Geelong
is a port city located on
Corio BayCorio Bay is one of numerous bays in the southwest corner of Australia's Port Phillip, and is the bay on which abuts the City of Geelong. The nearby suburb of Corio takes its name from Corio Bay.-Name:...
and the
Barwon RiverThe Barwon River rises in the Otway Ranges of Victoria, Australia, runs through Winchelsea and the city of Geelong, where it is joined by the Moorabool River, and enters the sea at Barwon Heads after passing through Lake Connewarre on the Bellarine Peninsula...
, in the
stateThe Commonwealth of Australia is a union of six states and various territories. The Australian mainland is made up of five states and three territories, with the sixth state of Tasmania being made up of islands. In addition there are six island territories, known as external territories, and a...
of
VictoriaVictoria is the second most populous state in Australia. Geographically the smallest mainland state, Victoria is bordered by New South Wales, South Australia, and Tasmania on Boundary Islet to the north, west and south respectively....
,
AustraliaAustralia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, 75 kilometres (46.6 mi) south-west of the state capital;
MelbourneMelbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
. It is the second most populated city in Victoria and the
fifth most populated non-capital city in Australia. The urban area runs from the plains of
LaraLara is a residential rural suburb, 15 km north-east of Geelong, inland from the Princes Freeway to Melbourne.- History :The explorers Hume and Hovell arrived at Lara on December 16, 1824, believing that they had reached Westernport Bay...
in the north to the rolling hills of
Waurn PondsWaurn Ponds is a mainly residential southern suburb of Geelong, Victoria, Australia.The suburb is bounded by Rossack Drive, Princes Highway, the Geelong to Warnambool railway, Reservoir Road, Draytons Road, Pigdons Road, Deakin University and Honeys Road....
to the south, with the bay to the east and hills to the west, an area with an estimated population of 160,991 people. It is the administrative centre for the
City of Greater GeelongThe City of Greater Geelong is a Local Government Area in Victoria, Australia.It is located in the western part of the state, south-west of Melbourne. It has an area of 1,240 square kilometres. In 2006 it had a population of 191,000...
municipality which covers the urban and surrounding areas and is home to over 191,000 people. An inhabitant of Geelong
has been known asA demonym , also referred to as a gentilic, is a name for a resident of a locality. A demonym is usually – though not always – derived from the name of the locality; thus, the demonym for the people of England is English, and the demonym for the people of Italy is Italian, yet, in english, the one...
a Geelongite, or a Pivotonian, in the past.
Geelong was named in 1837 by Governor Richard Burke, with the name derived from the local Wathaurong
AboriginalIndigenous Australians are the original inhabitants of the Australian continent and nearby islands. The Aboriginal Indigenous Australians migrated from the Indian continent around 75,000 to 100,000 years ago....
name for the region, Jillong, thought to mean 'land' or 'cliffs'. The area was first surveyed in 1838, three weeks after Melbourne, and the Post Office was open by June 1840 (the second to open in the Port Phillip District).
The first woolstore was erected in this period and it became the port for the
woolWool is the textile fiber obtained from sheep and certain other animals, including cashmere from goats, mohair from goats, qiviut from muskoxen, vicuña, alpaca, camel from animals in the camel family, and angora from rabbits....
industry of the Western District. During the
gold rushThe Victorian gold rush was a period in the history of Victoria, Australia approximately between 1851 and the late 1860s. In 10 years the Australian population nearly tripled.- Overview :During this era Victoria dominated the world's gold output...
Geelong experienced a brief boom as the main port to the rich goldfields of the Ballarat district. The city then diversified into manufacturing and during the 1860s it became one of the largest manufacturing centres in Australia with its wool mills,
ropeA rope is a length of fibres, twisted or braided together to improve strength for pulling and connecting. It has tensile strength but is too flexible to provide compressive strength...
works, and
paper millA paper mill is a factory devoted to making paper from vegetable fibres such as wood pulp, old rags and other ingredients using a Fourdrinier machine or other type of paper machine.- History :...
s.
It was proclaimed a city in 1910, with industrial growth from this time until the 1960s establishing the city as a manufacturing centre for the state, and saw the population grow to over 100,000 by the mid 1960s. Population increases over the last decade were due to growth in service industries, as the manufacturing sector has declined.
RedevelopmentUrban renewal is a program of land redevelopment in areas of moderate to high density urban land use. Renewal has had both successes and failures. Its modern incarnation began in the late 19th century in developed nations and experienced an intense phase in the late 1940s – under the rubric of...
of the inner city has occurred since the 1990s, as well as
gentrificationGentrification and urban gentrification refer to the changes that result when wealthier people acquire or rent property in low income and working class communities. Urban gentrification is associated with movement. Consequent to gentrification, the average income increases and average family size...
of inner suburbs and currently has a population growth rate higher than the national average.
It is known for being home to car manufacturer
Ford AustraliaFord Australia is the Australian subsidiary of Ford Motor Company and was founded in Geelong, Victoria, in 1925 as an outpost of Ford Motor Company of Canada, Limited. At that time, Ford Canada was a separate company from Ford USA...
and also the
Geelong Football ClubThe Geelong Football Club, nicknamed The Cats, is a professional Australian rules football club, named after and based in the city of Geelong, playing in the Australian Football League . The club has been the VFL/AFL premiers nine times, with a record equalling 3 in the AFL era. Geelong has also...
, nicknamed The Cats.
History
Early history and foundation
The area of Geelong and the Bellarine Peninsula was originally occupied by the Wathaurong Indigenous Australian tribe.
