Victoria (Australia) Victoria responsible government with the passage of the Colony of Victoria Act 1855. Some of the leaders of the Eureka rebellion went on to become members of the Victorian Parliament. The first foreign military action by the colony of Victoria was to send troops and a warship to New Zealand as part of the Māori Wars. Troops from New South Wales had previously participated in the Crimean War. In 1901, Victoria became a state in the Commonwealth of Australia. As a result of the gold rush, Melbourne had by then become the financial centre of Australia and New Zealand. Between
Geography of Victoria Geography of Victoria Victoria is the southernmost mainland state of Australia. With an area of 227,594 km² (87,874.5 sq mi), it is Australia's sixth largest state or territory. The State is comparable in size to the US state of Utah or the island of Great Britain. It is bound to the northwest by South Australia, directly north by New South Wales, and also shares a maritime border with Tasmania to the south, across the Bass Strait. Most of Victoria's northern border lies along the Murray River. The eastern half of the state is dominated by the Great Dividing Range and