The City of Melbourne respectfully acknowledges that it is located on the traditional land of the Kulin Nation. This special place is now known by its European name of Melbourne.
Today, Melbourne is one of the great multicultural cities of the world and is a significant meeting place.
For the Wurundjeri, Boonerwrung, Taungurong, Djajawurrung and Wathaurung which make up the Kulin Nation, Melbourne has always been an important meeting place and location for events of social, educational, sporting and cultural significance.
Since its European settlement in 1835, different nationalities have migrated to Melbourne at various stages of its history and have contributed significantly to the city's growing identity.
Find out more about Melbourne’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander culture and its multicultural history.
Image source: Museums Victoria
Chinese Federation arch, Melbourne, 1901.
Port Phillip Bay was discovered by Europeans in 1802, when Lieutenant John Murray and Captain Matthew Flinders visited the bay within a few months of each other. This area was then part of the colony of New South Wales, and the colony’s governor, Philip Gidley King, instructed the surveyor-general, Charles Grimes, to examine the shores of the bay with a view to identifying sites for future settlement. In 1803 Grimes and his party discovered the Yarra River and traveled along its lower course. Unlike some members of the party, Grimes was not enthusiastic about the Yarra River as a potential settlement. Later in the same year Captain David Collins arrived with a contingent of soldiers and convicts and settled near Sorrento, just inside the entrance to the bay on the east coast. Within a few months, however, he decided that the location was unsuitable and moved his group to Tasmania.
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