Victoria (abbreviated as Vic) is a state in the south-east of Australia. Victoria is Australia's most densely populated state and its second-most populous state overall (5,821,300 people). Most of its population is concentrated in the area surrounding Port Phillip Bay, which includes the metropolitan area of its capital and largest city, Melbourne, which is Australia's second-largest city. Geographically the smallest state (237,629 km²) on the Australian mainland, Victoria is bordered by Bass Strait and Tasmania to the south,New South Wales to the north, the Tasman Sea to the east, and South Australia to the west. Victoria is named after Queen Victoria of Britain.
Prior to European settlement, the area now constituting Victoria was inhabited by a large number of Aboriginal peoples, collectively known as the Koori. With Great Britain having claimed the entire Australian continent east of the 135th meridian east in 1788, Victoria was included in the wider colony of New South Wales. The first settlement in the area occurred in 1803 at Sullivan Bay, and much of what is now Victoria was included in the Port Phillip District in 1836, an administrative division of New South Wales. Victoria was officially created a separate colony in 1851, and achieved self-government in 1855.
The Victorian gold rush in the 1850s and 1860s significantly increased both the population and wealth of the colony, and by the Federation of Australia in 1901, Melbourne had become the largest city and leading financial centre in Australasia. Melbourne also served as capital of Australia until the construction of Canberra in 1927, with the Federal Parliament meeting in Melbourne's Parliament House and all principal offices of the federal government being based in Melbourne.
Culturally, Melbourne is home to a number of museums, art galleries and theatres and is also described as the "sporting capital of Australia". The Melbourne Cricket Ground is the largest stadium in Australia, and the host of the 1956 Summer Olympics and the 2006 Commonwealth Games. The ground is also considered the "spiritual home" of Australian cricket and Australian rules football, and hosts the grand final of the Australian Football League (AFL) each year, usually drawing crowds of over 95,000 people. Victoria includes eight public universities, with the oldest, the University of Melbourne, having been founded in 1853.
Victoria has a varied climate despite its small size. It ranges from semi-arid temperate with hot summers in the north-west, to temperate and cool along the coast. Victoria's main land feature, the Great Dividing Range, produces a cooler, mountain climate in the centre of the state. Winters along the coast of the state, particularly around Melbourne, are relatively mild. Victoria's southernmost position on the Australian mainland means it is cooler and wetter than other mainland states and territories. The coastal plain south of the Great Dividing Range has Victoria's mildest climate. Air from the Southern Ocean helps reduce the heat of summer and the cold of winter.
Melbourne and other large cities are located in this temperate region. The autumn months of April/May are mild and bring some of Australia's colourful foliage across many parts of the state. Victoria has many lush forests, national parks, parklands, gardens and an abundance of flowers, both wild and cultivated.In 1976 the State of Victoria in Australia became known as the "Garden State". It was suggested then that our state should be the perfect site for a public Rose Garden, given also that our climate was favourable. In 1980 approval was given. In 1986 the garden was finally opened in Werribee. In 1993 after a public appeal, the supporters group was formed to help maintain the garden even though the Garden is part of Parks Victoria. All of the work pertaining to the Roses is done by Volunteers. This is the largest Public Rose Garden in Australia and the only non-European garden to receive a Garden Of Excellence Award from the World Federation of Rose Societies. The Garden is spread over 4.75 hectares and contains 6000 rose bushes of all types. 120 Volunteers work on average 7000 hrs per year to keep the roses blooming for the visitors' enjoyment.
This post is part of the Outdoor Wednesday meme,
and also part of the Wordless Wednesday meme,
and also part of the ABC Wednesday meme.
The posting box on a suburban street was once a common and familiar sight. I tend to see less of these nowadays, as people tend to post fewer letters. The location of this in an Alphington street seemed rather unusual, nevertheless, it made for a good photo, I think.
This post is part of the Our World Tuesday meme,
and also part of the Ruby Tuesday meme,
and also part of the Wordless Wednesday meme.
The National Gallery of Victoria is an art gallery and museum in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1861, it is the oldest and the largest public art gallery in Australia. Since December 2003, NGV has operated across two sites. The main gallery, known as NGV International, is located on St Kilda Road, in the heart of the Melbourne Arts Precinct of Southbank, with a branch gallery at Federation Square. The St Kilda Road Gallery, shown here, was designed by Sir Roy Grounds and opened in 1968. It was redesigned by Mario Bellini. The Ian Potter Centre: NGV Australia at Federation Square was designed by LAB Architecture Studio.
At the time when the first gallery opened, Victoria was an independent colony for just ten years, but in the wake of the Victorian gold rush, it was easily the richest part of Australia, and Melbourne the largest city. Besides donations of works of art, donated funds from wealthy citizens have been used by the Gallery to purchase large collections of overseas works from both old and modern masters. The Gallery currently holds over 65,000 works of art.
The Felton Bequest, established by the will of Alfred Felton, has acquired and donated over 15,000 works of art to the Gallery. The National Gallery of Victoria Art School, associated with the gallery, was founded in 1867. It was the leading centre for academic art training in Australia until about 1910. The School’s graduates went on to become some of Australia’s most significant artists.
This post is part of the Monday Mellow Yellows meme,
and also part of the Blue Monday meme.
The sulphur-crested cockatoo (Cacatua galerita) is a relatively large (44–55 cm) white cockatoo found in wooded habitats in Australia and New Guinea and some of the islands of Indonesia. They can be locally very numerous, leading to them sometimes being considered pests. They are well known in aviculture, although they can be demanding pets.
