127-560: The Victorian Labor Party , officially known as the Australian Labor Party ( Victorian Branch ) and commonly referred to simply as Victorian Labor , is the Victorian state branch of the Australian Labor Party (ALP). The party forms the incumbent government in the state of Victoria and is led by Jacinta Allan , who has served concurrently as Premier of Victoria since 2023. Victorian Labor comprises two major wings:
254-740: A breakaway NSW Labor Party led by Jack Lang rebelled and brought down the Scullin government in November, but Hogan survived with Country Party continued support from the cross benches. In any case the Nationalists, now renamed the United Australia Party (UAP) preferred to see Hogan implement the Premiers' Plan. In February 1932 Hogan traveled to London to talk to the banks about Victoria's desperate economic plight. While he
381-756: 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
508-621: A close relationship with the Country Party leader Albert Dunstan . The result was a renewed alliance between the Country Party and Labor, brokered by Hogan, John Wren and the Victorian Labor State President, Arthur Calwell . In April 1935 Dunstan walked out of Argyle's government, and became Premier with Labor support. Hogan became Minister for Agriculture and Mines, and held these posts through Dunstan's record term as Premier until September 1943. John Cain I
635-674: A conservative majority), and also by tensions within his own party. During the war the Communist Party had grown greatly in strength in the trade unions which controlled and funded the Labor Party, leading a faction of anti-Communist Catholics to form within the party to fight Communist influence. (This body, known as The Movement, was organised by B. A. Santamaria and supported by the Catholic Archbishop of Melbourne, Daniel Mannix ). Conflict between left and right in
762-794: 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,
889-649: 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
1016-538: A joint collaboration and investigation into branch stacking activities known as "Operation Watts". Hearings began in October 2021 and lasted for four weeks. On the first day of hearings on 11 October, Byrne admitted to branch stacking and said that state minister Luke Donnellan was also involved in branch stacking. In July 2022, IBAC and VO released their report on the branch stacking investigation. They found that there were "extensive misconduct" by Victorian Labor MPs from
1143-570: 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
1270-580: A minority government with the support of the four Country Progressive Party and two Liberal members. But this alliance broke down in 1928 in the face a prolonged and violent industrial dispute on the Melbourne waterfront, and in November he was defeated in a confidence vote and resigned, being succeeded by the Nationalist William McPherson with the support of the Country Party. In 1929 the Country Party withdrew its support from
1397-527: 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
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#17327650260281524-602: 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
1651-600: A result of voter fatigue with the Liberals after their 15 years in power, Holding campaigned on the new federal policy of supporting state aid to non-government schools. However, in the week before the election, the left-wing state president, George Crawford and state secretary, Bill Hartley , issued a statement saying that a Victorian Labor government would not support state aid. As a result, federal leader Gough Whitlam refused to campaign for Labor in Victoria, and Holding
1778-687: A secondary education, he followed his father's trade as a stonemason. He was employed on the first Wilson Hall at Melbourne University and on St Patrick's Cathedral . From 1888 he was an official of the Operative Stonemason's Society, and a delegate to the Melbourne Trades Hall . He was also President of the South Melbourne Football Club, ancestor of the Sydney Swans . In 1898, Elmslie
1905-576: A short period of time become a member of the Legislative Assembly. Jacinta Allan and Ben Carroll have been the leader and deputy leader respectively since 27 September 2023 . At the 2014 state election , Victorian Labor obtained a majority with 47 of the 88 seats in the Legislative Assembly and formed government. The party then increased its share of seats in the Assembly to 55 after the 2018 election . The party currently holds 15 of
2032-535: A storm of protest in the Labor Party and trade unions, who regarded Scullin and Hogan as traitors. A second conference in June 1931 produced the Premiers' Plan , which entailed further cuts in government spending, accompanied by increases in taxation on the wealthy. In the circumstances both of these measures further depressed the economy, while not satisfying either side of politics. The 1931 Labor split occurred, with
2159-558: A third term at the 2006 state election . Bracks resigned as party leader and Premier on 27 July 2007, and Labor deputy leader, John Thwaites also announced his resignation on the same day. John Brumby was elected unopposed Labor leader on 30 July 2007 and became Premier. One notable achievement of the Brumby government was abortion law reform in 2008 . It also signed contracts for the Wonthaggi desalination plant in 2009, to drought-proof
2286-464: 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
