Melbourne

Melbourne is the capital and largest city of the state of Victoria, and the second largest city in Australia (after Sydney), with a population of 3.8 million in the Melbourne metropolitan area (June 2004) and 69,670 in the City of Melbourne (which covers only the central city area). The city's name is pronounced as either or . The city's motto is "Vires acquirit eundo" which means "we gather strength as we go". Melbourne was the capital city of Australia from 1901 until 1927.

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Melbourne has twice ranked first in a survey by The Economist of The World's Most Livable Cities on the basis of its cultural attributes, climate, cost of living, and social conditions, once in 2002 http://www.investincostarica.com/news/economist.htm, and again in 2004. In 2005, however, it was ranked 2nd, behind Vancouver, Canada. The US's Utne Reader puts it thus: "Add a long tradition of civic pride, communities of new immigrants from around the world, and the best food in Australia, and you have a recipe for what many claim is the hippest city in the Southern Hemisphere" (Nov/Dec 2001).

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Melbourne has undergone a major urban 'revival', such that it is sometimes classed as being in a second tier of "world cities"; the GaWC study group in the UK ranks Melbourne, on the basis of relative availability of specialised "advanced services" as a "minor world city" comparable to cities such as Montreal, Osaka, and Prague. It has one of the highest numbers of international students studying in its universities, after London, New York, and Paris.

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A resident of Melbourne is referred to as a Melburnian.

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Capital: :This article concerns places that serve as centers of government and politics. For alternative meanings see capital (disambiguation)...

Victoria: Victoria may refer to:...

Sydney: :For other meanings, see Sydney (disambiguation), or Sidney....

Melbourne related Images and Photos (experimental)

Fitzroy Gardens Melbourne Australia	Pulpit Rock near Melbourne Victoria	Political Map of Melbourne AR	Jogger and Dog at South Melbourne Beach Before Storm Melbourne Australia
Nine-Banded Armadillo Melbourne Florida	View of Melbourne Looking across the Yarra 1865	Entrance of Luna Park Melbourne Australia	Brightly-Painted Beach Huts Brighton Melbourne Victoria Australia
Buildings at the Waterfront Melbourne Australia	Duchess of Devonshire Lady Melbourne and Mrs Dawson Damer as the Three Witches from Macbeth	Nine-Banded Armadillo Swimming Underwater Melbourne Florida	Southbank Yarra River and Flinders Walk Melbourne Victoria Australia