate throughout

4140-476: The benefits of freeway building, which had been propagated by governments before and since the Lonie Report, were overstated. Indeed, the Lonie Report could be seen as evidence for the relatively recent claims by academic Guy Pearse that car, mineral and fossil fuel lobby groups have long written government policy on energy and transport in Australia (see Greenhouse Mafia ). Perhaps more potent than criticisms based upon supposed involvement of vested interests,

4232-414: The brigs Dragon and Amity , took a number of convicts and a small force composed of detachments of the 3rd and 93rd regiments. The expedition landed at Settlement Point (now Corinella ), on the eastern side of Western Port Bay, which was the headquarters until the abandonment of Western Port at the insistence of Governor Darling about 12 months afterwards. Victoria's next settlement was at Portland , on

4324-526: The carriage by road of such goods as cement , sawn timber, fertilisers and grain. The report was particularly concerned about the operating losses made by VicRail , due to significant declines in patronage and large increases in car ownership. The report argued that it would be much too expensive to upgrade the rail system to be competitive with the car, or even with buses, and therefore: The report stated that because of increasing demand, Victoria's major highways should be duplicated. It also argued for

4416-428: The centre of Victoria. Average temperatures are less than 9 °C (48 °F) in winter and below 0 °C (32 °F) in the highest parts of the ranges. The state's lowest minimum temperature of −11.7 °C (10.9 °F) was recorded at Omeo on 15 June 1965, and again at Falls Creek on 3 July 1970. Temperature extremes for the state are listed in the table below: Rainfall in Victoria increases from south to

4508-483: The concept of the New Deal evolved. As of February 1981, the initial elements of the 1981 New Deal included: The new timetables were fairly successful, with adjustments made as the engines proved better timekeeping with lighter loads and as the fixed-set policy simplified shunting at Spencer Street station. However, one of the sticking points was the lack of reliability from the railmotor fleet; by mid 1982 none of

4600-602: The country's first federal capital. Victoria's northern border follows a straight line from Cape Howe to the start of the Murray River and then follows the Murray River as the remainder of the northern border. On the Murray River, the border is the southern bank of the river. This precise definition was not established until 1980, when a ruling by Justice Ninian Stephen of the High Court of Australia settled

4692-874: The culturally diverse population live (35.1% of inhabitants being immigrants ). The state is also home to four of Australia's 20 largest cities : Melbourne , Geelong , Ballarat and Bendigo . Victoria is home to numerous Aboriginal groups, including the Boonwurrung , the Bratauolung , the Djadjawurrung , the Gunai , the Gunditjmara , the Taungurung , the Wathaurong , the Wurundjeri , and

SECTION 50

#1732771779801

4784-549: The elimination of the large number of regulatory mechanisms that governed transport in Victoria before the 1980s, which culminated in the privatisation of public transport in the 1990s. Some of the report's recommendations were carried out before Kennett became Premier, such as the linking of the South Eastern Freeway to the Mulgrave Freeway . The Lonie Report has been firmly criticised ever since it

4876-643: The existing sets were shuffled around with older timber carriages withdrawn, with the intent to complete the transition by the end of 1983. The cars were intended to operate on the Warrnambool, Horsham, Shepparton, Geelong and Bendigo corridors, with all other services provided by the earlier airconditioned steel fleet and supplemented with the airconditioned E type carriages; a separate fleet of Comeng-styled country electric multiple units were to be built for long-distance services to Traralgon. Carriages with corridors were rotated as necessary to put those corridors on

4968-565: The four Inter-urban routes to Geelong , Ballarat , Bendigo and Traralgon were upgraded to allow a new generation of V/Locity trains to operate at up to 160 km/h. This program was known as the Regional Fast Rail project upgrade. From 1980/81 to 2007/08, patronage grew from 3 million trips to 12 million. Further patronage increases and expansion of the V/Locity train fleet led to the need to provide separate tracks within

5060-511: The guard's van be at the end of the train. An order for 36 N type carriages was placed in 1977 for operation on the Geelong and Ballarat lines, but was extended under the New Deal to 54 carriages in 1981 and subsequently to 57 carriages, with the last being delivered in 1984. The carriages were part of a plan to remove 350 unheated and non air-conditioned wooden carriages (up to 70 years old) from service. The H type carriage conversion contract

5152-437: The inland monthly temperatures are 2–7 °C (4–13 °F) warmer than around Melbourne (see chart). Victoria's highest maximum temperature of 48.8 °C (119.8 °F) was recorded in Hopetoun on 7 February 2009, during the 2009 southeastern Australia heat wave . The Victorian Alps in the northeast are the coldest part of Victoria. The Alps are part of the Great Dividing Range mountain system extending east–west through