The first non-Aboriginal person recorded as visiting the region was
Lt. John MurrayJohn Murray was a seaman and explorer of Australia. He was the first European to discover Port Phillip, the bay on which the cities of Melbourne and Geelong are situated....
, who commanded the brig
Lady NelsonThe Royal Navy purchased Lady Nelson in 1799. She spent her career exploring the coast of Australia in the early years of the 19th century. She was the first known vessel to sail eastward through Bass Strait, the first to sail along the South coast of Victoria, as well as the first to enter Port...
. After anchoring outside Port Phillip Heads (the narrow entrance to
Port PhillipPort Phillip Port Phillip Port Phillip (also commonly referred to as Port Phillip Bay or (locally) just The Bay, is a large bay in southern Victoria, Australia; it is the location of Melbourne. Geographically, the bay covers and the shore stretches roughly . Although it is extremely shallow for...
, onto which both Geelong and
MelbourneMelbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
now front) on 1 February 1802 he sent a small boat with six men to explore. Led by
John BowenJohn Bowen was a naval officer and colonial administrator. Led the first settlement of Tasmania at Risdon Cove. He was the son of James Bowen, and was born at Ilfracombe, Devon, England.-Early career:...
they explored the immediate area, returning to the Lady Nelson on 4 February. On reporting favourable findings, the Lady Nelson entered
Port PhillipPort Phillip Port Phillip Port Phillip (also commonly referred to as Port Phillip Bay or (locally) just The Bay, is a large bay in southern Victoria, Australia; it is the location of Melbourne. Geographically, the bay covers and the shore stretches roughly . Although it is extremely shallow for...
on 14 February, and did not leave until 12 March. During this time, Murray explored the Geelong area and, whilst on the far side of the bay, claimed the entire area for Britain. He named the bay Port King, after
Philip Gidley KingCaptain Philip Gidley King RN was a British naval officer and colonial administrator. He is best known as the official founder of the first European settlement on Norfolk Island and as the third Governor of New South Wales.-Early years and establishment of Norfolk Island settlement:King was born...
, then Governor of
New South WalesNew South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...
. Governor King later renamed the bay Port Phillip after the first governor of New South Wales,
Arthur PhillipAdmiral Arthur Phillip RN was a British admiral and colonial administrator. Phillip was appointed Governor of New South Wales, the first European colony on the Australian continent, and was the founder of the settlement which is now the city of Sydney.-Early life and naval career:Arthur Phillip...
. Arriving not long after Murray was
Matthew FlindersCaptain Matthew Flinders RN was one of the most successful navigators and cartographers of his age. In a career that spanned just over twenty years, he sailed with Captain William Bligh, circumnavigated Australia and encouraged the use of that name for the continent, which had previously been...
, who entered Port Phillip on 27 April 1802. He charted the entire bay, including the Geelong area, believing he was the first to sight the huge expanse of water, but in a rush to reach Sydney before winter set in he left Port Phillip on 3 May.
In January 1803, Surveyor-General
Charles GrimesCharles Grimes was an English-born surveyor who did some valuable work in colonial Australia. He served as surveyor-general of New South Wales and discovered the Yarra River in what is now the state of Victoria. He is perhaps best known for being the surveyor who mapped the route of the Hobart...
arrived at Port Phillip in the
sloopA sloop is a sail boat with a fore-and-aft rig and a single mast farther forward than the mast of a cutter....
Cumberland and mapped the area, including the future site of Geelong, but reported the area was unfavourable for settlement and returned to Sydney on 27 February. In October of the same year, the
HMS CalcuttaFive ships of the Royal Navy have been named HMS Calcutta, after the Indian city of Calcutta .* The first HMS Calcutta was a 54-gun fourth rate, originally the East Indiaman Warley and purchased in 1795, captured by the French in 1805 and destroyed by British ships in 1809.* The second HMS Calcutta...
led by Lieutenant-Colonel
David CollinsColonel David Collins was the first Lieutenant Governor of the Colony of Van Diemens Land, founded in 1804, which in 1901 became the state of Tasmania in the Commonwealth of Australia.-Early life and military career:...
arrived in the bay to establish the
Sullivan BaySullivan Bay lies 60 km due south of Melbourne on Port Phillip, one kilometre east of Sorrento, Victoria. It was established as a short-lived convict settlement in 1803 by Lieutenant Colonel David Collins. The site was chosen because of its strategic location near the entrance of the Bay...
penal colonyA penal colony is a settlement used to exile prisoners and separate them from the general populace by placing them in a remote location, often an island or distant colonial territory...
. Collins was dissatisfied with the area chosen, and sent a small party led by First Lieutenant J.H. Tuckey to investigate alternate sites. The party spent 22 October to 27 October on the north shore of Corio Bay, where the first
AboriginalThe Indigenous Australians of Victoria, Australia occupied the land for tens of thousands of years prior to European settlement. According to Gary Presland Aborigines have lived in Victoria for about 40,000 years living a semi-nomadic existence of fishing, hunting and gathering, and farming...
death at the hands of a European in Victoria occurred.
The next European visit to the area was by the explorers
Hamilton HumeHamilton Hume was the first Australian born explorer. Along with Hovell in 1824, Hume was part of an expedition that first took an overland route from Sydney to Port Phillip near the site of present day Melbourne...
and
William HovellWilliam Hilton Hovell was an English explorer of Australia.-Early life:Hovell was born in Yarmouth, Norfolk, England and went to sea as a boy, becoming a Royal Navy captain before settling in New South Wales, arriving in October 1813 aboard the Earl Spencer with his wife Esther née Arndell...
