X-Nico

95 unusual facts about Victoria


1861 in Australia

8 July - The Geelong College is established by Reverend Alexander James Campbell in Newtown, Victoria.

1896 Carlton Football Club season

Carlton's primary home ground in 1896 was the University Cricket Ground, within the grounds of the University of Melbourne in Carlton; but, home matches were also moved to the Melbourne Cricket Ground in Jolimont, and to the Richmond City Reserve in Richmond.

1957 Night Series Cup

Games were played at the Lake Oval, Albert Park, then the home ground of South Melbourne, as it was the only ground equipped to host night games.

3NRG

The station was established to provide local news, information and community access to the township of Sunbury, in outer north west metropolitan Melbourne, as well as to the surrounding localities of Diggers Rest, The Gap, Couangult and Toolern Vale.

93.9 Bay FM

It commenced broadcasting from an old industrial estate in Corio, Geelong in 1989.

Alice River, Queensland

The estate is also known as Rupertswood, the estate was named by the developer who was Sir Rupert Clarke, 3rd Baronet of Rupertswood, after his ancestral home "Rupertswood" at Sunbury, Victoria, Australia.

Alma Park, St Kilda East

In 1859, the construction of the then Brighton railway line from St Kilda severed the park into two.

Amway Australia

Amway Australia has four business centres opened in Loganholme, Queensland; Castle Hill, New South Wales; Coburg, Victoria and Kewdale, Western Australia.

Anderson Report

Wearne, a publisher from South Yarra, told the inquiry that 'Scientologists planned to take over Australia, after establishing a "Scientology Government"' and that 'he first heard of the plan to take over Australia in 1960'.

Banksia acanthopoda

Banksia acanthopoda is little known in cultivation, although it has been successfully grown and propagated at The Banksia Farm in Mount Barker, Western Australia, and at the Royal Botanic Gardens in Cranbourne, Melbourne.

Bellarine Secondary College

They qualified to go to the Melbourne States Competition held on the 23rd of August at Scienceworks Museum (Melbourne) in Spotswood, Victoria.

Bonnie Fagan

In 1987 her family moved to Talbot, Victoria, where Fagan was educated at Talbot Primary School, and Maryborough High School.

Cardinia Transit

Cardinia Transit was formed in June 1996 when Grenda Corporation purchased Berwick Bus Lines and amalgamated them with Grenda's Bus Services' Pakenham depot.

Carlton B. Ardery, Jr.

Ardery, a native of Lexington, Kentucky, went directly from high school into U.S. Army Air Force flight training, graduating in 1943 as a second lieutenant at Aloe Field, Victoria, Texas.

CCGS Bartlett

The homeport of CCGS Bartlett is CCG Base Victoria in Victoria, British Columbia.

Celtic nations

Festivals celebrating the culture of the Celtic nations include the Festival Interceltique de Lorient (Brittany), the Pan Celtic Festival (Ireland), CeltFest Cuba (Havana, Cuba), the National Celtic Festival (Portarlington, Australia), the Celtic Media Festival (showcasing film and television from the Celtic nations), and the Eisteddfod (Wales).

Charles Chenery

Chenery emigrated to Australia in 1878, settling in Mansfield, Victoria, where he had relatives.

Charles Nuttall

Nuttall, son of James Charles Nuttall, was born at Fitzroy, Victoria.

Cranbourne, Victoria

The greater Cranbourne area consists of Cranbourne, Cranbourne North, Cranbourne East, Cranbourne South, Cranbourne West.

Daniel Merriweather

Daniel Paul Merriweather grew up in the Melbourne suburb of Sassafras in the Dandenong Ranges.

Djargurd Wurrung

The Djargurd wurrung are Indigenous Australian people who traditionally occupied the territory between Mount Emu Creek and Lake Corangamite, extending to Mount Emu and Cressy in the North, and to Cobden and Swan Marsh in the South in central Victoria and are still represented in the region.

Doriemus

Doriemus is now at Living Legends, the International Home of Rest for Champion Horses in Woodlands Historic Park, Greenvale, Victoria.

Doris McRae

She soon enrolled in the University of Melbourne as an arts student, and by September 1914 was teaching at Faraday Street State School in Carlton.

