Category: The Melbourne Files

In November 1986, the Turkish embassy in Melbourne was bombed. This is the Toorak Terrorist Attack.

If you think skiing in Victoria you think: Mt Hotham, Mt Buller, Bright. But before those, Victoria’s most popular ski resort could be found on Mt Donna Buang, near Warburton.

Yarra Bend Asylum was Melbourne’s first, and biggest, mental hospital.  The grounds are now a public park, but traces still remain.

Melbourne is a city of laneways and many of these have exotic, and unusual, titles. Here are Melbourne’s most unusual laneway names. 

Melbourne Central is one of Melbourne’s most well known landmarks. But before Melbourne Central, that part of the city looked very different.

Melbourne has a lot of public artworks, some of which are quite exotic. Here is a quick guide to Melbourne’s strangest public art. 

In the Victorian State election in 1985, something straight out of a bad Hollywood movie went down. A tied election, decided by a lucky dip.

In 1910, Harry Houdini came to Melbourne. He performed magic, flew a plane, and jumped into the Yarra shackled in chains.

170 years ago, most people worked 6 or 7 days a week, and about 12 hours each day. But the eight hour day, was coming. And it started right here in Victoria.

In March 1978, armed men took over a Melbourne restaurant, and triggered a hostage drama. This is the Waiter’s Club Siege.