. They reached the northern edge of
Corio BayCorio Bay is one of numerous bays in the southwest corner of Australia's Port Phillip, and is the bay on which abuts the City of Geelong. The nearby suburb of Corio takes its name from Corio Bay.-Name:...
- the area of Port Phillip that Geelong now fronts - on 16 December 1824, and it was at this time they reported that the Aborigines called the area Corayo, the bay being called Jillong. Hume and Hovell had been contracted to travel overland from Sydney to Port Phillip, and having achieved this they stayed the night and begun their return journey two days later on 18 December.
The
convictA convict is "a person found guilty of a crime and sentenced by a court" or "a person serving a sentence in prison", sometimes referred to in slang as simply a "con". Convicts are often called prisoners or inmates. Persons convicted and sentenced to non-custodial sentences often are not termed...
William BuckleyWilliam Buckley was an English convict who was transported to Australia, escaped, was given up for dead and lived in an Aboriginal community for many years....
escaped from the
Sullivan BaySullivan Bay lies 60 km due south of Melbourne on Port Phillip, one kilometre east of Sorrento, Victoria. It was established as a short-lived convict settlement in 1803 by Lieutenant Colonel David Collins. The site was chosen because of its strategic location near the entrance of the Bay...
settlement in 1803, and lived among the Wathaurong people for 32 years on the Bellarine Peninsula. In 1835,
John BatmanJohn Batman was an Australian grazier, businessman and explorer who is best known for his role in the founding of a settlement which became Melbourne and the colony of Victoria.-Life:...
used Indented Head as his base camp, leaving behind several employees whilst he returned to
TasmaniaTasmania is an Australian island and state. It is south of the continent, separated by Bass Strait. The state includes the island of Tasmania—the 26th largest island in the world—and the surrounding islands. The state has a population of 507,626 , of whom almost half reside in the greater Hobart...
(then known as
Van Diemen's LandVan Diemen's Land was the original name used by most Europeans for the island of Tasmania, now part of Australia. The Dutch explorer Abel Tasman was the first European to land on the shores of Tasmania...
) for more supplies and his family. In this same year, Buckley surrendered to the party led by
John Helder WedgeJohn Helder Wedge was a surveyor, explorer and politician in Van Diemen's Land .Wedge was the second son of Charles Wedge of Shudy Camps, Cambridge, England. John Wedge learned the basics of surveying from his father...
and was later
pardonClemency means the forgiveness of a crime or the cancellation of the penalty associated with it. It is a general concept that encompasses several related procedures: pardoning, commutation, remission and reprieves...
ed by Lieutenant-Governor Sir George Arthur, and subsequently given the position of
interpreterLanguage interpretation is the facilitating of oral or sign-language communication, either simultaneously or consecutively, between users of different languages...
to the natives.
In March 1836, three
squattersIn Australian history, a squatter was one who occupied a large tract of Crown land in order to graze livestock. Initially often having no legal rights to the land, they gained its usage by being the first Europeans in the area....
, David Fisher, James Strachan and George Russell arrived on the Caledonia and settled the area. Geelong was first surveyed by Assistant Surveyor, W. H. Smythe three weeks after
MelbourneMelbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
, and was gazetted as a town on 10 October 1838. There was already a church, hotel, store and wool store, 82 houses, and the town population was 545. By 1840, the first wool had been sent to England and a regular
steamerA steamboat or steamship, sometimes called a steamer, is a ship in which the primary method of propulsion is steam power, typically driving propellers or paddlewheels...
service was running between Geelong and Melbourne. Captain
Foster FyansFoster Fyans , soldier, penal administrator and public servant, was acting commandant of the second convict settlement at Norfolk Island, the first police magistrate at Geelong, and commissioner of crown lands for the Portland Bay pastoral district in the Port Phillip District of New South...
was commissioned as the local
PoliceThe police is a personification of the state designated to put in practice the enforced law, protect property and reduce civil disorder in civilian matters. Their powers include the legitimized use of force...
MagistrateA magistrate is an officer of the state; in modern usage the term usually refers to a judge or prosecutor. This was not always the case; in ancient Rome, a magistratus was one of the highest government officers and possessed both judicial and executive powers. Today, in common law systems, a...
in 1837 and established himself on the Barwon River at the site of the area of present-day
FyansfordFyansford is a township on the western edge of Geelong, Victoria, Australia, named after Captain Foster Fyans who came to Geelong as a Police magistrate in October, 1837. It is located at the junction of the Barwon and Moorabool rivers....
. Fyans constructed a
breakwaterBreakwaters are structures constructed on coasts as part of coastal defence or to protect an anchorage from the effects of weather and longshore drift.-Purposes of breakwaters:...
to improve the water supply to the city by preventing the salty lower reaches from mixing with fresh water and pooling water.
The
Geelong KeysThe Geelong Keys were a set of keys discovered in 1845 or 1846 in the time of Governor Charles La Trobe at Corio Bay in Victoria, Australia. They were embedded in the stone of the beach in such a way as to make him believe that they had been there for 100–150 years...
were discovered around 1845 by Governor
Charles La TrobeCharles Joseph La Trobe was the first lieutenant-governor of the colony of Victoria .-Early life:La Trobe was born in London, the son of Christian Ignatius Latrobe, a family of Huguenot origin...
on Corio Bay. They were embedded in the stone in such a way that he believed that they had been there for 100–150 years, possibly dropped by
Portuguese explorersAlthough most historians hold that the European discovery of Australia began in 1606 with the voyage of the Dutch navigator Willem Janszoon on board the Duyfken, a theory exists that a Portuguese expedition arrived in Australia between 1521 and 1524...