Duigan pusher biplane

The aircraft was constructed by John Duigan with help from his brother, Reginald, on their family farm at Mia Mia.

Eden Park Kangaroo Cull

During October 2010 the Northern Melbourne Institute of TAFE (NMIT) applied for and received a 12-month permit from the Victorian Department of Sustainability and Environment for the Eden Park Kangaroo Cull - to cull 300 Eastern Grey Kangaroos on its 320 hectare Eden Park Vineyard and farm and Northern Lodge equine stud.

Ethiopian Australian

There were two Ethiopian Pentecostal churches in the Melbourne area as of 2001, as well as an Ethiopian Orthodox church in Maribyrnong.

Eucalyptus sideroxylon

It is a very popular ornamental and street tree, Ferntree gully road in Melbourne has an avenue of Muggas planted.

Fairfield, Greater Victoria

Fairfield is a neighbourhood of Victoria, BC.

Fields of Omagh

Fields Of Omagh retired after his second Cox Plate win, and now resides at Living Legends, the International Home of Rest for Champion Horses located in Woodlands Historic Park, Greenvale, Victoria, Australia.

Foster Fyans

He also constructed a rock ford across the Barwon River in 1837, which gave name to the area now known as Breakwater, an eastern industrial and residential suburb of Geelong.

Gary Gait

Gary Charles Gait (b. April 5, 1967 in Victoria, British Columbia) is a Canadian retired lacrosse player and currently the head coach of the women's lacrosse team at Syracuse University, where he played the sport collegiately, and an assistant coach with the Hamilton Nationals in Major League Lacrosse.

George Stack

In 1990, he was appointed Vicar General for Clergy, a post based at Archbishop's House in Victoria, London.

Gisborne

Gisborne, Victoria, Australia, a town named after Henry Fyshe Gisborne

Gold nugget

Considered by most to be the biggest gold nugget ever found, the Welcome Stranger was found at Moliagul, Victoria, Australia in 1869 by John Deason and Richard Oates.

Great Dividing Trail

:The first section to be implemented, it runs from Castlemaine to Daylesford, via Fryerstown, Vaughan Springs and Hepburn Springs.

Grevillea aquifolium

In Victoria the species is found in the Grampians region and northwards to the Little Desert as well as near the south coast at Kentbruck Heath near Portland.

Harness Racing Victoria

Tabcorp Park opened a new racing complex at Melton, which incorporates a 1,000 metre track as well as a host of amenities such as restaurants, gaming machines, hotel accommodation and conference facilities.

Heathmont, Victoria

The distant Mount Dandenong and Dandenong Ranges are visible from much of this shopping strip, offering a somewhat 'Californian' feel to the environment.

Henry Hickmott

Lured by the news of fresh discoveries of gold in the Kingower/Inglewood region, Edward, or Taffy as he was known, and his family moved from Melbourne to Bet Bet near Dunolly around 1857 and then on to Kingower.

Herbert Hyland

Numerous roadways are named after Hyland, including Hyland Street, South Yarra and the Hyland Highway.

Hugh Victor McKay

McKay died at Rupertswood, a mansion in Sunbury, Victoria (notable as the birthplace of the Ashes) on 21 May 1926 and was survived by his wife, a daughter and two sons.

Ivan Durrant

1970-1972: Flinders Horses and Landscapes - reflections of the period during which Durrant lived in the coastal town of Flinders, Victoria.

Jarvis Walker

Founded in Balwyn, Victoria in 1946 making it one of the oldest family owned fishing companies in Australia.

Jeremiah Coffey

In 2003, Coffey removed Father John Speekman as priest of the parish of Mowell over allegations of bullying.

Joe Reekie

Joseph James Reekie (born February 22, 1965 in Victoria, British Columbia) is a retired Canadian ice hockey player.

John Hepworth

From 1977 to 1978 he was the assistant priest in the Colac parish and, from 1978 to 1980, was the rector of the South Ballarat parish based in Sebastopol.

Joseph Potaski

Catherine and Edward had a large family, and eventually migrated to Lara, Victoria.

