Cycling Accessories: Best Stores to Check Out in Melbourne
Melbourne
Discover Top Bike Brands at Melbourne Electric Bicycles
Imagine gliding effortlessly through the picturesque streets of Melbourne, the wind brushing against your face, powered by the latest in electric bicycle technology. This experience isn't just a fantasy; it's a reality at Melbourne Electric Bicycles, where cutting-edge design meets world-class brands. Whether you're a seasoned cyclist or a curious newbie, Melbourne Electric Bicycles is ready to elevate your ride.
With a strong commitment to quality and innovation, Melbourne Electric Bicycles stands out as a leading destination for e-bike enthusiasts. The store offers a handpicked selection of the finest bike brands, including trailblazers like Orbea and Brompton, celebrated for their exceptional craftsmanship. Explore a world where each bicycle tells a story of exploration and next-gen design.
In this article, we'll explore why Melbourne Electric Bicycles is the go-to spot for your eco-friendly commuting and adventurous explorations. From dedicated customer service to the latest gear updates, every element of this standout store is designed to enhance your cycling journey. Get ready to discover a biking paradise that delivers at every turn.
Overview of Melbourne Electric Bicycles
Dive into the heart of Melbourne's cycling community with Melbourne Electric Bicycles, a iconic hub for bike enthusiasts since 1986! Offering an extensive range of mountain bikes, urban bikes, and electric bikes, this bike store near you in Melbourne is your go-to destination for both purchase and rental at competitive prices. Renowned for their massive showroom, you'll find the perfect bike among hundreds!
Here's why Melbourne Electric Bicycles stands out:
Huge savings of $3,200 on select high-end electric mountain bikes.
Flexible rentals starting at just $27 per week.
Top-notch service center providing quality maintenance and repairs for diverse bike brands.
And it doesn't stop there! Melbourne Electric Bicycles' friendly staff and quality service ensure that bike riders feel part of a thriving cycling community. With a rich history and multiple locations across the city, they continue to lead as the largest bike showroom, featuring a wide selection of bikes.
Discover competitive prices, extensive ranges, and fantastic deals tailored to your cycling needs—all at Melbourne Electric Bicycles! 🚴♀️💨
Why Choose Melbourne Electric Bicycles?
Keen to explore the streets and trails of Melbourne like never before? Look no further than Melbourne Electric Bicycles.
Cycling Accessories: Best Stores to Check Out in Melbourne - Melbourne
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As a hub for bike enthusiasts, this ultimate bicycle shop brings the cycling community together with an extensive range of top brands like Shogun, Focus, and Cannondale. Whether you're after a sleek racer, rugged off-roader, or the most innovative electric bikes, the huge selection ensures you'll find your perfect bike here.
Why Choose Melbourne Electric Bicycles?
Wide Selection: From multi-purpose rides to versatile options, their diverse options satisfy every riding style.
Competitive Prices: Take advantage of limited-time offers, like up to $2,300 off on the Focus Jarifa2 6.8 Electric Hardtail MTB!
Convenient Rentals: Opt for pay-as-you-go options to explore Melbourne's bike paths without committing long-term.
Frequent Sales Events: Regular sales provide extra value on both bikes and cycling accessories.
Friendly Staff & Quality Service: The helpful professionals ensures you find the right fit with a professional bike check.
With an extensive catalogue ready for you to discover, Melbourne Electric Bicycles is your gateway to the perfect ride!
Focus: Cutting-Edge Technology
If you're on the hunt for advanced features in the cycling world, look no further than Melbourne Electric Bicycles, your go-to local e-bike hub in Melbourne. This innovative bicycle shop offers an extensive range of electric bikes, built with advanced technologies for an elevated riding experience.
Why Choose Melbourne Electric Bicycles?
State-of-the-Art Designs: Experience the thrill of cycling with electric motors discreetly integrated in the bottom bracket, providing effortless riding assistance.
Wide Selection: Discover a massive range of bikes, from road bikes to hybrid bikes, perfect for every cyclist's passion and need.
Quality and Craftsmanship: Featuring globally renowned brands, each bicycle boasts precise craftsmanship and the latest technology.
In Melbourne, cycling is more than just a hobby—it's a lifestyle. Melbourne Electric Bicycles stands out by offering great deals, quality service, and bike experts ready to help you find your perfect ride. Whether you're cruising the city or exploring off-road paths, this bicycle shop promises bikes that redefine standards of performance and design. Get ready to join Melbourne's thriving cycling community and upgrade your biking adventure!
Orbea: Tailored for Adventure
Founded in 1840, Orbea is a pioneer in the cycling world, blending tradition with innovation from their base in Spain. This respected brand is known for its dedication to craftsmanship, offering an extensive range of performance bikes that cater to every type of cyclist.
Key Features of Orbea:
Road Bikes: Designed with performance in mind for the perfect ride.
Electric Bikes: Smart, stylish, and efficient.
Mountain Bikes: Engineered to conquer trails amidst rugged terrains.
Women's Bikes: Crafted with a focus on rider-specific geometry.
Comparable to larger brands like Giant, Orbea provides a product range that is as extensive as it is impressive. Each bike is individually finished, ensuring that every model stands out in both function and form. Whether you're hitting the trails or cruising urban roads, Orbea's bikes are {tailored for adventure|made for explorers...
For those seeking a premium cycling experience, Orbea is an undeniable contender, promising quality, style, and a uniquely personal touch.
What are the key benefits of choosing an Orbea bike?
How does the lightweight design of Orbea bikes enhance performance?
Are Orbea bikes suitable for both road and off-road cycling?
What technological advancements are integrated into Orbea bikes?
How does the build quality of Orbea bikes contribute to their durability?
Brompton: Trailblazers in E-Mountain Bikes
When you think of Melbourne's active riding community and its vast inventory of commuter, gravel, road, and recreation bikes, one name effortlessly comes to mind—Brompton. At the heart of Melbourne Electric Bicycles, Brompton stands as a favourite for bike enthusiasts searching for the perfect ride. While Brompton bikes aren't specifically e-mountain bikes, they form an integral part of the {extensive range|broad se...
Why Choose Brompton at Melbourne Electric Bicycles?
Wide Selection: Choose from urban bikes to city cruisers.
Expert Assistance: Friendly and professional staff are ready to guide you to the specific model suited to your needs.
Comprehensive Inventory: Our store boasts one of the broadest Brompton selections in Melbourne.
Feature
Description
Diversity
Commuter, Gravel, Recreation, Road
Brand Popularity
Renowned for quality across several bike categories
Visit us to explore Brompton’s latest arrivals and discover why Melbourne Electric Bicycles is the go-to store for bike riders seeking bike expertise and affordable options. Join the active cycling community today with a Brompton bike!
Experience the Brompton Advantage
Beyond their space-saving build, Brompton bikes offer several key advantages that make them an timeless favourite among riders:
Portability: Perfect for commuters, the folding mechanism ensures easy transportation and storage, whether you're navigating Melbourne's public transit system or storing your bike in a small apartment.
