The Founding of Melbourne

First settlers

It was on 30 August 1835 that these first settlers landed and commenced with the building of a thatched storage hut and the clearing of land along the north bank of the Yarra River. This location today is known as Enterprize Park where Williams Street and Flinders Street meet near the old Customs House.

The people of the Kulin nation are the traditional owners of the land that became Melbourne, including the Boonwurrung, Woiwurrung, Taungurung and Djadjawurrung people, who gathered in this place for ceremonies and cultural activities.

The founding of Melbourne

Melbourne was founded on 30 August 1835 by the settlers who sailed from Van Diemen’s Land (Tasmania) on board the schooner Enterprize. They landed on the north bank of the Yarra River, close to where Customs House stands today and the place now known as Enterprize Park.

The Melbourne Day Committee was established to help correct the record about the founding of Melbourne.

The settlers

The settlers came from Launceston in search of new land on which to graze their sheep. The Enterprize was owned by John Pascoe Fawkner but the expedition was led by John Lancey. Fawkner was unfortunately forced to remain in Launceston for this first voyage to the Port Phillip District. The site for the settlement was chosen because there was a small waterfall that stopped further progress up the river but also because it separated the tidal movement from fresh water. The waterfall had previously been found and noted by the Colony of New South Wales' surveyor, Charles Grimes, in 1803.

Leaving Van Diemen's Land

Land for grazing had become very expensive and there had long been stories told by whalers and sealers working in Bass Strait of fertile land to the north. This was the southern part of the Colony of NSW, which the Colonial Government did not want settled at that time but after the Henty Family crossed Bass Strait and settled at Portland in 1834 others quickly picked up the idea.

Was it Fawkner or Batman?

No. Batman had established a camp at Indented Head on the Bellarine Peninsula in June 1835. Batman did sail in his ship Rebecca into the mouth of the Yarra and set off on foot along the Maribyrnong looking for Aborigines to sign a "sale agreement" to buy land. He returned to the Rebecca to sail back to Indented Head, but the weather was against this. While Batman waited he sent a small boat party upstream on to the bigger river to the east (the Yarra), who, on their return reported the freshwater falls. On their return to Launceston Batman and a colleague, John Wedge, sketched a map of his land purchase showing a reserve for a village on the southern side of the Yarra close to the falls (near the area we know today as South Melbourne). The Enterprize was moored beside the north bank of the Yarra in August 1835 and the settlement of Melbourne commenced on that site.

Who were the founders?

Yes, and although the government objected, events had been set in train that could not be stopped. Because of the action of those from the Enterprize, the great city of Melbourne was born.

The First settlers

Yes. There was George Evans, a builder; carpenters William Jackson and Robert Hay Marr; blacksmith James Gilbert and his wife Mary; and a ploughman named Wise. Also present to see the first settlers divide the land between them into lots along the river and commence the first building was the commander of the Enterprize, Captain Peter Hunter, two sailors, and Evan Evans, servant to George Evans. Others would follow, like Fawkner, Batman, Gellibrand, Hoddle and Swanston, to help shape the future Melbourne. Those on board Enterprize were our first settlers and through their efforts Melbourne was sited where it stands today.

Enterprize - Melbourne's tall ship

The original schooner Enterprize brought the first settlers to Melbourne. The Enterprize has become the best-known symbol of Melbourne Day - the day the city was born. Her keel was laid at the Polly Woodside Maritime Museum in 1991, and the $2.5 million, 27m vessel was launched by Felicity Kennett on 30 August, 1997, at Hobsons Bay.

The tops'l schooner is a full-sized replica of the ship that brought the first white settlers to Melbourne in 1835. The original ship was bought by John Pascoe Fawkner in April 1835 to search for a suitable place for a settlement in the Port Phillip District.

Enterprize sailed from Launceston on July 21, 1835, but only got as far as George Town in northern Tasmania, where creditors forced Fawkner to stay.

Enterprize then left on August 1 under the command of Captain Peter Hunter.

On board was Captain John Lancey, master mariner and Fawkner's representative; George Evans, builder; carpenters William Jackson and Robert Hay Marr; Evan Evans, George Evans' servant; and Fawkner's servants, ploughman Charles Wise, general servant Thomas Morgan, blacksmith James Gilbert and his pregnant wife, Mary.

The party first considered Western Port and the eastern side of Port Phillip for a place to settle, before mooring Enterprize on the Yarra's north bank opposite the site of today's Crown casino.

On August 30 they disembarked and began to put up their tents, build a store and clear some land for growing vegetables, starting European settlement of Melbourne.
After this Enterprize continued operating as a coastal trading vessel for a number of years.
She eventually disappeared off the shipping register in 1847, having been wrecked on the bar of the Richmond River
in northern NSW, with the loss of two lives.

The replica Enterprize is managed by the Enterprize Ship Trust, a not for profit organisation. The trust seeks the help of businesses, individuals and other to help keep this much-cherished piece of Melbourne's heritage operating.

What is the Melbourne flag?

The City of Melbourne's flag features a white background divided into four quadrants by a red cross, which is the cross of St. George, the patron saint of England and taken from the English flag. 

In the centre, a crown is visible, signifying the Australian city's links to the British Monarchy. Other items featured are, going from top left clockwise, fleece hanging from a red ring, a bull, a ship and a whale. 

The four cantons (flag) represent the main activities of which the economy of the City of Melbourne was based in the mid 19th century. They were wool growing, cattle raising, shipping and whaling.

Melbourne rules - the history of AFL football

Today, AFL is watched by millions of people across Australia and throughout the world. Every week people turn to television, radio, newspaper and the internet to find out about Melbourne’s most popular game.

But how much do you know about how this game began and the history of the original Melbourne Football Club?

More about Melbourne rules - (74kb)

The rules of Melbourne Football Club May 1859 - (49kb)