Nine things you didn’t know about Melbourne
FROM the birthplace of delicious chocolate treats to the first gay radio station in the world, Melbourne is a special city full of wonderful history and heritage.
VIC News
Don't miss out on the headlines from VIC News. Followed categories will be added to My News.
- Is this Melbourne’s hungriest man?
- The fabulous homes of Melbourne’s rich and famous
- Weird and wacky things to do in Melbourne
- The ten best Melbourne songs
THE BIRTHPLACE of delicious chocolate treats, the first gay radio station in the world and the largest Greek-speaking population outside Greece — Melbourne is a special city full of wonderful history and heritage.
We love to celebrate the fact we’re the most liveable city in the world and we call ourselves the sporting capital of the globe — but here are a few things you might not have known about Melbourne.
Melbourne is the birthplace of all kinds of delicious chocolate
Cherry Ripe, Crunchie and Freddo Frogs were first manufactured in Melbourne — by MacRobertsons, an Australian confectionary company. The business was sold to Cadbury’s in 1967 who incorporated the tasty treats into its own product line.
Melbourne had the first gay and lesbian radio station in the world
Joy 94.9FM is Australia’s first and only gay and lesbian community radio station. It started out with a 90-day test licence in 1993 and was of only four community stations to receive a full licence in 2001.
The black box flight recorder was invented in Melbourne
David Warren, a research scientist at the Aeronautical Research Laboratory in Melbourne, designed and built the first ever “black box recorder” in the 1950s. His invention has now been universally adopted as a means to investigate accidents.
Fosters beer was first brewed in Melbourne — by Americans
The local lager was first brewed in 1888 by American brothers William and Ralph Foster. They arrived in Melbourne by boat from New York a year earlier with a dream to start a successful brewery.
Melbourne was initially the capital of Australia
Following the Federation of Australia in 1901, Melbourne was the capital of Australia for 26 years. In 1927, the capital moved to the newly created city of Canberra.
Melbourne’s Chinatown is the longest continuous Chinese settlement in the western world
The area, which is dominated by restaurants and grocery stores, dates back to the gold rush days of the 1850s. Chinese district associations began to pop up in the 1860s and began to purchase land in Little Bourke Street to build clubrooms and meeting places for the community.
Melbourne has the largest Greek-speaking population outside of Greece
Making their impact on the city during the post-1950 migrant boom the exact number of Greeks in Melbourne is a point of debate.
But the 2011 census says about 50,000 Victorians were born in Greece and most of them live in Melbourne.
Melbourne was originally called Batman ia
Named after one of its founders, John Batman, Melbourne was briefly called Batmania. In 1837 the town was granted a seal of approval and in 1851 the colony of Victoria was formed and formally separated from NSW. The colony was named Victoria after Queen Victoria and the main town Melbourne after her most dedicated Prime Minister, Lord Melbourne.
Melbourne was the first city in the southern hemisphere to host the Summer Olympics
The first Summer Games held outside of Europe and North America, Melbourne’s 1956 Olympic Games was the first in the southern hemisphere. But strict quarantine restrictions meant that the equestrian events were held six months earlier in Stockholm.
‘Angels’: Hero Coles workers save mum’s life
A mother of three has opened up on how her life was saved after she suddenly collapsed while doing a routine supermarket shop.
Wildlife and traffic fears over music festival
Wildlife advocates fear a weekend music festival in central Victoria will endanger native animals including rescued joeys.