Customization: With a range of styles, you can personalize your Brompton to fit your lifestyle perfectly.
Durability: Built with high-quality materials, these bikes are engineered to withstand Melbourne's elements while providing a comfortable ride.
Innovation: Constant advancements in design and technology keep Brompton at the forefront of urban cycling solutions.
Expert Services at Melbourne Electric Bicycles
Choosing a Brompton at Melbourne Electric Bicycles means more than just buying a bike; it’s about gaining access to full support options and a community of cycling enthusiasts. Here’s what you can expect:
Bike Fitting Services: Our specialists ensure your new bike is perfectly tailored to your measurements for optimal comfort and performance.
Maintenance Packages: Keep your Brompton in peak condition with our regular check-ups options.
Personal Customer Service Experience
When it comes to finding the perfect local cycling shop in Melbourne, look no further than Melbourne Electric Bicycles! Renowned for their exceptional personal customer service experience, this bicycle shop offers more than just a wide selection of bikes. Whether you're an experienced mountain biker or just venturing into the world of cycling, their {friendly staff|knowledgeable team|passionate ...
Here's what makes Melbourne Electric Bicycles stand out:
Expert Bike Servicing: Our experts ensure your bike is always in top-notch condition.
Knowledgeable Staff: Our team comprises passionate riders keen to help you find the ideal bike.
Prompt and Efficient Service: Customers rave about our efficient repairs, like express maintenance.
Features
Benefits
Large Selection of Bikes
Thousands of options to match your style
Quality Customer Support
Personalized assistance
Competitive Prices
Get more value for your money
So why wait? Visit Melbourne Electric Bicycles to experience the incredible lineup of electric, road, gravel, and hybrid options. Join the Melbourne cycling community today with the expert care you could ask for!
Expert Guidance and Support
At Melbourne Electric Bicycles, the in-depth support you receive is second to none! Customers have consistently praised the reliable and welcoming service that sets this bike store apart. Whether you're a seasoned bike rider or just starting on your cycling journey, the dedicated staff are always eager to h...
What makes Melbourne Electric Bicycles stand out?
Professional Staff: The knowledgeable team offers free guidance, ensuring you find the perfect bike to suit your needs.
Hands-On Learning: They even provide the opportunity to try beginner bikes, helping you improve your riding skills in a supportive environment.
Dedicated Workshop: Repairs are conducted using top tools in a state-of-the-art workshop, ensuring your bike is always in prime condition.
Let Melbourne Electric Bicycles be your trusted partner on your cycling adventures. With their commitment to quality service and friendly assistance, you're guaranteed an memorable biking experience. Whether you're choosing your first e-bike or searching for the ideal bike setup for your needs, their expert support will guide you every step of the way.
At Melbourne Electric Bicycles, the dedication to expert guidance and support goes beyond selling you a bike. They believe in empowering their customers with the knowledge and confidence to enjoy their biking adventures fully. Here's how they make it happen:
Personalized Bike Fitting Services
Every rider is unique, and so should be their bike. Melbourne Electric Bicycles offers bike fitting services to ensure optimal comfort and performance. The staff takes the time to understand your preferences, recommending adjustments that improve handling. This tailored approach means your bike is not only an extension of your personality but a...
Ongoing Maintenance Workshops
To keep your biking journey seamless, regular maintenance is key. Melbourne Electric Bicycles hosts monthly maintenance workshops where you can learn the basics.
Cycling Accessories: Best Stores to Check Out in Melbourne - Road_surface
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These sessions cover crucial topics like tyre pressure checks, braking system tuning, and gear lubrication. With a hands-on approach, you'll acquire skills that {prolong the life of your bike|reduce future repairs|keep you safe...
Test Rides and Consultations
Deciding on the perfect bike can be daunting with the myriad of choices available. That's why Melbourne Electric Bicycles provides the opportunity for test rides and expert recommendations.
Flexible Delivery Options and Workshops
Are you on the hunt for an top-rated bike store near you in Melbourne? Look no further than Melbourne Electric Bicycles! 🚴♀️✨ They've got you covered with versatile collection choices that make shopping a breeze. Choose from a easy 2-hour Click and Collect service or enjoy no-cost delivery on orders over $99. It's convenience at its finest!
At Melbourne Electric Bicycles, keeping your bike in top condition is a top priority. Their comprehensive workshop service ensures your bike gets the tune-up it deserves. Whether it's a quick tune-up or a full rebuild, their skilled technicians provide the tailored support you need.
But that's not all! Here's what makes Melbourne Electric Bicycles stand out:
Tailored fitting for your perfect ride
Practical advice on everyday cycling accessories and essentials
A great-value store visit
With their knowledgeable team ready to help, Melbourne Electric Bicycles is the place to be for bike riders in Melbourne. Discover the convenience of e-biking with the experts. Your perfect bike awaits! 🌟
Monthly Gear Updates and New Additions
Are you a cycling enthusiast on the hunt for the freshest accessories and the perfect bike? Look no further than Melbourne Electric Bicycles! This leading bike store in Melbourne constantly updates its inventory, bringing you the freshest bikes to hit their expansive showroom floor.
Here’s a sneak peek of what you can discover:
Road and Gravel Bikes: Perfect for any terrain, offering a smooth ride across surfaces.
Electric Bikes: Unmatched in power, perfect for green transport.
Mountain and Hybrid Bikes: Ideal for both on-road and off-road use.
Monthly Deals & Offers:
Discounts on e-bikes, helmets, and accessories.
Special sales on cycling clothing and shoes.
Why Choose Melbourne Electric Bicycles?
Extensive Range: A wide selection of hundreds of bikes ensures you find your ride.
Quality Service: With professional mechanics on hand, servicing needs are met with precision.
Friendly Staff: Always ready with rider insights tailored to commuters and bike riders alike.
At Melbourne Electric Bicycles, we believe that cycling should be affordable and enjoyable for everyone, which is why we offer a range of rotating specials and exclusive discounts tailored to meet the diverse needs of our customers. Melbourne Whether you're a seasoned cyclist or just getting started with electric bikes, there's something in store for you.
Limited-Time Discounts on Popular Models:
Each month, we select a handful of our best-loved electric bike models and offer them at exclusive discounted rates. These discounts make it easier for you to own a high-quality bike without compromising on quality. Be sure to drop into our store regularly to catch the latest deals before they run out!
Bundle Packages:
Our bundle packages are designed to maximize savings. By purchasing an e-bike along with select accessories, such as helmets, locks, or lights, you can ride fully equipped. These bundles are crafted to provide you with everything you need for a safe and enjoyable riding experience.
Trade-In Programs:
Thinking about upgrading your current bike? Our trade-in program offers you the opportunity to exchange your old bike toward a new electric model. This not only lowers your cost but also keeps bikes in circulation.