Keith Faure

Keith George Faure (born June, 1951), from Norlane, Victoria, is an Australian career criminal, convicted of multiple murders and manslaughters.

Lake William Hovell

It supplies water for irrigated crops, vineyards and grazing properties along the King River from Cheshunt to Wangaratta.

Lilydale to Warburton Rail Trail

By 1998 the trail was continuous from Maroondah Highway, Lilydale to the site of the former Warburton station, with only a relatively short section between Lilydale Station and Maroondah Highway remaining incomplete.

Live at the Continental and the Esplanade

On 19 and 20 September, Kelly and his band performed at the Continental Hotel in Prahran, the sessions were recorded live.

Lonnie Cameron

Lonnie Cameron (born July 15, 1964 Victoria, British Columbia) is a Canadian National Hockey League linesman, who wears uniform number #74.

Louis Buvelot

He lived for some years in Latrobe Street East, and then moved to George Street, Fitzroy.

He is represented in the galleries at Melbourne, Sydney, Adelaide, Perth and Castlemaine, and his bust by Bertram Mackennal and a portrait in oils by J. C. Waite are also in the Melbourne gallery.

Margaret Stones

Elsie Margaret Stones AM, MBE (born 28 August 1920 at Colac, Victoria) is an Australian botanical illustrator.

Mary Gaunt

Mary was the eldest daughter of William Henry Gaunt, a Victorian county court judge, and was born in Chiltern, Victoria.

Melbourne Polytechnic

The first higher education course developed and delivered by Melbourne Polytechnic is the Bachelor of Agriculture and Technology, which is taught at NMIT's Yan Yean farm and Epping campus.

Melbourne Steam Traction Engine Club

The Melbourne Steam Traction Engine Club was established in Melbourne over 45 years ago and is located at 1200 Ferntree Gully Rd Scoresby, Victoria, Australia.

Melbourne Wireless

These projects including extending the network into the Western Region between Melbourne and Melton, extending the network north over the ranges into the Seymour area and adding capacity and reach to the Mornington and Bellarine Peninsulas.

Mornington Peninsula Regional Gallery Works on Paper Award

The award and its concomitant exhibition are hosted by the Mornington Peninsula Regional Gallery, located in Mornington, Australia.

Mornington Secondary College

Mornington Secondary College is a secondary school in Mornington, Victoria, Australia serving the communities of Somerville, Tyabb, Moorooduc, Mount Martha, and Mornington on the Mornington Peninsula and offers the Hands On Learning, The Victoria Police Youth Corp and Drum Corp, and many other extra-curricular programs to its students.

Mount Hawthorn, Western Australia

When this group subdivided their land in 1903, Hicks called his portion of the subdivision Hawthorn Estate, as he had recently been in Melbourne and stayed at Hawthorn.

National Hockey Association

In that same off-season, the Patrick brothers built two arenas in Vancouver and Victoria and formed the Pacific Coast Hockey Association (PCHA).

Neon Jungle

In October the girls then announced they would be supporting Jessie J. On the November 12, 2013 it was announced that Neon Jungle would be a performer at the annual Victoria's Secret Fashion Show.

No. 107 Squadron RAAF

 107 Squadron ferried its Kingfishers to the RAAF's Flying Boat Repair Depot at Lake Boga, Victoria during August 1945; the last Kingfishers departed St Georges Basin on the 29th of the month.

Olive Zakharov

Zakharov also remained involved in her local community; she used her political connections to help save her historic neighbourhood in Port Melbourne from demolition, and at one point painted "NOT FOR SALE" on her roof in order to promote the message.

Peter Ladner

He later worked at newspapers on Vancouver Island and was editor of the Victoria alternative weekly Monday Magazine from 1981 to 1986.

Phillip Island Road

Phillip Island Road is a tourist highway in Victoria, Australia and branches off the Bass Highway at the township of Anderson.

Pirate radio in Australia and New Zealand

On 5 October, the Australian Communications and Media Authority reported that it shut down an unlicensed AM radio station operating on 1485 kHz from Chadstone following a complaint.

Pomaderris vacciniifolia

The only significant remaining wild population of the round-leaf pomaderris is at Toolangi, about 70 km north east of Melbourne.

