Victoria (state)
Victoria (commonly abbreviated as Vic) is a state in southeastern Australia. It is the second-smallest state, with a land area of 227,444 km2 (87,817 sq mi); the second-most-populated state (after New South Wales), with a population of over 6.7 million;[4] and the most densely populated state[10] in Australia (29.5 per km2). Victoria is bordered by New South Wales to the north and South Australia to the west and is bounded by the Bass Strait to the south (with the exception of a small land border with Tasmania located along Boundary Islet), the Great Australian Bight portion of the Southern Ocean to the southwest, and the Tasman Sea (a marginal sea of the South Pacific Ocean) to the southeast. The state encompasses a range of climates and geographical features from its temperate coastal and central regions to the Victorian Alps in the northeast and the semi-arid northwest.
This article is about the Australian state. For other places named Victoria, see Victoria (disambiguation) § Places.
Victoria
1 July 1851[2]
23 November 1855
1 January 1901
Victorian
12 senators (of 76)
39 seats (of 151)
227,444[3] km2 (87,817 sq mi)
1,986 m (6,516 ft)
29.5/km2 (76.4/sq mi) (2nd)
2020 estimate
AU$68,996 (6th)
Helmeted honeyeater
(Lichenostomus melanops cassidix)
Weedy seadragon
(Phyllopteryx taeniolatus)
Common heath[7]
(Epacris impressa)
Leadbeater's possum
(Gymnobelideus leadbeateri)
The majority of the Victorian population is concentrated in the central-south area surrounding Port Phillip, and in particular within the metropolitan area of Greater Melbourne, Victoria's state capital and largest city and also Australia's second-largest city,[11] where over three-quarters of the Victorian population live. The state is home to four of Australia's 20 largest cities: Melbourne, Geelong, Ballarat and Bendigo. The population is culturally diverse, with 35.1% of inhabitants being immigrants.[12]
Victoria is home to numerous Aboriginal groups, including the Boonwurrung, the Bratauolung, the Djadjawurrung, the Gunai, the Gunditjmara, the Taungurung, the Wathaurong, the Wurundjeri, and the Yorta Yorta.[13] There were more than 30 Aboriginal languages spoken in the area prior to European colonisation. In 1770 James Cook claimed the east coast of the Australian continent for the Kingdom of Great Britain. The first European settlement in the area occurred in 1803 at Sullivan Bay. Much of what is now Victoria was included in 1836 in the Port Phillip District of New South Wales. Named in honour of Queen Victoria, Victoria was separated from New South Wales and established as a separate Crown colony in 1851, achieving responsible government in 1855.[14] The Victorian gold rush in the 1850s and 1860s significantly increased Victoria's population and wealth. By the time of Australian Federation in 1901, Melbourne had become the largest city in Australasia, and was the seat of Federal government until Canberra became the national capital in 1927. The state continued to grow strongly through various periods of the 20th and early 21st centuries as a result of high levels of international and interstate migration.
Victoria has 38 seats in the Australian House of Representatives and 12 seats in the Australian Senate. At state level, the Parliament of Victoria consists of the Legislative Assembly and the Legislative Council. The Labor Party, led by Jacinta Allan as premier, has governed Victoria since 2014. The Governor of Victoria, the representative of the monarch in the state, is currently Margaret Gardner. Victoria is divided into 79 local government areas, as well as several unincorporated areas which the state administers directly.
Victoria's economy is the second-largest among Australian states and is highly diversified, with service sectors predominating. Melbourne hosts a number of museums, art galleries, and theatres, and in 2016 a sport's marketing company named it the world's sporting capital.[15][16]
Victoria Colony
Aireys Inlet
Utilities[edit]
Energy[edit]
Victoria's major utilities include a collection of brown-coal-fired power stations, particularly in the Latrobe Valley. One of these was the recently decommissioned Hazelwood Power Station, which was number 1 on the worldwide List of least carbon efficient power stations. The Victorian government is aiming to cut 40.6 mega tonnes of greenhouse gases emissions by 2025.[89][90]
Victoria is the home of Australian rules football, with ten of the 18 Australian Football League (AFL) clubs based in the state. The AFL Grand Final is traditionally held at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on the last Saturday of September. The state has a public holiday the day before the Grand Final, which coincides with the AFL Grand Final parade. The MCG is sometimes called he spiritual home of Australian rules football.[92]
The Victorian cricket team play in the national Sheffield Shield cricket competition. Victoria is represented in the National Rugby League by the Melbourne Storm and in Super Rugby by the Melbourne Rebels. It is represented in the National Basketball League by Melbourne United and South East Melbourne Phoenix. It is also represented in soccer by Melbourne Victory, Melbourne City and Western United in the A-League.
Melbourne has held the 1956 Summer Olympics, 2006 Commonwealth Games and the FINA World Swimming Championship.
Melbourne is also home to the Australian Open tennis tournament in January each year, which is the first of the world's four Grand Slam tennis tournaments, as well as the Formula One Australian Grand Prix, which is, on an annual basis, usually held in March or April. It hosted the Australian Masters golf tournament from 1979 to 2015.
Victoria's Bells Beach hosts one of the world's longest-running surfing competition, the Bells Beach SurfClassic, which is part of The ASP World Tour.
The Melbourne Vixens and Collingwood Magpies Netball represent Victoria in the National Netball League.
Victoria's Phillip Island is home of the Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit which hosts the Australian motorcycle Grand Prix which features MotoGP (the world's premier motorcycling class), as well as the Australian round of the World Superbike Championship and the domestic V8 Supercar racing, which also visits Sandown Raceway and the rural Winton Motor Raceway circuit.
Australia's most prestigious footrace, the Stawell Gift, is an annual event.
Victoria is also home to the Aussie Millions poker tournament, the tournament with the highest potential proceeds in the Southern Hemisphere.
The main horse racing tracks in Victoria are Caulfield Racecourse, Flemington Racecourse and Sandown Racecourse. The Melbourne Spring Racing Carnival is one of the biggest horse racing events in the world and is one of the world's largest sporting events. The main race is for the $6 million Melbourne Cup, and crowds for the carnival usually exceed 700,000.
Victoria was due to host the 2026 Commonwealth Games but withdrew on 18 July 2023 as a result of increased costs of holding the event.[93][94]
Major professional teams include:
Government
Travel
General information