The City of Melbourne is a

local government area A local government area (LGA) is an administrative division of a country that a local government is responsible for. The size of an LGA varies by country but it is generally a subdivision of a State (administrative division), state, province, divi ...

in Victoria, Australia, located in the

central city In urban planning, a core city, principal city metropolitan core, or central city, is the largest or most important city or cities of a metropolitan area. A core city is surrounded by smaller satellite cities, towns, and suburbs. A central cit ...

area of

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/ Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a metro ...

. In 2018, the city has an area of and had a population of 169,961. Estimated resident population, 30 June 2018. The city's

motto A motto (derived from the Latin , 'mutter', by way of Italian , 'word' or 'sentence') is a sentence or phrase expressing a belief or purpose, or the general motivation or intention of an individual, family, social group, or organisation. M ...

is "''Vires acquirit eundo''" which means "She gathers strength as she goes." The current Lord Mayor is

Sally Capp Sally Anne Capp is an Australian politician who is the 104th lord mayor of Melbourne, elected on 18 May 2018 and sworn in on 24 May 2018. She is also the former executive director of the development lobbying group the Property Council of Victori ...

, who was elected in a by-election following the resignation of Robert Doyle on 4 February 2018. The Melbourne City Council (MCC) holds office in Melbourne Town Hall.

History

Melbourne was founded in 1835, during the reign of King William IV, with the arrival of the

schooner A schooner () is a type of sailing vessel defined by its rig: fore-and-aft rigged on all of two or more masts and, in the case of a two-masted schooner, the foremast generally being shorter than the mainmast. A common variant, the topsail schoo ...

''Enterprize'' near the present site of the Queen's Wharf, as a barely legal, speculative settlement that broke away from

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

. Unlike other Australian capital cities, Melbourne did not originate under official auspices, instead forming through the foresight of settlers from

Tasmania ) , nickname = , image_map = Tasmania in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Tasmania in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdi ...

. Having been a province of New South Wales from its establishment in 1835, affairs of the settlement had been administered by the Parliament of New South Wales. With the growth of the settlement there had been an increasing demand by the inhabitants for greater autonomy over their own affairs. On 12 August 1842, Melbourne was incorporated as a ''"town"'' by Act 6 Victoria No. 7 of the Governor and Legislative Council of New South Wales. Accessed at State Library of Victoria, La Trobe Reading Room. The town of Melbourne was raised to the status of a city by

Letters Patent Letters patent ( la, litterae patentes) ( always in the plural) are a type of legal instrument in the form of a published written order issued by a monarch, president or other head of state, generally granting an office, right, monopoly, tit ...

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 216 days was longer than that of any previ ...

dated 25 June 1847, five years after its incorporation as a town. The Letters Patent also constituted the

Anglican Diocese of Melbourne The Anglican Diocese of Melbourne is the metropolitan diocese of the Province of Victoria in the Anglican Church of Australia. The diocese was founded from the Diocese of Australia by letters patent of 25 June 1847cathedral city. A motion was tabled at a meeting of the Town Council to alter the style and title of Melbourne from a town to a city, a draft Bill was approved and transmitted to the Government for introduction to the Legislature. On 3 August 1849, Act 13 Victoria No. 14 was finally assented to as "An Act to effect a change in the Style and Title of the Corporation of Melbourne rendered necessary by the erection of the Town of Melbourne to a City". The city's initial boundaries, as set down in Act 8 Victoria No. 12 (19 December 1844) extended from Point Ormond in Elwood up Barkly Street and Punt Road to the

Yarra River The Yarra River or historically, the Yarra Yarra River, ( Kulin languages: ''Berrern'', ''Birr-arrung'', ''Bay-ray-rung'', ''Birarang'', ''Birrarung'', and ''Wongete'') is a perennial river in south-central Victoria, Australia. The lower s ...

