Who is melbourne named after

Records show the store included two horses, pigs, sugar, poultry, dogs, trees, seeds, food, rum and 13 litres of gin! The Falls, alternatively called the Rapids, were dynamited in the s as part of civic works to straighten the Yarra River to stop it flooding. The beginning: How it looked in , as seen from "the Falls". Source: Gordon H.

Woodhouse, photographer, and Schell, Frederic B. Melbourne had many unofficial names in its first years, including Batmania , Barebrass , Bearport , Dutergalla , Bareheep and most popularly " the Settlement ". Our Derbyshire namesake is also known for the birthplace of Thomas Cook, founder of the world-wide travel agency. The City of Melbourne flag features a white background divided into four quadrants by the red cross of St George, the patron saint of England, and inspired by the English flag.

The flag is identical to the official Coat of Arms, which itself is adopted from the common seal approved in These cantons represent the main activities on which the economy of Melbourne was based in the midth century: wool growing, cattle raising, shipping and whaling. The flag is special, and can be seen at Enterprize Park, atop Melbourne Town Hall, on the bonnet of the Lord Mayor's official car, atop the Enterprize's mast and a few other places.

Hey, kids! Download your own flag to colour in and fly at home PDF. Wild, white man: William Buckley shown arriving at the Indented Head camp after living with local Aborigines for 32 years. If the founding of Melbourne isn't a remarkable enough story, the account of escaped convict William Buckley is almost impossible to believe. After fleeing in from Sullivan Bay, near Sorrento the first, abandoned attempt by those aboard the HMS Calcutta to establish a settlement in Victoria because of a lack of drinking water , Buckley walked anti-clockwise around Port Phillip Bay and lived with many of the 25 different clans of the Wathaurong people in Victoria's south-west for 32 years — until July when he showed at John Batman's camp at Indented Head, on the tip of the Bellarine Peninsula, wearing kangaroo skins and clutching Aboriginal weapons.

We brought him a piece of bread which he ate heartily, and told us immediately what it was Jim Gumm measured his height which was 6ft 7in. He then told us that he was William Buckley, pointing to the WB tatooed on his arm. Much of what we know about the local indigenous people comes from Buckley, who learned their language and adopted their customs. He was celebrated as the "wild, white man", his experience and tale of survival, even claiming to have seen the mythical bunyip, astonishing audiences here and around the world for decades — and today Buckley is viewed as one of the most remarkable characters in Australia's history.

The names John Batman and John Pascoe Fawkner often appear side by side, even though the two were bitter rivals during their lives. Both men believed they were the rightful founder of Melbourne. His father, William Batman, was an ex-convict transported for receiving stolen goods. John was the first child to be born in the new colony, but the family soon grew to five sons and one daughter. When John Batman arrived in the Port Phillip District in , he approached indigenous leaders in Melbourne's northern suburbs with a contract to "buy" their land.

However, this transaction — the infamous "Batman deed" — had no legal standing and was quickly ruled invalid by the government, saying the land belonged to The Crown. Learn more: Batman's contract to "buy" land Opens in new window. See also: Batman's treaty of Melbourne Opens in new window. His father was sentenced to 14 years transportation for receiving stolen goods, and in the family came to Australia on the Calcutta. Legend has it that John Pascoe Fawkner wrote a constitution for his dream colony — behind the bar of a pub in Tasmania sometime in the s.

His hope was that this constitution would one day ensure equality for all, whether convicts or free settlers.

Whatever its origins, the constitution is evidence that Fawkner saw a new colony as an opportunity to make a better society. The Yarra River is not big by world standards, nor even very clear. But this sepia-coloured river has had a big impact on shaping Melbourne — the city that grew on its banks. When was Melbourne founded? Why Melbourne? The settlers came from Launceston in search of sheep-grazing land.

The north bank also offered more stable, suitable ground for shelter and construction. Shouldn't Aboriginal Australians be acknowledged as the first people?

Elder Bill Nicholson Jnr , right. Dave Johnston , director Boon Wurrung Foundation and a world leader in the field of Australian indigenous archaeology, at Melbourne Day celebrations on 30 August Photo: Danny D'Mello. Close up of the Batman monument on the Indented Head foreshore. John Batman monument on the Indented Head foreshore.

Shouldn't Aboriginal Australians be acknowledged as the first people of this land? Why is the Enterprize special? Who were the first settlers? Was it Fawkner or John Batman?

They were graziers, not explorers? How is this acknowledged? Was one of the settlers pregnant? A cat came, too? What happened to the waterfall? Many of central Melbourne's street names are evidence of the grand vision of the city's pioneers who named the streets after explorers, colonial leaders, British nobles and monarchs. Versions of history that we call 'facts' have to start somewhere.

At some point, someone, like Garryowen, decides what they think is true and records it in a text people can refer to in the future. The rationale for the naming of Spring Street, however, was somewhat of a mystery. Journalist Garryowen pieced together a theory based on the testimony of locals:. This fanciful surmise has been singularly sustained by the testimony of Mr. It's hard to know exactly what happened in the past, even when you're dealing with 'evidence'.