RSS
Home | Australian Place | Melbourne City Centre
|
|
|
It is the administrative centre of the City of Melbourne Local Government Area and a major administrative centre (along with East Melbourne) for the State government of Victoria. Its area consists of the original settlement is known as the Hoddle Grid - a one mile long (1.6 km) by half mile wide (0.80 km) grid of streets and lane ways, located on the northern bank of the Yarra River (approx 10 km upstream from the river estuary) and several adjoining areas stretching south along St Kilda Road. Major cultural icons include Federation Square, the State Library of Victoria, Melbourne Immigration Museum, and St Paul's Cathedral and Chinatown and the Queen Victoria Market. The Central Activities District has extended beyond the original Hoddle Grid and the borders of the current Melbourne City Centre to include bordering areas such as Melbourne Docklands and Southbank. The Melbourne City Centre is also a major financial hub being the corporate headquarters of two of the world's largest mining companies: BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto; a large gaming company: Tabcorp, largest communications company: Telstra, largest transport company: Toll. It has played host to a number of significant single national and international events, which include: the first sitting of the Parliament of Australia in 1901, 1956 Summer Olympics, Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in 1981, World Economic Forum in 2000, 2006 Commonwealth Games and 2006 G20 Ministerial Meeting. The city centre is also renowned for hosting a large number of annual events, many being the biggest in Australia and the World. It is notable for its distinct blend of contemporary and Victorian architecture, expansive parks and gardens, alleyway and arcade culture It is also the starting point of Melbourne's metropolitan rail and Victoria's regional rail networks (at Flinders Street and Southern Cross stations respectively), and the most dense section of Melbourne's tram network � which is the largest in the world. |
