Melbourne is a city full of surprises! Here are 15 interesting facts about Melbourne you might not have heard before…

According to the RSPCA, Melbourne is officially the fox capital of the world, with between 6 and 23 foxes per square kilometre in the urban area of the city. Despite these numbers, it’s still quite rare to see one! Melbourne used to have a history of public bathing, with residents taking to the Yarra River, the sea and city baths. If you would like to take a peek at what a bathing box looked like, there are still more than 1,800 private bathing boxes and boat sheds scattered around in Brighton. Melbourne’s tramway system is the largest outside Europe and the fourth largest in the world, stretching along 244km of track and boasting 450 trams. The world’s first feature film, the Story of the Ned Kelly Gang, was filmed and made in Melbourne in 1906. Melbourne was originally going to be named ‘Batmania’ after one of its founding fathers, John Batman. 38 per cent of the population in Melbourne were born overseas, as of 2013. In 1956 Melbourne became the first host of the Olympic Games outside of Europe and North America. Melbourne’s number one restaurant – the Colonial Tramcar Restaurant – is a tram. The tram restaurant takes you around the city circle route, passing by most major spots, while you eat delicious meals prepared by 5-star chefs. Melbourne was the capital city of Australia for 26 years between 1901 and 1927 before the capital became Canberra. The maximum temperature ever recorded in Melbourne was 46.4 degrees Celsius in 2009, and the minimum was -2.8 degrees Celsius in 1869. A person who comes from or lives in Melbourne is called a ‘Melbournian’. The world’s largest stained-glass ceiling is located in Melbourne’s National Gallery of Victoria. Melbourne has the highest number of cafes and restaurants per number of people than any other city in the world. Five of the six tallest buildings in Australia are in Melbourne’s CBD. Melbourne been ranked the world’s most liveable city every year since 2011 by the Economist Intelligence Unit.

There’s plenty more to discover about Melbourne. To find out more about studying with us in Melbourne, visit our website.

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