Victoria, commonly abbreviated as Vic, is a state in southeastern Australia. It is the second-smallest state (after Tasmania), with a land area of 227,444 km2 (87,817 sq mi); the second-most-populous state (after New South Wales), with a population of over 7 million; and the most densely populated state in Australia (30.6 per km2). Victoria's economy is the second-largest among Australian states and is highly diversified, with service sectors predominating.
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. 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 21st centuries due to high levels of international and interstate migration. Melbourne hosts a number of museums, art galleries, and theatres; in 2016 a sports marketing company named it the world's sporting capital. (Full article...)
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Woodfull in 1934
William Maldon WoodfullOBE (22 August 1897 – 11 August 1965) was an Australian cricketer of the 1920s and 1930s. He captained both Victoria and Australia, and was best known for his dignified and moral conduct during the tumultuous bodylineseries in 1932–33. Trained as a schoolteacher, Woodfull was known for his benevolent attitude towards his players, and his patience and defensive technique as an opening batsman. Woodfull was not a flamboyant player, but was known for his calm, unruffled style and his reliability in difficult situations. His opening pairing with fellow Victorian Bill Ponsford for both his state and Australia remains one of the most successful in history. While not known for his tactical skills, Woodfull was widely admired by his players and observers for his sportsmanship and ability to mould a successful and loyal team through the strength of his character.
Woodfull started playing cricket from a young age without distinction. He made his professional debut in Melbourne's district competition staying until the age of 19. He made his first-class debut for Victoria at the age of 24 late in 1921–22. After scoring a century in his second match, Woodfull was promoted to open the following season, and he opened for the rest of his career. After scoring three centuries, including a 236, in 1925–26, he was selected for the 1926 tour of England. Regarded as one of the last players selected, Woodfull scored a double century and century in his first two innings in England to earn his debut in the first Test. Woodfull made eight centuries during the tour and topped the Australian averages and was named one of the five Wisden Cricketers of the Year. (Full article...)
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2016 Australian Paralympic team portrait
Ellie Victoria Cole, AM (born 12 December 1991) is an Australian retired Paralympic swimmer and wheelchair basketball player. After having her leg amputated due to cancer, she trained in swimming as part of her rehabilitation program and progressed more rapidly than instructors had predicted. She began competitive swimming in 2003 and first competed internationally at the 2006 IPC Swimming World Championships, where she won a silver medal. Since then, she has won medals in the Pan Pacific Swimming Championships, the Commonwealth Games, the Paralympic Games, the IPC Swimming World Championships, and various national championships.
Following the 2012 London Paralympics, where she won four gold and two bronze medals, Cole underwent two shoulder reconstructions and made a successful return to swimming at the 2015 IPC Swimming World Championships, winning five medals, including three golds. She subsequently represented Australia at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Paralympics, the 2018 Commonwealth Games, and the 2020 Tokyo Paralympics. In claiming her seventeenth Paralympic medal in Tokyo, Cole became Australia's most decorated female Paralympian with six gold, five silver and six bronze medals from four Paralympic Games. (Full article...)
Armstrong was a large man (6 foot 3 inches – 1.9 m tall and 21 stone – 133 kg or 294 lb) and was known as the "Big Ship". He was not a stylish batsman but his strokeplay was effective, with a sound defence and temperament. He bowled leg spin with a gentle action and while not a big turner of the ball, he relied on accuracy to dismiss opponents. He made his Test debut in 1902 against England at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) and was selected to tour England later that year where he was named as one of the Wisden Cricketers of the Year. That was the first of four tours of England. He was involved in several altercations with cricket administrators and was one of the "Big Six" who boycotted the 1912 Triangular Tournament in England after a dispute with the Australian Board of Control for International Cricket. (Full article...)
The area command continued to operate following the end of the war, becoming the hub of Air Force training services. In October 1953, the RAAF began reorganising its command-and-control system from one based on geography to one based on function; Southern Area was re-formed as Training Command, which in 2006 became Air Force Training Group, a component of RAAF Air Command. (Full article...)
Mark Bresciano (/brɛˈʃɑːnoʊ/breh-SHAH-noh; Italian:[breʃˈʃaːno]; born 11 February 1980) is an Australian former professional soccer player who played as a midfielder.
