Melbourne

Alarna Parascos

Melbourne Overview• Melbourne is located at

south-east corner of mainland Australia.

• Melbourne has so much to offer like restaurants, fashion boutiques, café-filled laneways, bars, art galleries, spacious parks and village-like inner suburbs.

• Melbourne is less than 200 years old and is always modernising.

Major Cities

• Melbourne is about 9 hours to Sydney by car.

• Approximately 50 min drive from Phillip Bay.

• From Melbourne to Geelong is approx 1 hour and 10 mins driving time.

Transport Options Available

• Public transport in Melbourne is always convenient, there is always buses, trams, trains, taxi’s, shuttle buses etc.

• Yarra Trams is one of the biggest tram networks in the world. There services include the metropolitan/ CBD area.

• http://www.metlinkmelbourne.com.au/timetables/

Major Gateways for Transport• The Melbourne Airport caters for both international and

domestic flights. This is one of many ways of transport from a location to Melbourne or leaving Melbourne.

• There are different airlines available to fly with such as:- Qantas- Virgin blue- Rex- Jetstar• They depart from:- Sydney Adelaide- Brisbane- Cairns- Darwin• Melbourne airport is approximately a 20-30 minute drive

from the city depending on the traffic.

Brief History of Melbourne

• Melbourne was founded on the Yarra River in 1835. After a settlement inside the Port Phillip Bay heads near Sorrento was established.

• The township of Melbourne grew from the Yarra river in the late 1830’s.

• Melbourne boomed in the 1850's as a result of the gold rush in the region to the north. This was one of the biggest in the world's history, which saw a huge flood of migrants bring instant wealth and prosperity to the city. This is why melbourne is such a multi-cultural city.

The 13 storey Queen Anne Melbourne building. The world’s tallest in 1889. was demolished in 1980.

Economy

• Tourism also plays an important role in Melbourne's economy.

• Approximately 7.6 million domestic visitors and 1.88 million international visitors in 2004.

• Melbourne and Sydney are in tight competition with the amount of money that domestic tourists spend in the city.

• Melbourne has been attracting an increasing share of domestic and international conference markets.

Local Customs

• Melbourne's Food and Wine Festival is one event that takes you into restaurants down laneways, into city squares bursting to life with edible gardens, and out into Victoria’s wineries and regional restaurants. It is put on every year around March.

• Its entering its 20th year and there's over 250 different events over two weeks.

Melbourne Cup• The Melbourne cup is an important custom

that takes place every year. Its the greatest 3200 metre handicap horse-race in the world.

• The Emirates Melbourne Cup is run at Flemington Racecourse, Melbourne, on the first Tuesday of November each year.

• Its one of the riches races and sporting events in the world.

• It is known as "the race that stops a nation". • This event has been taking place for 150 years. • Its not only about the race though, there’s

Fashion on the Fields, places to dine, charity acticities “Pin and Win” and much more.

Local Facilities

• Metlink Tram services- 131 638

• 13 CABS- black cabs - 13 2227

• Royal Melbourne Hospital- +61 3 9342 7000

• Terry White Chemist- 07 3857 5666

Geographical FeaturesMelbourne is located in Victoria. Its neighboring states are NSW, Tasmania and ACT.

Climate: Melbourne enjoys warm-hot summers, whilst spring and autumn are quite mild and the winters cool. There's no elaborate temperature extremes, but when they do occur its more hot then cold. Melbourne weather is always unpredictable.

Current Health and Safety Issues when visiting Melbourne

• There are few health risks when visiting Melbourne. • The tap water is good, and restaurants and

accommodation enterprises are expected by law to have satisfactory work place health and safety.

• Smog is quite high, but less then cities such as London, Hong Kong and Bangkok.

• If you are an asthmatic, be aware that Melbourne does have "smog days" and issues smog alerts for people with breathing difficulties.

Tourism Products

• Visiting Melbourne's Visitor Information Centres can provide you with the following products:

• Brochures• Maps/ Timetables• Pamphlets• Advertising flyers• There are also some internet websites

More Information

• Some websites for further information about Melbourne:

• www.visitmelbourne.com/ • www.melbourne.com.au/highligh.htm• www.visitvictoria.com/• www.seemelbournecard.com/

Formal and Informal Research

• I have gained my information mainly from:• The internet • Class discussions from Tafe. • Also from people who have a knowledge of

Melbourne and the different attractions it has to offer.