X-Nico

97 unusual facts about Victoria


1861 in Australia

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

1959 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.

Alexander Robert Edgar

The family moved to Melbourne in February 1855, and about two years later his family settled at St Arnaud, then a small mining town.

Alfred Downward

Born in Melbourne to Edward and Elizabeth Downward, he was educated at Prahran and Mornington before working on his father's Balnarring sheep farm.

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.

Amway Australia

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

Ans Timmermans

Anna Petronella "Ans" Timmermans (10 April 1919, Rotterdam – 21 August 1958, Parkdale, Victoria, Australia) was a Dutch swimmer who competed in the 1936 Summer Olympics.

Australia Highlanders Pipe Band

The Australia Highlanders Pipe Band is a grade one pipe band, based in Nunawading, Victoria, Australia.

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.

Bonnie Fagan

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

CCGS Bartlett

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

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.

Clarice Beckett

Clarice Majoribanks Beckett (21 March 1887 – 7 July 1935) was an Australian painter born in Casterton, Victoria.

Clifton Springs

Clifton Springs, Victoria, a coastal town overlooking Corio Bay, approximately 20 km east of Geelong, Victoria, Australia

Craig Lowndes

Born in Melbourne, Lowndes began his racing career at age nine, driving go-karts at a track in the nearby town of Whittlesea.

Daphne Pollard

Daphne Pollard (19 October 1892 in Fitzroy, Melbourne – 22 February 1978 in Los Angeles) was an Australian actress in American films, mostly short comedies.

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.

Drouin to Warragul Trail

The Drouin to Warragul Trail or Two Towns Trail is a cycling and walking path between Drouin and Warragul.

Drumcondra

Drumcondra, Victoria, Australia, a residential suburb of Geelong, overlooking Corio Bay.

Duigan pusher biplane

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

Duke Trophy

They started skating at St Moritz Ice Palais in St Kilda in June 1946 and both eventually represented Victoria in interstate competition.

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.

Eureka Flag

Rebels swore an oath to the flag as a symbol of defiance at its first flying at Bakery Hill and 22 were killed at the Eureka Stockade defending the original flag (now held at the Museum of Australian Democracy at Eureka, on loan from the Art Gallery of Ballarat).

Fantome-class survey motor boat

All eight vessels were constructed by Pro Marine at Seaford, Victoria.

Fernwood, Greater Victoria

Fernwood is a neighbourhood near downtown Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, bounded by the neighbourhoods of Jubilee, North Park, Fairfield, Downtown, Oaklands and Harris Green.

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.

Frederick Azzopardi

Azzopardi was first elected in 1997 as the Deputy Mayor for Victoria, Gozo's Capital, and later in 1998 contested the General Elections when he was elected in the House of Representatives of Malta.

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.

Gippsland Art Gallery

The Gippsland Art Gallery is a Victorian Regional Public Gallery based in Sale, Victoria, 220 kilometres east of Melbourne.

Gippsland phantom cat

In June 2005 Kurt Engel, a deer hunter from Noble Park, shot what he claimed was a large cat in rugged terrain near the town of Sale.

Gisborne

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

Glen

The designation "glen" also occurs often in place names such as Great Glen in Scotland, Glenrothes in Fife, Scotland, Glendalough in Republic of Ireland (Éire), Glengowrie in Australia, Glenn Norman in Canada, Klamath Glen in California, Glen Waverley in Australia and Glendowie in Auckland, New Zealand.

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.

History Teachers' Association of Victoria

Collingwood Football Club became a difficult venue once poker machines were installed, and after a long search a move was made to the Veneto Club in Bulleen.

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.

Joe Primeau

Born in Lindsay, Ontario, and raised in Victoria, British Columbia, Primeau moved to Toronto at an early age and began his professional career in 1927 with the Toronto Ravinas, an affiliate of the Toronto Maple Leafs.

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.

Kirriemuir

Bon Scott of AC/DC was born in nearby Forfar and lived in Kirriemuir for a short time from 1947 until 1950 when his family emigrated to Australia, where the family lived in the suburb of Sunshine for four years before moving to Fremantle, Western Australia.

Koolasuchus

A jawbone was found in 1978 in a fossil site known as the Punch Bowl near the town of San Remo.