. In 1849, Fyans was nominated as the inaugural Mayor of the Geelong Town Council. An early settler of Geelong,
Alexander ThomsonDr. Alexander Thomson was elected as the first mayor of Geelong and held the position on five occasions from 1850 - 1858...
, for which the area of Thomson in East Geelong is named, settled on the Barwon River, and was
Mayor of Geelong on five occasions from 1850–1858.
1850s: Gold rush
Gold was discovered in nearby
BallaratBallarat is a city in the state of Victoria, Australia, approximately west-north-west of the state capital Melbourne situated on the lower plains of the Great Dividing Range and the Yarrowee River catchment. It is the largest inland centre and third most populous city in the state and the fifth...
in 1851, causing the Geelong population to grow to 23,000 people by the mid 1850s. To counter this, a false map was issued by Melbourne interests to new arrivals, showing the quickest road to the goldfields as being via Melbourne. The first issue of the
Geelong AdvertiserThe Geelong Advertiser is a daily newspaper servicing Geelong, Victoria, Australia, the Bellarine Peninsula and surrounding areas. The Geelong Advertiser is the oldest newspaper title in Victoria and the second oldest in Australia, and was first published on 21 November 1840. The newspaper is...
newspaper was published in 1840 by
James HarrisonJames Harrison was an Australian newspaper printer, journalist, politician, and pioneer in the field of mechanical refrigeration.-Early life:...
, who also built the world's first Ether Vapour Compression Cycle ice making and
refrigerationRefrigeration is a process in which work is done to move heat from one location to another. This work is traditionally done by mechanical work, but can also be done by magnetism, laser or other means...
machine in 1844, later being commissioned by a brewery in 1856 to build a machine that cooled beer.
The
Geelong HospitalThe Geelong Hospital is an Australian public hospital located in Ryrie Street, Geelong, Victoria. The hospital is part of Barwon Health, Victoria's largest regional health care provider, which has 21 sites. It is the largest hospital in regional Victoria and the only tertiary hospital outside of...
was opened in 1852, and construction on the
Geelong Town HallGeelong Town Hall is a civic building located on Gheringhap Street in central Geelong, Victoria. It was originally built for the City of Geelong, which became the City of Greater Geelong in 1993.-Construction:...
commenced in 1855. Development of the
Port of GeelongThe Port of Geelong is located on the shores of Corio Bay in Geelong, Victoria, Australia. The port is the sixth-largest in Australia by tonnage....
began with the creation of the first shipping channel in
Corio BayCorio Bay is one of numerous bays in the southwest corner of Australia's Port Phillip, and is the bay on which abuts the City of Geelong. The nearby suburb of Corio takes its name from Corio Bay.-Name:...
in 1853. The Geelong to Melbourne railway was built by the
Geelong and Melbourne Railway CompanyThe Geelong and Melbourne Railway Company was a railway company in Victoria, Australia. The company opened a railway in 1857 from Geelong to Newport. In 1859 this line was extended to Spencer Street Station and a branch line was opened from Newport to Williamstown Pier. The Company was taken...
in 1857
RabbitRabbits are small mammals in the family Leporidae of the order Lagomorpha, found in several parts of the world...
s were
introduced to AustraliaIn Australia, rabbits are a serious mammalian pest and are an invasive species. Annually, European rabbits cause millions of dollars of damage to crops.-Effects on Australia's ecology:...
in 1859 by
Thomas AustinThomas Austin was an English settler in Australia who is generally credited with the introduction of rabbits into Australia in 1859.- Personal life :...
, who imported them from England for
huntingHunting is the practice of pursuing any living thing, usually wildlife, for food, recreation, or trade. In present-day use, the term refers to lawful hunting, as distinguished from poaching, which is the killing, trapping or capture of the hunted species contrary to applicable law...
purposes at his Barwon Park property near
WinchelseaWinchelsea is a town in Victoria, Australia. It is in the Surf Coast Shire local government area and located on the Barwon River 115 km south-west of Melbourne and close to Geelong .- History :...
. One of Geelong's best known department stores,
Bright and HitchcocksBright and Hitchcocks was a department store in Geelong, Victoria. It existed at the same site between 1855 and 1979. The building remains today on the south-east corner of Moorabool and Little Malop Streets in central Geelong.-Beginnings:...
, was opened in 1861, and the
HM Prison GeelongHM Prison Geelong was a maximum security Australia prison located on the corner of Myers Street and Swanston Street in Geelong, Victoria, Australia. The prison was built in stages from 1849 to 1864. Its panopticon design is based on Pentonville Prison in England...
built using convict labour, was opened in 1864.