An electrical bike, e-bike, electrically assisted pedal cycle, or electrically power assisted cycle is a bike with an integrated electric motor utilized to aid propulsion. Numerous sort of e-bikes are available worldwide, however they usually come under two broad categories: bikes that assist the biker's pedal-power (i. e. pedelecs) and bikes that add a throttle, integrating moped-style capability. Both preserve the capability to be pedaled by the biker and are as a result not electric motorcycles. E-bikes use rechargeable batteries and generally are motor-powered as much as 25 to 32 km/h (16 to 20 mph). High-powered ranges can usually travel as much as or more than 45 km/h (28 miles per hour). Depending on neighborhood laws, numerous e-bikes (e. g., pedelecs) are legally classified as bikes rather than mopeds or motorcycles. This spares them from the extra stringent regulations regarding the qualification and procedure of more effective two-wheelers which are typically classed as electric bikes, such as licensing and compulsory safety devices. E-bikes can additionally be specified separately and dealt with under unique electrical bike laws. Bikes, e-bikes, and e-scooters, together with e-cargo bikes, are generally classified as micro-mobility lorries. When contrasting bicycles, e-bikes, and e-scooters from energetic and inclusiveness perspectives, standard bikes, while advertising exercise, are much less easily accessible to certain demographics because of the demand for better physical effort, which additionally restricts the ranges bicycles can cover compared to e-bikes and e-scooters. E-scooters, nonetheless, can not be categorized as an active transportation setting, as they require very little exertion and, as a result, use no health benefits. In addition, the significant occurrence of crashes and injuries including e-scooters highlights the significant safety and security problems and viewed threats connected with their usage in city settings. E-bikes stand apart as the only alternative that combines the benefits of active transport with inclusivity, as their electric-motor, pedal-assist attribute helps riders cover better ranges. The motor aids customers overcome challenges such as high inclines and the demand for high exertion, making e-bikes appropriate for a variety of individuals. This feature additionally allows e-bikes to traverse distances that would generally demand using personal cars and trucks or multi-modal travel, such as both a bike and regional public transport, establishing them as not only an energetic and comprehensive setting but likewise a standalone travel alternative.
Aboriginal Australians have lived in the Melbourne area for at least 40,000 years.[24] When British colonists arrived in the 19th century, at least 20,000 Kulin people from three distinct language groups – the Wurundjeri, Bunurong and Wathaurong – resided in the area.[25][26] It was an important meeting place for the clans of the Kulin nation alliance and a vital source of food and water.[27][14] In June 2021, the boundaries between the land of two of the traditional owner groups, the Wurundjeri and Bunurong, were agreed after being drawn up by the Victorian Aboriginal Heritage Council. The borderline runs across the city from west to east, with the CBD, Richmond and Hawthorn included in Wurundjeri land, and Albert Park, St Kilda and Caulfield on Bunurong land.[28] However, this change in boundaries is still disputed by people on both sides of the dispute including N'arweet Carolyn Briggs.[29] The name Narrm is commonly used by the broader Aboriginal community to refer to the city, stemming from the traditional name recorded for the area on which the Melbourne city centre is built.[30][9] The word is closely related to Narm-narm, being the Boonwurrung word for Port Phillip Bay.[31] Narrm means scrub in Eastern Kulin languages which reflects the Creation Story of how the Bay was filled by the creation of the Birrarung (Yarra River). Before this, the dry Melbourne region extended out into the Bay and the Bay was filled with teatree scrub where boorrimul (emu) and marram (kangaroo) were hunted.[32][33]
In May and June 1835, John Batman, a leading member of the Port Phillip Association in Van Diemen's Land, explored the Melbourne area, and later claimed to have negotiated a purchase of 2,400 km2 (600,000 acres) with eight Wurundjeri elders. However, the nature of the treaty has been heavily disputed, as none of the parties spoke the same language, and the elders likely perceived it as part of the gift exchanges which had taken place over the previous few days amounting to a tanderrum ceremony which allows temporary, not permanent, access to and use of the land.[35][36] Batman selected a site on the northern bank of the Yarra River, declaring that "this will be the place for a village" before returning to Van Diemen's Land.[37] In August 1835, another group of Vandemonian settlers arrived in the area and established a settlement at the site of the current Melbourne Immigration Museum. Batman and his group arrived the following month and the two groups ultimately agreed to share the settlement, initially known by the native name of Dootigala.[38][39]
Between 1836 and 1842, Victorian Aboriginal groups were largely dispossessed of their land by British colonists.[45] In 1840, the Superintendent of the Port Phillip District, Charles La Trobe issued a directive to banish Aborigines from the immediate vicinity of Melbourne.[46] This was enforced later that same year by the mass-arrest and imprisonment of hundreds of Indigenous people during the Lettsom raid.[47] However, Aboriginal people still managed to continue living near the settlement and by January 1844 there were said to be 675 residing in squalid camps around Melbourne.[48] The British Colonial Office had appointed five Aboriginal Protectors for the Aboriginal people of Victoria, in 1839, but their work was nullified by a land policy that favoured squatters who took possession of Aboriginal lands.[49] By 1845, fewer than 240 wealthy Europeans held all the pastoral licences then issued in Victoria and became a powerful political and economic force in Victoria for generations to come.[50]Letters patent of Queen Victoria, issued on 25 June 1847, declared Melbourne a city.[15] On 1 July 1851, the Port Phillip District separated from New South Wales to become the Colony of Victoria, with Melbourne as its capital.[51]
South Melbourne's "Canvas Town" provided temporary accommodation for the thousands of migrants who arrived each week during the 1850s gold rush.A large crowd outside the Victorian Supreme Court, celebrating the release of the Eureka rebels in 1855
The discovery of gold in Victoria in mid-1851 sparked a gold rush, and Melbourne, the colony's major port, experienced rapid growth. Within months, the city's population had nearly doubled from 25,000 to 40,000 inhabitants.[52] Exponential growth ensued, and by 1865 Melbourne had overtaken Sydney as Australia's most populous city.[53]
An influx of intercolonial and international migrants, particularly from Europe and China, saw the establishment of slums, including Chinatown and a temporary "tent city" on the southern banks of the Yarra. In the aftermath of the 1854 Eureka Rebellion, mass public support for the plight of the miners resulted in major political changes to the colony, including improvements in working conditions across mining, agriculture, manufacturing and other local industries. At least twenty nationalities took part in the rebellion, giving some indication of immigration flows at the time.[54]
The layout of the inner suburbs on a largely one-mile grid pattern, cut through by wide radial boulevards and parklands surrounding the central city, was largely established in the 1850s and 1860s. These areas rapidly filled with the ubiquitous terrace houses, as well as with detached houses and grand mansions, while some of the major roads developed as shopping streets. Melbourne quickly became a major finance centre, home to several banks, the Royal Mint, and (in 1861) Australia's first stock exchange.[55] In 1855, the Melbourne Cricket Club secured possession of its now famous ground, the MCG. Members of the Melbourne Football Club codified Australian football in 1859,[56] and in 1861, the first Melbourne Cup race was held. Melbourne acquired its first public monument, the Burke and Wills statue, in 1864.
