X-Nico

98 unusual facts about Victoria


1861 in Australia

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

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.

280hp Walker railmotor

The railcars soon saw use on the Bendigo-Deniliquin and Ararat-Portland services, and by the time the 91RM was delivered, Mansfield, Wonthaggi, Woomelang and Wangaratta were also being served by the units.

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.

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.

Amway Australia

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

Anglesea Power Station

From 1955 test bores for coal were made at Anglesea by the Roche Brothers, who were then operating a mine at nearby Wensleydale where the coal reserves were dwindling.

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.

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.

Bruce Twamley

Bruce Richardson Twamley (born 23 May 1952 in Victoria, British Columbia) is a former Canadian international footballer.

Cardinia Reservoir

Cardinia Reservoir is a 287,000 megalitre water storage located in Emerald-Clematis-Dewhurst in south-eastern suburbs of Melbourne, Australia.

Cardinia Transit

926 PakenhamWestfield Fountain Gate via Lakeside, Beaconsfield station & Berwick (Daily)

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.

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

Cranbourne, Victoria

There are other privately owned and managed facilities, such as the Briars Equestrian Centre in Clyde.

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.

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.

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.

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).

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.

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.

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.

George Pakos

He began work at the same time as a water-metre tecnnician for the city of Victoria, a job he continued for over 25 years.

George Stack

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

Herald Sun Tour

The first King of the Mountain and Sprint champion was Jack (John) McDonough from Coburg.

Herbert Hyland

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

Heston Phoenix

:Sold in Australia, on 5 July 1936 it crashed in bad weather near Melton, Victoria.

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.

HMAS Goorangai

On the night of 20 November, Goorangai was crossing the mouth of Port Phillip Bay to anchor at Portsea for the night.

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.

Julien Wiener

Wiener's father had early sporting success in table tennis, which Wiener applied to his cricket, playing for Prahran in Melbourne grade cricket.

Julius Vogel

He emigrated to Victoria, Australia in 1852, being editor of several newspapers on the goldfields, including the Inglewood Advertiser and the Maryborough and Dunolly Advertiser.

Karen Simpson Nikakis

Nikakis was raised in the central Victorian town of Mansfield, surrounded by the mountains of the Victorian Alps.

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.

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

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.

Lorri Bagley

Bagley made her television debut at a young age appearing on Late Night with David Letterman in 1982, and had made a name for herself as a model in Europe by the age of fourteen, modelling for the likes of Dior, Chanel and Issey Miyake as well as modelling for Victoria's Secret for five years.

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 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.

Mephan Ferguson

To enable this expansion he brought the Glasgow Iron works in West Melbourne.

Michael Atchison

He was born in Sandringham, Victoria and moved to South Australia with his family in 1939.

Mount Alexander Road, Melbourne

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

Murrayville Community College

Murrayville Community College is a State P-12 School located in the north western corner of the Mallee in Murrayville, Victoria.

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.

News Weekly

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

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.

Pam Brown

Brown was born in Seymour, Victoria, and her childhood was spent in on military bases in Toowoomba and Brisbane.

Peter Ladner

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

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.

Robert Murray Smith

Smith died at his home in Toorak, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia on 31 August 1921 predeceased by his wife and a son, survived by three daughters.

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.

Rowan steam railmotor

Both Kitson power units were purchased by the Sanderson and Grant sawmill at Forrest in 1907.

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.

Saintly

Saintly now resides at Living Legends, the international home of rest for champion horses (open to the public) in Greenvale, Melbourne, Australia.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Thomas Grigg

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

Tuff Monks

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

Upfield

Upfield, Victoria, an outer northern suburb of Melbourne, Australia

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.

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, Oriental Mindoro

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

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.

W. J. Lincoln

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

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.


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.

AirSea Lines

On 7 November 2006 an AirSea Lines Twin Otter seaplane landed at Royal Victoria Docks on the River Thames, London, at the end of a proving flight testing the feasibility of seaplane operations from the river.

Alexander Malcolm Jacob

He is best known for having sold the Jacob Diamond, which is the seventh largest diamond known in the world (previously known as the Victoria Diamond, Imperial Diamond, or Great White Diamond).

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.

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

British Columbia general election, 1871

The byelection was due to resignations February 9, 1874 of A. Bunster and Amor De Cosmos upon winning seats in the federal election January 22, 1874 (in Vancouver and Victoria federal ridings, respectively).

Charlotte Grayson

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

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.

Dan Fraga

Some career highlights include spots for Hershey's, Lee Jeans, Mentos, Victoria's Secret, Ford Motors and music videos for top artists Justin Timberlake, Beyoncé, Usher, Gwen Stefani, Jamiroquai, Lady Gaga and T.I., to name a few.

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.

Earl of Fife

In 1889, Alexander Duff married Princess Louise, the third child and eldest daughter of the future King Edward VII; two days after the wedding, Queen Victoria elevated him to the dignity of Duke of Fife in the Peerage of the United Kingdom.

Edwin St Hill

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

Empire Bay, New South Wales

The name was changed because there was already a post office named Sorrento in Victoria and Empire Bay was chosen because there was no other such name in the Commonwealth.

Environmental planning

The Environment Effects Act 1978 was the first environmental planning control in Victoria, and it assessed the environmental impact of significant developments via an Environmental Effects Statement (EES).

Evan Durbin

Durbin became Labour MP for Edmonton, 1945–1948, and was amongst those invited to Hugh Dalton's "Young Victors Dinner" held at St Ermin's Hotel, off Victoria Street SW1.

Francis Newton Parsons

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

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.

Harold Andrews

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

Henry Robson

Henry Howey Robson (1894–1964), English recipient of the Victoria Cross

James A. Smith

James Alexander Smith (1881–1968), British soldier, recipient of the Victoria Cross

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).

Lafone

Alexander Malins Lafone (1870–1917), English recipient of the Victoria Cross

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

Mad Bomber Society

Mad Bomber Society has played at major music events across Canada including the 2003 Stage 13 in Camrose, North County Fair in Alberta, and Folk on the Rocks Festival in Yellowknife, which was broadcast by CBC Radio North; the 2002 Salmon Arm Roots'n'Blues Fest; and the 2001 Victoria Ska Fest and North County Fair.

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.

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.

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.

Newmarket railway station

Newmarket railway station, Melbourne, a station serving Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

ODL

Ordnance Datum Liverpool, an ordnance datum recorded at Victoria Dock in Liverpool, England

Old Gippstown

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

Pantages Theatre

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

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.

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.

Rod Beattie

Other productions include The Loveliest and Sylvia in Victoria, The Crucible and Blessings in Disguise in Manitoba, Oleanna at the National Arts Centre opposite Sandra Oh, and Love Letters opposite wife Martha Henry in an Ontario tour.

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.

South Australian wine

Located in south central Australia, South Australia is bordered by the four other mainland states, (Western Australia to the west, Queensland to the north east, New South Wales to the east, Victoria to the south east), the Northern Territory to the north, and the Great Australian Bight forms the region's southern coastline.

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.

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

The New Adventures of Black Beauty

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

Thomas Bourchier

Claud Thomas Bourchier (1831–1877), English recipient of the Victoria Cross

William Henry Page

In 1899 G.A. Gomme and H. Arthur Doubleday launched the Victoria County History through Archibald Constable & Co, in which Doubleday was a partner.

Wunghnu railway station

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