Protected by his famous home-made bulletproof armour, Ned himself survived the shoot-out, only to be hanged at Melbourne jail a few months later.

ECONOMIST: Australian fiction

Only this week, The Economist judged Melbourne, that great over-achiever, to be the world's most liveable city.

BBC: Australia: The Consequential Country

Only seven cars completed the race in Melbourne, a combination of engine problems and accidents accounting for the majority of the field.

CNN: Formula One dominated by uncertainty

They commute not only from Perth but from Sydney, Melbourne, New Zealand, Bali. (Bali is closer to Perth than Sydney is.) They make excellent money: a truck driver can earn more than a hundred thousand dollars a year, and an experienced welder, a hundred and fifty thousand.

NEWYORKER: The Miner��s Daughter

Ferrari earned only one point at this season's opening race in Melbourne, with Raikkonen claiming it despite not finishing.

CNN: Unhappy Alonso hints at 2009 Ferrari switch

Woods struggled on the greens, only managing a 71 and needs a miraculous final round in Melbourne to challenge.

BBC: Tiger Woods fails to make ground at Australian Masters

The Melbourne Park event, which gets underway on 19 January, is the only Grand Slam which already uses a retractable roof.

BBC: SPORT | Tennis | Wimbledon to build roof

Neuharth's only previous experience with a startup newspaper was the founding of Florida Today in Melbourne, Fla.

WSJ: USA Today founder Neuharth dies in Florida at 89

"For months, I only saw it on computer or video screens, " says Tan, who has just returned from Melbourne.

CNN: From Our Correspondent: Hip Hop Reality

The 23-year-old not only captained Australia to a stunning 58-0 victory over New Zealand in October, he also skippered Melbourne Storm to the NRL crown and helped Queensland win the State of Origin.

BBC: Peacock misses out on Golden Boot