2413-509: A year afterwards. From 1958 to 1967 Clive Stoneham was Labor and Opposition Leader. He lost the 1961 , 1964 and 1967 elections to the incumbent Liberal Premier, Henry Bolte , with the electoral assistance of the Democratic Labor Party , which directed its preferences to the Liberals. Clyde Holding became party leader in 1967. During the 1970 state election campaign, which some commentators suggested Labor could win as
2540-401: 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
2667-518: 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
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#17327650260282794-399: 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 ,
2921-828: 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
3048-541: 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
3175-425: 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
3302-653: Is not a strict party constitutional requirement. When Victorian Labor wins sufficient seats to be able to control a majority in the Legislative Assembly, the party leader becomes the State Premier and Labor will form the Government of Victoria . When the party is not in government, the party leader becomes the Leader of the Opposition . To become a Premier or Opposition Leader, the party leader must be or within
3429-459: 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
3556-545: The 2018 state election , the Andrews Government was returned for a second term with an increased majority, winning 55 seats in the Legislative Assembly, and 18 of the 40 seats in the Legislative Council. At the 2022 state election , the Andrews Government was returned for a third term with a further increase in their majority, winning 56 seats in the Legislative Assembly, and a decreased 15 out of
3683-471: 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
3810-608: The Australian Labor Party (Anti-Communist) , later the Democratic Labor Party . Their strategy was to draw votes from the Labor Party and direct preferences to the Liberal Party. Labor was heavily defeated, winning only 20 seats, from the 37 at the 1952 election , to the Liberals' 34 and the Country Party's ten. Only one of the expelled Labor members was re-elected. Cain suffered a stroke on 9 August 1957 and died, aged 75. Alfred Ernest "Ernie" Shepherd (1901–58) succeeded Cain as party leader, only to die himself little more than
3937-708: 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
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4064-642: The Great Ocean Road . In August 1930 Hogan attended a conference with the other Premiers and the Labor Prime Minister, James Scullin , to consider what to do. On the advice of Sir Otto Niemeyer , a senior official of the Bank of England (which controlled most of Victoria's access to credit in the City of London ), they agreed to radical cuts to government spending and borrowing. This provoked
4191-543: 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
4318-727: 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
4445-609: 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
4572-627: 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
4699-674: 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
4826-505: 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
4953-546: 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
5080-493: The 2006 election, the Legislative Council consisted of 44 members elected to eight-year terms from 22 two-member electorates. George Elmslie (Australian politician) George Alexander Elmslie (21 February 1861 – 11 May 1918) was an Australian politician who served as the 25th and shortest serving Premier of Victoria , and the first Labor Premier. Elmslie was born in Lethbridge , near Geelong , and although he had
5207-410: 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
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5334-440: 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
5461-525: The 40 seats in the Legislative Council. On 14 June 2020, The Age and Nine Network released covert recordings purporting to show state minister Adem Somyurek organising branch stacking within Victorian Labor. On 17 June 2020, former Labor Premier Steve Bracks and former federal Labor deputy leader Jenny Macklin were appointed as administrators of Victorian Labor by the party's National Executive until early 2021. The pair will review
5588-618: The 40 seats in the Legislative Council. While struggling to balance an uneasy alliance of trade unionists and progressive social reformers during the 1890s, the political labor movement in Victoria underwent several changes of name. It was called the Progressive Political League between 1891 and 1894, the United Labor and Liberal Party of Victoria from June 1894, the United Labor Party from 1896 and
5715-524: The 88 seats; and 46 seats at the 1988 election . Cain's political support collapsed in August 1990. By this time the Labor government was in deep crisis, with some of the state's financial institutions on the brink of insolvency, the budget deficit unsustainably high and growing and the Labor Party deeply divided on how to respond to the situation. Cain resigned and Joan Kirner was elected Labor leader, becoming
5842-810: The Andrews government cancelled the East West Link project and initiated the Level Crossing Removal program and the Melbourne Metro Rail project. On 24 May 2016 Andrews made an official apology in parliament for gay men in Victoria punished during the time homosexuality was a crime in the state . In September 2016, the Andrews government privatized the Port of Melbourne for a term of 50 years in return for more than $ 9.7 billion, to be used for infrastructure improvements. At