In 1866
Graham BerrySir Graham Berry KCMG , Australian colonial politician, was the 11th Premier of Victoria. He was one of the most Radical and colourful figures in the politics of colonial Victoria, and made the most determined efforts to break the power of the Victorian Legislative Council, the stronghold of the...
started a newspaper, the Geelong Register, as a rival to the established Geelong Advertiser. When this proved unsuccessful, he bought the Advertiser and made himself editor of the now merged papers. Using the paper as a platform, he was elected for
West GeelongGeelong West is a commercial and residential suburb of Geelong, Victoria, Australia. When Geelong was founded, the area was known as Kildare but its name was changed to Geelong West in 1875. The main street is Pakington Street.-History:...
in 1869. In 1877 he switched to Geelong, which he represented until 1886, and served as
Victorian PremierThe Premier of Victoria is the leader of the government in the Australian state of Victoria. The Premier is appointed by the Governor of Victoria, and is the leader of the political party able to secure a majority in the Legislative Assembly....
in 1875, 1877–1880, and 1880–1881. On the
Market SquareGeelong's Market Square was established as part of the initial surveying of the town. Geelong's Market Square was reserved by Governor Sir George Gipps as a town square. A water tank to provided domestic water was provided in the square in 1850 by a Mr William Grey....
in the middle of the city, a clock tower was erected in 1856, and an Exhibition Building was opened in 1879, ahead of Melbourne.
1860s: The 'Sleepy Hollow'
The gold rush had seen
BallaratBallarat is a city in the state of Victoria, Australia, approximately west-north-west of the state capital Melbourne situated on the lower plains of the Great Dividing Range and the Yarrowee River catchment. It is the largest inland centre and third most populous city in the state and the fifth...
and
BendigoBendigo is a major regional city in the state of Victoria, Australia, located very close to the geographical centre of the state and approximately north west of the state capital Melbourne. It is the second largest inland city and fourth most populous city in the state. The estimated urban...
grow larger than Geelong in terms of population.
MelbourneMelbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
critics dubbed Geelong 'Sleepy Hollow', a tag that recurred many times in the following years. A number of industries became established in Geelong, including Victoria's first
woollen millTextile manufacturing is a major industry. It is based in the conversion of three types of fibre into yarn, then fabric, then textiles. These are then fabricated into clothes or other artifacts. Cotton remains the most important natural fibre, so is treated in depth...
at
South GeelongSouth Geelong, also referred to as Geelong South, is a residential and industrial southern suburb of Geelong, Victoria, Australia. The suburb is adjacent to the Geelong central business district, with the Barwon River forming the suburb's southern border...
in 1868. In 1869 the
clipperA clipper was a very fast sailing ship of the 19th century that had three or more masts and a square rig. They were generally narrow for their length, could carry limited bulk freight, small by later 19th century standards, and had a large total sail area...
LightningLightning was a clipper ship, one of the last really large clippers to be built in the USA. She was built by Donald McKay for James Baines of the Black Ball Line, Liverpool, for the Australia trade....
caught fire at the Yarra Street pier and was cast adrift in Corio Bay to burn before finally sunk by artillery fire. Improvements to transport saw Geelong emerge as the centre of the Western District of Victoria, with railway lines extended towards
ColacColac is a small city located in the Western District of Victoria, Australia, situated approximately 150 kilometres south-west of Melbourne on the southern shore of Lake Colac and the surrounding volcanic plains, approximately 40 km inland from Bass Strait. Colac is the largest city in and...
in 1876, and to
QueenscliffThe Bellarine Railway is a volunteer-operated steam-driven tourist railway located in Victoria, Australia. It operates on a 16 km section of a formerly disused branch line on the Bellarine Peninsula between the coastal town of Queenscliff and Drysdale, near Geelong.- History as a working...
in 1879. Construction of the
Hopetoun shipping channelCorio Bay is one of numerous bays in the southwest corner of Australia's Port Phillip, and is the bay on which abuts the City of Geelong. The nearby suburb of Corio takes its name from Corio Bay.-Name:...
began in 1881 and completed in 1893.
The
Geelong CupThe Geelong Cup is an annual Australian Group 3 Thoroughbred horse race. The race is open to horses of all ages and sexes. The race is held over a distance of 2400 metres at the Geelong Racecourse on the fourth Wednesday of October, and was first run in 1872...
was first held in 1872 and Victoria's first long distance
telephoneThe telephone , colloquially referred to as a phone, is a telecommunications device that transmits and receives sounds, usually the human voice. Telephones are a point-to-point communication system whose most basic function is to allow two people separated by large distances to talk to each other...
call was made from Geelong to
QueenscliffQueenscliff is a small town on the Bellarine Peninsula in southern Victoria, Australia, south of Swan Bay at the entrance to Port Phillip. It is the administrative centre for the Borough of Queenscliffe...
on 8 January 1878, only one year after the invention of the device itself. Geelong was also the home of a prosperous wine industry until the emergence of the grapevine eating insect
phylloxera vastatrixGrape phylloxera ; originally described in France as Phylloxera vastatrix; equated to the previously described Daktulosphaira vitifoliae, Phylloxera vitifoliae; commonly just called phylloxera is a pest of commercial grapevines worldwide, originally native to eastern North America...
in 1885, which killed the industry until the 1960s. Between 1886 and 1889 the
central business district'sThe Geelong city centre is a locality surrounded by suburban Geelong. It is the oldest part of Geelong and includes many of the city's important landmarks such as the Geelong Town Hall, St...
major banks and insurance companies erected new premises in a solid and ornate character. The existing
Geelong Post OfficeThe current Geelong Post Office opened in 1994 and is located on the corner of Gheringhap and Little Myers Streets. The original post office was located on the corner of Ryrie and Gheringhap Streets. The Geelong Telegraph Station was located next door.-History:...
was built during this time and the
Gordon Technical CollegeThe Gordon Institute of TAFE is the TAFE institute servicing Geelong since 1888. It has 26,000 students studying on-campus, off-campus and in business or industry ....
was established. Further industrial growth occurred with the
FyansfordFyansford is a township on the western edge of Geelong, Victoria, Australia, named after Captain Foster Fyans who came to Geelong as a Police magistrate in October, 1837. It is located at the junction of the Barwon and Moorabool rivers....
cement works established in 1890.
