Melbourne is a bustling cultural hub in Victoria, Australia. It has a rich history and incredible sights to see. Therefore, it is not surprising that it is amongst the most liveable cities in the world. People simply love to be there!

Let’s look at some more reasons to be in Melbourne.

Some Firsts

In 1970, Victoria became the first place in the world to enforce seat belt legislation. Clearly, safety is a huge concern till date and this was an important decision.

The first ute (a utility vehicle with a cargo tray) was invented and built by Melbournian James Freeland Leacock in 1929.

Cinema lovers have another reason to love Melbourne. The world’s first feature film The Story of the Kelly Gang (1906) was filmed in Melbourne and has a real length of about 1,200 meters. Its running time is over an hour.

Food Trivia

Fisherman’s Bend, Port Melbourne is the only place in the world that makes Vegemite. Vegemite is a thick, dark brown Australian food spread. It is made from leftover brewers’ yeast extract with various vegetable and spice additives. The popular spread was developed by Cyril Callister in Melbourne in 1922.

Fitzroy chocolate makers, MacRobertson’s Steam Confectionery Works invented the Cherry Ripe in 1924, Crunchie in 1929 and the Freddo Frog in 1930. This was before the company was sold to Cadbury’s in 1967.

Australia’s first pizza restaurant opened in 1961. It is known as Toto’s and is located in Little Italy, Lygon Street. The best part is that it is still serving pizzas today!

History

Melbourne was Australia’s capital city between 1901 and 1927.

Now here’s a classic mix-up! Flinders Street Station was actually intended for Mumbai and the Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus in Mumbai was meant for Melbourne. But in an accidental switch of the architectural drawings, a Gothic style station was built in India. And, an east-Indian inspired station came up in Melbourne.

All you DC fans out there here is an interesting piece of trivia. Melbourne was originally named Batmania, although it has nothing to do with Bruce Wayne. Instead, the name is derived from one of the city’s founding father John Batman. He had discovered central Melbourne and had said, ‘This will be the place for a village.’

Melbourne became the richest city in the world in 1880 after the Victorian Gold Rush. Now that’s a very good reason to be there!

Some Feats

Did you know that Melbourne is the fox capital of the world? There are about 6 – 23 foxes per square kilometer in central Melbourne.

The National Gallery of Victoria’s Great Hall houses the largest stained glass ceiling in the world. This measures 51 meters in length and 15 meters in width.

Dr. David Warren of the Aeronautical Research Centre invented the Black Box flight recorder in 1958. This is now used in aircrafts worldwide. The invention came after his father died in a plane crash in 1934.

Sport Hub

Melbourne can easily be called the sporting capital of the world. In 1956 Melbourne became the first city outside North America or Europe to hold the Olympics.

The city also hosts the Australian Open, the Australian Formula 1 Grand Prix, the AFL Grand Final, the MotoGP and the Spring Racing Carnival.

It is the only city in the world with five international standard sporting facilities: the Melbourne Cricket Ground, Docklands Stadium (Etihad), Rod Laver Arena, Hisense Arena and Olympic Park in Melbourne Park.

And some more…

Australia’s first and only LGBT community radio station has been broadcasting since 1993 from Melbourne.

Until 1966, it was illegal for pubs in Melbourne to be open after 6pm. Thank goodness the rule is not applicable today! Cheers to that!