City of Portland (Victoria) City of Portland (Victoria) The City of Portland was a local government area about west-southwest of Melbourne, the state capital of Victoria, Australia. The city covered an area of , and existed from 1855 until 1994. Its area was surrounded by the Shire of Heywood, formerly known as the Shire of Portland, and the Southern Ocean. Portland was incorporated as a municipal district on 17 December 1855. It became a borough in 1863, and a town on 19 November 1949. It was proclaimed a city on 28 October 1985. On 23 September 1994, the City of Portland was abolished, and,
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,