The town became known as 'the Pivot' in the 1860s owing to its being a central rail and shipping hub to Melbourne, Ballarat and the western district.
1900s: A city develops
The town of Geelong officially became a city on 8 December 1910. The city gained a number of essential services, with electric light supplied by the
Geelong Power StationThe city of Geelong, Victoria, Australia was once home to two coal fueled power stations - Geelong A and Geelong B.The first moves to providing an electricity supply to Geelong were made in 1898, with three separate companies vying for the right to operate in the city...
starting in 1902, the Geelong Harbour Trust was formed in December 1905, and the
Geelong Waterworks and Sewerage TrustBarwon Water is a government owned statutory authority that controls much of the water system in Geelong, Victoria, Australia including the reservoirs, and the sewerage and drainage system that services the city and surrounding districts...
formed in 1908. Electric
tramA tram is a passenger rail vehicle which runs on tracks along public urban streets and also sometimes on separate rights of way. It may also run between cities and/or towns , and/or partially grade separated even in the cities...
s began operation in 1912, travelling from the
city centreThe Geelong city centre is a locality surrounded by suburban Geelong. It is the oldest part of Geelong and includes many of the city's important landmarks such as the Geelong Town Hall, St...
to the suburbs until their demise in 1956. The first of many stores on the
Market SquareGeelong's Market Square was established as part of the initial surveying of the town. Geelong's Market Square was reserved by Governor Sir George Gipps as a town square. A water tank to provided domestic water was provided in the square in 1850 by a Mr William Grey....
was opened in 1913, and the first
Gala DayGala Day is a one day festival held in many towns over the world, especially Scotland. One of the biggest is held in the city of Geelong, Victoria, Australia...
festival was held in 1916.
Geelong's industrial growth accelerated in the 1920s: woollen mills, fertiliser plants, the
Ford Motor CompanyFord Motor Company is an American multinational automaker based in Dearborn, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit. The automaker was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. In addition to the Ford and Lincoln brands, Ford also owns a small stake in Mazda in Japan and Aston Martin in the UK...
's vehicle plant at
NorlaneNorlane is a northern suburb of Geelong, Victoria, Australia. Norlane is located approximately 7 km from the Geelong central business district and approximately 70 km from the state capital, Melbourne...
, and the
CorioCorio is a residential, industrial and one of the largest suburbs of Geelong, Victoria, Australia, located approximately 9 km north of the Geelong central business district...
whiskey
distilleryDistillation is a method of separating mixtures based on differences in volatilities of components in a boiling liquid mixture. Distillation is a unit operation, or a physical separation process, and not a chemical reaction....
were all established in this period. The
Geelong AdvertiserThe Geelong Advertiser is a daily newspaper servicing Geelong, Victoria, Australia, the Bellarine Peninsula and surrounding areas. The Geelong Advertiser is the oldest newspaper title in Victoria and the second oldest in Australia, and was first published on 21 November 1840. The newspaper is...
s radio station 3GL (now
K-Rock95.5 K-Rock is a commercial FM radio station based in Geelong, Australia. K-Rock operates a mainstream Top 40 rock-inclined playlist....
) commenced transmission in 1930, the
Great Ocean RoadThe Great Ocean Road is a stretch of road along the south-eastern coast of Australia between the Victorian cities of Torquay and Warrnambool. The road was built by returned soldiers between 1919 and 1932, and is the world's largest war memorial; dedicated to casualties of World War I...
was opened in 1932, and the
T & G BuildingThe T & G Building is a distinctive building in Geelong, Victoria, Australia. It is located on the corner of Moorabool and Ryrie Streets.Construction was announced by the T & G Mutual Life Assurance Society in June 1933, while Geelong was still suffering the effects of the Great Depression...
in 1934.
By 1936 Geelong had displaced Ballarat as Victoria's second largest city.
In 1938 one of the last Port Philip Bay
steamersA steamboat or steamship, sometimes called a steamer, is a ship in which the primary method of propulsion is steam power, typically driving propellers or paddlewheels...
, Edina, made its final trip to Geelong, ending a romantic period of seaside excursions and contests for the fastest trip. The
Eastern BeachEastern Beach is a popular swimming and recreation area in Geelong, Victoria on the shores of Corio Bay. Built during the 1930s in the Art Deco style, a shark proof sea bath is provided, as well as a children's swimming pool, kiosk, and dressing room pavilion...
foreshore beautification and pool was completed in 1939 after almost 10 years of work.
On the eve of World War II the
International HarvesterInternational Harvester Company was a United States agricultural machinery, construction equipment, vehicle, commercial truck, and household and commercial products manufacturer. In 1902, J.P...
works were opened beside Ford at
North ShoreNorth Shore is an industrial and residential suburb of Geelong, Victoria, Australia. The suburb overlooks Corio Bay. A small residential area is east of the North Shore railway station with a few neighbourhood shops....
, a
grain elevatorA grain elevator is a tower containing a bucket elevator, which scoops up, elevates, and then uses gravity to deposit grain in a silo or other storage facility...
at nearby Corio Quay, and the
Shell AustraliaIn Australia, Royal Dutch Shell conducts a large range of activities. These include exploration for, and the production and commercialization of, oil and natural gas, the operation of two refineries, 19 terminals and 33 depots for the manufacture and distribution of oil products; and the marketing...
oil refinery.
