Melbourne, the capitol of Victoria, is the second largest city in Australia. Melbourne was voted most livable city in the world in 1994 partly because it has less pollution for its size. Melbourne is the financial capital of Australia, and has a low crime rate. Melbourne was founded in 1835 by John Batman and a group of businessmen. Melbourne was named in 1837 for a British Prime Minister named Lord Melbourne.

One of the most spectacular features of Melbourne is the Yarra River. The Yarra River flows right by the city. It is known as "the river that flows upside down" because of its muddy color. The Yarra River used to be very muddy and dirty, but now it is a very clean river. The Westgate Bridge, the longest bridge in Australia, goes over the Yarra River. This bridge gives a beautiful sight of the harbor and city.

Have you ever been on an electric tram? Well Melbourne's people are used to this transportation! The public in Melbourne love this form of transportation. Melbourne is the only city that still uses the electric tram as public transportation. The trams are painted with interesting designs. Some of these trams have restaurants built in them. On all roads in Melbourne, the electric trams have the rightway.

The Arts Centre is a very popular site for all people. The Arts Centre is a short walk across the Princes Bridge on St. Kilda Road. The centre has a National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne Concert Hall, and State Theaters. At night, a purple light shines that can be seen from miles away. Another very popular site is Luna Park. This entertainment park is located on St. Kilda.

There is many public parks and gardens in Melbourne including: Botanical Gardens, Flagstaff Gardens, Fitzroy Gardens, Treasury Gardens, Carlton Gardens, and Kings Domain. The Botanical Gardens runs along the Yarra River. The Flagstaff Gardens was the first public gardens in the city. The Fitzroy Gardens holds Captain Cook's cottage and the fairy tree. The fairy tree has carvings and drawings on it. The Treasury Gardens is close by the state government offices. The Carlton Gardens is located by the Exhibition Buildings. The Kings Domain holds the Shrine of Remembrance, La Trobe's cottage, and the Myer Music Bowl.

The government house is located right by the Botanical Gardens. Whenever the Queen of England visits Melbourne, she always stays here. One of the most interesting things about the government house is that the dining table in the dining area, holds forty-four people!

A view of Melbourne..

    Perth is located between the Indian Ocean and the Darling Ranges. The Indian Ocean is located on the west and the Darling Ranges is located on the east. It is on the western coast of Australia. Perth has a population of 1.3 million people. Perth claims to be the sunniest state capitol in Australia. Perth is mainly hot and dry in the summer, and mild and rainy in the winter.

If you wanted to visit Perth, the best times to go is in the spring (Sept.-.) and autumn (March- May.) Perth is known for its excellent sea food restaurants. The Swan River connects Perth to its port, Fremantle. Some of the best beaches in Australia are located in Perth. Some beaches that are popular are Swan River at Crawley and Peppermint Grove. (Maybe) The best beach of all is Carnac Island.

A very popular park, called Kings Park, has 42 acres. It has excellent bike paths and a coffee shop. Every year at about February or March time, there is a festival called Festival of Perth. It offers entertainment, music, drama, dance, visual art, and films.  

BRISBANE

    Brisbane is Australia's largest city. It is located in the Great Dividing Range. It's roughly the same distance from the equator as Miami, Florida, Johannesburg, and New Delhi. Brisbane is the capital of South Australia. Brisbane is a coastal city and is filled with gold. Moreton Bay is filled with fun! It provides water sailing and sea-side suburbs.
    Adelaide is a city with more than a million people. The Adelaide people have named a number one park called, South Park. Adelaide preplans before they construct their cities. Darwin has a population of about 23 million people. Darwin's climate does not go over 33 degrees celsius all year.  Darwin is the capital of the Northern Territories. Darwin is called the Jazzy City.

Pop. 3,536,000 Climate: more than 340 sunny day's per year Temperature in winte r(June-August) 48F-52F Temperature in summer (December -February) 63F-78F

Tourism: Tourism is a big part of Sydney's economy. You can take a ferry boat ride and tour the harbor or take a bus and see the city. You would see things such as the Sydney Opera House, Sydney Harbour Bridge, Royal Botanic Gardens and the zoo.

History: In 1788 the British arrived at Sydney Harbour and used the area to for their prisoners. The jails in England were overcrowded. The area soon turned into a town and now is a large city.

Currency: Bill's (paper money) are in $5's, 10's, 20's, 50's, and 100's. Coins are in 5 cents, 10 cents, 20 cents, $1 and $2. The Australian dollar is equal to about 60 to 65 cents in U.S. money

Education: In Sydney (and the rest of Australia), 7th year (grade) is starting high school. Some teachers may have 200 or more students. Students will have 7 or 8 teachers. The students get weekly timetables to tell them what classes they will have for the week. This lets them know what books they will need each day. It is the students responsibility to see that they have all of the books they need.

Gas prices today are $2.80 a gallon It cost $.40 to make a call from a pay phone The emergency fire and police number is 000 Sydney has 13 McDonald's restaurants There are 1,426,266 homes Sydney is 1,580 square kilometers
 

Population: 313,000
Climate: Canberra enjoys all 4 seasons
Temperature is summer (Dec.- Feb.) 77F-86F
English is the most common language. There are also some native languages used.

The government is called the Federal Parliament. It currently has 148 members of parliament and 76 Senators.

History: The Aborigines lived there for thousands of years before it became a city. It was founded in 1913.

One reason that Canberra became the capital is because Sydney and Melbourne both wanted to be the Capital and neither one would give in to the other.  Another reason was to encourage people to move from the coast to the inland.

Canberra is located 150km inland from the ocean. It is also 571 meters above the Pacific Sea Level. Canberra is Australia's largest inland city. The city was built on a bank of a river but the river is dammed and is now a lake called Burley Griffin. Canberra covers 4,067 sq. km. Canberra can be reached by air, train, coach, and boat.

Canberra is located 200km from Sydney. Most people work for the federal government. There are no billboards in Canberra. The name Canberra came from the aborigine word Kamberra which means meeting place.
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