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Victoria (state)

State of Australia / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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Victoria is a state in southeastern Australia. It is the second-smallest state, 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 6.6 million;[3] and the most densely populated state[9] in Australia (29 per km2). 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 north-west.

Quick facts: Victoria, Country, Before federation, Establi...
Victoria
Nickname(s): 
The Garden State [1]
Motto: 
Peace and Prosperity
Victoria_in_Australia.svg
Location of Victoria in Australia
37°S 144°E
CountryAustralia
Before federationColony of Victoria
Establishment1 July 1851[2]
Responsible government23 November 1855
Federation1 January 1901
Named forQueen Victoria
Capital
and largest city
Melbourne
Administration79 local government areas
Demonym(s)Victorian
Government
 Monarch
Charles III
 Governor
Linda Dessau
 Premier
Daniel Andrews (ALP)
LegislatureParliament of Victoria
Legislative Council
Legislative Assembly
JudiciarySupreme Court of Victoria
Parliament of Australia
 Senate
12 senators (of 76)
39 seats (of 151)
Area
 Total
237,657 km2 (91,760 sq mi) (6th)
 Land
227,444 km2 (87,817 sq mi)
 Water
10,213 km2 (3,943 sq mi)
Highest elevation1,986 m (6,516 ft)
Population
 September 2022 estimate
6,656,300[3] (2nd)
 Density
29/km2 (75.1/sq mi) (2nd)
GSP2020 estimate
 Total
AU$458.895 billion[4] (2nd)
 Per capita
AU$68,996 (6th)
HDI (2021)Increase 0.948[5]
very high · 4th
Time zoneUTC+10:00 (AEST)
  Summer (DST)
UTC+11:00 (AEDT)
Postal abbreviation
VIC
ISO 3166 codeAU–VIC
Symbols
BirdHelmeted honeyeater
(Lichenostomus melanops cassidix)
FishWeedy seadragon
(Phyllopteryx taeniolatus)
FlowerCommon heath[6]
(Epacris impressa)
MammalLeadbeater's possum
(Gymnobelideus leadbeateri)
Colour(s)Navy blue and silver[7]
MineralGold[8]
Websitevic.gov.au
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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, where over three quarters of the Victorian population live. The state is home to four of Australia's 20 largest cities: Melbourne, Geelong, Ballarat and Bendigo. The population is culturally diverse, with 35.1% of inhabitants being immigrants.[10]

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.[11] 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, and from 1788 the area that is now Victoria was a part of the colony of New South Wales. The first European settlement in the area occurred in 1803 at Sullivan Bay. Much of what is now 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.[12] 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 served as the federal capital of Australia until Canberra was opened in 1927. The state continued to grow strongly through various periods of the 20th and early 21st centuries as a result of high levels of international and interstate migration.

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 Daniel Andrews as premier, has governed Victoria since 2014. The Governor of Victoria, the representative of the Monarchy of Australia in the state, is currently Linda Dessau. Victoria is divided into 79 local government areas, as well as several unincorporated areas which the state administers directly.

Victoria's economy is the second-largest among Australian states and is highly diversified, with service sectors predominating. Culturally, Melbourne hosts a number of museums, art galleries, and theatres, and is also described as the world's sporting capital,[13][14] and the spiritual home of Australian cricket and Australian rules football.[15]