Post-war period
Government housing was constructed in the suburbs of
East GeelongEast Geelong is a residential suburb of Geelong, Victoria, Australia.The post office opened on 6 June 1921. An earlier Post Office dating from 1871 was later renamed Moolap West.The Geelong Botanical Gardens are located in East Geelong....
,
NorlaneNorlane is a northern suburb of Geelong, Victoria, Australia. Norlane is located approximately 7 km from the Geelong central business district and approximately 70 km from the state capital, Melbourne...
,
North ShoreNorth Shore is an industrial and residential suburb of Geelong, Victoria, Australia. The suburb overlooks Corio Bay. A small residential area is east of the North Shore railway station with a few neighbourhood shops....
and
CorioCorio is a residential, industrial and one of the largest suburbs of Geelong, Victoria, Australia, located approximately 9 km north of the Geelong central business district...
from the 1950s to provide accommodation for the growing workforce. The banks of the
Barwon RiverThe Barwon River rises in the Otway Ranges of Victoria, Australia, runs through Winchelsea and the city of Geelong, where it is joined by the Moorabool River, and enters the sea at Barwon Heads after passing through Lake Connewarre on the Bellarine Peninsula...
burst in 1952, flooding nearby
Belmont CommonBelmont is a southern suburb of Geelong, Victoria, Australia. The name means "beautiful hill". Belmont is geographically separated from the Geelong central business district by the Barwon River. The suburb is primarily residential, with some light industry along Barwon Heads Road...
.
Geelong continued to expand with
CorioCorio is a residential, industrial and one of the largest suburbs of Geelong, Victoria, Australia, located approximately 9 km north of the Geelong central business district...
,
HightonHighton is a residential suburb of Geelong, Victoria, Australia. It is bordered by the Barrabool Hills and Wandana Heights to the west, the Barwon River to the north and east, the former Kardinia Creek to the south-east, and the Princes Highway and Pigdons Road to the south.-History:Grazier John...
and
BelmontBelmont is a southern suburb of Geelong, Victoria, Australia. The name means "beautiful hill". Belmont is geographically separated from the Geelong central business district by the Barwon River. The suburb is primarily residential, with some light industry along Barwon Heads Road...
growing at such a rate that in February 1967 Geelong accounted for 21 per cent of private home development in non-metropolitan Victoria. Private vehicles became the city's major mode of transport. The first
parking meterA parking meter is a device used to collect money in exchange for the right to park a vehicle in a particular place for a limited amount of time. Parking meters can be used by municipalities as a tool for enforcing their integrated on-street parking policy, usually related to their traffic and...
s in the city were introduced in 1961, new petrol stations were constructed and the city's first supermarket, operated by
ColesColes Supermarkets is an Australian supermarket chain owned by Wesfarmers. It has 741 stores nationally Coles Supermarkets is an Australian supermarket chain owned by Wesfarmers. It has 741 stores nationally Coles Supermarkets is an Australian supermarket chain owned by Wesfarmers. It has 741...
, opened in 1965. Industrial growth continued with a second cement works operating at
Waurn PondsWaurn Ponds is a mainly residential southern suburb of Geelong, Victoria, Australia.The suburb is bounded by Rossack Drive, Princes Highway, the Geelong to Warnambool railway, Reservoir Road, Draytons Road, Pigdons Road, Deakin University and Honeys Road....
by 1964 and the Alcoa
Point Henry aluminium smelterThe Point Henry aluminium smelter is located near Geelong, Victoria in the suburb of Moolap. The smelter has a production capacity of 185,000 tonnes of aluminium a year. It is operated by Alcoa World Alumina and Chemicals Australia, a joint venture between Alcoa and Alumina Limited...
constructed in 1962.
Federal GovernmentThe Commonwealth of Australia is a federal constitutional monarchy under a parliamentary democracy. The Commonwealth of Australia was formed in 1901 as a result of an agreement among six self-governing British colonies, which became the six states...
policy changes on
tariffA tariff may be either tax on imports or exports , or a list or schedule of prices for such things as rail service, bus routes, and electrical usage ....
protection led to the closure of many Geelong industrial businesses from the 1970s. The woollen mills closed in 1974 and hectares of warehouse space in the
city centreThe Geelong city centre is a locality surrounded by suburban Geelong. It is the oldest part of Geelong and includes many of the city's important landmarks such as the Geelong Town Hall, St...
were left empty after wool handling practices changed. The
TargetTarget Australia Pty Ltd is an Australian department store chain owned by Wesfarmers . It operates 172 Target stores and 119 Target Country stores making 291 combined stores with its head office located in North Geelong, Victoria. It sells clothing, cosmetics, toys, homewares, electrical and...
head office opened in North Geelong,
Deakin UniversityDeakin University is an Australian public university with nearly 40,000 higher education students in 2010. It receives more than A$600 million in operating revenue annually, and controls more than A$1.3 billion in assets. It received more than A$35 million in research income in 2009 and had 835...
was established at Waurn Ponds in 1974 and the
Geelong Performing Arts CentreThe Geelong Performing Arts Centre is a performing arts, functions, and events venue located in Geelong, Victoria, Australia. The centre has two major theatres, a number of smaller performance spaces, and a bar, restaurant and cafe...
opened in 1981. Later, the
Australian Animal Health LaboratoryThe Australian Animal Health Laboratory in Geelong, Victoria, Australia is a high security laboratory, run by the CSIRO for exotic animal disease diagnosis and research.It opened in 1985 costing $185 million.-External links:* * *...
was opened in 1985, and the National Wool Museum in 1988.
