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
Coat of arms of Victoria (Australia) Coat of arms of Victoria (Australia) The Coat of Arms of Victoria is the official symbol of the Australian state of Victoria. Victoria was the second state of Australia to gain arms, granted on 6 June 1910 by royal warrant of King George V. The state had been named in 1851 after his grandmother, who was Queen at the time. Following the adoption of the pink heath ("Epacris impressa" Labill.) as Victoria's floral emblem, Queen Elizabeth II signed a royal warrant on 28 March 1974 adding a Compartment from which the heath could grow. Although the rest of the arms