City of Preston (Victoria) City of Preston (Victoria) The City of Preston was a local government area about north-northeast of Melbourne, the state capital of Victoria, Australia. The city covered an area of , and existed from 1871 until 1994. Preston's first involvement in local government was part of the Epping Road District in 1854, which also included Northcote. In 1870, the Epping District was amalgamated with the Merriang, Whittlesea, Morang and Woodstock Road Districts, to form a very large Darebin Shire. These entities mostly ended up in the Cities of Broadmeadows and Whittlesea. Preston was first incorporated as the Jika Jika Shire on
Capital city meaning "head". In several English-speaking states, the terms county town and county seat are also used in lower subdivisions. In some unitary states, subnational capitals may be known as "administrative centres". The capital is often the largest city of its constituent, though not always. Historically, the major economic centre of a state or region often becomes the focal point of political power, and becomes a capital through conquest or federation. (The modern capital city has, however, not always existed: in medieval Western Europe, an itinerant (wandering) government was common.) Examples are Ancient Babylon, Abbasid Baghdad, Ancient Athens, Rome, Constantinople, Chang'an,