"Melbourne" was a Town class light cruiser. The ship had a standard displacement of 5,400 tons, was long overall and long between perpendiculars, had a beam of , a maximum draught of , and a mean draught of . The propulsion machinery consisted of Yarrow boilers feeding Parsons steam turbines, which supplied 25,000 shaft horsepower to the ship's four propellers. Although only designed to reach , "Melbourne" was capable of sailing at . The ship's company consisted of 485: 31 officers, and 484 sailors.