5969-510: 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
6096-521: The Council would not permit any increases in taxation, the only way to do this in the face of falling government revenue was to cut expenditure. This increased the burdens on the poor and unemployed, while providing no stimulus to the economy. There was little possibility of effective unemployment relief, although there were some government works to soak up unemployment, such as the Shrine of Remembrance and
6223-627: The Dunstan minority Country Party government from 1935 to 1943. At the 1943 election , Labor, now led by John Cain, benefiting from the popularity of John Curtin 's wartime federal government, won 22 of the 65 seats. Dunstan resigned on 14 September 1943 and John Cain formed government, which lasted only 4 days. The conservative parties resolved their differences and Dunstan resumed office and retained it with Labor support until November 1945, when Dunstan resigned again. Cain again became premier on 21 November 1945. Labor's lower house parliamentary position
6350-402: 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
6477-424: The Kirner government's attempts to cut spending were actively opposed by trade unions and some members of the government. The interest bill alone was $ 3.5 billion per year, the government sold off trains and trams and leased them back. Another decision was the sale in 1991 of the state-owned State Bank of Victoria , now on the verge of collapse, to the Commonwealth Bank . Liberal leader Alan Brown persuaded
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#17327650260286604-517: The Labor Party grew increasingly bitter in the Cold War atmosphere of the 1950s. Nevertheless, the Cain government was able to pass more legislation than any previous Labor government in Victoria had done. Major reforms were carried out in the areas of workers' compensation, tenancy law, long service leave, hospitals, public transport, housing, charities and the Crimes Act. Changes included the provision on long-service leave to railway workers, increased eligibility to workers' compensation, alterations to
6731-422: The Legislative Assembly and was Deputy Premier of Victoria from 1990 to 1992. He became the Leader of the Opposition after Kirner resigned in March 1993, until his shock retirement from Parliament three months later. Kennan was succeeded as leader by John Brumby , who was a member of the Legislative Council at the time. Brumby transferred to the Legislative Assembly in a by-election for Kennan's seat. The defeat of
6858-496: The Liberal factions re-united, and Watt moved a no-confidence motion in Elmslie and resumed office on 22 December. Watt resigned in June 1914 to enter federal politics, and Alexander Peacock returned to leadership. The 1914 election was fought after World War I was declared, and Labor increased its seats to 22, while the Liberals retained 43. The 1916 Labor split occurred over the issue of World War I conscription in Australia which saw pro-conscription Labor members expelled from
6985-424: The Liberals by sending for Elmslie, who on 9 December formed Victoria's first Labor government. Elmslie had no chance of a long tenure, or even of meeting the House as Premier, since under the law of the time ministers had to resign their seats and contest by-elections before they could take their seats. The Liberal factions re-united, and Watt moved a no-confidence motion in Elmslie, which Elmslie had to watch from
7112-421: The McPherson government, resulting in the 1929 election , fought just as the Great Depression was breaking over Australia. Hogan led Labor to its best result yet, winning 30 seats to the Nationalists' 17 and the Country Party's 11. A collection of Country Progressives, Liberals and independents held the balance, and they agreed to support a second Hogan government. Tom Tunnecliffe was Chief Secretary, John Cain
7239-495: The Moderate Labor faction, even though branch stacking was found in all factions. As a result of National Executive taking over preselection processes in June 2020, candidates for the 2022 federal and state elections were chosen by the National Executive instead of local rank-and-file members. Nominations would be made by factional leaders of the state party. The takeover had been criticised by unions and rank-and-file members. A coalition of up to 10 unions unsuccessfully challenged
7366-462: The Movement faction. In December 1953 the Lands Minister, Robert Holt , resigned rather than introduce a Santamaria-influenced bill which would have promoted the settlement of Italian immigrants as small farmers in Gippsland . In early 1955 the Labor Party's federal executive dissolved the state executive and began to expel Santamaria's supporters from the party. The Victorian branch then split between pro-Evatt and pro-Santamaria factions, and in March
7493-410: The Nationalists 20 and the Country Party 13. The Country Party supported the minority Labor government in exchange for a number of policy concessions. Prendergast became Premier at the age of 70 – the oldest man ever to take the office for the first time. The only real talents in his government were Edmond Hogan as Minister for Agriculture and Railways and William Slater as Attorney-General. John Cain
