Population of Principal Towns.

13. The metropolis of Victoria is Melbourne, the most populous and important city in the Southern Hemisphere. With its immediate suburbs, consisting of sixteen municipalities, all lying within a radius of ten miles from the centre of the city, it is estimated to contain 265,000 inhabitants. Next to Melbourne, the most populous cities in Victoria are Ballarat, consisting of three, and Sandhurst, consisting of two municipalities. Each of these is situated in the centre of an extensive gold-mining district, and contains about 33,000 inhabitants. Next to these towns is Geelong, an important seaport town, situated on Corio Bay, a branch of Port Phillip, consisting of three municipalities, and containing 23,000 inhabitants. The total urban population of Victoria amounts to 460,000, or rather more than half the population of the colony.