, along the river to Merri Creek at Abbotsford, then west along Brunswick Road to Moonee Ponds Creek, then south past Flemington Bridge to Princes Pier in Port Melbourne. The Act imposed on the Mayor a duty to set up "permanent and conspicuous boundary marks of iron, wood, stone or other durable material" along or near the line of the Town’s boundaries—this was undertaken by Mayor James Frederick Palmer and Town Clerk John Charles King on 4 February 1846. During the 1850s, Collingwood, Fitzroy and

Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, Virginia, the capital of Virginia, United States * Richmond, London, a part of London * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town in England * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, Californi ...

seceded from Melbourne (all are, since 1994, part of the City of Yarra), as did South Melbourne, whilst other parts became parts of the neighbouring districts of St Kilda and Port Melbourne, and the border between Brunswick and Melbourne moved south one block to Park Street. On 18 December 1902,

King Edward VII Edward VII (Albert Edward; 9 November 1841 – 6 May 1910) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and Emperor of India, from 22 January 1901 until his death in 1910. The second child and eldest son of Queen Victoria an ...

conferred the title "Lord Mayor" on the mayor of the City of Melbourne. On 30 October 1905, Melbourne absorbed two neighbouring council areas. Now included in the City was the Borough of Flemington and Kensington, which had been formed in 1882 when it broke away from the

City of Essendon The City of Essendon was a local government area about northwest of Melbourne, the state capital of Victoria, Australia. The city covered an area of , and existed from 1861 until 1994. History Essendon was first incorporated as a borough o ...

. The second, the Town of North Melbourne, formerly known as Hotham, had been established on 30 September 1859 and been granted town status on 18 December 1874. Both town halls are still in use today as public buildings—the former in Kensington near the present-day Newmarket railway station; the latter in Errol Street, North Melbourne. The Melbourne and Geelong Corporations Act 1938 allowed for three councillors for each of the eleven wards, with a general election held on 24 August 1939. Following a recommendation by the Local Government Advisory Board in 1978, an Order in Council (27 February 1979, effective from 19 May 1979) reduced this to eight wards. In December 1980, the Hamer Government dismissed the council, and appointed three Commissioners to determine how the boundaries could best be altered to produce more effective local government, with special regard to Melbourne's central business district and its importance to the state, as well as to advise changes needed to the constitution, structure, functions and administration. However, in 1982, with the election of a new Labor government under

John Cain John Cain may refer to: * John Cain (34th Premier of Victoria) (1882–1957), Australian politician *John Cain (41st Premier of Victoria) (1931–2019), Australian politician, son of the above *John Cain (lawyer), Victorian Government Solicitor (20 ...

, the Act establishing the commission was repealed, and the Melbourne Corporation (Election of Council) Act 1982 established six wards, for which an election was held on 4 December 1982. Three years later, an additional ward was added. Between 1993 and 1996 the City was again led by Commissioners, along with every local Council in Victoria, while all boundaries were comprehensively reviewed, more than halving the number of Councils. In 1993, the City of Melbourne Act specified changes to the boundaries which saw Melbourne gain Southbank and the

Victorian Arts Centre Arts Centre Melbourne, originally known as the Victorian Arts Centre and briefly called the Arts Centre, is a performing arts centre consisting of a complex of theatres and concert halls in the Melbourne Arts Precinct, located in the central ...

on 18 November 1993, and the city was resubdivided into four wards – Flagstaff, University, Hoddle and Domain. The wards were abolished in 2001, with the council having a directly elected Lord Mayor and Deputy Lord Mayor, and seven other councillors. In 2012, the number of Councillors was increased to nine, in addition to the Lord Mayor and Deputy Lord Mayor. Also in the 1990s, local government control of the docks area on the west side of the city was given to Victorian Government's Docklands Authority. In 2005, the council announced the construction of a new 6-star environmental office building, Council House 2, in Little Collins Street. On 2 July 2007, the City of Melbourne almost doubled in size when the suburb of Docklands was re-added to its jurisdiction. On 1 July 2008, a section of Kensington and North Melbourne was transferred to the City of Melbourne from the City of Moonee Valley. In July 2009, Lord Mayor Robert Doyle unveiled a new corporate identity for the City of Melbourne, costing $239,558. Building on the council's longstanding interest in environmental issues, on 16 July 2019, the council voted to declare a climate and biodiversity emergency in line with similar declarations made elsewhere. Following the death of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, the City of Melbourne caused controversy and breached protocol, by failing to lower the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander flags to half mast, whilst the Australian flag was lowered in mourning

Suburbs

* Carlton, Victoria, Carlton *

Carlton North Carlton North is an inner-city suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, north of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the Cities of Melbourne and Yarra local government areas. Carlton North recorded a population of 6,177 ...

(shared with the City of Yarra) * Docklands * East Melbourne * Flemington (shared with the

City of Moonee Valley The City of Moonee Valley is a local government area located within the metropolitan area of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It comprises the north-western suburbs between 3 and 13 kilometres from the Melbourne city centre, and in June 2018, the ...