7620-458: The Nationalists, and the two parties joined forces to defeat Prendergast in the Assembly. The Country Party leader, John Allan , succeeded him as Premier. Labor in Victoria in the early federal period was much weaker than in the other states, and there had never been a majority Labor state government. This was partly due to the continuing attraction of Deakinite liberalism among middle-class voters in Melbourne, partly because Victoria did not have
7747-444: The Nationals to contest the next election as a Coalition, the first time the two main non-Labor parties in Victoria had fought an election together since 1950, before Brown was deposed as Liberal leader by Jeff Kennett in 1991. Kirner went into 1992 knowing she faced a statutory general election, one which opinion polls gave her virtually no chance of winning. She waited as long as she could, finally calling an election for October . It
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#17327650260287874-439: The Political Labor Council of Victoria from 1901; before becoming the Victorian Branch of the Australian Labor Party . Labor members were first elected to the Victorian Legislative Assembly in 1894, but the actual numbers are uncertain. They stood as part of the United Labor and Liberal Party, formed in 1894 to replace the Progressive Political League, which won 18 of the 95 seats. At the 1897 election Labor candidates stood as
8001-404: The Premiers' Plan, including Hogan, although it did not run a candidate against him. At the elections the UAP won 31 seats to Labor's 16 and the reunited Country Party's 14. Hogan and one of his ex-ministers were elected as "Premiers' Plan Labor" candidates. UAP leader Stanley Argyle became Premier. After sitting as an independent for four years, Hogan joined the Country Party in 1935, and formed
8128-425: The Shops and Factories Act and the Landlord and Tenant Act, and the introduction of legislation "to penalize rogues who resorted to fraudulent misrepresentation in soliciting corporate investment from the public." The government had also reformed wage determination procedures and public service administration, while constructive initiatives were carried out in adult education and soil conservation. Even some reforms to
8255-442: The State. At the 2010 state election Labor was narrowly defeated, winning only 43 of the 88 Legislative Assembly seats. Brumby resigned as party leader soon after the Labor loss at the 2010 state election, to be replaced by Daniel Andrews on 3 December 2010. After being in Opposition for one term, Labor won the 2014 state election from the Napthine Government , winning 47 seats in the Legislative Assembly. On winning office,
8382-447: The United Labor Party and won 8 of the 95 seats, all of which had to be contested. Its representation went to 9 of the 95 seats at the 1900 election . Labor candidates contested the 1902 election as the Political Labor Council of Victoria and won 12 of the 95 seats. At the 1904 election Labor won 17 of the 67 seats, becoming the second largest party in the Assembly, and became the Opposition. George Prendergast took over as leader of
8509-407: The Victorian Legislative Assembly in 1902 and became deputy leader in 1912. In December 1913, the Liberal Premier, William Watt , resigned after a dispute with the rural faction of his own party. The acting Governor , John Madden , surprised the Liberals by sending for Elmslie, who on 9 December formed Victoria's first Labor government. Elmslie's tenure as Premier lasted only 14 days, by which time
8636-414: 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
8763-428: 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
8890-423: The country's first federal capital. Victoria's northern border follows a straight line from Cape Howe to the start of the Murray River and then follows the Murray River as the remainder of the northern border. On the Murray River, the border is the southern bank of the river. This precise definition was not established until 1980, when a ruling by Justice Ninian Stephen of the High Court of Australia settled
9017-410: 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
9144-505: The disadvantage of inner-city electorates, where Labor's vote was concentrated. Hogan had been elected to the Victorian Legislative Assembly in 1913. His was not a natural Labor seat, but it was heavily Irish-Catholic, which helped Hogan, an active Catholic, retain it. In 1914 he was elected to the Labor Party's state executive and in 1922 he became State President. Prendergast resigned as Labor leader in 1926 and
9271-566: The election in a landslide, scoring a 19-seat swing – the second-worst defeat that a sitting government has ever suffered in Victoria. The Liberals won enough seats that they could have governed in their own right. Kirner remained Opposition Leader until March 1993 and resigned from Parliament in May 1994. Jim Kennan was a member of parliament between 1982 and 1993, initially in the Victorian Legislative Council, and then in
9398-456: The election of the leader. The leader's position is dependent on the continuing support of the caucus, and the leader may be deposed by failing to win a vote of confidence of parliamentary members. By convention, the Premier sits in the Legislative Assembly, and is the leader of the party controlling a majority in that house. The party leader also typically is a member of the Assembly, though this