Prestel

The Prestel system was implemented by Telecom Australia and renamed Viatel, with the centre of operations in Windsor, Melbourne, Australia.

Rainbow Serpent Festival

The more recent festivals have been held on farmland in the vicinity of Beaufort, Victoria.

Real Racing 3

The game includes ten real world racetracks, plus a geographically accurate but fictional street race through Firemonkeys' home of Southbank, Melbourne.

Roy Cameron

He was educated at state schools in local villages including Mitiamo, Lancefield, Dunkeld and finally (from 1911 to 1917) at Kyneton, although from 1913 to 1917 he was occupied with compulsory military service.

Scrolls of the Megilloth

Scrolls of the Megilloth was recorded at Studio RBX, Richmond, Melbourne, and mixed at Toybox Studios, Northcore, Melbourne.

Sheffield Rules

Henry Creswick (possibly a relative of Nathaniel Creswick) was born in Sheffield but emigrated to Australia with his brother in 1840 (the town of Creswick is named after them).

Sir Thomas Dyke Acland, 10th Baronet

As a result of that visit, the suburb of St Kilda was named after the ship, and Acland St, one of St Kilda's main commercial centres, was named after Acland.

Skipping Girl Vinegar

The band comprises siblings Mark and Sare Lang and their respective childhood friends Chris Helm and Amanthi Lynch, and are named after the Audrey the Skipping Girl Vinegar sign, located in Abbotsford, Victoria.

Slayain

Slayain are an Australian rock band, formed in Frankston, Victoria, in 2005.

Star News Group

Star News Group is a newspaper company based in Pakenham, Victoria, with a circulation of 450,000 per week.

Sweet and Wild

The album's fourth track "What You Are" was chosen to be part of the runway-soundtrack for the 2010 Victoria's Secret Fashion Show.

The Triangles

Eleanor Horsburgh, Julie Conway, Katherine Simpson (née James), Matt Gormann and Robert Simpson met as school friends in Boronia, a suburb of Melbourne.

Tuff Monks

The collaboration only ever appeared live once, at Richmond's Tiger Lounge venue doing a cover version of "Ring of Fire".

Valhalla Cinema, Melbourne

In 1987, the Valhalla relocated from Richmond to High Street, Westgarth after the sale of their original venue (it was later demolished).

Victoria-la-Vallée

It moved south taking in parts of Victoria County north of the Aroostook River and north taking in the areas around and including the Town of St-Leonard.

Victoria, Entre Ríos

Designated a "city" in 1851, Victoria also features an abbey (Abadía Los Monjes del Niño Dios), founded by Benedictine monks who arrived in 1899.

Victoria, Oriental Mindoro

Rachel Anne M. Bustamante, a.k.a. Shey Bustamante - Miss Oriental Mindoro 2009, First runner up in Mossimo Bikini Contest (2009), Binibining Pilipinas 2010 Contestant and a Pinoy Big Brother: Teen Clash 2010 Housemate.

Appeared in ABS-CBN Primetime Dramas and Shows, ASAP, MMK, Sabel, Angelito: Batang Ama, Nasaan Ka Elisa?

Victoria: An Empire Under the Sun

Steel, important for the building of industry, railroads and some war goods, and generally profitable to produce;

VK3RTV

The station's repeater is located on Mount Dandenong and is one of a number of audio and video repeaters licensed to Amateur Radio Victoria.

Warburton Hospital

Warburton Hospital was a private Adventist hospital in Warburton, Victoria in Australia.

Watersun Swimwear

Operating a retail outlet with manufacturing at the back of a small shop in Brunswick Street, Fitzroy, Watersun employed young new designers to gain notoriety with swimwear designs in a very conservative post-war Australia.

What A Nuisance

What A Nuisance was retired to Hyland's property at Clyde, near Cranbourne, Victoria.

Whitfield, Victoria

It is close to the township of Cheshunt and the localities of Rose River and Dandongadale.

You Yangs Regional Park

The main public entrance to the park is located on Branch Road, near the intersection of Forest Road North, 5 km north of Lara and 5 km west of Little River.