With the gold rush largely over by 1860, Melbourne continued to grow on the back of continuing gold-mining, as the major port for exporting the agricultural products of Victoria (especially wool) and with a developing manufacturing sector protected by high tariffs. An extensive radial railway network spread into the countryside from the late 1850s. Construction started on further major public buildings in the 1860s and 1870s, such as the Supreme Court, Government House, and the Queen Victoria Market. The central city filled up with shops and offices, workshops, and warehouses. Large banks and hotels faced the main streets, with fine townhouses in the east end of Collins Street, contrasting with tiny cottages down laneways within the blocks. The Aboriginal population continued to decline, with an estimated 80% total decrease by 1863, due primarily to introduced diseases (particularly smallpox[25]), frontier violence and dispossession of their lands.
Elizabeth Street lined with buildings from the "Marvellous Melbourne" era
The 1880s saw extraordinary growth: consumer confidence, easy access to credit, and steep increases in land prices led to an enormous amount of construction. During this "land boom", Melbourne reputedly became the richest city in the world,[16] and the second-largest (after London) in the British Empire.[57]
The decade began with the Melbourne International Exhibition in 1880, held in the large purpose-built Exhibition Building. A telephone exchange was established that year, and the foundations of St Paul's were laid. In 1881, electric light was installed in the Eastern Market, and a generating station capable of supplying 2,000 incandescent lamps was in operation by 1882.[58] The Melbourne cable tramway system opened in 1885 and became one of the world's most extensive systems by 1890.
In 1885, visiting English journalist George Augustus Henry Sala coined the phrase "Marvellous Melbourne", which stuck long into the twentieth century and has come to refer to the opulence and energy of the 1880s,[59] during which time large commercial buildings, grand hotels, banks, coffee palaces, terrace housing and palatial mansions proliferated in the city.[60] The establishment of the Melbourne Hydraulic Power Company in 1886 led to the availability of high-pressure piped water, allowing for the installation of hydraulically powered elevators, which led to the construction of the first high-rise buildings in the city.[61][62] The period also saw the huge expansion of a significant radial rail-based transport network throughout the city and suburbs.[63]
Melbourne's land-boom peaked in 1888,[60] the year it hosted the Centennial Exhibition. The brash boosterism that had typified Melbourne during that time ended in the early 1890s. The bubble supporting the local finance and property industries burst, resulting in a severe economic depression.[60][64] Sixteen small land banks and building societies collapsed, and 133 limited companies went into liquidation. The Melbourne financial crisis was a contributing factor to the Australian economic depression of the 1890s and the Australian banking crisis of 1893. The effects of the depression on the city were profound, with virtually no significant construction until the late 1890s.[65][66]
At the time of Australia's federation on 1 January 1901 Melbourne became the seat of government of the federated Commonwealth of Australia. The first federal parliament convened on 9 May 1901 in the Royal Exhibition Building, subsequently moving to the Victorian Parliament House, where it sat until it moved to Canberra in 1927. The Governor-General of Australia resided at Government House in Melbourne until 1930, and many major national institutions remained in Melbourne well into the twentieth century.[67] During World War II the city hosted American military forces who were fighting the Empire of Japan, and the government requisitioned the Melbourne Cricket Ground for military use.[68]
In the immediate years after World War II, Melbourne expanded rapidly, its growth boosted by post-war immigration to Australia, primarily from Southern Europe and the Mediterranean.[69] While the "Paris End" of Collins Street began Melbourne's boutique shopping and open air cafe cultures,[70] the city centre was seen by many as stale—the dreary domain of office workers—something expressed by John Brack in his famous painting Collins St., 5 pm (1955).[71] Up until the 21st century, Melbourne was considered Australia's "industrial heartland".[72]
Orica House (formerly ICI House), a symbol of modernity in post-war Melbourne
Height limits in the CBD were lifted in 1958, after the construction of ICI House, transforming the city's skyline with the introduction of skyscrapers. Suburban expansion then intensified, served by new indoor malls beginning with Chadstone Shopping Centre.[73] The post-war period also saw a major renewal of the CBD and St Kilda Road which significantly modernised the city.[74] New fire regulations and redevelopment saw most of the taller pre-war CBD buildings either demolished or partially retained through a policy of facadism. Many of the larger suburban mansions from the boom era were also either demolished or subdivided.
To counter the trend towards low-density suburban residential growth, the government began a series of controversial public housing projects in the inner city by the Housing Commission of Victoria, which resulted in the demolition of many neighbourhoods and a proliferation of high-rise towers.[75] In later years, with the rapid rise of motor vehicle ownership, the investment in freeway and highway developments greatly accelerated the outward suburban sprawl and declining inner-city population. The Bolte government sought to rapidly accelerate the modernisation of Melbourne. Major road projects including the remodelling of St Kilda Junction, the widening of Hoddle Street and then the extensive 1969 Melbourne Transportation Plan changed the face of the city into a car-dominated environment.[76]
Australia's financial and mining booms during 1969 and 1970 resulted in establishment of the headquarters of many major companies (BHP and Rio Tinto, among others) in the city. Nauru's then booming economy resulted in several ambitious investments in Melbourne, such as Nauru House.[77] Melbourne remained Australia's main business and financial centre until the late 1970s, when it began to lose this primacy to Sydney.[78]
Melbourne experienced an economic downturn between 1989 and 1992, following the collapse of several local financial institutions. In 1992, the newly elected Kennett government began a campaign to revive the economy with an aggressive development campaign of public works coupled with the promotion of the city as a tourist destination with a focus on major events and sports tourism.[79] During this period the Australian Grand Prix moved to Melbourne from Adelaide. Major projects included the construction of a new facility for the Melbourne Museum, Federation Square, the Melbourne Convention & Exhibition Centre, Crown Casino and the CityLinktollway. Other strategies included the privatisation of some of Melbourne's services, including power and public transport, and a reduction in funding to public services such as health, education and public transport infrastructure.[80]
Since the mid-1990s, Melbourne has maintained significant population and employment growth. There has been substantial international investment in the city's industries and property market. Major inner-city urban renewal has occurred in areas such as Southbank, Port Melbourne, Melbourne Docklands and South Wharf. Melbourne sustained the highest population increase and economic growth rate of any Australian capital city from 2001 to 2004.[81]
From 2006, the growth of the city extended into "green wedges" and beyond the city's urban growth boundary. Predictions of the city's population reaching 5 million people pushed the state government to review the growth boundary in 2008 as part of its Melbourne @ Five Million strategy.[82] In 2009, Melbourne was less affected by the Great Recession in comparison to other Australian cities. At this time, more new jobs were created in Melbourne than any other Australian city—almost as many as the next two fastest growing cities, Brisbane and Perth, combined,[83] and Melbourne's property market remained highly priced,[84] resulting in historically high property prices and widespread rent increases.[85]
Beginning in the 2010s the State Government of Victoria initiated a number of major infrastructure projects designed to reduce congestion in Melbourne and encourage economic growth, including the Metro Tunnel, the West Gate Tunnel, the Level Crossing Removal Project and the Suburban Rail Loop.[86][87] New urban renewal zones were initiated in inner-city areas like Fisherman's Bend and Arden, while suburban growth continued on the urban periphery in Melbourne's outer west and east in suburbs like Wyndham Vale and Cranbourne.[88] Middle suburbs like Box Hill became denser as a greater proportion of Melburnians began living in apartments.[89] A construction boom resulted in 34 new skyscrapers being built in the central business district between 2010 and 2020.[90] In 2020, Melbourne was classified as an Alpha city by the Globalization and World Cities Research Network.[91]
Out of all major Australian cities, Melbourne was the worst affected by the COVID-19 pandemic and spent a long time under lockdown restrictions,[92] with Melbourne experiencing six lockdowns totalling 262 days.[93] While this contributed to a net outflow of migration causing a slight reduction in Melbourne's population over the course of 2020 to 2022, Melbourne's population is projected to reach 6.4 million people by 2033-34.[94][95]
A panoramic view of the Docklands and city skyline from Waterfront City, looking across Victoria Harbour
Storm passing over the CBD in August. Melbourne is said to have "four seasons in one day" due to its changeable weather.