Lake William Hovell

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

Lee Troop

He became involved in athletics at the age of 11 when he joined his father's weight loss campaign by taking training runs around the Geelong suburb of Whittington.

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.

The trail's compacted gravel surface between Lilydale and Millgrove is pram and wheelchair friendly and accommodates activities such as walking, cycling and horse riding.

Live at the Continental and the Esplanade

It had been recorded from two performances at the (now defunct) Continental Hotel in Prahran and one performance at the Esplanade Hotel in St Kilda, both in Melbourne.

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 Centre for Nanofabrication

Melbourne Centre for Nanofabrication (MCN) is located in Clayton, Victoria, next to the Australian Synchrotron.

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 Alexander Road, Melbourne

Mount Alexander Road was named as its original destination was the Gold Fields of Mount Alexander, now known as Castlemaine.

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.

Muckleford railway station

Muckleford station was opened for tourist services in 1996 after the section of line between Maldon and Muckleford had been restored.

Murrayville, Victoria

The area of the locality contains a number of smaller areas namely Duddo which had a post office open from 1913 until 1918, Duddo Wells with a post office from 1914 until 1950, Danyo with a post office from 1912 (when the railway arrived) until 1975, and Goongee.

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.

News Weekly

News Weekly is an Australian current affairs magazine, published by the National Civic Council, with its main headquarters in Balwyn, Victoria.

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.

Phryne Fisher

Phryne was not always rich, having been born into a poor family in Richmond, Melbourne.

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.

Redan

Redan is also a southern suburb of the regional city of Ballarat in central western Victoria, Australia.

Rocky Valley Dam

The Rocky Valley Dam is located on the Bogong High Plains, near Falls Creek, Victoria, a winter ski resort.

Roger Savage

One of his earliest film credits was as an audio engineer on Getting Back to Nothing, Tim Burstall's documentary of the 1970 World Surfing Championships staged at Bells Beach, Victoria.

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.

Seymour-FM

The station was originally intended as a local service for Seymour and nearby Puckapunyal.

Sheep shearer

Henry Salter (1907–1997) MBE won the first organised shearing contest at Pyramid Hill in 1934 and in 1953 was a machine shearing champion.

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).

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.

St Mark's Abbey

St Mark's Abbey, Camperdown, is an Anglican Benedictine monastery situated in Victoria, Australia.

Star News Group

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

Stinson Model A

On the morning of 31 January 1945 Tokana was on the Essendon to Kerang leg of its regular service when the port wing separated in flight between Redesdale and Heathcote, fifty miles north of Melbourne.

Stu Harvey

Before moving to Triple J, Harvey got his start on 979fm in Melton, Victoria, hosting Mondo Bizarro, before teaming up with Nick Kocsis (aka Nick Mondo) and moving the show to 3RRR.

The Deakins

Over their 10 year journey, performing live concerts and dance venues mainly in Melbourne, Geelong, through to Torquay circuits and later, appearing on television’s rock shows Kommotion and the GO!!

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.

Thomas Grigg

Born in Maldon to miner Thomas Henry Grigg and Elizabeth Jones, he attended state school before becoming a miner in 1902.

Ursula Frayne

Six weeks after her arrival in Melbourne Frayne had raised loans to pay off the mortgages on her convent in Nicholson Street, Fitzroy. Speedy development followed and considerable construction of buildings for social and educational work was undertaken, peaking in the erection of the first wing of the present ‘Academy’ for £6000 in 1870.

Val Royal

He stood from 2003 through 2006 at Oak Lodge Stud in County Kildare, Ireland and was shuttled to Eliza Park stud near Kerrie, Victoria, Australia for the Southern Hemisphere breeding seasons.

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, 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.

Virgil Reilly

Virgil Gavan Reilly, was born on 29 November 1892, the son of the local postmaster in Creswick, Victoria.

W. J. Lincoln

W. J. Lincoln was born in Melbourne and was bought up in St Kilda.


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.

2010 Winton V8 Supercar Event

It contained Races 11 and 12 of the series and was held on the weekend of May 15–16 at Winton Motor Raceway, near Benalla, in rural Victoria.

