MELBOURNE
LOCAL HISTORY
In 1835, John Batman, traded a quantity
of "blankets, knives, tomahawks, scissors, looking-glasses,
flour, handkerchiefs and shirts" with the local Wurundjeri
people in exchange for some 2,000 kmē of land on the banks
of the Yarra River.
Within twenty years the gold rush of the 1850s brought great
wealth to the city. Tens of thousands of people came from
all over the world and the city grew to a bustling centre
of arts and entertainment, lending it the title 'Marvellous
Melbourne - the Paris of the Antipodes'.
Melbourne was planned with wide streets along a rectangular
grid and large formal parks flanking the city centre. Between
the main streets, smaller laneways were designed as rear rights
of way but were soon subdivided and modified to suit the needs
of city traders and are still active shopping precincts to
this day.
The city soon grew out to the suburbs with several train lines
being constructed in the late nineteenth century as well as
a network of trams.
From the early boom days of the late 19th century, Melbourne
has continued to attract migrants from all over who feed the
city's passion for great food and entertainment. |