2006–07 Eastern Victoria Great Divide bushfires

The Eastern Victoria Great Divide bushfires, also known as the Great Divide Complex, were a series of bushfires that commenced in the Victorian Alps in Australia on 1 December 2006 due to lightning strikes and continued for 69 days.

Acanthaeschna victoria

Acanthaeschna victoria, the Thylacine Darner, is a species of dragonfly in family Aeshnidae.

Antares

The Wotjobaluk Koori people of Victoria, Australia, knew Antares as Djuit, son of Marpean-kurrk (Arcturus); the stars on each side represented his wives.

Archibald White

Archie Cecil Thomas White (1890–1971), English recipient of the Victoria Cross

Australian heritage law

Australian heritage laws exist at the national (Commonwealth) level, and at each of Australian Capital Territory, New South Wales, Northern Territory, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania, Victoria, Western Australia state levels.

Barry Devolin

He spent time working in British Columbia and Korea, and in 1994 returned to Canada to assist Chris Hodgson to seek election to the Legislative Assembly of Ontario for Haliburton—Victoria—Brock.

Bishopscourt

Bishopscourt, East Melbourne, a gothic architecture building in East Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

Brunswick Street, Melbourne

In the 1980s, 3RRR established its studios in Victoria Street, off Brunswick Street, the Punters Club established itself as a significant live music venue, as did the Evelyn Hotel, and independent record shop PolyEster Records opened.

Byres Road

During the period when Hillhead and Partick were independent burghs, Byres Road was known by its original name of Victoria Street.

Charlotte Grayson

In Reckoning, after a cold goodbye with her mother, she finds out that Victoria was a victim in a plane crash.

However, Emily isn't able to speak to her before Victoria shows up, and Charlotte not wanting to deal with Victoria, walks away ("Chaos").

Constitution Hill, London

It was the scene of three assassination attempts against Queen Victoria—in 1840 (by Edward Oxford), 1842 (by John Francis) and 1849 (by William Hamilton).

Cunliffe-Owen baronets

Sir Philip Cunliffe-Owen, father of the first Baronet, was Director of the South Kensington Museum (now the Victoria and Albert Museum) from 1874 to 1893.

Cutteslowe Park, Oxford

This linked Water Eaton and Oxford, and a short section of this path (at the bottom of Harpes Road, Islip Road and Victoria Road in North Oxford) is called Water Eaton Road.

Darwan Singh Negi

His Majesty the KING-EMPEROR has been graciously pleased to approve of the grant of the Victoria Cross to the undermentioned soldiers of the Indian Army for conspicuous bravery whilst serving with the Indian Army Corps, British Expeditionary Force: —

East African Railways and Harbours Corporation

Also in 1961 EAR&H introduced the new Lake Victoria ferry RMS Victoria.

Edward Donald Bellew

Edward Bellew's Victoria Cross is believed to have been stolen from the Royal Canadian Military Institute, Toronto, between January 1975 and 22 July 1977.

Edwin St Hill

Against Tasmania he had first-innings figures of four for 57 and against Victoria he took six wickets in the game.

Francis Newton Parsons

His Victoria Cross is displayed at The Essex Regiment Museum, Chelmsford, Essex, England.

Frankston High School

The names for each of the houses come from early explorers of Victoria and the Port Phillip region - George Bass, William Collins, Matthew Flinders, and John Murray.

Frederick Illingworth

After his resignation from the Legislative Assembly in August 1907, he must have returned to Victoria, for he died at Brighton, Victoria on 8 September 1908, and was buried in Melbourne Cemetery.

Geoff Watt

Geoff Watt (died 1969) was a local distance runner from Warragul, Victoria of some international note who died from exposure in 1969 while training on Mount Erica in Baw Baw National Park.

Green Party of Canada

Sonya Chandler was elected municipally to Victoria City Council in Victoria BC in 2005, and re-elected with her co-candidate Philippe Lucas in 2010 - both under the Green Party banner (noted on the ballot)

Harold Andrews

Harold Marcus Ervine-Andrews (1911–1995), Irish recipient of the Victoria Cross

Humphrey Lloyd

Mount Humphrey Lloyd, a mountain in Victoria Land, Antarctica, named for the provost of Trinity College

John Wallace Pringle

The survey's findings confirmed that the caravan route to the Great Rift Valley was the best path for the line, followed by the easiest gradient to be found over the Mau Escarpment and down to Lake Victoria.