9525-536: The electoral system were carried through the Council, where Labor and Liberal members united to reduce the malapportionment which had given the Country Party disproportionate representation since the 1920s. In its first two years the Cain government won the approval of the Melbourne daily papers The Age , The Herald and The Argus . Nevertheless, Cain's third Government fell on 19 April 1955 when 19 expelled Labor lower house members aligned to "The Movement" " crossed
9652-582: The federal Labor government in March 1996 prompted Kennett to call an early state election three weeks later . Labor led by Brumby only managed a net two-seat gain, leaving it 20 seats behind the Coalition. Brumby was replaced as Labor leader in March 1999 by Steve Bracks . To everyone's surprise, Bracks won the September 1999 election , which produced a hung parliament and the independents agreed to support
9779-537: The floor " against the government in a no-confidence vote. The 1955 Labor split began in October 1954 after the federal leader, Dr H. V. Evatt , blamed Santamaria and his supporters in the Victorian Labor Party for Labor's loss of seats at the 1954 federal election . Santamaria exercised strong influence in the Cain government through "Movement" linked ministers such as Bill Barry and Frank Scully . Protestant and left-wing ministers strongly opposed
9906-563: The gallery since he was technically not a member. Elmslie was duly voted out and Watt resumed office on 22 December. Elmslie's premiership lasted just 13 days. Elmslie remained as Labor leader until shortly before his death in 1918, although his health had broken down in 1916, requiring a long break. During World War I Elmslie supported the Allied cause but opposed conscription for overseas service. He died at his home in Albert Park and
10033-661: The huge pastoral and mining areas that the other mainland states had. The Parliamentary Labor Party remained small and contained limited talent. Elmslie became deputy leader in 1912 and leader in 1913. At the 1911 election, Labor won only 20 seats to the various factions of the Liberal Party 's 43. But in December 1913 the Liberal Premier, William Watt resigned after a dispute with the rural faction of his own party. The acting Governor , Sir John Madden , surprised
10160-500: The huge pastoral and mining areas that the other mainland states had. The Parliamentary Labor Party remained small and contained limited talent. Victoria was Labor's weakest state throughout the 1920s, due to the gross over-representation of rural areas in the Legislative Assembly, and the strength of the Country Party in rural areas and the Nationalist Party in middle-class Melbourne seats. Labor's parliamentary representation
10287-492: 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
10414-454: The minority Labor government. Labor won the 2002 state election in a landslide, taking 62 seats out of 88 in the Legislative Assembly, also winning a slim majority in the Legislative Council. In 2002, Labor reformed the Legislative Council and brought in four-year fixed-term parliaments. Labor made inroads towards same-sex equality in Victoria . Since 2001, Victorian Labor governments have amended 60 Acts to advance same-sex equality. Labor won
10541-509: The move in Victorian Supreme Court , which in October 2021, ruled it to be lawful. Labor endorses candidates for a number of local government areas (LGAs) in Victoria, and has done so since at least the 1910s. Party members can either by formally endorsed or stand as "non-endorsed, supported candidates" (otherwise referred to as Independent Labor ). Victoria (Australia) Victoria , commonly abbreviated as Vic ,
10668-475: 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
10795-449: The new federal Liberal government, gave Cain his opportunity. In October 1952 the Country Party premier, John McDonald , resigned and called the 1952 election . Labor won 37 seats, the first time it had won a majority in the lower house, and Cain formed his third government. Cain's government was hampered by the hostility of the Legislative Council (which until 1950 had been elected on a restricted property-based franchise and so always had
10922-574: 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
11049-473: The parliamentary Labor party from Frederick Bromley after Bromley had resigned due to ill health six days after the election. At the 1907 election it slipped to 14 of 65 seats; and increased to 21 of 65 seats at the 1908 election . At the 1911 election Labor won 20 of the 65 seats, to 43 for the various factions of the Liberal Party . Prendergast resigned the leadership because of ill-health in 1913, to be succeeded by George Elmslie , who had been elected to
11176-487: The parliamentary wing and the organisational wing. The parliamentary wing (formally referred to as the State Parliamentary Labor Party) comprises all elected party members in the Legislative Assembly and Legislative Council , which when they meet collectively constitute the party caucus . The parliamentary leader is elected from and by the caucus, and party factions have a strong influence in
11303-609: The party and running as National Labor candidates at the 1917 election . That election also saw the emergence of the Victorian Farmers' Union (the forerunner of the Country Party ) as a party. There was also a split in the Nationalist party into rural and city factions and both factions fielded their own candidates. However, Victoria introduced compulsory preferential voting before this election, and most of