5244-447: The introduction of on train catering. Turnaround times at country termini were also cut through the use of the twin cab B, A and N class locomotives, which did not need to use a turntable . Interurban services were not sped up to the same degree, but more regular departure times were introduced, and the service frequencies increased. Some Melbourne – Ballarat services were routed via North Shore to ease track congestion at peak times on

5336-430: The introduction of on-train catering. Although the total cost of the New Deal eventually topped $ 100 million, the new services were far cheaper to operate and were far more attractive. By April 1983, VicRail General Manager R. J Gallacher claimed that country passenger traffic had increased by around 20% in the eighteen months since the New Deal had begun. By 1989 the strong growth in Interurban travel had led V/Line and

5428-409: 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. Victoria has 38 seats in the Australian House of Representatives and 12 seats in

5520-461: The northeast, with higher averages in areas of high altitude. Mean annual rainfall exceeds 1,800 millimetres (71 inches) in some parts of the northeast but is less than 280 mm (11 in) in the Mallee. Rain is heaviest in the Otway Ranges and Gippsland in southern Victoria and in the mountainous northeast. Snow generally falls only in the mountains and hills in the centre of the state. Rain falls most frequently in winter, but summer precipitation

5612-452: The other ran four return Geelong trips. On Sundays one of the sets ran Geelong to Spencer Street, then a return to Swan Hill, and finally back to Geelong. The other set was undergoing rostered maintenance. Around this time, the expectation was that by end of 1983, all country services would be provided by steel airconditioned carriages and a small fleet of railmotors and EMUs. Locomotives: Long-distance stock: Commuter stock: 1981 also saw

SECTION 60

#1732771779801

5704-490: The question as to which state had jurisdiction in the unlawful death of a man on an island in the middle of the river. The ruling clarified that no part of the watercourse is in Victoria. The border also rests at the southern end of the Great Dividing Range , which stretches along the east coast and terminates west of Ballarat. It is bordered by South Australia to the west and shares Australia's shortest land border with Tasmania . The official border between Victoria and Tasmania

5796-452: The railmotor trailers, i.e. one MT-ex-W and one MT-ex-DERM fleet. By February 1982, two N sets were in service as ACN-BN-BN, having entered service on Monday 5 October 1981. On weekdays, both sets ran on the 6:50am train from South Geelong to Melbourne; then one set ran a return Horsham then to Geelong, and the other set a return Ballarat then to South Geelong and shunt back to Geelong for overnight stabling. On weekends, one set ran to Horsham,

5888-419: The region of southern Victoria and onto the land bridge of the Bassian plain to Tasmania by at least 35,000 years ago. During the Ice Age about 20,000 years BP , the area now the bay of Port Phillip would have been dry land, and the Yarra and Werribee rivers would have joined to flow through the heads then south and south west through the Bassian plain before meeting the ocean to the west. Tasmania and

5980-439: The reservation of land to allow the construction of road bypasses around major towns on those highways. Within Melbourne , it argued for extensions to the Eastern and South Eastern Freeways , for the linking of the West Gate Freeway to Port Melbourne , and for the building of a ring road around the city, claiming that those increases in road capacity were needed to meet the predicted demand for road transport. It also advocated

6072-526: The road in the first place. The Public Transport Users Association argued that the report did not consider that further public transport service reductions would cause a vicious circle of greater declines in patronage, poorer cost recovery and even larger deficits. The fact that the Lonie Report was written by people with a vested interest in increasing road transport has also led transport academics to question its assumptions and conclusions. The 1991 Russell Report, written by Professor Bill Russell, claimed that

6164-411: The route via Ballan . The A class rebuild contract was let in January 1983 to Clyde Engineering in Rosewater, South Australia . The first entered service in May 1984, but the project was abandoned in mid 1985 after rising costs due to structural fatigue. The 11th rebuild was delivered in August 1985. The N class were a new-build locomotive, mechanically similar to the A class. The major difference

6256-518: The south side when running through Flinders Street Station; this ensured the new seat-booking system correctly identified window seats and direction of travel. Cars in sets were lettered A through D for the four-car sets, and if multiple sets were used on a single train then the west-end cars would be relettered to suit. For example, an eight-car train through Flinders Street station would have been labelled cars H through A from west end. Sets were constructed to have roughly equal capacity where possible, with

