Melbourne is the southernmost city in the world with a population exceeding one million. Its metropolitan population is above five million, and its latitude places it farther south than other million-plus cities such as Buenos Aires, Adelaide, and Sydney.
Melbourne was established in 1835 on the Yarra River and became the capital of the newly created colony of Victoria. The discovery of gold in the 1850s triggered spectacular growth, funding grand public buildings, railways, parks, and cultural institutions. That era helped give Melbourne its nickname, “Marvellous Melbourne.”
The wording depends on what counts as a city and how population is measured. Melbourne’s central local-government area is much smaller than the Greater Melbourne metropolitan region, which includes 31 municipalities and most of the surrounding urban area. The million-plus claim refers to the broader urban or metropolitan city rather than only the central municipality.
Melbourne’s southern position also explains its cooler climate compared with Australia’s northern cities. It lies around 38 degrees south, on the northern and eastern shores of Port Phillip Bay, while Tasmania’s Hobart is farther south but does not exceed one million residents.