) * Kensington (shared with the

) *

(shared with the

City of Port Phillip The City of Port Phillip is a local government area of Victoria, Australia on the northern shores of Port Phillip, south of Melbourne's central business district. It has an area of 20.7 km² and had a population of 113,200 in June 2018. ...

) *

North Melbourne North Melbourne is an inner-city suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, north-west of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Melbourne local government area. North Melbourne recorded a population of 14,953 at ...

* Parkville (shared with the City of Merri-bek) * Port Melbourne (shared with the

) * Southbank (shared with the

) *

South Wharf South Wharf is an inner-city suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 2 km south-west of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the Cities of Melbourne and Port Phillip local government areas. South Wharf recorded a pop ...

(shared with the

) *

South Yarra South Yarra is an inner-city suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 4 km south-east of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the Cities of Melbourne and Stonnington local government areas. South Yarra recorded a popu ...

(shared with the City of Stonnington) * West Melbourne

Composition of current Council

The City of Melbourne is an unsubdivided municipality consisting of a directly elected Lord Mayor and Deputy Lord Mayor, and nine

Councillor A councillor is an elected representative for a local government council in some countries. Canada Due to the control that the provinces have over their municipal governments, terms that councillors serve vary from province to province. Unl ...

s. Since 2008, all Victorian councillors serve a four-year term. The most recent general election was held on Saturday 24 October 2020. The next general election will be held in October 2024. During a general election, the City of Melbourne holds two simultaneous elections – one to elect the Lord Mayor and Deputy Lord Mayor (leadership team) and the other to elect the nine councillors. All residents are entitled to vote in the election, as well as up to two of each of the following: non-residential owners and occupiers of rateable property. If a corporation solely owns or occupies rateable property in the municipality, then the corporation must appoint two company officers (director and/or company secretary, or equivalent) to represent it and vote on its behalf. The current makeup of the Council is:

Demographics

Population of the urban area

* Estimates in 1958, 1983 and 1988 Victorian Year Books.

Railway stations

Flinders Street Station, Melbourne, Australia 2006

Schools

Public

* University High School *South Yarra Primary School *Carlton Gardens Primary School

Private

Eltham College Eltham College is an independent day school situated in Mottingham, southeast London. Eltham and Mottingham once formed part of the same parish, hence its name. It is a member of The Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference (HMC). Early his ...

– Year 9 City Campus * Melbourne Grammar School * Melbourne Girls' Grammar School * Wesley College – St Kilda Road Campuses * Haileybury College - City Campus * Tintern Grammar

Catholic

* St Aloysius' College * St Joseph's College * Simonds Catholic College

Sister cities

The City of Melbourne has five currently active sister cities relationships. They are: *

Osaka is a designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the third most populous city in Japan, following Special wards of Tokyo and Yokohama. With a population of ...

, Japan (1978) *

Tianjin Tianjin (; ; Mandarin: ), alternately romanized as Tientsin (), is a municipality and a coastal metropolis in Northern China on the shore of the Bohai Sea. It is one of the nine national central cities in Mainland China, with a total popu ...

, China (1980) *

Thessaloniki Thessaloniki (; el, Θεσσαλονίκη, , also known as Thessalonica (), Saloniki, or Salonica (), is the second-largest city in Greece, with over one million inhabitants in its metropolitan area, and the capital of the geographic region of ...

, Greece (1984) *

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut Massachusett_writing_systems.html" ;"title="nowiki/> məhswatʃəwiːsət.html" ;"title="Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət">Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət'' En ...

, United States (1985) *

Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city ...

, Italy (2004) Between 1989 and 2022 Melbourne had a sister city relationship with

Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

; this sister city relationship has been indefinitely suspended since 1 March 2022, as a result of Russia's large-scale invasion of Ukraine on 24 February 2022. Some other local councils in the Melbourne metropolitan area have sister city relationships; see

Local Government Areas of Victoria This is a list of local government areas (LGAs) in Victoria, sorted by region. Also referred to as municipalities, the 79 Victorian LGAs are classified as cities (34), shires (38), rural cities (6) and boroughs (1). In general, an urban or sub ...

References

External links

Official City of Melbourne websiteWhat's OnMetlink local public transport mapLocal history of the city of MelbourneEnterprize – Melbourne's Tall ShipLink to Land Victoria interactive maps
{{DEFAULTSORT:Melbourne, City Of Local government areas in Melbourne 1842 establishments in Australia