 Held between October 1934 and June 1935, the Centenary in fact celebrated two 'foundation' events, firstly commemorating Edward Henty's Portland settlement on 19 November 1834 as the first white settlement in what would later become the state of Victoria, then John Batman's pronouncement of the area upstream of the Yarra River as 'the place for a village', taken as the city's foundation, on 8 June 1835.John Batman was promoted as an heroic icon in an effort to embody the rewarding aspects of self-improvement, and was given more prominence as a founding father rather than John Pascoe Fawkner, whose advance party had in fact settled the site of the city where the Customs House is now located before Batman's party could return to make a permanent camp.The Centenary Celebrations Council co-ordinated over 300 events held across Victoria, including 'Centenary editions' of the Royal Agricultural Show, the Melbourne Cup and other sporting events, but the major events were a Royal Visit by the Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester through October and November, the Centenary Air Race, the display of the 'world's biggest birthday cake' at the Joyland fair on the banks of the Yarra, and the Centenary Art Exhibition.