Acanthaeschna victoria

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

Arthur Knight

Arthur George Knight (1886–1918), Canadian recipient of the Victoria Cross

AYCE

Access Yea Community Education Program - an alternative high school program in Victoria, Australia

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

Blue Ensign

Yachts belonging to members of certain long-established Canadian yacht clubs, such as, the Royal Cape Breton Yacht Club, Champlain Yacht Club, Montreal Yacht Club, Royal Canadian Yacht Club, Royal Kennebaccasis Yacht Club, Royal Lake of the Woods Yacht Club, Royal Newfoundland Yacht Club, Royal St. Lawrence Yacht Club, Royal Vancouver Yacht Club, and Royal Victoria Yacht Club.

Brad Green

Braddon Green (born 1959), first-class cricketer for Victoria and Devon

Bulbine crassa

Coast Lily (Bulbine crassa), also known as the Crassa Island Leek Lily (D.I.Morris & Duretto) is a species described in 2006 which occurs on the Furneaux Group of islands between Victoria and Tasmania.

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").

Clare Benedict

The collection also includes photographs and autographs: an envelope addressed by Queen Victoria to the Queen of Belgium, letters by James Fenimore Cooper, Walter Scott, and Henry James.

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: —

Dennis Charter

Charter began his music industry career in 1967 working at live band club venues in Melbourne such as Sebastian's and Berties and writing for Go-Set Go-Set magazine before establishing live music venues and promoting concerts of his own around Melbourne and throughout country regions of Victoria, New South Wales, and South Australia.

Early life of Jan Smuts

With the hurdle of Matriculation behind him the start of the 1887 term finally saw Smuts admitted as a student of Victoria College and enrolled as an undergraduate of the University of the Cape of Good Hope.

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.

Elizabeth Sorrell

Sorrell lived for many years at the family home on Farragut Street downtown and then on Victoria Street in a house, since demolished, within the St. Peter's Historical District.

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)

Henry Robson

Henry Howey Robson (1894–1964), English 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.

Jon Hume

In May 2012 Hume was featured on the Hook N Sling song "Surrender," which he co-wrote from his studio in rural Victoria (The Stables Recording Studio).

Jubilee clock

In 1897 the village of Thornford decided to commemorate Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee by erecting a Jubilee tower clock and incorporating a water tap at its base.

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.

Linking and intrusive R

Other recognizable examples are the Beatles singing: "I saw-r-a film today, oh boy" in the song "A Day in the Life", from their 1967 Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band album, at the Sanctus in the Catholic Mass: "Hosanna-r-in the highest" and in the phrases, "Law-r-and order" and "Victoria-r-and Albert Museum".

Lucy Meacock

She then moved to Australia, where she attended the independent Morongo Girls College in Geelong, Victoria.

Maratha titles

Knight Grand Commander (GCIE): It is a title created by the British and is a part of The Most Eminent Order of the Indian Empire, an order of chivalry founded by Queen Victoria in 1878.

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.

Old Gippstown

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

One Special Night

This was Garner's and Andrews' third film pairing as romantic leads, after Paddy Chayevsky's The Americanization of Emily (1964) and Victor/Victoria (1982).

Pantages Theatre

the McPherson Playhouse in Victoria, BC was originally opened as a Pantages Theatre in 1914

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.

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.

Progradungula otwayensis

Progradungula otwayensis, commonly known as the odd-clawed spider, is a species of cribellate spider endemic to the Great Otway National Park of Victoria, Australia.

Soniya Mehra

After the release of Victoria 203 which was a commercial flop, Soniya took a long gap of three years and she is now attempting to make her comeback in 2010 with the film Basra starring Abhay Deol and directed by Navdeep Singh.

Swedish Royal Family

HRH Prince Daniel, Duke of Västergötland (the King's son-in-law, husband of Crown Princess Victoria)

Ten Mile Point

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

William Head Institution

William Head Institution is a Canadian minimum-security federal correctional institution for men located in Metchosin, British Columbia, about 25 kilometers southwest of Victoria on the southernmost tip of Vancouver Island.

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.

Wunghnu railway station

Wunghnu is a closed railway station on the Goulburn Valley railway in the township of Wunghnu, Victoria, Australia.