Victoria (Australia)
Victoria is a state located in the southeast corner of Australia. In terms of surface size, it is the second-smallest state in Australia with 227,444 km2 (87,817 sq mi), and it has the highest population density of any Australian state (28 per km2). New South Wales is to the north of Victoria, and South Australia is to the west. The state has a variety of temperatures and physical characteristics, ranging from the temperate coastal and central districts to the mountainous Victorian Alps in the north-east and the semi-arid regions in the north-west.
More than three quarters of the Victorian population calls the metropolitan area of Greater Melbourne, which is Victoria's state capital and largest city as well as Australia's second-largest city, home. The state of Victoria has a total population of over 6.6 million people, the majority of whom live in the central south region surrounding Port Phillip Bay. In addition to Melbourne, Geelong, Ballarat, and Bendigo, this state is home to four of Australia's 20 most populous cities. 35.1 percent of the population is made up of immigrants, contributing to the region's rich cultural diversity.
Numerous Aboriginal communities call Victoria their home, including the Yorta Yorta, the Boonwurrung, the Bratauolung, the Djadjawurrung, the Gunai, the Gunditjmara, the Taungurung, the Wathaurong, and the Wurundjeri. A total of around 30 distinct Aboriginal languages were in use in the region before the arrival of European settlers. James Cook staked a claim to the east coast of the Australian continent for the Kingdom of Great Britain in the year 1770. Beginning in 1788, the territory that is now the state of Victoria was a part of the colony of New South Wales. In the year 1803, Sullivan Bay was the location of the first European settlement in the region. The majority of what is now the city of Victoria was a part of the New South Wales district of Port Phillip in the year 1836. Victoria is a state in Australia that was created in 1851 as a distinct Crown colony after it was split off from New South Wales and given the name Queen Victoria in her honour. It attained self-government in 1855. During the 1850s and 1860s, Victoria saw a gold rush that led to a huge growth in both its population and its riches. By the time that the Australian Federation was established in 1901, Melbourne had already grown to become the most populous city in all of Australasia. As a result, it was chosen to serve as the nation's capital up until the year that Canberra was inaugurated. A significant amount of people moved to the state from other states and countries over most of the 20th century and into the early 21st century, which contributed to the state's persistently robust population growth across many different time periods throughout those eras.
The Australian House of Representatives gives the state of Victoria 38 members, while the Australian Senate gives it 12 seats. At the level of the state, the Legislative Assembly and the Legislative Council make up what is known as the Parliament of Victoria. Since 2014, the Labor Party, with Premier Daniel Andrews at the helm, has been in charge of governing Victoria. At this time, Linda Dessau serves as the position of Governor of Victoria, which makes her the official representative of the Australian Monarchy in the state. There are 79 different local government areas in Victoria, in addition to numerous unincorporated regions that are under the direct administration of the state.
The economy of Victoria is the second-largest among all of Australia's states and is extremely diverse, with the service sector acting as the primary contributor. Culturally, Melbourne is home to a variety of museums, art galleries, and theatres. It is also known as the "sporting capital of the world" and the "spiritual home" of both Australian cricket and Australian rules football.