Melbourne has a temperate oceanic climate (Köppen climate classificationCfb), with warm summers and cool winters.[107][108] Melbourne is well known for its changeable weather conditions, mainly due to it being located on the boundary of hot inland areas and the cool southern ocean. This temperature differential is most pronounced in the spring and summer months and can cause strong cold fronts to form. These cold fronts can be responsible for varied forms of severe weather from gales to thunderstorms and hail, large temperature drops and heavy rain. Winters, while exceptionally dry by southern Victorian standards, are nonetheless drizzly and overcast. The lack of winter rainfall is because of Melbourne's rain shadowed location between the Otway and Macedon Ranges, which block much of the rainfall arriving from the north and west.
Port Phillip is often warmer than the surrounding oceans or the land mass, particularly in spring and autumn; this can set up a "bay effect rain", where showers are intensified leeward of the bay. Relatively narrow streams of heavy showers can often affect the same places (usually the eastern suburbs) for an extended period, while the rest of Melbourne and surrounds stays dry. Overall, the area around Melbourne is, owing to its rain shadow, nonetheless significantly drier than average for southern Victoria.[109] Within the city and surrounds, rainfall varies widely, from around 425 mm (17 in) at Little River to 1,250 mm (49 in) on the eastern fringe at Gembrook. Melbourne receives 48.6 clear days annually. Dewpoint temperatures in the summer range from 9.5 to 11.7 °C (49.1 to 53.1 °F).[110]
Melbourne is also prone to isolated convective showers forming when a cold pool crosses the state, especially if there is considerable daytime heating. These showers are often heavy and can include hail, squalls, and significant drops in temperature, but they often pass through very quickly with a rapid clearing trend to sunny and relatively calm weather and the temperature rising back to what it was before the shower. This can occur in the space of minutes and can be repeated many times a day, giving Melbourne a reputation for having "four seasons in one day",[110] a phrase that is part of local popular culture.[111] The lowest temperature on record is −2.8 °C (27.0 °F), on 21 July 1869.[112] The highest temperature recorded in Melbourne city was 46.4 °C (115.5 °F), on 7 February 2009.[112] While snow is occasionally seen at higher elevations in the outskirts of the city, and dustings were observed in 2020, it has not been recorded in the central business district since 1986.[113]
The sea temperature in Melbourne is warmer than the surrounding ocean during the summer months, and colder during the winter months. This is predominantly due to Port Phillip Bay being an enclosed and shallow bay that is largely protected from the ocean,[114] resulting in greater temperature variation across seasons.
Climate data for Melbourne Airport (1991–2020 averages, 1970–2024 extremes)
Melbourne population density by mesh blocks (MB), according to the 2016 censusThe CBD as viewed from above Kings Domain
Melbourne's urban area is approximately 2,704 km2, the largest in Australia and the 33rd largest in the world.[119] The Hoddle Grid, a grid of streets measuring approximately
1 by 1⁄2 mi (1.61 by 0.80 km), forms the nucleus of Melbourne's central business district (CBD). The grid's southern edge fronts onto the Yarra River. More recent office, commercial and public developments in the adjoining districts of Southbank and Docklands have made these areas into extensions of the CBD in all but name. A byproduct of the CBD's layout is its network of lanes and arcades, such as Block Arcade and Royal Arcade.[120][121]
Melbourne's CBD has become Australia's most densely populated area, with approximately 19,500 residents per square kilometre,[122] and is home to more skyscrapers than any other Australian city, the tallest being Australia 108, situated in Southbank.[123] Melbourne's newest planned skyscraper, Southbank By Beulah[124] (also known as "Green Spine"), has recently been approved for construction and will be the tallest structure in Australia by 2025.
The CBD and surrounds also contain many significant historic buildings such as the Royal Exhibition Building, the Melbourne Town Hall and Parliament House.[125][126] Although the area is described as the centre, it is not actually the demographic centre of Melbourne at all, due to an urban sprawl to the southeast, the demographic centre being located at Camberwell.[127] Melbourne is typical of Australian capital cities in that after the turn of the 20th century, it expanded with the underlying notion of a 'quarter acre home and garden' for every family, often referred to locally as the Australian Dream.[128][129] This, coupled with the popularity of the private automobile after 1945, led to the auto-centric urban structure now present today in the middle and outer suburbs. Much of metropolitan Melbourne is accordingly characterised by low-density sprawl, whilst its inner-city areas feature predominantly medium-density, transit-oriented urban forms. The city centre, Docklands, St. Kilda Road and Southbank areas feature high-density forms.
Melbourne is often referred to as Australia's garden city, and the state of Victoria is known as the garden state.[130][131][132] There is an abundance of parks and gardens in Melbourne,[133] many close to the CBD with a variety of common and rare plant species amid landscaped vistas, pedestrian pathways and tree-lined avenues. Melbourne's parks are often considered the best public parks in all of Australia's major cities.[134] There are also many parks in the surrounding suburbs of Melbourne, such as in the municipalities of Stonnington, Boroondara and Port Phillip, southeast of the central business district. Several national parks have been designated around the urban area of Melbourne, including the Mornington Peninsula National Park, Port Phillip Heads Marine National Park and Point Nepean National Park in the southeast, Organ Pipes National Park to the north and Dandenong Ranges National Park to the east. There are also a number of significant state parks just outside Melbourne.[135][136] The extensive area covered by urban Melbourne is formally divided into hundreds of suburbs (for addressing and postal purposes), and administered as local government areas,[137] 31 of which are located within the metropolitan area.[138]
19th-century terrace houses are common in the inner suburbs.
Melbourne has minimal public housing and high demand for rental housing, which is becoming unaffordable for some.[139][140][141] Public housing is managed and provided by the Victorian Government'sDepartment of Families, Fairness and Housing, and operates within the framework of the Commonwealth-State Housing Agreement, by which both federal and state governments provide funding for housing.
