ten minutes past seven
asked Lady Glenarvan . `` Yes , madam , it only numbers thirty years of existence . It was on the 6th of June , 1835 , on a Tuesday -- '' `` At a quarter past seven in the evening , '' put in the Major , who delighted in teasing the Frenchman about his precise dates . `` No , at ten minutes past seven , '' replied the geographer , gravely , `` that Batman and Falckner first began a settlement at Port Phillip , the bay on which the large city of Melbourne now stands . For fifteen years the colony was part of New South Wales , and recognized Sydney as the capital ; but in 1851 , she was declared independent , and took the name of Victoria . '' `` And has greatly increased in prosperity since then , I believe , '' said Glenarvan . `` Judge for yourself , my noble friend , '' replied Paganel .