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About Australia

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Melbourne

Melbourne is the artistic pulse of Victoria and the second largest city in Australia. This vibrant city sits beside the Yarra River, about five kilometres from Port Phillip Bay.

An acclaimed centre for arts, commerce, education, industry, tourism and sport, it has a reputation for rivalling Sydney both as an economic and cultural hotspot.


Established in 1835 and made wealthy courtesy of a gold rush in the 1850s, Melbourne has a rich history that’s visible today in much of its architecture. It’s also known for its café culture, particularly in neighbourhoods such as Brunswick and Saint Kilda.

The city is home to the Melbourne Comedy Festival, which has been running for over 30 years and has become the largest of its kind in the Southern Hemisphere.

key facts

  • Location: Located in the south eastern part of mainland Australia, within the state of Victoria
  • Population: 4,440,000
  • Size: 2,787 km2

weather

Melbourne is known for its varying weather and is often said to have four seasons in one day.

  • Summer average: 20°C
  • Winter average: 11°C
  • Average rainfall: 600 mm

working in melbourne

The City of Melbourne is a major contributor to the Victorian and Australian economies, accounting for 27% of Victoria’s Gross State Product and 6% of Australian Gross Domestic Product.

Although there are a large amount of occupations available, the biggest industries in Melbourne are professional, scientific and technical services, with over 70,000 jobs.

studying in melbourne

Melbourne is known as Australia’s biggest student city, which is unsurprising when you consider that the city is home to eight universities that teach some 300,000 students, more than a third of which come from overseas.

Melbourne’s universities have a considerably large number of individual campuses, most of which are located in or around the city centre.

Students favour Melbourne not only for the universities themselves, but also the bustling culture and convenient public transport system.

housing and property

Melbourne is Australia’s second most expensive city to live in after Sydney.

The median house price in January 2016 was AUD $823,000, with rent sitting at around $450 per week on average.

transport

Melbourne’s trams are considered one of the best public transportation systems in the world and are a point of pride for the city.

Myki cards, the electronic tickets used to access Melbourne’s public transport system, can be bought or ‘topped up’ with funds at some convenience stores and train stations.

Buses and trains are also a part of Melbourne’s public transport network.

victoria

Victoria is one of the most densely populated states in Australia and roughly the size of The British Isles.

Arguably its most famed asset is its ample collection of wine regions with the Yarra Valley, being one of Victoria’s oldest.

There are also a whole host of regional parks that are home to unique Australian wildlife and a rich agriculture sector outside of Victoria’s bustling capital, Melbourne.

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