Melbourne is experiencing high population growth, generating high demand for housing. This housing boom has increased house prices and rents, as well as the availability of all types of housing. Subdivision regularly occurs in the outer areas of Melbourne, with numerous developers offering house and land packages. However, since the release of Melbourne 2030 in 2002, planning policies have encouraged medium-density and high-density development in existing areas with good access to public transport and other services. As a result of this, Melbourne's middle and outer-ring suburbs have seen significant brownfields redevelopment.[142]
In line with the city's expansion during the early 20th century, suburbs such as Hawthorn and Camberwell are defined largely by Federation and Edwardian architectural styles. The City Baths, built in 1903, are a prominent example of the latter style in the CBD. The 1926 Nicholas Building is the city's grandest example of the Chicago School style, while the influence of Art Deco is apparent in the Manchester Unity Building, completed in 1932. The city also features the Shrine of Remembrance, which was built as a memorial to the men and women of Victoria who served in World War I and is now a memorial to all Australians who have served in war.
Residential architecture is not defined by a single architectural style, but rather an eclectic mix of large McMansion-style houses (particularly in areas of urban sprawl), apartment buildings, condominiums, and townhouses which generally characterise the medium-density inner-city neighbourhoods. Freestanding dwellings with relatively large gardens are perhaps the most common type of housing outside inner city Melbourne. Victorian terrace housing, townhouses and historic Italianate, Tudor revival and Neo-Georgian mansions are all common in inner-city neighbourhoods such as Carlton, Fitzroy and further into suburban enclaves like Toorak.[148]
Melbourne has been called "the live music capital of the world";[161] one study found it has more music venues per capita than any other world city sampled, with 17.5 million patron visits to 553 venues in 2016.[161][162] Australia's first global music star, opera singer Nellie Melba, took her stage name from her hometown. Composer Percy Grainger followed her in becoming the most famous Melburnian of the Edwardian era. The Sidney Myer Music Bowl in Kings Domain hosted the largest crowd ever for a music concert in Australia when an estimated 200,000 attendees saw Melbourne band The Seekers in 1967.[163] Airing between 1974 and 1987, Melbourne's Countdown helped launch the careers of local acts as diverse as AC/DC[164] and Kylie Minogue. Several distinct post-punk scenes flourished in Melbourne during the late 1970s and early 1980s, including the Little Band scene and St Kilda's Crystal Ballroom scene, which gave rise to Dead Can Dance and Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds.[165] More recent independent acts from Melbourne to achieve global recognition include The Avalanches, Gotye and King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard. Melbourne is also regarded as a centre of EDM, and lends its name to the Melbourne Bounce genre and the Melbourne Shuffle dance style, both of which emerged from the city's underground rave scene.[166]
Statue at the MCG of Australian rules football founder Tom Wills umpiring an 1858 football match. The first games of Australian rules were played in adjacent parklands.Melbourne hosts the Australian Open, the first of four annual Grand Slam tennis tournaments.
Melbourne has long been regarded as Australia's sporting capital due to the role it has played in the development of Australian sport, the range and quality of its sporting events and venues, and its high rates of spectatorship and participation.[180] The city is also home to 27 professional sports teams competing at the national level, the most of any Australian city. Melbourne's sporting reputation was recognised in 2016 when, after being ranked as the world's top sports city three times biennially, the Ultimate Sports City Awards in Switzerland named it 'Sports City of the Decade'.[181]
The city has hosted a number of major international sporting events, most notably the 1956 Summer Olympics, the first Olympic Games held outside Europe and the United States.[182] Melbourne also hosted the 2006 Commonwealth Games, and is home to several major annual international events, including the Australian Open, the first of the four Grand Slam tennis tournaments. First held in 1861 and declared a public holiday for all Melburnians in 1873, the Melbourne Cup is the world's richest handicap horse race, and is known as "the race that stops a nation". The Formula OneAustralian Grand Prix has been held at the Albert Park Circuit since 1996.
Melbourne is also an important financial centre. In the 2024 Global Financial Centres Index, Melbourne was ranked as having the 28th most competitive financial centre in the world.[19] Two of the big four banks, the ANZ and National Australia Bank, are headquartered in Melbourne. The city has carved out a niche as Australia's leading centre for superannuation (pension) funds, with 40% of the total, and 65% of industry super-funds including the AU$109 billion-dollar Federal Government Future Fund. The city was rated 41st within the top 50 financial cities as surveyed by the MasterCard Worldwide Centers of Commerce Index (2008),[191] second only to Sydney (12th) in Australia. Melbourne is Australia's second-largest industrial centre.[192]
It is the Australian base for a number of significant manufacturers including Boeing Australia, truck-makers Kenworth and Iveco, Cadbury as well as Alstom and Jayco, among others. It is also home to a wide variety of other manufacturers, ranging from petrochemicals and pharmaceuticals to fashion garments, paper manufacturing and food processing.[194] The south-eastern suburb of Scoresby is home to Nintendo's Australian headquarters. The city also has a research and development hub for Ford Australia, as well as a global design studio and technical centre for General Motors and Toyota Australia respectively.
CSL, one of the world's top five biotech companies, and Sigma Pharmaceuticals have their headquarters in Melbourne. The two are the largest listed Australian pharmaceutical companies.[195] Melbourne has an important ICT industry, home to more than half of Australia's top 20 technology companies, and employs over 91,000 people (one third of Australia's ICT workforce), with a turnover of AU$34 billion and export revenues of AU$2.5 billion in 2018.[196] In addition, tourism also plays an important role in Melbourne's economy, with 10.8 million domestic overnight tourists and 2.9 million international overnight tourists in 2018.[197] Melbourne has been attracting an increasing share of domestic and international conference markets. Construction began in February 2006 of an AU$1 billion 5000-seat international convention centre, Hilton Hotel and commercial precinct adjacent to the Melbourne Convention & Exhibition Centre to link development along the Yarra River with the Southbank precinct and multibillion-dollar Docklands redevelopment.[198]
Melbourne has a renowned culinary scene that attracts international tourists.[208][209][210]Lygon Street, which runs through the inner-northern suburbs of Melbourne, is a popular dining destination with an abundance of Italian and Greek restaurants that date back to earlier European immigration of the city. Food festivals are of particular popularity in Melbourne, many of which are held during early autumn, earning this period the nickname "mad March".[211] The most well-known of these events, the Melbourne Food and Wine Festival, takes place over the course of ten days and began in 1993.[212][213]
Established during the gold rush, Chinatown is the longest continuous Chinese settlement outside Asia.
Melbourne is projected to overtake Sydney as Australia's most populous city sometime between 2032 and 2046.[215]
After a trend of declining population density since World War II, the city has seen increased density in the inner and western suburbs, aided in part by Victorian Government planning, such as Postcode 3000 and Melbourne 2030, which have aimed to curtail urban sprawl.[216][217] As of 2018[update], the CBD is the most densely populated area in Australia with more than 19,000 residents per square kilometre, and the inner city suburbs of Carlton, South Yarra, Fitzroy and Collingwood make up Victoria's top five.[218][219]
At the time of the 2021 census, 61.1% of Melburnians speak only English at home. Mandarin (4.3%), Vietnamese (2.3%), Greek (2.1%), Punjabi (2%), and Arabic (1.8%) were the most common foreign languages spoken at home by residents of Melbourne.
