Short answers, pulled from the story.
Queen Victoria officially declared Melbourne a city on the 25th of June 1847 through letters patent issued that day. This declaration followed the naming of the settlement in 1837 by Governor Richard Bourke after British Prime Minister William Lamb, 2nd Viscount Melbourne.
The Kulin nation comprised five distinct peoples who shared this territory with three groups specifically claiming the area: the Boonwurrung, Woiwurrung, and Wurundjeri. These communities relied on the Yarra River for food and water while maintaining complex social alliances before European arrival.
The discovery of gold in mid-1851 triggered rapid population growth across the colony. Within months, Melbourne's inhabitants nearly doubled from 25,000 to 40,000 people as intercolonial and international migrants arrived daily.
Australia federated on the 1st of January 1901 making Melbourne the seat of government for the new Commonwealth. The first federal parliament convened on the 9th of May 1901 inside the Royal Exhibition Building before moving to Canberra in 1927.
First held in 1861 and declared public holiday for all Melburnians by 1873, the Melbourne Cup remains world's richest handicap horse race known as the race that stops a nation. This annual event continues to be a major cultural fixture in the city.