6348-487: The south west coast of what is now Victoria. Edward Henty settled Portland Bay in 1834. Melbourne was founded in 1835 by John Batman , who set up a base in Indented Head , and John Pascoe Fawkner . From settlement, the region around Melbourne was known as the Port Phillip District, a separately administered part of New South Wales. Shortly after, the site now known as Geelong was surveyed by Assistant Surveyor W. H. Smythe, three weeks after Melbourne. And in 1838, Geelong

6440-399: The start of the 1980s, passenger numbers had fallen to around 3 million per year, due to ageing rolling stock, unattractive timetables operating at poor frequencies, and the attractiveness of private motoring. After the Lonie Report of 1980 recommended further cuts to the network, many people called for the State Government to maintain a viable rail system. Alan Reiher became Chairman of

6532-414: The state administers directly. The state of Victoria was home to many Aboriginal Australian nations that had occupied the land for tens of thousands of years before European settlement . According to Gary Presland , Aboriginal people have lived in Victoria for about 40,000 years, living a semi-nomadic existence of fishing, hunting and gathering, and farming eels. At the Keilor Archaeological Site ,

6624-666: The state's south. The greater Melbourne metropolitan area is home to an estimated 5,207,145 people. Urban centres outside Melbourne include Geelong , Ballarat , Bendigo , Shepparton , Mildura , Warrnambool , Wodonga and the Latrobe Valley . Victoria is Australia's most urbanised state: nearly 90% of residents living in cities and towns. State Government efforts to decentralise population have included an official campaign run since 2003 to encourage Victorians to settle in regional areas, however Melbourne continues to rapidly outpace these areas in terms of population growth. At

6716-617: The summer before the 1982 Victorian election . The Thompson Government , which had succeeded Hamer's ministry in June 1981, lost the 1982 election and was replaced by the Cain Government . However, the New Deal proved to have bi-partisan political support, and was further expanded by incoming Transport Minister Steve Crabb . Before the new timetable could be introduced, stopping patterns and running times were scrutinised to maximise

6808-523: The survey, 31.7% of Victorians stated they had no religion, Roman Catholics were 23.2%, 9.4% did not answer the question, 9% were Anglican and 3.5% were Eastern Orthodox . In 2017 the proportion of couples marrying in a civil ceremony in Victoria was 77.3%; the other 22.7% were married in a religious ceremony. The government predicts that nearly a quarter of Victorians will be aged over 60 by 2021. The 2016 census revealed that Australian median age has crept upward from 35 to 37 since 2001, which reflects

6900-566: The treaty is unknown, although it is believed to have been by the Merri Creek . According to historian Meyer Eidelson, it is generally believed to have occurred on the Merri near modern-day Rushall Station. On 1 July 1851, writs were issued for the election of the first Victorian Legislative Council, and the absolute independence of Victoria from New South Wales was established proclaiming a new Colony of Victoria. Days later, still in 1851 gold

6992-423: The utilisation of locomotives and rolling stock. The majority of the country timetable had not been revised since the steam era of the 1950s, with excessive turn around times at termini and excessive numbers of stops at little-used stations. The research found that 30% to 50% more services could be run with a new timetable but with fewer carriages. The railways went through a period of flux between 1980 and 1983, as

7084-521: The west and northwest. There is an extensive series of river systems in Victoria. Most notable is the Murray River system. Other rivers include: Ovens River , Goulburn River , Patterson River , King River , Campaspe River , Loddon River , Wimmera River , Elgin River, Barwon River , Thomson River , Snowy River , Latrobe River , Yarra River , Maribyrnong River , Mitta River , Hopkins River , Merri River and Kiewa River . The state symbols include

7176-496: The world" and the largest gold nugget . In the decade 1851–1860 Victoria produced 20 million ounces of gold, one-third of the world's output. In 1855 the Geological Survey collected and determined the major ion chemistry for groundwater in Victoria. Immigrants arrived from all over the world to search for gold, especially from Ireland and China. By 1857, 26,000 Chinese miners worked in Victoria, and their legacy

7268-426: Was accelerated by a large margin, up to 50 minutes in some instances. Unlike the Regional Fast Rail project of the early 2000s, no track or signalling improvements were carried out in order to speed up the services. Instead 35 little used stations were closed to passenger traffic, sectional running times were revised, higher powered locomotives allocated to services, and stops at railway refreshment rooms removed due to

7360-497: Was briefly Premier. In 1893 widespread bank failures brought to an end a sustained period of prosperity and of increasingly wild speculation in land and construction. Melbourne nonetheless retained, as the legacy of the gold rush, its status as Australia's primary financial centre and largest city. In 1901, Victoria became a state in the Commonwealth of Australia . While Canberra was being built, Melbourne served until 1927 as

