Melbourne
From the Simple English Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia that anyone can change
Melbourne is the second largest city in Australia. It is the capital of Victoria, which is a state in the south-east of Australia. The population of Melbourne is 3,720,300.
Melbourne is a multicultural city (it welcomes people and cultures from all over the world). It is famous for its trams (small short trains) which move along many streets in the city. The centre of Melbourne is around a river called the Yarra River. Melbourne also has many big parks and gardens and some beaches.
There are many things to do in Melbourne. Visitors in Melbourne can go to museums, look at art, eat food at restaurants, go to shops, and go to many large sport events.
There is a lot of industry (factories) and commerce (buying and selling) in Melbourne. Many of Australia's largest companies and many large companies from other countries work there. It is home to Australia's largest seaport. There are seven universities (the University of Melbourne, Monash University, Deakin University, Victoria University, La Trobe University, RMIT University, and Swinburne University). Much of Australia's automotive (car) industry is there, for example the engine maker "Holden", and "Ford" and "Toyota" car builders.
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[change] History
Melbourne was founded in 1835 by John Batman and John Pascoe Fawkner. In 1851, some people found gold near Melbourne. Melbourne grew very quickly because people came from all over the world to look for gold. At the end of the 19th century, Melbourne was called "Marvellous Melbourne" ("marvellous" means "wonderful"). Melbourne was the biggest and most important city in Australia for many years, but now Sydney is bigger. The first Australian government was in Melbourne from 1901 until 1927 when it moved to Canberra.
[change] Population
Many people from different countries live in Melbourne. In fact 43% of the Melburnians were born outside Australia or have parents from another country. All together people from 233 countries live in Melborne and people with 116 different religions.
| Melbourne Population by year |
||
|---|---|---|
| 1836 | 177 | |
| 1851 | 29,000 | |
| 1854 | 123,000 | (gold rush) |
| 1860 | 140,000 | |
| 1880 | 280,000 | |
| 1890 | 490,000 | |
| 1895 | 900,000 | (economic collapse) |
| 1956 | 1,500,000 | |
| 1981 | 2,806,000 | |
| 1991 | 3,156,700 | (economic slump) |
| 2001 | 3,366,542 | |
| 2004 | 3,592,975 | |
| 2006 | 3,720,300 | (2006 estimate) |
| 2030 | 4,500,000 | (projected) |
[change] Events
- 1956 - The Olympic Games were in Melbourne.
- 2006 - The Melbourne 2006 Commonwealth Games
[change] Sister cities
Melbourne has six sister cities. They are:
- Osaka, Japan (1978)
- Tianjin, China (PRC) (1980)
- Thessaloniki, Greece (1984)
- Boston, United States (1985).svg/22px-Flag_of_Russia_(bordered).svg.png)
- Saint Petersburg, Russia (1989)
- Milan, Italy (2004)