Isaacson grew up in Melbourne and started working for a newspaper when he was sixteen. He joined the RAAF in 1940. Following his stint in Bomber Command, he became well known in Australia for his tours in the Avro LancasterQ-for-Queenie to promote the sale of war loans and, in particular, for flying his plane under the Sydney Harbour Bridge in 1943. He transferred to the RAAF Reserve after the war, retiring as a wing commander in 1969. From 1956 he served as a Trustee, Chairman, and finally Life Governor of the Victorian Shrine of Remembrance. In 1991 he was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia for his publishing and community work. (Full article...)
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Hassett in 1949
Arthur Lindsay HassettMBE (28 August 1913 – 16 June 1993) was an Australian cricketer who played for Victoria and the Australian national team. The diminutive Hassett was an elegant middle-orderbatsman, described by Wisden as, "... a master of nearly every stroke ... his superb timing, nimble footwork and strong wrists enabled him to make batting look a simple matter". His sporting career at school singled him out as a precocious talent, but he took a number of seasons to secure a regular place in first-class cricket and initially struggled to make large scores. Selected for the 1938 tour of England with only one first-class century to his name, Hassett established himself with three consecutive first-class tons at the start of the campaign. Although he struggled in the Tests, he played a crucial role in Australia's win in the Fourth Test, with a composed display in the run-chase which sealed the retention of the Ashes. Upon returning to Australia, he distinguished himself in domestic cricket with a series of high scores, becoming the only player to score two centuries in a match against Bill O'Reilly—widely regarded as the best bowler in the world.
However, the eruption of World War II interrupted Hassett's progress. With first-class cricket canceled, he enlisted in the Second Australian Imperial Force, serving in the Middle East and New Guinea before being chosen to captain the Australian Services cricket team that played the "Victory Tests" in England during the months immediately following Victory in Europe Day. Hassett was the only capped Test player in the team and his men unexpectedly drew the series 2–2 against an English team consisting of Test cricketers. Hassett's leadership was intrinsic to the success of the team, which toured and helped to re-establish the game in England, India and Australia in the aftermath of the war. (Full article...)
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Minogue in 2025
Kylie Ann Minogue (/mɪˈnoʊɡ/; born 28 May 1968) is an Australian singer, songwriter, and actress. Frequently referred to as the "Princess of Pop", she has achieved recognition in both the music industry and fashion world as a major style icon. Her accolades include two Grammy Awards, four Brit Awards and eighteen ARIA Music Awards. Minogue is the highest-selling Australian female artist of all time, with sales surpassing 80 million records worldwide. In 2024, Time listed her in its annual list of the 100 most influential people in the world.
Irwin grew up around crocodiles and other types of reptiles and was educated regarding them by his father, Bob. He achieved international fame in the late 1990s from the television series The Crocodile Hunter, an internationally broadcast wildlife documentary series that he co-hosted with his wife, Terri. The couple also hosted the series Croc Files, The Crocodile Hunter Diaries, and New Breed Vets. They also co-owned and operated Australia Zoo, founded by Steve's parents in Beerwah, Queensland. They had two children, Bindi and Robert. (Full article...)
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Kew Asylum c. 1990
Kew Lunatic Asylum is a decommissioned heritage-listed psychiatric hospital located between Princess Street and Yarra Boulevard in Kew, a suburb of Melbourne, Australia. Operational from 1871 to 1988, Kew Asylum was one of the largest asylums ever built in Australia. Later known as Willsmere, the complex of buildings were constructed between 1864 and 1872 to the design of architects G.W. Vivian and Frederick Kawerau of the Victorian Public Works Office to house the growing number of "lunatics", "inebriates", and "idiots" in the Colony of Victoria.
The first purpose-built asylum in the Colony of Victoria, Kew was also larger and more expensive than its sister asylums at Ararat and Beechworth. The asylum's buildings are typical examples of the Italianate architecture style which was popular in Victorian Melbourne. Designed to be elegant, beautiful, yet substantial, and to be viewed as "a magnificent asylum for the insane" with the aim of portraying Melbourne as a civilised and benevolent city whilst avoiding the jail-like appearance of other asylums. These aims were furthered by the use of low ha-ha walls and extensively landscaped grounds. Long considered of cultural and historic significance to Melbourne, Kew Asylum and its complex of buildings were registered on the Register of the National Estate in March 1978. (Full article...)