7452-523: Was declared void as Batman did not have permission from the Crown to establish Melbourne. Today, the meaning and interpretation of this treaty is contested. Some argue it was a pretence for taking Aboriginal land in exchange for trinkets, while others argue it was significant in that it sought to recognise Aboriginal land rights . The exact location of the meeting between Batman and the Kulin men with whom he made

7544-434: Was discovered near Ballarat , and subsequently at Bendigo . Later discoveries occurred at many sites across Victoria. This triggered one of the largest gold rushes the world has ever seen. The colony grew rapidly in both population and economic power. In 10 years, the population of Victoria increased sevenfold from 76,000 to 540,000. All sorts of gold records were produced, including the "richest shallow alluvial goldfield in

7636-531: Was ill-prepared "to countenance so startling a novelty". In 1858–59, Melbourne Punch cartoons linked Duffy and O'Shanassy to the terrors of the French Revolution . In 1862 Duffy's Land Act attempted, but failed, through a system of extended pastoral licences, to break the land-holding monopoly of the so-called "squatter" class . In 1871, having led, on behalf of small farmers, opposition to Premier Sir James McCulloch 's land tax , Duffy, himself,

7728-524: Was introduced that, unpredicted by the Report, boosted patronage to such an extent that historians believe it has been responsible for the survival of the system. Despite those changes, the Lonie Report proved very influential in transport planning, especially after the election of Jeff Kennett as premier. Indeed, the report could be seen as providing the basis for the "Linking Melbourne" project carried out during Kennett's seven years as Premier, and also for

7820-657: Was officially declared a town, despite earlier European settlements dating back to 1826. On 6 June 1835, just under two years before Melbourne was officially recognised as a settlement, John Batman, the leader of the Port Phillip Association presented Wurundjeri Elders with a land use agreement. This document, now referred to as the Batman treaty , was later given to the British government to claim that local Aboriginal people had given Batman access to their land in exchange for goods and rations. The treaty itself

7912-485: Was placed in March 1983 with Clyde Engineering for 43 carriages, later progressively extended to 59 carriages. The new timetable required around 180 carriages, and by 1985 the majority of the fleet was made up of air conditioned steel bodied cars. As of 1981, the typical country passenger train consist included a van and three carriages, at least one of those a steel airconditioned type. As the N sets were gradually introduced

8004-496: Was recast, with Intercity routes from Melbourne to Albury , Bairnsdale , Bendigo , Dimboola , Mildura , Numurkah , Swan Hill and Warrnambool . Road coach services connected from Intercity train to towns no longer serviced by rail. Within the 'Intercity' network an 'Interurban' (commuter rail) was set up with more frequent services to Ballarat , South Geelong , Kyneton , Seymour and Traralgon . The new timetable came into operation on 4 October 1981. Each Intercity service

8096-412: Was released. Professional transport planners have generally believed that it only considered direct financial cost in making its recommendations. It has also been criticised for not fully considering how building additional road capacity affects people's decisions about whether to use cars or public transport, inducing demand for even more major road construction, thereby negating any benefit from building

8188-466: Was separated from New South Wales and established as a separate Crown colony in 1851, achieving responsible government in 1855. The Victorian gold rush in the 1850s and 1860s significantly increased Victoria's population and wealth. By the time of Australian Federation in 1901, Melbourne had become the largest city in Australasia , and was the seat of Federal government until Canberra became

8280-485: Was the addition of head end power units, as it was believed this was a more efficient way of supplying power for air-conditioning and lighting than power vans or axle driven generator sets under carriages. Passenger train operations were revolutionised, with fixed consist working (as in Europe) introduced to eliminate the need to shunt between services. This saw the end of a long-standing Victorian Railways tradition that

8372-541: Was the head of the Country Roads Board , Robin Underwood. In the words of the authors the Lonie Report aimed to: institute a study into all freight and passenger transport within Victoria, and to and from Victoria, in order to produce a co-ordinated transport system capable of meeting the needs of all residents of Victoria, having particular regard to the effect of transport on the balanced development of

8464-481: Was to rebuild the DRC's electrical systems, and to replace other railmotor rosters with T class locomotives and refurbished Harris carriages. The proposed consist at the time was H-H-T-H-H, with the outer H carriages fitted with driving controls and all cars fitted with multiple-unit cabling. Further improvements were carried out under the Cain Government from 1982: By April 1983, the proposals to rebuild

#800199