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.

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.

93.9 Bay FM

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

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.

Alma Park, St Kilda East

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

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.

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.

Bells Beach, Victoria

The competition was first held in January 1961 and then at Easter every year since although occasionally, when conditions at Bells aren't suitable, the competition has been transferred to other breaks such as Johanna.

Bill Nicholls

On 18 June 2012, a twenty-six-year-old man was shot outside Nicholls's home in Corio.

Bonnie Fagan

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

Cardinia Transit

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

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

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

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

Death of Jill Meagher

At around 10:00 pm on 28 September, five days after Meagher's disappearance, he led police to where her body was buried in a shallow grave at Black Hill Road in Gisborne South.

Division of Indi

Other towns in the electorate include Rutherglen, Mansfield, Beechworth, Bethanga, Myrtleford, Corryong, Tallangatta, Euroa and a number of other small villages (notably including the ski resort of Falls Creek).

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.

Dyson's Bus Services

520 GreensboroughDoreen via Greensborough Plaza, Greensborough station & Yarrambat (Daily)

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.

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.

Ethiopian Australian

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

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).

Fairfield, Greater Victoria

Fairfield is a neighbourhood of Victoria, BC.

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.

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.

George Stack

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Lillydale Lake

Lillydale Lake (the name retaining the earliest spelling and the name of the former Lillydale Shire) is an artificial lake and wetlands area created in Lilydale, Melbourne, Australia.

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.

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.

Louis Matheson

When Monash opened, Matheson led and oversaw rapid development, from an empty site in Clayton, to a university recognised internationally for excellence in research and teaching.

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.

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.

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.

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).

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.

Peter Ladner

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

Rushall Garden

Rushall Garden is a community garden situated on former railway land in Fitzroy North, Victoria in inner suburban Melbourne, Australia.

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.

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.

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.

Ted Tripp

Tripp moved to Melbourne in 1938 and on 30 July married Ruby May Bullock at Carlton.

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!!

Thomas Grigg

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

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

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?

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.

W. J. Lincoln

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

Walhalla Goldfields Rail Trail

The Walhalla Goldfields Rail Trail is a 7 kilometre rail trail which follows the former route of the narrow gauge Walhalla railway line between Erica and Thomson station, near Walhalla in Victoria's east.

Whitfield, Victoria

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


Acacia murrayana

It is widespread throughout Australia's arid zone, occurring on sand ridges and in disturbed areas in every mainland State except Victoria.

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

Arthur Cross

Arthur Henry Cross (1884–1965), British recipient of the Victoria Cross

Australian Plague Locust Commission

With 19 staff members at its headquarters in Canberra and field offices in Narromine, Broken Hill and Longreach, the Commission is funded half by the Commonwealth government and half by the Australian states of New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia and Queensland.

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

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.

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.

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

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

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.

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.

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.

Electoral district of Bass

It is covers a diverse range of terrority, from outer suburban Pakenham to the rural towns of Lang Lang and Nar Nar Goon to the coastal tourist centres of Phillip Island and Inverloch.

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.

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.

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

James A. Smith

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

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.

Laverton North Power Station

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

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".

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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

Victoria Park, Cardiff

The park was created as a municipal recreation ground by Cardiff City Council through a city charter between 1897 and 1898 to celebrate Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee marking her record sixty years on the throne.

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.

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.

Wunghnu railway station

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