11430-494: The party made it difficult for Holding to oppose the Liberal government effectively. The surge in support for federal Labor which saw Whitlam elected Prime Minister in 1972 was not reflected in Victorian state politics. Bolte retired in 1972, and his successor, Dick Hamer , comfortably won the 1973 and 1976 state elections. Frank Wilkes became party leader in 1977. At the 1979 state election, Labor under Wilkes gained eleven seats,
11557-528: The party's best showing for many years, though not sufficient to form government. John Cain II , son of the former Labor premier, became party leader in September 1981, and won the 1982 election , winning 49 of the 81 seats in the Legislative Assembly, forming a Labor government for the first time since 1955. In 1984 the Labor government legalised prostitution in Victoria . At the 1985 election Labor won 47 of
11684-543: The party's first female leader and Victoria's first female premier . The party hoped that the elevation of a popular woman as its new leader would improve its position, but Kirner never succeeded in gaining control of the crisis into which the state had plunged. The conservative-leaning Melbourne newspaper, the Herald Sun , reacted unfavourably to a premier from the Socialist Left, dubbing her "Mother Russia". She
11811-453: The party's leadership. At the 1920 election Labor won 20 seats to the Nationalists' 30. VFU became a force, holding the balance of power in the Legislative Assembly with 13 seats, a position it held until 1952. In 1920, it supported the conservative Nationalist government. In 1921, the VFU voted with Labor against the Nationalist government when it abolished the compulsory wheat pool operating in
11938-486: The preferences resulting from multiple Nationalist candidates were kept within the party. At that election, of the 65 seats, the pro-Ministerial city faction of the Nationalists won 13 seats, while the rural faction won 27. Labor won 18 seats, National Labor won 3 and the VFU won 4. After the election the rural Nationalist faction took control of the party, ousting Premier Alexander Peacock . The Nationalists reunited under Bowser. Elmslie died in 1918 and Prendergast returned to
12065-416: The private banks. Although this issue had nothing to do with state politics, Cain was forced to resign and call the 1947 election for 8 November, at which Labor was heavily defeated. The 1950 election gave Labor 24 seats to the Liberals' 27 and the Country Party's 13. Since the Liberals and Country Party hated each other, no stable majority government was possible, and this, together with the unpopularity of
12192-399: The pro-Evatt State Executive suspended 24 members of State Parliament suspected of being Santamaria supporters. Four ministers were forced to resign from the government. When the Parliament met on 19 April 19 expelled Labor members crossed over to vote with the Liberal and Country Party members to defeat the government. At the ensuing May 1955 election , the expelled members and others stood as
12319-561: 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
12446-580: 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
12573-622: 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
12700-493: 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 ,
12827-483: The state party’s operations and provide detailed recommendations to tackle the issue of branch-stacking within the party. Additionally, voting rights of all members were suspended and preselection processes in Victoria will be controlled by the National Executive until 2023. Shortly following the revelation, Independent Broad-based Anti-corruption Commission (IBAC) and Victorian Ombudsman (VO) announced
12954-666: 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
13081-402: The state, leading to a dissolution of Parliament and the 1921 election , which maintained the same balance of power. In April 1924, the VFU, now called the Country Party, again withdrew its support from the Nationalist government when it tried to legislate a reduction in the rural over-representation . Peacock, back in government, called the 1924 election in June, at which Labor won 27 seats,
13208-444: The support of the Country Party, he was able to pass several bills assisting farmers, but the Country Party would not support anything which benefited Labor's urban working-class base. This was a frustrating situation for Labor ministers, and several urged Prendergast to call another election in the hope of improving their position, but Prendergast was too timid to run the risk. In November the Country Party patched up its differences with
13335-523: 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
13462-566: 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
13589-581: 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
13716-409: The workforce was unemployed. Hogan's government, in common with all other governments, had no solution to this disaster. Even if the Labor government was minded to attempt radical solutions, it was dependent on Country Progressive support in the Assembly, and had only six members in the Legislative Council . Hogan adopted the orthodox economic view that governments must balance their budgets, and since
13843-496: 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
13970-472: Was Minister for Railways and William Slater was Attorney-General. The Great Depression in Australia had a devastating effect on Victoria's economy and society, since the state was heavily dependent on agricultural exports, mainly wheat and wool, for its income, and these industries collapsed almost completely as demand in Britain dried up. By 1931 most Victorian farmers were bankrupt and about 25 percent of
