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In 1835 John Batman purchased a large tract of land surrounding the Yarra River in Port Phillip. From such modest beginnings, and in a few short decades, Melbourne transformed itself into an international city, 'the queen city of the South'. Tim Flannery's marvellous anthology traces first settlement through to Federation and reveals the allure, or otherwise, of a place made rich through farming and gold. From the notorious champagne lunches of the 1840s to the opium dens, society balls and theatre of the 1880s, from the first football matches to the glamour of the Cup, this anthology is a vivid portrait of a changing environment made by the people who were there. The Birth of Melbourne, brilliantly edited and introduced by Tim Flannery, brings this marvellous city unforgettably to life.