Timeline of Melbourne history

This is a timeline of major events in the history of the city of Melbourne, Australia.

18th century

*1797 - George Bass explores the south-east coast of Australia

19th century

*1800 - James Grant explores the south-east of Australia
*1801 - John Murray sails into Port Phillip Bay in the "Lady Nelson"
*1803 - Charles Robbins and Charles Grimes explore the entirety of Port Phillip Bay and discover the Yarra River in the "Buffalo"
*1803 - David Collins sent from Sydney to establish a settlement for the British Government. Unaware of previous discoveries, Collins settles near present-day Sullivan Bay on the Mornington Peninsula. This settlement is abandoned five months later.
*1834 - The Henty family establish first long-term European settlement in Victoria at Portland
*1835 - John Batman sails to the mouth of the Yarra from Tasmania in the "Rebecca"
*1835 - John Batman 'buys' the 2,430 km² that Melbourne would be founded on from the local Aboriginal nation, the Wurundjeri, with blankets and trinkets
*1835 - Melbourne is founded by John Batman and John Pascoe Fawkner
*1836 - William Lonsdale built the first government block, declaring Melbourne the capital of the Port Phillip district [cite book | last=Lewis | first=Miles | title=Melbourne the city's history and development, 2nd ed | year=1995 | publisher=City of Melbourne ]
*1837 - March 28 -The Hoddle Grid of streets for the central business district is surveyed by Robert Hoddle
*1837 - June 1 - First inner-city land sale
*1838 - Melbourne is declared a legal port and administrative centre, opening the way for vastly increased immigration
*1838 - Melbourne Cricket Club is founded
*1838 - Second inner-city land sale
*1839 - Third inner-city land sale. Quarrying of bluestone began out of the Melbourne Corporation Quarry at Clifton Hill.
*1840 - First petition for the separation of Port Phillip District from New South Wales drafted by Henry Fyshe Gisborne and presented to Governor George Gipps.
*1841 - First seaport and market are opened
*1842 - Melbourne Municipal Corporation Act was passed in Sydney. Melbourne City Council is formed.
*1845 - First Princes Bridge constructed connecting both sides of the Yarra
*1847 - Melbourne declared a city by Queen Victoria on 25 June. [Melbourne the city's history and development, 2nd ed pg 5, Miles Lewis, 1995]
*1847 - "Melbourne Building Act" was passed in 1847 based on Sydney act of 1833.
*1848 - Melbourne Hospital founded (from 1935 the hospital is called The Royal Melbourne Hospital)
*1851 - Beginning of the Victorian gold rush with discovery of gold at Buninyong
*1851 - Victoria becomes a colony, separate from New South Wales
*1851 - First state Lieutenant-Governor Charles La Trobe inaugurated
*1852 - City's first gas works is opened
*1853 - The University of Melbourne is founded
*1854 - The Melbourne Terminus (first Flinders Street Station building) is completed
*1854 - First steam railway journey in Australia from Melbourne Terminus (on the current site of Flinders Street Station) to Sandridge (later Port Melbourne)
*1854 - Melbourne Exhibition held in conjunction with Exposition Universelle (1855)
*1854 - The State Library of Victoria is founded
*1854 - First telegraph service, to Williamstown
*1854 - The first Town Hall is completed
*1855 - First state Governor Sir Charles Hotham inaugurated
*1855 - The Melbourne Museum is founded
*1856 - Stonemasons win the Eight hour day
*1857 - First reservoir water supply (at Yan Yean Reservoir) tapped outside city limits
*1857 - Queen Victoria Market is founded
*1857 - Australia's first country railway from Geelong to Melbourne is built
*1857 - City streets first lit by gas lighting
*1858 - August 7 - a game of football played between Melbourne Grammar School and Scotch College
*1858 - First inter-city telegraph services, to Adelaide and Sydney
*1859 - May 14 - Melbourne Football Club, Australia's oldest football club, is founded
*1859 - Spencer Street Station (then Batman's Hill Station) and Princes Gate Station completed
*1859 - Construction of the General Post Office begins
*1859 - First Melbourne Trades Hall building opened.
*1860 - The Burke and Wills expedition departed from Royal Park.
*1861 - National Gallery of Victoria is founded
*1861 - First Melbourne Cup
*1861 - Victorian Exhibition held
*1861 - Melbourne's population reaches 125,000
*1862 - Melbourne Zoo founded
*1863 - Batman's Hill levelled
*1865 - Melbourne overtakes Sydney to become Australia's largest city
*1866 - Intercolonial Exhibition of Australasia held
*1867 - The current Town Hall begins construction
*1869 - The Royal Mint is completed
*1874 - The Supreme Court building is completed
*1875 - Victorian Intercolonial Exhibition held
*1877 - First Test cricket match, between Australia and the MCC, at the MCG. First season of the Victorian Football Association.
*1878 - Xavier College, in Kew, is founded after the increased need of boarding space for the oldest Jesuit School in Melbourne, St. Pat's.
*1880 - Royal Exhibition Building opened
*1880 - Melbourne International Exhibition held
*1883 - Historic Melbourne Falls (near Queens Bridge) removed using explosives
*1884 - Victorian International Exhibition held
*1885 - First cable tram line opens in the Melbourne cable tramway system
*1885 - Victorians' Jubilee Exhibition
*1887 - The current Town Hall is completed
*1888 - Victorian Juvenile Industrial Exhibition and Centennial International Exhibition held
*1890 - The Melbourne and Metropolitan Board of Works is formed
*1894 - City streets first lit by electric lighting
*1897 - First season of the Victorian Football League
*1897 - First part of the mains sewage system becomes operational