Melbourne has a wide range of religious faiths, the most widely held of which is Christianity. This is signified by the city's two large cathedrals—St Patrick's (Roman Catholic), and St Paul's (Anglican). Both were built in the Victorian era and are of considerable heritage significance as major landmarks of the city.[222] In recent years, Greater Melbourne's irreligious community has grown to be one of the largest in Australia.[223]
According to the 2021 Census, persons stating that they had no religion constituted 36.9% of the population.[220]Christianity was the most popular religious affiliation at 40.1%.[220] The largest Christian denominations were Catholicism (20.8%) and Anglicanism (5.5%).[220] The most popular non-Christian religious affiliations were Islam (5.3%), Hinduism (4.1%), Buddhism (3.9%), Sikhism (1.7%) and Judaism (0.9%).[220]
Over 258,000 Muslims live in Melbourne.[224] Muslim religious life in Melbourne is centred on about 25 mosques and a number of prayer rooms at university campuses, workplaces and other venues.[225] As of 2000[update], Melbourne had the largest population of Polish Jews and Holocaust survivors in Australia, and the largest number of Jewish institutions.[226]
Melbourne universities have campuses all over Australia and some internationally. Swinburne University and Monash University have campuses in Malaysia, RMIT in Vietnam, with Monash also having a campus in Indonesia and research centres in Prato, Italy, and a joint partnership research academy with IIT Bombay in Mumbai, India. The University of Melbourne, the second oldest university in Australia,[230] is the highest ranked university in Australia across the three major global rankings – QS (13th), THES (34th) and the Academic Ranking of World Universities (32nd),[231] with Monash University also ranking within the top 50 – QS (37nd) and THES (44th).[232] Both are members of the Group of Eight, a coalition of leading Australian tertiary institutions offering comprehensive and leading education.[233]
As of 2024 RMIT University is ranked 18th in the world in both Art & Design, and Architecture.[234] The Swinburne University of Technology, based in the inner-city Melbourne suburb of Hawthorn, was as of 2014 ranked 76th–100th in the world for physics by the Academic Ranking of World Universities.[235]Deakin University maintains two major campuses in Melbourne and Geelong, and is the third largest university in Victoria. In recent years, the number of international students at Melbourne's universities has risen rapidly, a result of an increasing number of places being made available for them.[236] Education in Melbourne is overseen by the Victorian Department of Education (DET), whose role is to 'provide policy and planning advice for the delivery of education'.[237]
Three daily newspapers serve Melbourne: the Herald Sun (tabloid), The Age (compact) and The Australian (national broadsheet). There are six primary free-to-air digital television stations operating in Greater Melbourne and Geelong: ABC Victoria, (ABV), SBS Victoria (SBS), Seven Melbourne (HSV), Nine Melbourne (GTV), Ten Melbourne (ATV), C31 Melbourne (MGV) – community television.[238] Each station (excluding C31) broadcasts a primary channel and several multichannels.[239] Some digital media companies such as Broadsheet are based in and primarily serve Melbourne.
The local governments are responsible for providing the functions set out in the Local Government Act 1989[242] such as urban planning and waste management. Most other government services are provided or regulated by the Victorian state government, which governs from Parliament House in Spring Street. These include services associated with local government in other countries and include public transport, main roads, traffic control, policing, education above preschool level, health and planning of major infrastructure projects.
Like many Australian cities, Melbourne has a high dependency on the automobile for transport,[243] particularly in the outer suburban areas where the largest number of cars are bought,[244] with a total of 3.6 million private vehicles using 22,320 km (13,870 mi) of road, and one of the highest lengths of road per capita in the world.[243] The early 20th century saw an increase in popularity of automobiles, resulting in large-scale suburban expansion and a tendency towards the development of urban sprawl—like all Australian cities, inhabitants would live in the suburbs and commute to the city for work.[245] By the mid-1950s, there were just under 200 passenger vehicles per 1000 people, and by 2013, there were 600 passenger vehicles per 1000 people.[246]
The road network in Victoria is managed by Vicroads, as part of the Department of Transport, who oversee the planning and integration. Maintenance of roads is undertaken by different bodies, depending on the road. Local roads are maintained by local governments, while secondary and main roads are the responsibility of Vicroads. Major national freeways and roads integral to national trade are overseen by the Federal Government.[247]
Today, Melbourne has an extensive network of freeways and arterial roadways. These are used by private vehicles, including road freight vehicles, as well as road-based public transport modes like buses and taxis. Major highways feeding into the city include the Eastern Freeway, Monash Freeway and West Gate Freeway (which spans the large West Gate Bridge). Other freeways include the Calder Freeway, Tullamarine Freeway, which is the main airport link, and the Hume Freeway, which connects Melbourne to Canberra and Sydney. Melbourne's middle suburbs are connected via an orbital freeway, the M80 Ring Road, which will be completed when the North East Link opens.[248]
Out of Melbourne's twenty declared freeways open or under construction, six are electronic toll roads. This includes the M1 and M2 CityLink (which includes the large Bolte Bridge), Eastlink, North East Link, and the West Gate Tunnel. Apart from Eastlink which is owned and operated by ConnectEast, the toll roads in Melbourne are run by Transurban. In Melbourne, tollways have blue and yellow signage compared to the green signs used for free roads.
Melbourne has an integrated public transport system based around extensive train, tram, bus and taxi systems. Flinders Street station was the world's busiest passenger station in 1927 and Melbourne's tram network overtook Sydney's to become the world's largest in the 1940s. From the 1940s, public transport use in Melbourne declined due to a rapid expansion of the road and freeway network, with the largest declines in tram and bus usage.[249] This decline quickened in the early 1990s due to large public transport service cuts.[249] The operations of Melbourne's public transport system was privatised in 1999 through a franchising model, with operational responsibilities for the train, tram and bus networks licensed to private companies.[250] After 1996 there was a rapid increase in public transport patronage due to growth in employment in central Melbourne, with the mode share for commuters increasing to 14.8% and 8.4% of all trips.[251][249] A target of 20% public transport mode share for Melbourne by 2020 was set by the state government in 2006.[252] Since 2006 public transport patronage has grown by over 20% and a number of projects have commenced aimed at expanding public transport usage.[252]
Situated on the City Loop, Southern Cross station is Victoria's main hub for regional and interstate trains.