Ferrari's Rubens Barrichello took pole position after setting the best qualifying lap. He retired at the start of the race after braking too early for the first corner, catching Williams driver Ralf Schumacher, who collided with the rear of Barrichello's car. Six drivers were involved in a separate incident. The safety car was deployed for four laps to clear the track. McLaren's David Coulthard led the first ten laps before a mistake on lap eleven allowed Michael Schumacher to pass him. Montoya then passed Schumacher for first place on lap twelve. He maintained the lead until he ran wide and Michael Schumacher passed him to retake it. He led the rest of the race to claim his 54th career victory. (Full article...)
Sir Wilfrid Selwyn "Bill" Kent Hughes (12 June 1895 – 31 July 1970) was an Australian army officer and politician who had a long career in both state and federal politics, most notably as a minister in the Menzies government. He also had a longstanding involvement with the Olympic movement, as both an athlete and organiser.
Lowe Kong Meng (born 1830 or 1831; died 22 October 1888) was a Chinese-Australian businessman. Born into a trading family in Penang, Kong Meng learned English and French at an early age and worked as an importing merchant around the Indian Ocean. In 1853 he moved to Melbourne where he started a business importing goods for Chinese miners during the Victorian gold rush. After 1860, as the Chinese population in Melbourne peaked, he diversified into other lines of business, including investing in the Commercial Bank of Australia. Kong Meng was a prominent and well-regarded member of Melbourne's elite, and for a time was one of the city's wealthiest men. He was a leading defender of Chinese Australians at a time when their status was politically controversial and they were subjected to targeted taxation, discrimination and violence. (Full article...)
Mercedes driver Nico Rosberg was the defending race winner. His team-mate, Lewis Hamilton started the race from pole, his fourth at the circuit and a record for the venue. Hamilton led home Rosberg in a Mercedes 1–2 finish, with Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel completing the podium in his first start with the team. This race also featured the debuts of future four-time world champion Max Verstappen, and future race winner Carlos Sainz, both driving for Toro Rosso. In the process, Verstappen set the record for the youngest-ever debut in Formula One at 17 years and 166 days old. (Full article...)
The club's name originates from its original home base in the bayside Melbourne suburb of St Kilda in which the club was established in 1873. The club also has strong links to the south-eastern suburb of Moorabbin due to it being the long-standing location of their training ground. (Full article...)
The 58-lap race featured three safety car interruptions due to collisions on lap 1, 26, and 42. A high rate of attrition meant that only 7 cars of the 22 participants finished the race, with six being classified after sixth place Rubens Barrichello was disqualified for exiting the pit lane illegally. Of the six, Hamilton lead most of the race and finished first ahead of Nick Heidfeld in second in a BMW Sauber and Nico Rosberg in third in a Williams. This was Rosberg's first podium finish. In winning the race, Hamilton and McLaren led the Drivers' Championship and Constructors Championship, respectively. (Full article...)
In preparation for the club's entry into the league, Geelong were provided with a range of recruitment concessions, including early access to existing clubs' players prior to the league's signing period, and additional selections in the 2018 AFL Women's draft. Nina Morrison was selected by the Cats with the first overall selection in the draft. (Full article...)
Neighbours is an Australian television soap opera that has aired since 18 March 1985. It was created by television executive Reg Watson. The Seven Network commissioned the show following the success of Watson's earlier soap Sons and Daughters. Although successful in Melbourne, Neighbours underperformed in the Sydney market and was cancelled by Seven four months after it began airing. It was immediately commissioned by rival Network Ten for a second production season, which began screening on 20 January 1986. Neighbours became the longest-running drama series in Australian television history. In 2005, it was inducted into the Logie Hall of Fame.
The storylines concern the lives of the people who live and work in Erinsborough, a fictional suburb of Melbourne, Victoria. The series centres on the residents of Ramsay Street, a dead end street, and its neighbouring area, the Lassiters complex, which includes a bar, hotel, café, police station, lawyers' office and park. Neighbours began with a focus on three households created by Watson – including the Ramsay and Robinson families, who have a long history and an ongoing rivalry. Over the serial's early years, three additional houses on the street were introduced as regular settings. Pin Oak Court, in Vermont South, is the real cul-de-sac that has doubled for Ramsay Street. The houses featured are real and the residents allow the production to shoot external scenes in their yards. The interior scenes are filmed at the FremantleMedia studios in Forest Hill. (Full article...)
