Victoria | |||||
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Slogan or nickname | The Garden State The Place to Be The Education State |
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Motto(s) | Peace and Prosperity | ||||
Other Australian states and territories |
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Coordinates | 37°S 144°E / 37°S 144°ECoordinates: 37°S 144°E / 37°S 144°E | ||||
Capital city | Melbourne | ||||
Demonym | Victorian | ||||
Government | Constitutional monarchy | ||||
• Governor | Linda Dessau | ||||
• Premier | Daniel Andrews (ALP) | ||||
Australian state | |||||
• Colony established | 1851 | ||||
• Responsible government |
1856 | ||||
• Federation | 1901 | ||||
• Australia Act | 3 March 1986 | ||||
Area | |||||
• Total | 237,639 km² (6th) 91,753 sq mi |
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• Land | 227,420 km² 87,807 sq mi |
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• Water | 10,213 km² (4.3%) 3,943 sq mi |
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Population (March 2016) |
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• Population | 6,039,100 (2nd) | ||||
• Density | 26.55/km² (2nd) 68.8 /sq mi |
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Elevation | |||||
• Highest point |
Mount Bogong 1,986 m (6,516 ft) |
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Gross state product (2014-15) |
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• Product ($m) | $370,504 (2nd) | ||||
• Product per capita | $54,774 (6th) | ||||
Time zone(s) |
UTC+10 (AEST) UTC+11 (AEDT) |
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Federal representation | |||||
• House seats | 37/150 | ||||
• Senate seats | 12/76 | ||||
Abbreviations | |||||
• Postal | VIC | ||||
• ISO 3166-2 | AU-VIC | ||||
Emblems | |||||
• Floral | Pink heath | ||||
• Animal | Leadbeater's possum | ||||
• Bird | Helmeted honeyeater | ||||
• Fish | Weedy seadragon | ||||
• Mineral or gemstone | Gold | ||||
• Colours | Navy blue and silver | ||||
Website | www |
Victoria Colony | |||||
British Crown Colony | |||||
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Government | Self-governing colony | ||||
Monarch | |||||
• | 1851-1901 | Victoria | |||
Governor | |||||
• | 1851-1854 | Charles La Trobe (first) | |||
• | 1895-1900 | Thomas Brassey (last) | |||
History | |||||
• | independence from the New South Wales colony | 1851 | |||
• | Federation of Australia | 1901 |
Victoria (abbreviated as Vic) is a state in southeast Australia. Victoria is Australia's most densely populated state and its second-most populous state overall. Most of its population is concentrated in the area surrounding Port Phillip Bay, which includes the metropolitan area of its state capital and largest city, Melbourne, Australia's second-largest city. Geographically the smallest state 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.
Prior to British 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. Named in honour of Queen Victoria who signed the division's separation from New South Wales, the colony was officially created 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 federal 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.