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Portal:Victoria

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The Victoria Portal


Location of Victoria in Australia
The flag of Victoria

Victoria, commonly abbreviated as Vic, is a state in southeastern Australia. It is the second-smallest state (after Tasmania), with a land area of 227,444 km2 (87,817 sq mi); the second-most-populated state (after New South Wales), with a population of over 6.9 million; and the most densely populated state in Australia (30.6 per km2). Victoria's economy is the second-largest among Australian states and is highly diversified, with service sectors predominating.

Victoria is bordered by New South Wales to the north and South Australia to the west and is bounded by the Bass Strait to the south (with the exception of a small land border with Tasmania located along Boundary Islet), the Great Australian Bight portion of the Southern Ocean to the southwest, and the Tasman Sea (a marginal sea of the South Pacific Ocean) to the southeast. The state encompasses a range of climates and geographical features from its temperate coastal and central regions to the Victorian Alps in the northeast and the semi-arid northwest.

Named in honour of Queen Victoria, Victoria was separated from New South Wales and established as a separate Crown colony in 1851, achieving responsible government in 1855. The Victorian gold rush in the 1850s and 1860s significantly increased Victoria's population and wealth. By the time of Australian Federation in 1901, Melbourne had become the largest city in Australasia, and was the seat of Federal government until Canberra became the national capital in 1927. The state continued to grow strongly through various periods of the 20th and 21st centuries due to high levels of international and interstate migration. Melbourne hosts a number of museums, art galleries, and theatres; in 2016 a sports marketing company named it the world's sporting capital. (Full article...)

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Middle Island, Warnambool.
Middle Island, Warnambool.
Credit: Danimations

Middle Island is a small (c. 2 ha), rocky island lying close to the shore of south-western Victoria, Australia, in Stingray Bay next to the city of Warrnambool. It is a wildlife sanctuary that is home to breeding colonies of little penguins (Eudyptula minor) and short-tailed shearwaters (Ardenna tenuirostris). It is closed to general public access because of the low penguin population.

Because of the proximity of the island to the coast, it is accessible at low tide to predators such as foxes (Vulpes vulpes) and stray dogs. As a result, the penguin colony declined to a low of ten breeding pairs by 2005. In 2006 an attempt began to protect the birds from foxes by the use of Maremma Sheepdogs trained to protect penguins rather than sheep and to act as a deterrent to foxes. The dogs, who work in pairs, spend five or six days a week on the island during the breeding season from October to March. Since then the penguin population has been increasing and by 2016 had reached nearly two hundred. In 2017, when high tides and bad weather prevented the dogs from being taken to the island, as many as 140 penguins were killed by foxes. Numbers have since rebounded, and the project inspired a similar effort that began in late 2020 to protect newly released eastern barred bandicoots at Werribee Open Range Zoo by having the dogs mind a flock of sheep. The island is featured prominently in the 2015 film Oddball.

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Main: Victoria

In the News (for Australia)

11 September 2024 – Israel–Hamas war protests
Victoria Police arrest 39 people and fire stun grenades, rubber bullets, and pepper spray at anti-war and pro-Palestinian protestors picketing outside a military weapons expo in Melbourne, Australia. (Al Jazeera)

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Melbourne To-do
Here are some WikiProject Melbourne articles which attract a high number of "page hits" but are only rated as Stub Class, or otherwise need additional citations or attention:
Suburbs: Derrimut, South Wharf, Menzies Creek, Save Our State (Australia)
Landmarks: 101 Collins Street, 120 Collins Street, Bourke Place, Hamer Hall, Melbourne Mint
Events: Melbourne International Festival of Brass, Melbourne Underground Film Festival, Great Bookie Robbery, Extreme weather events in Melbourne
Transport: All of the stations on the Puffing Billy Railway need expanding or merging to the main article, especially the request stops which are just tin sheds
Sporting Clubs: Caroline Springs George Cross FC
Streets: Little Bourke Street, Hardware Lane, Hosier Lane
People: Alannah Hill, Meek (street artist), Vexta
Institutions: Eltham High School, Glen Eira Town Hall, Boxing Day Test
Venues:
Miscellaneous: Collins St., 5 pm, Yarra Valley, Coops Shot Tower, Melbourne Talk Radio, Melbourne University Publishing, The Herald and Weekly Times,
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