1880–1900: Marvellous Melbourne
It wasn’t just another parade. It was opening day of the 1880 Melbourne International Exhibition, the proudest moment of a booming city, spotlighted on the world stage.
Eager crowds lined the route to the new Exhibition Building to watch parades of soldiers, sailors, fire-fighters and trade unionists. They were followed by a glittering convoy of state coaches. A burst of gunfire announced that the viceregal party was on its way.
The exhibition would herald a decade of marvellous growth and optimism for Melbourne.
Key Dates
1880
Melbourne’s population: 281,000
1880
Bushranger Ned Kelly is hanged at the Melbourne Gaol
1884
“Octopus Act” authorises ambitious suburban railway expansion
1885
First cable tram route opens
1887
Land in new suburbs sells for up to 20 times more than three years earlier
1888
Royal commission investigates Melbourne’s poor sanitation
1888
Melbourne Centennial International Exhibition opens at the Exhibition Building
1888
New Princes Bridge is completed over the Yarra River
1890
Australasian Federation Conference is held in Melbourne, a step towards a united Australia
1891
Imperial Bank suspends payments, marking the start of Victoria’s worst depression
1894
Kalgoorlie gold rush attracts thousands of unemployed Melburnians to Western Australia
1899
Victorian troops parade before embarking for the Transvaal (Boer) War
1900
Melbourne’s population: 494,900