Melbourne

Melbourne was founded in 1835 (47 years after the European settlement of Australia), in what was then the Colony of New South Wales, by settlers from Launceston in Van Diemen's Land. It was named by Governor of New South Wales Sir Richard Bourke in 1837, in honour of the British Prime Minister of the day, William Lamb, 2nd Viscount Melbourne. Melbourne was officially declared a city by Queen Victoria in 1847. In 1851, it became the capital city of the newly created Colony of Victoria. During the Victorian gold rush of the 1850s, it was transformed into one of the world's largest and wealthiest cities. After the federation of Australia in 1901, Melbourne served as the interim seat of government of the newly created nation of Australia until 1927.

Melbourne has been ranked as the world's most liveable city in ratings published by the Economist Intelligence Unit. Melbourne is also the fifth most expensive city in the world to live in according to the Economist Intelligence Unit worldwide cost of living index in 2013. It has also been ranked in the top ten Global University Cities by RMIT's Global University Cities Index (since 2006) and the top 20 Global Innovation Cities by the 2thinknow Global Innovation Agency (since 2007). Often referred to as the "cultural capital of Australia", Melbourne is the birthplace of cultural institutions such as Australian film (as well as the world's first feature film), Australian television, Australian rules football, the Australian impressionist art movement (known as the Heidelberg School) and Australian dance styles such as New Vogue and the Melbourne Shuffle. It is also a major centre for contemporary and traditional Australian music.