Little Known Facts

• Probably the most famous Yarra Valley resident was world-famous Australian opera singer Dame Nellie Melba, who grew up in the valley and for whom Peach Melba dessert was created by the great chef Escoffier.
• Sorrento was Victoria's first official European settlement, which lasted three months from October 1803. A convict, William Buckley, escaped from the settlement and lived with local Aborigines for the next 32 years before making contact with the Europeans who founded Melbourne.
• The Great Ocean Road continues to rank amongst Australia's and the world's top journeys of a lifetime. The Great Ocean Road is the world's biggest war memorial, dedicated to all Victorian soldiers who died fighting in the First World War. It took almost 3,000 returned soldiers 13 years to construct.
• Phillip Island Nature Park covers 1,805 hectares of Phillip Island, Victoria's wildlife haven.
• The name Ballarat comes from the Aboriginal word meaning 'resting place'.
• Mt Arapiles is Australia's best rock-climbing venue, with more than 2,000 designated climbs, some rated as high as level 30.
• The Grampians - traditionally known as Gariweld - boasts the largest collection of rock art in southern Australia with about 60 rock sites depicting more than 4,000 different motifs.
• The Murray River Basin stretches across 1,061,469 square kilometres.
• The Alpine National Park, at 646,000 hectares, is Victoria's largest National Park.

Go to Visit Victoria (Yarra Valley) for further information.