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Harvey in 1950
Robert Neil Harvey (born 8 October 1928) is an Australian former cricketer who was a member of the Australian cricket team between 1948 and 1963, playing in 79 Test matches. He was the vice-captain of the team from 1957 until his retirement. An attacking left-handed batsman, sharp fielder and occasional off-spin bowler, Harvey was the senior batsman in the Australian team for much of the 1950s and was regarded by Wisden as the finest fielder of his era. Upon his retirement, Harvey was the second-most prolific Test run-scorer and century-maker for Australia.
One of six cricketing brothers, four of whom represented Victoria, Harvey followed his elder brother Merv into Test cricket and made his debut in January 1948, aged 19 and three months. In his second match, he became the youngest Australian to score a Test century, a record that still stands. Harvey was the youngest member of the 1948 Invincibles of Don Bradman to tour England, regarded as one of the finest teams in history. After initially struggling in English conditions, he made a century on his Ashes debut. Harvey started his career strongly, with six centuries in his first thirteen Test innings at an average over 100, including four in 1949–50 against South Africa, including a match-winning 151 not out on a sticky wicket. As Bradman's team broke up in the 1950s due to retirements, Harvey became Australia's senior batsman, and was named as one of the Wisden Cricketers of the Year in 1954, in recognition of his feat in scoring more than 2,000 runs during the 1953 tour of England. (Full article...)
Sir Thomas Walter White, KBE, DFC, VD (26 April 1888 – 13 October 1957) was an Australian politician and pilot in the First World War. In 1914 he became one of the first airmen trained for the Australian Flying Corps (AFC), and the following year he was among the first AFC members to see action when he was deployed to the Middle East with the Mesopotamian Half Flight. After carrying out several missions behind Turkish lines, he was captured in November 1915 but escaped in July 1918. White was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross and twice mentioned in despatches for his war service. He married Vera Deakin, a Red Cross worker and daughter of former Australian prime minister Alfred Deakin, in 1920.
Telopea oreades, commonly known as the Gippsland-, mountain- or Victorian waratah, is a large shrub or small tree in the family Proteaceae. Native to southeastern Australia, it is found in wet sclerophyll forest and rainforest on rich acidic soils high in organic matter. No subspecies are recognised, though a northern isolated population hybridises extensively with the Braidwood waratah (T. mongaensis). Reaching a height of up to 19 metres (62 feet), T. oreades grows with a single trunk and erect habit. It has dark green leaves with prominent veins that are 11–28 centimetres (4.3–11 in) long and 1.5–6 cm (0.6–2.4 in) wide. The red flower heads, known as inflorescences, appear in late spring. Each is composed of up to 60 individual flowers.
In the garden, T. oreades grows in soils with good drainage and ample moisture in part-shaded or sunny positions. Several commercially available cultivars that are hybrid forms with T. speciosissima have been developed, such as the 'Shady Lady' series. The timber is hard and has been used for making furniture and tool handles. (Full article...)
The station is owned, operated and maintained by Civic Nexus, a subsidiary of IFM Investors and operating as Southern Cross Station Pty Ltd, under a 30-year lease to 2036 from the Victorian State Government, as part of a public-private partnership.
The station is the terminus of the state's regional railway network operated by V/Line, The Overland rail service to Adelaide, and NSW TrainLink XPT services to Sydney. It is also served by suburban rail services operated by Metro Trains, being one of five stations on the City Loop, a mostly underground railway that encircles the Central Business District. It is the second busiest railway station in Melbourne's metropolitan network, with 19.551 million metropolitan passenger movements recorded in 2018/9. In 2018/9 the station also recorded an additional 6.306 million regional passengers through the V/Line network.
From 1885 to 1964, Richmond's home ground was the Punt Road Oval, (formerly named Richmond Cricket Ground), which is still utilised as their headquarters, training facility and hosting AFL Women's (AFLW) and reserves matches. Since the 1965 season, the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) has been the club's official home ground. (Full article...)