14097-474: Was an Assistant Minister. The Prendergast government was the first Labor government in Victoria able actually to govern. Immediate action was taken to provide shelter for unemployed Victorians, while the government set up royal commissions into the causes of a major police strike in 1923, the prices of bread and flour, and the soldier settlement scheme. Increased expenditure was made available for rural roads, while reductions were made on rail freights and fares. With
14224-624: Was assistant minister for agriculture in the short-lived minority Prendergast Labor government in 1924, a minister without portfolio in the first minority Hogan Labor government (1927–28), and minister for railways and for electrical undertakings in the second Hogan government (1929–32). When Hogan's government collapsed during the Great Depression and Hogan himself was expelled from the Labor Party, Cain became party deputy leader under Tunnecliffe. Cain succeeded Tunnecliffe as Labor leader in 1937. Under both Tunnecliffe and Cain, Labor supported
14351-533: Was away Tom Tunnecliffe was acting Premier, and he was much more willing than Hogan to reject the Premiers' Plan. As a result, the Country Party withdrew its support, and in April the government was defeated in a confidence vote. Tunnecliffe replaced Hogan as Labor leader and led the Labor campaign in May 1932 election , now rejecting the Premiers' Plan completely. The Labor Party Executive expelled everyone who had supported
14478-497: 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
14605-488: Was confined to the industrial areas of Melbourne and a few provincial towns. There was little talent in the Parliamentary Labor Party and few regarded Prendergast as likely ever to win a state election. Most notably, however, the lack of a Labor majority government was due to the high degree of rural over-representation existing in the state's electoral system, which strongly favoured rural electorates to
14732-523: 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
14859-434: 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
14986-587: Was forced to repudiate his own policy. At the election, the Bolte government was returned. This episode led directly to federal intervention in the Victorian branch of the Labor Party. In 1971 the left-wing leadership was overturned by the National Executive and allies of Whitlam, Hawke and Holding took control. The left then formed an organised faction, the Socialist Left , to agitate for socialist policies, supported by some unions. This continuing conflict in
15113-531: 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,
15240-508: Was lampooned alternatively as a sinister commissar and as a frumpy housewife in a polka dot dress. She seemed unfazed by the Herald Sun and gradually won some respect, though she was unable to improve significantly the government's standing. During 1991 and 1992 Kirner took several decisions to cut government spending and raise revenue to some extent. However, her government failed to cut spending in many areas including education. Most of
15367-542: Was much better than it had been in 1943, since the 1945 election had given Labor 31 seats to the Country Party's 18 and the Liberals' 13, with three independents. With a majority in neither House , Cain's government was unable to pass much legislation. On 2 October 1947 the Victorian Legislative Council blocked his government's budget to show its opposition to the federal Labor government of Ben Chifley , which had announced plans to nationalise
15494-481: Was obvious as soon as the writs were dropped that Labor would not win a fourth term. Although she remained personally more popular than Kennett, it was not nearly enough to overcome the electorate's anger at her party. The Coalition's "Guilty Party" campaign did much to stoke this anger, targeting many ministers in the Kirner Government and providing examples of concerns in their portfolios. The Coalition won
15621-657: 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
15748-640: Was one of the founders of the Victorian Labour Federation, which had as its object "the unification of the workers in one all-comprehensive and extensive union." In 1902, he was elected to the Victorian Legislative Assembly as Labor member for Albert Park . Labor in Victoria in the early federal period was much weaker than in the other states, partly because of the continuing attraction of Deakinite liberalism for many voters, partly because Victoria did not have
15875-466: 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
16002-456: Was succeeded by Hogan. Hogan was a fine speaker and soon became a leading figure in a parliamentary party which was thin on talent. Victoria was Labor's weakest state and in the 1920s there seemed little chance it would ever win a state election. When Prendergast stepped down in 1926, Hogan was the obvious choice to succeed him. His main drawback was his close association with the Melbourne horse-racing, boxing and gambling identity John Wren , who
16129-412: Was widely suspected of corruption. The Wren connection alienated many middle-class voters from Labor through the 1920s and 1930s. Nevertheless, at the 1927 election Hogan was able to capitalise on resentment against rural over-representation in the state Parliament and consequent domination by the Country Party. Labor won 28 seats to the Nationalists 15 and the Country Party's ten. Hogan was able to form
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