The Melbourne Story

1835-1850 Melbourne the meeting place
The place where John Batman and the Aboriginals met in 1835 is regarded as the foundation point of Melbourne city. The city is where it is now because back then there were easily accessible ports for boats carrying migrants and convicts to come to Melbourne. The first white settlement in Victoria is in Sorrento and before then, the place was just a forest, full of Aboriginals. People came because the land was fertile and had perfect conditions for farming. The population was made up of Aboriginals, convicts and also many wealthy people. For the people there it was an opportunity for them to start a new life and to find jobs. At that time, Melbourne was goverened by the military.

1850-1880 Gold Town
All sorts of people from everywhere came to Melbourne in the time of the gold rush. Mostly, Asians continued to stay there because they had new methods to find gold. The people that did leave, left because the gold was running out. Melbourne city itself was the size of Victoria and went all the way to Canberra and was larger than most European cities. Melbourne had connection with England and the people in Melbourne were making it their home by making other cities.

1880-1900 Boom and Bust City and Little Lon
In 1880, Melbourne became home to the Royal Exhibition Centre and this caused the economy to boom. New suburbs were made and grand commercial buildings were built all over the city. One of the main delights in the city was the Coles Book Arcade, which was like a library. People would come in and read as they liked without the pressure to buy. Melbourne also hosted the Australasian Federation Conference in 1890. Soon after, the economy crashed and now Victora was in a depression. Banks collapsed, jobs were lost and families were evicted from their homes. Supplies ran low and people started leaving. Melbourne slowly started to socially progess when bigger and better sites were built and when a new sewerage system was formed because prior to this new system, sewage would just float down the street gutters.

1900-1920 Melbourne and the Nation
Melbourne was Australia's first captial because that's where most people lived and where most of the money was. It stayed the capital for 26 years (1901-1927), but then moved to Canberra because New South Wales and Melbourne both wanted to have parliament so they made a new territory in between them. Melbourne was the manufacturing heart of Australia because there was a lot of money, most of the Australian population lived there and there was a major industry exhibition. The gold rush and the beautiful layout of the city assisted in getting Australia onto the map. During World War I Melbourne experienced devastation, everyone became very nationalistic. People young and old were volunteering to go to war and most didnt come back.

1920-1945 Electric City
In 1921 houses in Melbourne became electrified. During this 1920-1945 period, Melbourne experienced the Depression and World War II. Loads of jobs were lost, many died and lost money, but in some ways people would say the war was good and bad. Everyday life became more and more modern and this made more things possible, except the poor were left out because they couldnt afford much. The shape of Melbourne changed with newer and better modern houses and more modernly styled buildings.