"Aussie's Best Sport and Shopping " a Melbourne Travel Page by fishandchips

Melbourne has a population of approximately 3.7 million (which is the same size as my home country of New Zealand) and is spread over a very large area. It was founded in 1835 as a small farming settlement situated around the Yarra River.

The Victorian gold rush in the 1850s around Ballarat was the catalyst for Melbourne's sudden growth to the point where it became the capital city of Australia in 1901. This lasted until Australia's Federal Parliament moved to Canberra in 1927.

Melbourne is my favourite Australian city with most stuff inside the streets La Trobe, Spencer, Flinders & Spring. Travel is easy on the Free Tram and trains from Flinders St & Spencer St stations are a breeze. From the MCG to Flemmington Raceway, Melbourne has a sports place to suit everyone. Melbourne was the host city of the 1956 Summer Olympics and the 2006 Commonwealth Games.

A lot of places have closed in Melbourne over the last 5 years with some notables being Nike Town and the Myers Sports Dept. Maybe times have gotten tough for Melbourne though there are still plenty of places to spend your money with the vast number of malls and side streets with lots of specialty shops and cafes.

Further afield is the Yarra Valley, the local wine region. A wine trip via bus is a good option here - especially in summer when heat can excellerate the effects of what you have imbibed.