The Melbourne metropolitan rail network dates back to the 1850s gold rush era, and today consists of 222 suburban stations on sixteen lines which radiate from the City Loop, a mostly-underground subway system around the CBD. Flinders Street station, one of Australia's busiest rail hubs, serves the entire network, and remains a prominent Melbourne landmark and meeting place.[253] The city has rail connections with regional Victorian cities run by V/Line, as well as direct interstate rail services which depart from Melbourne's other major rail terminus, Southern Cross station, in Docklands. The Overland to Adelaide departs twice a week, while the XPT to Sydney departs twice daily. In the 2017–2018 financial year, the Melbourne metropolitan rail network recorded 240.9 million passenger trips, the highest ridership in its history.[254] Many rail lines, along with dedicated lines and rail yards, are also used for freight.
An assortment of new railways are under construction in Melbourne. A new heavy rail corridor through the inner city, the Metro Tunnel, is set to open by 2025, and will reduce congestion on the City Loop. The ongoing Level Crossing Removal Project is grade separating much of the network, and rebuilding many older stations. In June 2022, early works commenced on the Suburban Rail Loop, a 90-kilometre underground automated orbital line through Melbourne's middle suburbs around 12–18 km (7.5–11.2 mi) from the CBD.[255]An airport rail connection has commenced with early works in Keilor East.[256]
Melbourne's tram network dates from the 1880s land boom and, as of 2021, consists of 250 km (155.3 mi) of double track, 475 trams, 25 routes, and 1,763 tram stops, making it the largest in the world.[257][23][258] In 2017–2018, 206.3 million passenger trips were made by tram.[254] Around 75 per cent of Melbourne's tram network shares road space with other vehicles, while the rest of the network is separated or are light rail routes.[257] Melbourne's trams are recognised as iconic cultural assets and a tourist attraction. Heritage trams operate on the free City Circle route around the CBD.[259] Trams are free within the central city Free Tram Zone and run 24-hours on weekends.[260]
Melbourne's bus network consists of more than 400 routes which mainly service the outer suburbs and fill the gaps in the network between rail and tram services.[261][259][262] 127.6 million passenger trips were recorded on Melbourne's buses in 2013–2014, an increase of 10.2 percent on the previous year.[263]
Melbourne has four airports. Melbourne Airport, at Tullamarine, is the city's main international and domestic gateway and second busiest in Australia, with a traffic of over 37 million passengers in 2018–19.[264] The airport, which comprises four terminals,[265] is the home base for passenger airline Jetstar and cargo airlines Australian airExpress and Team Global Express, and is a major hub for Qantas and Virgin Australia. Avalon Airport, located between Melbourne and Geelong, is a secondary hub of Jetstar. It is also used as a freight and maintenance facility. Buses and taxis are the only forms of public transport to and from the city's main airports. A rail link to Tullamarine is planned to open in the 2030s.[266] Air Ambulance facilities are available for domestic and international transportation of patients.[267] Melbourne also has a significant general aviation airport, Moorabbin Airport in the city's southeast that also handles a small number of passenger flights. Essendon Airport, which was once the city's main airport, also handles passenger flights, general aviation and some cargo flights.[268]
Ship transport is an important component of Melbourne's transport system. The Port of Melbourne is Australia's largest container and general cargo port and also its busiest. The port handled two million shipping containers in a 12-month period during 2007, making it one of the top five ports in the Southern Hemisphere.[269]Station Pier on Port Phillip Bay is the main passenger ship terminal with cruise ships docking there. Ferries and water taxis run from berths along the Yarra River as far upstream as South Yarra and across Port Phillip Bay.
Among Australian capital cities, Melbourne ties with Canberra in first place for the highest male life expectancy (80.0 years) and ranks second behind Perth in female life expectancy (84.1 years).[270] The Victorian Government's Department of Health oversees about 30 public hospitals in the Melbourne metropolitan region and 13 health services organisations.[271]
Sugarloaf Reservoir at Christmas Hills in the metropolitan area is one of Melbourne's closest water supplies.
Water storage and supply for Melbourne is managed by Melbourne Water, which is owned by the Victorian Government. The organisation is also responsible for management of sewerage and the major water catchments in the region as well as the Wonthaggi desalination plant and North–South Pipeline. Water is stored in a series of reservoirs located within and outside the Greater Melbourne area. The largest dam, the Thomson River Dam, located in the Victorian Alps, is capable of holding around 60% of Melbourne's water capacity,[275] while smaller dams such as the Upper Yarra Dam, Yan Yean Reservoir, and the Cardinia Reservoir carry secondary supplies.
Gas is provided by three distribution companies:
AusNet Services, which provides gas from Melbourne's inner western suburbs to southwestern Victoria.[276]
Multinet Gas, which provides gas from Melbourne's inner eastern suburbs to eastern Victoria (owned by SP AusNet after acquisition, but continuing to trade under the brand name Multinet Gas).[277]
Australian Gas Networks, which provides gas from Melbourne's inner northern suburbs to northern Victoria, as well as the majority of southeastern Victoria.[277][278]
Electricity is provided by five distribution companies:
Citipower, which provides power to Melbourne's CBD, and some inner suburbs.[279]
Powercor, which provides power to the outer western suburbs, as well as all of western Victoria (Citipower and Powercor are owned by the same entity).[279]
Jemena, which provides power to the northern and inner western suburbs.[280]
^In accordance with the Australian Bureau of Statistics source, England, Scotland, Mainland China and the Special Administrative Regions of Hong Kong and Macau are listed separately.
^Indigenous identification is separate to the ancestry question on the Australian Census and persons identifying as Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander may identify any ancestry.
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^ abIsabel Ellender and Peter Christiansen, People of the Merri Merri. The Wurundjeri in Colonial Days, Merri Creek Management Committee, 2001 ISBN0-9577728-0-7
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^Boyce, James (2011). 1835: The Founding of Melbourne and the Conquest of Australia. Black Inc. p. 151, citing Richard Broome, "Victoria" in Ann McGrath (ed.), Contested Ground: 129
^Broome, Richard (2005). Aboriginal Victorians: A History since 1800. Crows Nest: Allen & Unwin. ISBN9781741145694.
^Pennings, Mark (2012). Origins of Australian Football: Victoria's Early History: Volume 1: Amateur Heroes and the Rise of Clubs, 1858 to 1876. Connor Court Publishing Pty Ltd. ISBN9781921421471, p. 11
^Goodman, Robin; Buxton, Michael; Moloney, Susie (2016). "The early development of Melbourne". Planning Melbourne: Lessons for a Sustainable City. CSIRO Publishing. ISBN9780643104747. Archived from the original on 2 August 2020. Retrieved 16 June 2019. By 1890, Melbourne was the second-largest city in the British Empire and one of the world's richest.
^"The Story of Melbourne". The Argus. Melbourne: National Library of Australia. 9 September 1926. p. 8 Supplement: An Historic Souvenir. Archived from the original on 20 February 2021. Retrieved 24 January 2012.
^Judith Raphael Buckrich (1996) Melbourne's Grand Boulevard: the Story of St Kilda Road. Published State Library of Victoria
^Logan, William (1985). The Gentrification of inner Melbourne: a political geography of inner-city housing. Brisbane, Australia: University of Queensland Press. pp. 148–160. ISBN0-7022-1729-8.
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