Melbourne is a city.
Melbourne ( [ ˈmɛlbərn ] ) is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria , and the second-most populous city in Australia and Oceania . During the Victorian gold rush of the 1850s , it was transformed into one of the world 's largest and wealthiest cities . It is a leading financial centre in the Asia-Pacific region , and ranks among the top 30 cities in the world in the Global Financial Centres Index . It was the host city of the 1956 Summer Olympics and the 2006 Commonwealth Games .