Melbourne (/ˈmɛlbərn/ MEL-bərn,[note 1] locally [ˈmæɫbən] ⓘ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: Narrm or Naarm[9][10]) is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in Australia, after Sydney.[11] Its name generally refers to a 9,993 km2 (3,858 sq mi) metropolitan area also known as Greater Melbourne,[12] comprising an urban agglomeration of 31 local municipalities,[13] although the name is also used specifically for the local municipality of City of Melbourne based around its central business area. The metropolis occupies much of the northern and eastern coastlines of Port Phillip Bay and spreads into the Mornington Peninsula, part of West Gippsland, as well as the hinterlands towards the Yarra Valley, the Dandenong Ranges, and the Macedon Ranges. As of 2023, the population of the metropolitan area was 5.2 million (19% of the population of Australia);[1] inhabitants are referred to as "Melburnians".[note 2]
The area of Melbourne has been home to Aboriginal Victorians for over 40,000 years and serves as an important meeting place for local Kulin nation clans.[16][17] Of the five peoples of the Kulin nation, the traditional custodians of the land encompassing Melbourne are the Boonwurrung, Woiwurrung and the Wurundjeri peoples. In 1803, a short-lived British penal settlement was established at Port Phillip, then part of the Colony of New South Wales. Melbourne was founded in 1835 with the arrival of free settlers from Van Diemen's Land (modern-day Tasmania).[16] It was incorporated as a Crown settlement in 1837, and named after the then-Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, William Lamb, 2nd Viscount Melbourne,[16] Declared a city by Queen Victoria in 1847, it became the capital of the newly separated Colony of Victoria in 1851.[18] During the 1850s Victorian gold rush, the city entered a lengthy boom period that, by the late 1880s, had transformed it into Australia's, and one of the world's largest and wealthiest metropolises.[19][20] After the federation of Australia in 1901, Melbourne served as the interim seat of government of the new nation until Canberra became the permanent capital in 1927.[21]
Today, Melbourne is culturally diverse and, among world cities, has the 4th largest foreign born population. It is a leading financial centre in the Asia-Pacific region, ranking 28th globally in the 2024 Global Financial Centres Index.[22] The city's eclectic architecture blends Victorian era structures, such as the World Heritage-listed Royal Exhibition Building, with one of the world's tallest skylines. Additional landmarks include the Melbourne Cricket Ground and the National Gallery of Victoria. Noted for its cultural heritage, the city gave rise to Australian rules football, Australian impressionism and Australian cinema, and is noted for its street art, live music and theatre scenes. It hosts major annual sporting events, such as the Australian Grand Prix and the Australian Open, and also hosted the 1956 Summer Olympics. Melbourne ranked as the world's most livable city for much of the 2010s.[23]
Melbourne Airport is the second-busiest airport in Australia and the Port of Melbourne is the nation's busiest seaport.[24][25] Its main metropolitan rail terminus is Flinders Street station and its main regional rail and road coach terminus is Southern Cross station. It also has Australia's most extensive freeway network and the largest urban tram network in the world.
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