Victoria | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Nicknames: The Garden State[1] • The Education State | |||
| Motto: Peace and Prosperity | |||
| Country | Australia | ||
| Before federation | Colony of Victoria | ||
| Separation from New South Wales | 1 July 1851[2] | ||
| Responsible government | 23 November 1855 | ||
| Federation | 1 January 1901 | ||
| Named for | Queen Victoria | ||
| Capital and largest city | Melbourne 37°48′51″S 144°57′47″E / 37.81417°S 144.96306°E | ||
| Administration | 79 local government areas | ||
| Demonym(s) | Victorian | ||
| Government | |||
• Monarch | Charles III | ||
• Governor | Margaret Gardner | ||
• Premier | Jacinta Allan (ALP) | ||
| Legislature | Parliament of Victoria | ||
| Legislative Council | |||
| Legislative Assembly | |||
| Judiciary | Supreme Court of Victoria | ||
| Parliament of Australia | |||
• Senate | 12 senators (of 76) | ||
| 39 seats (of 151) | |||
| Area | |||
• Land | 227,444[3] km2 (87,817 sq mi) | ||
| Highest elevation | 1,986 m (6,516 ft) | ||
| Population | |||
• March 2024 estimate | 6,959,200[4] (2nd) | ||
• Density | 30.6/km2 (79.3/sq mi) (2nd) | ||
| GSP | 2020 estimate | ||
• Total |  AU$458.895 billion[5] (2nd) | ||
• Per capita | AU$68,996 (6th) | ||
| HDI (2021) | 0.948[6] very high · 4th | ||
| Time zone | UTC+10:00 (AEST) | ||
• Summer (DST) | UTC+11:00 (AEDT) | ||
| Calling code | +61 (03) | ||
| Postal abbreviation | VIC | ||
| ISO 3166 code | AU–VIC | ||
| Symbols | |||
| Bird | Helmeted honeyeater (Lichenostomus melanops cassidix) | ||
| Fish | Weedy seadragon (Phyllopteryx taeniolatus) | ||
| Flower | Common heath[7] (Epacris impressa) | ||
| Mammal | Leadbeater's possum (Gymnobelideus leadbeateri) | ||
| Colour(s) | Navy blue and silver[8] | ||
| Fossil | Koolasuchus cleelandi | ||
| Mineral | Gold[9] | ||
| Website | vic | ||
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Victoria, commonly abbreviated as Vic,[10] is a state in southeastern Australia. It is the second-smallest state (after Tasmania), with a land area of 227,444 km2 (87,817 sq mi); the second-most-populated state (after New South Wales), with a population of over 6.9 million;[4] and the most densely populated state in Australia (30.6 per km2).[11] Victoria's economy is the second-largest among Australian states and is highly diversified, with service sectors predominating.
Victoria is bordered by New South Wales to the north and South Australia to the west and is bounded by the Bass Strait to the south (with the exception of a small land border with Tasmania located along Boundary Islet), the Great Australian Bight portion of the Southern Ocean to the southwest, and the Tasman Sea (a marginal sea of the South Pacific Ocean) to the southeast. The state encompasses a range of climates and geographical features from its temperate coastal and central regions to the Victorian Alps in the northeast and the semi-arid northwest.
The majority of the Victorian population is concentrated in the central-south area surrounding Port Phillip, and in particular within the metropolitan area of Greater Melbourne, Victoria's state capital and largest city and also Australia's second-largest city,[12] where over three-quarters of the culturally diverse population live (35.1% of inhabitants being immigrants).[13] The state is also home to four of Australia's 20 largest cities: Melbourne, Geelong, Ballarat and Bendigo.
Victoria is home to numerous Aboriginal groups, including the Boonwurrung, the Bratauolung, the Djadjawurrung, the Gunai, the Gunditjmara, the Taungurung, the Wathaurong, the Wurundjeri, and the Yorta Yorta.[14] There were more than 30 Aboriginal languages spoken in the area prior to European colonisation. In 1770 James Cook claimed the east coast of the Australian continent for the Kingdom of Great Britain. The first European settlement in the area occurred in 1803 at Sullivan Bay. Much of Victoria was included in 1836 in the Port Phillip District of New South Wales.
Named in honour of Queen Victoria, Victoria was separated from New South Wales and established as a separate Crown colony in 1851, achieving responsible government in 1855.[15] The Victorian gold rush in the 1850s and 1860s significantly increased Victoria's population and wealth. By the time of Australian Federation in 1901, Melbourne had become the largest city in Australasia, and was the seat of Federal government until Canberra became the national capital in 1927. The state continued to grow strongly through various periods of the 20th and 21st centuries due to high levels of international and interstate migration. Melbourne hosts a number of museums, art galleries, and theatres; in 2016 a sports marketing company named it the world's sporting capital.[16]
Victoria has 38 seats in the Australian House of Representatives and 12 seats in the Australian Senate. At state level, the Parliament of Victoria consists of the Legislative Assembly and the Legislative Council. The Labor Party, led by Jacinta Allan as premier, has governed Victoria since 2014. The Governor of Victoria, the representative of the monarch in the state, is currently Margaret Gardner. Victoria is divided into 79 local government areas, as well as several unincorporated areas which the state administers directly.
- ^ "Victoria, the garden state of Australia". Trove. Retrieved 10 May 2023.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
RecordOfficewas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ "Area of Australia - States and Territories". 27 June 2014.
- ^ a b "National, state and territory population, March 2024 | Australian Bureau of Statistics". Australian Bureau of Statistics. 19 September 2024. Retrieved 29 September 2024.
- ^ "5220.0 – Australian National Accounts: State Accounts, 2019–20". Australian Bureau of Statistics. 20 November 2020. Archived from the original on 17 June 2016. Retrieved 20 January 2021.
- ^ "Sub-national HDI – Area Database – Global Data Lab". hdi.globaldatalab.org. Archived from the original on 23 September 2018. Retrieved 18 February 2023.
- ^ "Floral Emblem of Victoria". anbg.gov.auhi. Archived from the original on 26 December 2018. Retrieved 26 March 2008.
- ^ "Victoria". Parliament@Work. Archived from the original on 10 March 2019. Retrieved 22 January 2013.
- ^ "Victorian Symbols and Emblems". Department of Premier and Cabinet. Archived from the original on 8 May 2013. Retrieved 11 May 2013.
- ^ "State and territory abbreviations". Retrieved 13 October 2024. Australian manual of style (AMOS)
- ^ The ACT has a higher population density, but it is a territory rather than a state.
- ^ "Regional population". Australian Bureau of Statistics. 26 March 2024. Retrieved 21 April 2024.
- ^ "2016 Census Community Profiles: Victoria". Archived from the original on 22 June 2019. Retrieved 22 June 2019.
- ^ "The Kulin People of Central Victoria" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 12 February 2018. Retrieved 11 February 2018.
- ^ "Parliament of Victoria – 54th Parliament Votes". parliament.vic.gov.au. Archived from the original on 9 March 2013.
- ^ "Melbourne named world's sporting capital". The Sydney Morning Herald. 21 April 2016. Archived from the original on 11 August 2017. Retrieved 22 July 2017.