In Australia, sulphur-crested cockatoos can be found widely in the north and east, ranging as far south as Tasmania, but avoiding arid inland areas with few trees. They are numerous in suburban habitats in cities such as Adelaide, Melbourne, Canberra, Sydney and Brisbane. Except for highland areas, they occur throughout most of New Guinea and on nearby smaller islands such as Waigeo, Misool and Aru, and various islands in the Cenderawasih Bay and Milne Bay.
Their distinctive raucous call can be very loud; it is adapted to travel through the forest environments in which they live, including tropical and subtropical rainforests. These birds are naturally curious, as well as very intelligent. They have adapted very well to European settlement in Australia and live in many urban areas. These birds are very long-lived, and can live upwards of 70 years in captivity, although they only live to about 20–40 years in the wild. They have been known to engage in geophagy, the process of eating clay to detoxify their food. These birds produce a very fine powder to waterproof themselves instead of oil as many other birds do.
In Melbourne they are a very common sight, often in very large flocks, especially so in the suburbs with good native tree coverage, or in parklands. They are popular pets and can be trained to talk.
This post is part of the Saturday Critters meme,
We often have balloons flying above our garden quite early on some mornings. A bonus when photographing the balloons aloft is a view of the crescent moon in the same frame... One of these days we'll take the plunge (or rather the rise?) and go on one of these contraptions! The views of the city below are quite stunning I'm told.
This post is part of the Skywatch Friday meme.
The genus Hakea includes about 140 species, all endemic to Australia and varying greatly in habit, leaf shape and flower colour. One of the most colourful and distinctive is Hakea bucculenta from Western Australia. This upright narrow-leaved shrub with its tapered orange-red flower spikes 60-100 mm long presents a superb visual effect, and is referred to commonly as "Red Pokers".
In its natural habitat, the northern sand plains from Geraldton to Shark Bay, H. bucculenta has been recorded as reaching a height of 7 m and flowering from June to October. In cultivation it rarely exceeds 4 m and a fine specimen in the Australian National Botanic Gardens has reached this height in nine years. Buds on this plant form as early as February, and in March green flower spikes develop. These spikes gradually colour and in April a fan-like cluster of flower spikes emerges.
The narrow linear leaves 100-200 mm long with blunt ends extend in an open fashion from the tip right down the length of the stem and are quite graceful. They do not detract from or hide the flower spikes, which are borne on old wood. In the wild it is a prolific seed bearer. The seeds are woody capsules about 22 mm long and 15 mm wide and are closely attached to the stem. The seed is retained on the plant, being released following a bushfire or the death of the plant. Propagation is easiest from seed which germinates in 3-4 weeks. Cuttings have also been successful but a high percentage strike is rarely obtained.
H. bucculenta appears to be free of insect pests. Both birds and bees are attracted to its flowers. Parrots feed on the flowers, often causing considerable damage; they have also been known to eat the fruits. Good drainage is essential as the plant is susceptible to the fungus Phytophthora cinnamomi.
H. bucculenta grows well with other shrubs which will tend to provide support from wind, to which it is quite susceptible. A position in full sun produces best flowering and a compact habit whereas growth in shade has a tendency to be sparse with poor flowering. The species tolerates dry conditions and has proved frost resistant. In spring when new growth appears, a light dressing of a general fertiliser can be given, and the plant will benefit from a mulch of leaf litter or similar mulching material. Care should be taken to ensure the mulch is kept away from the trunk to avoid providing conditions conducive to collar rot.
This post is part of the Floral Friday Fotos meme.
Some fishers on the banks of the Yarra in Yarra Bend Park in Kew. The river is home to several species of fish. In the lower reaches of the Yarra mainly Southern black bream and jellyfish and in the upper reaches smaller quantities of European perch (redfin), Macquarie Perch, Brown Trout, Murray Cod and Freshwater Catfish.
However almost all of the fish are contaminated with heavy metals including arsenic and not fit for human consumption. Dolphins have been known to venture upstream as far as South Yarra, and serve as an example of the increased salinity of the river's lower reaches. Platypus are rarely seen as far downstream as Fairfield.
This post is part of the Wednesday Waters meme,
and also part of the Waterworld Wednesday meme,
and also part of the Outdoor Wednesday meme,
and also part of the Wordless Wednesday meme.
Open
parkland in Yarra Bend Park in Kew. This
site
has
a
strong
European
character
with
large
cypress
and
elm
trees. An old stone
wall
(being
the
remainder
of
some
heritage
buildings) also contributes to this.
The
sports
oval
provides
a
‘village
green’
atmosphere.
These large cypress trees are exotic in Australia and represent deliberate plantings by the colonists. The open position, great age and lack of competing species have ensured development to an impressive size.
This post is part of the Our World Tuesday meme,
and also part of the Trees & Bushes meme.
Metro Trains Melbourne operates the metropolitan train network under an agreement with the Victorian Government. There are 15 separate lines in the Metro train network, 837 km of track and a total of 218 stations, 80 of which are premium stations with enhanced facilities. The fleet size consists of 407 three-car sets comprising: 187 Comeng, 72 Siemens, 134 X'Trapolis and 14 Hitachi trains.
The annual patronage for the 2012-13 year was 225.5 million passenger trips. As it is an efficient way to commute, there is considerable pressure on the State Government to increase the coverage of rail services and expand the rail network. A train to the Tullamarine International Airport from the City with links to the suburban lines is long overdue. Most of the rail track in the suburbs is above ground as shown here but there is a largely underground rail loop in the City centre.
This post is part of the Monday Mellow Yellows meme,
and also part of the Blue Monday meme.