Kevin Lincoln

In 1990, a survey exhibition of his paintings and drawings was mounted by the Queen Victoria Museum and Art Gallery, Launceston, which toured Tasmania and Victoria.

Laverton North Power Station

Laverton North Power Station is a power station in Laverton, on the outskirts of Melbourne, Victoria.

Lewis Evans

Lewis Pugh Evans (1881–1962), British Brigadier General and World War I Victoria Cross recipient

Lewis McGee

As a sergeant in the Australian Imperial Force, McGee was awarded the Victoria Cross for his actions in the Battle of Broodseinde—part of the Passchendaele offensive—on 4 October 1917.

Luke McKay

Other works include online fashion content/TVC's for David Jones (merchant), featuring Victoria's Secret supermodel Miranda Kerr & for JLH, featuring former Miss Universe Jennifer Hawkins.

Michael Perrin

Born 13 September 1905 in Victoria, British Columbia he moved to England in 1911 with his British parents, who sent him to Twyford School and Winchester College, and from there to study chemistry at New College, Oxford and the University of Toronto.

Moondarra Rail Trail

The Moondarra Rail Trail is a little-maintained, 7  km section of the former Walhalla Railway in Gippsland, Victoria.

Nabarlek

The nabarlek is found in three distinct population areas: in Arnhem Land (including Groote Eylandt); between the Mary and Victoria Rivers in the Top End; and the coastal Kimberley region of Western Australia, including some islands in the Bonaparte Archipelago.

Nancy Cato

Cato's other books include: Green Grows The Vine, Brown Sugar and Mister Maloga, which tells the story of Daniel Matthews and his Maloga Mission to Aboriginal people on the Murray River in Victoria.

Nanohaloarchaea

The reconstruction of two highly unusual archaeal genomes by de novo metagenomic assembly of multiple, deeply sequenced libraries via multi-locus phylogenetic analyses, from surface waters of Lake Tyrrell, a hypersaline lake in north-west Victoria, Australia, has led to the creation of a major novel euryarchaeal lineage, distantly related to halophilic archaea of class Halobacteria.

Old Gippstown

It is currently used by a number of local groups, and is one of the newest Masonic Lodges in Victoria.

Peter Rouw

The Victoria & Albert Museum holds a medallion in pink wax on black glass made by him of Prince Lucien Bonaparte (1814), the Duke of Wellington (1822) and posthumously in 1814 of Matthew Boulton, the partner of James Watt.

Phresh Out the Runway

Rihanna performed "Phresh Out the Runway" for the first time at the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show alongside "Diamonds", on November 7, 2012.

Prince of Denmark's March

The march is used as the background music during the hourly performance of the Royal Clock in the Queen Victoria Building, Sydney, Australia.

Serendip Sanctuary

Originally used for farming and other purposes, it was purchased in 1959 by the state government of Victoria for wildlife research and the captive management and breeding of species threatened in Victoria, such as the Brolga, Magpie Goose, Australian Bustard, and Bush Stone-curlew.

Southgate River

Its namesake was Captain James Johnson Southgate, a retired ship-master, who came to Victoria in 1859 via San Francisco and launched a commission and general mercantile business, largely in connection with the Pacific Station of the Royal Navy at Esquimalt, operating as J.J. Southgate & Co.

Ten Mile Point

Ten Mile Point, British Columbia, a residential neighbourhood in Greater Victoria, British Columbia, Canada

The New Adventures of Black Beauty

The series focused upon the character of Victoria 'Vicky' Denning (played by Amber McWilliams).

Victoria of Albitina

Her legend states that she was of the North African nobility and refused an arranged marriage (a story told also of another Saint Victoria).

William Tricker

He introduced a water lily with 6-feet pads from South America, which he named Victoria trickeri, although it is now known as Victoria cruziana.

Wingan Inlet

On the return trip, the party encountered marooned sailors along the Victorian coast from the wreck of the ship Sydney Cove south of Victoria at Preservation Island, Tasmania.