Melbourne is a city in Australia.
Melbourne . After the federation of Australia in 1901 , it served as the nation 's interim seat of government until 1927 . Port Phillip ( also commonly referred to as Port Phillip Bay or ( locally ) just The Bay ) , is a large bay in southern Victoria , Australia ; it is the location of Melbourne . The seat of government is ( as defined by Brewer 's Politics ) `` the building , complex of buildings or the city from which a government exercises its authority '' .