Horsham (/ˈhɔːrʃəm/) is a regional city in the Wimmera region of western Victoria, Australia. Located on a bend in the Wimmera River, Horsham is approximately 300 kilometres (190 mi) northwest of the state capital Melbourne. As of the 2021 census, Horsham and surrounds had a population of 20,456. It is the most populous city in Wimmera, and the main administrative centre for the Rural City of Horshamlocal government area. It is the eleventh largest city in Victoria after Melbourne, Geelong, Ballarat, Bendigo, Wodonga, Mildura, Shepparton, Warrnambool, Traralgon, and Wangaratta.
An early settler James Monckton Darlot named the settlement after the town of Horsham in his native England. It grew throughout the latter 19th and early 20th centuries as a centre of Western Victoria's wheat and wool industry, becoming the largest city in the Wimmera and Western Victoria by the early 1910s. Horsham was declared a city in 1949 and was named Australia's Tidiest Town in 2001 and Victoria's Tidiest Town in 2021. (Full article...)
Collingwood has played in a record 45 VFL/AFL Grand Finals (including rematches), winning 16 (tied with Carlton and Essendon), drawing two (a record) and losing 27 (also a record). Regarded as one of Australia's most popular sports teams, Collingwood, as of 2013, attracted the highest attendance figures and television ratings of any professional football club in the nation, across all codes. In 2023, it topped the AFL membership ladder with 106,470 members. (Full article...)
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Ballarat (/ˌbæləˈræt/BAL-ə-RAT) (Wathawurrung: balla arat) is a city in the Central Highlands of Victoria, Australia. At the 2021 census, Ballarat had a population of 111,973, making it the third-largest urban inland city in Australia and the third-largest city in Victoria.
Within months of Victoria separating from the colony of New South Wales in 1851, gold was discovered near Ballarat, sparking the Victorian gold rush. Ballarat subsequently became a thriving boomtown that for a time rivalled Melbourne, the capital of Victoria, in terms of wealth and cultural influence. In 1854, following a period of civil disobedience in Ballarat over gold licenses, local miners launched an armed uprising against government forces. Known as the Eureka Rebellion, it led to the introduction of white male suffrage in Australia, and as such is interpreted as the origin of Australian democracy. The rebellion's symbol, the Eureka Flag, has become a national symbol. (Full article...)
The team made their debut in the NBL in 1984 as the Melbourne Tigers. The Tigers were led by coach Lindsay Gaze and his son Andrew from 1984 until 2005, with the pair guiding the Tigers to two championships in the 1990s. The pair were supported by fellow club legends such as Dave Simmons, Lanard Copeland and Mark Bradtke. Four consecutive NBL Grand Finals followed between 2006 and 2009, with championships coming in 2006 and 2008 behind the likes of Chris Anstey and Darryl McDonald. After 31 seasons known as the Melbourne Tigers, the franchise underwent a controversial rebrand in 2014, changing the name of the team to Melbourne United. United won NBL championships in 2018 and 2021. The franchise's six championships is second only to the Perth Wildcats (ten) for most titles in NBL history. (Full article...)
At June 2018, Moe had an estimated urban population of 16,812 (including Newborough). The population has been slowly shrinking with an average annual rate of -0.1% year-on-year for the five years to 2018. It is administered by the Latrobe City Council. Moe was originally known as The Mowie, then Little Moi. The town's name is believed to derive from a Kurnai (local Indigenous) word meaning "swamp land". (Full article...)
The Hawks are the only club to have won the VFL/AFL competition in every decade between 1960 and 2020, totalling 13 premierships. The team play in their traditional vertically striped brown-and-gold guernseys for Home fixtures, but may use different designs for special rounds such as Sir Doug Nicholls Round. For Away fixtures, the team alternates between guernseys that are either predominantly gold, white or brown. (Full article...)
The three-storey museum displays information and memorabilia of the prisoners and staff, including death masks of the executed criminals. At one time the museum displayed what was believed at the time to be Ned Kelly's skull, before it was stolen in 1978, as well as the pencil used by wrongly convicted Colin Campbell Ross to protest his innocence in writing, before being executed. (Full article...)
Did you know (auto-generated)
... that Argentine naval officer Barry Melbourne Hussey was known as El Ingles ('The Englishman') by his comrades?
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