20th century

*1900 - The Puffing Billy Railway opens
*1900 - Construction of the current Flinders Street Station building begins
*1901 - The Commonwealth of Australia is formed. Melbourne becomes national capital
*1902 - Sydney overtakes Melbourne as Australia's most populous city
*1903 - The City Baths are opened
*1905 - First Australian Open championship
*1906 - First electric tram service commences
*1907 - The General Post Office is completed
*1910 - Current Flinders Street Station building is completed
*1913 - The Domed Reading Room of the State Library is opened
*1916 - Strict height limit of 32 feet (40 metres) imposed on all buildings
*1919 - Electric suburban train services commence on the Broadmeadows line
*1923 - W-class Melbourne trams introduced.
*1923 - 1923 Victorian Police strike
*1924 - first radio station 3AR
*1927 - Federal Parliament is moved to Canberra, the new national capital
*1928 - Melbourne City Council installs the city's first set of traffic lights at Collins and Swanston streets
*1940 - Last cable tram service ends operation
*1943 - Russell Street Police Headquarters building is completed
*1954 - April - Victorian Railways closes the Puffing Billy Railway
*1954 - First Moomba parade
*1954 - Proposal to destroy much of East Melbourne and Jolimont to make way for an inner city ringroad.
*1955 - City's first parking meters are installed
*1955 - ICI building given special exception from CBD height limits
*1956 - First television station HSV-7
*1956 - The Olympic Games held in Melbourne
*1957 - Plot ratio height limits introduced to CBD (dependent upon floor space and light angles), plazas and open space. By laws introduced for compulsory carspace for all new city buildings. 1.45 m setbacks for 'Little' streets introduced to widen footpaths.
*1959 - Sidney Myer Music Bowl opened
*1961 - Proposal to demolish Flinders Street station and replace it with office blocks.
*1962 - The Puffing Billy Railway is re-opened as a tourist attraction
*1967 - first woman city councillor Clare Cascarret
*1969 - Proposal to demolish the Regent Theatre for multi-storey development.
*1970 - (October 15) 35 construction workers die when a span of the West Gate Bridge collapses
*1974 - Underground Rail Loop begins construction
*1975 - Z-class tram introduced
*1975 - March 1st, Colour television introduced.
*1982 - The City Loop subway is opened
*1983 - (February 8) The Melbourne dust storm and (February 16) Ash Wednesday fires occur
*1985 - Port Melbourne and St Kilda train lines are converted to light rail
*1985 - B-class trams introduced
*1986 - Car-bombing outside the Russell Street Police Headquarters kills one police officer
*1986 - Rialto Towers completed and becomes the city's tallest building as well as the tallest in the southern hemisphere
*1986 - Pablo Picasso's "Weeping Woman" is stolen from National Gallery of Victoria by activists. Returned a week later
*1987 - Hoddle Street Massacre, killing 7 and injuring 19.
*1987 - Queen Street Massacre, killing 8 and injuring 5.
*1990 - Southbank promenade opens, paving the way for urban renewal in Southbank
*1991 - Melbourne experiences a severe economic slump; City property markets crash and CBD vacancy rates reach all time high.
*1992 - Pedestrianisation of Swanston Street creates Swanston Street Walk
*1992 - Postcode 3000 policy attracts residents to the city centre, warehouses and offices are converted into apartments and CBD vacancy rates drop.
*1994 - Opening of the Melbourne Observation Deck in Rialto Towers
*1994 - Tasty nightclub raid
*1995 - Host City to the World Police and Fire Games
*1996 - Development of the Docklands area begins
*1996 - Construction of the CityLink freeways begins
*1996 - Melbourne Exhibition and Convention Centre opens
*1996 - Melbourne wins right to host Australian Grand Prix at Albert Park Lake
*1997 - Crown Casino and Entertainment Complex, Melbourne's first gambling centre opens.
*1999 - New Melbourne Museum officially opens
*1999 - Bolte Bridge open for traffic.

21st century

*2000 - The CityLink freeways open, including two new tunnels, a new cross-harbour bridge, and electronic tolling.
*2000 - Docklands Stadium (later renamed Colonial Stadium, currently Telstra Dome) completed.
*2000 - March 6 - Bourke Street redevelopment.
*2002 - Controversial Melbourne 2030 planning policy introduced. Aimed to increase population in designated 'activity centres' and curb urban sprawl. Promises to increase public transport usage to 20% of motorised trips by 2020.
*2003 - 2003 Melbourne thunderstorm.
*2005 - 2005 Melbourne Thunderstorm.
*2006 - Commonwealth Games held.
*2007 - 2007 FINA Swimming World Championships are held.
*2008 - New Eastlink freeway completed.

ee also

*History of Melbourne

References