Market SquareMarket Square Shopping Centre is located in Geelong, Victoria, Australia. The shopping centre was named after the original town square of Geelong on which the shopping centre is constructed. The centre is surrounded by Little Malop, Moorabool, Malop, and Yarra Streets...
, the first enclosed shopping centre in the city was opened in 1985, with neighbouring Westfield Geelong (formerly Bay City Plaza) opened in 1988. The
Pyramid Building SocietyThe Pyramid Building Society, the Geelong Building Society and the Countrywide Building Society together made up the Farrow Group of building societies, based in Geelong, Australia. They collapsed in 1990 with debts in excess of $2 billion...
, founded in Geelong in 1959, collapsed in 1990 leaving debts of A$1.3 billion to over 200,000 depositors, and causing the Geelong economy to stagnate. On 18 May 1993 the City of Greater Geelong was formed by the amalgamation of a number of smaller municipalities with the former City of Geelong. The
Waterfront GeelongWaterfront Geelong is a tourist and recreation area on the north facing shores of Corio Bay in Geelong, Australia. The area was once part of the Port of Geelong, falling into disuse before being redeveloped during the 1990s.-Attractions:...
redevelopment started in 1994 designed to enhance use and appreciation of
Corio BayCorio Bay is one of numerous bays in the southwest corner of Australia's Port Phillip, and is the bay on which abuts the City of Geelong. The nearby suburb of Corio takes its name from Corio Bay.-Name:...
and in 1995 the Barwon River overflowed in the worst flood since 1952.
21st century
In 2004,
Avalon AirportAvalon Airport is the second busiest of the four airports serving Melbourne and is located in Avalon, Victoria, Australia, which is north-east of the city of Geelong and to the south-west of the state's capital city of Melbourne....
was upgraded to provide for interstate passenger travel, providing a base for the low-cost airline Jetstar to service the Melbourne and Geelong urban areas. Geelong expanded towards the coast with
Mount DuneedMount Duneed is a suburb of Geelong, Victoria, Australia. The Geelong Airport is located in Mount Duneed. Though the airport continues to operate, the site is for sale as of July 2005 , and it appears likely that it will be demolished to make way for housing....
becoming a residential area and plans for a new neighborhood known as Armstrong Creek were developed by City of Greater Geelong. Construction begun on the Geelong Ring Road in 2006. The ring road is designed to replace the
Princes HighwayThe Princes Highway extends from Sydney to Port Augusta via the coast through the states of New South Wales, Victoria and South Australia, a distance of 1941 km or 1898 km via the former alignments of the highway ....
through Geelong from
CorioCorio is a residential, industrial and one of the largest suburbs of Geelong, Victoria, Australia, located approximately 9 km north of the Geelong central business district...
to
Waurn PondsWaurn Ponds is a mainly residential southern suburb of Geelong, Victoria, Australia.The suburb is bounded by Rossack Drive, Princes Highway, the Geelong to Warnambool railway, Reservoir Road, Draytons Road, Pigdons Road, Deakin University and Honeys Road....
and opened in 2009.
More than A$500 million worth of major construction was under way in 2007. Major projects include the $150 million Westfield Geelong expansion works, involving a flyover of Yarra Street, the city's first
Big WBig W is one of the largest chain of discount department stores in Australia, with over 150 stores. It is a division of Woolworths Limited, the second largest retailer in Australia. Its main competitors are Kmart and Target, both owned by Wesfarmers....
store and an additional 70 new speciality stores; the $37 million
DeakinDeakin University is an Australian public university with nearly 40,000 higher education students in 2010. It receives more than A$600 million in operating revenue annually, and controls more than A$1.3 billion in assets. It received more than A$35 million in research income in 2009 and had 835...
Waterfront campus redevelopment and the $23 million Deakin Medical School; the $50 million Edgewater apartment development on the waterfront; a number of multi-million dollar office developments in the CBD; and a new $30 million
aquatic centreA swimming pool, swimming bath, wading pool, or simply a pool, is a container filled with water intended for swimming or water-based recreation. There are many standard sizes; the largest is the Olympic-size swimming pool...
in
Waurn PondsWaurn Ponds is a mainly residential southern suburb of Geelong, Victoria, Australia.The suburb is bounded by Rossack Drive, Princes Highway, the Geelong to Warnambool railway, Reservoir Road, Draytons Road, Pigdons Road, Deakin University and Honeys Road....
.
Major developments within Geelong are advocated by the region's formal alliance,
G21 Geelong Region Alliance. The City of Greater Geelong and four other local municipalities form part of the alliance which identifies the Geelong region's priorities, advocate all levels of government for funding and implement the projects. G21 developed
'The Geelong Region Plan - a sustainable growth strategy' which was launched by
Premier Brumby in 2007. It is the approved strategic plan for the Geelong region. In addition, major projects such as the Geelong Ring Road Connections, Duplication of the Princes Highway West have obtained funding due to the combined efforts of the region's municipalities. As at November 2011, there are
13 Priority Projects for the Geelong region.
The
Victorian GovernmentThe Government of Victoria, under the Constitution of Australia, ceded certain legislative and judicial powers to the Commonwealth, but retained complete independence in all other areas...
announced the relocation of the
Transport Accident CommissionThe Transport Accident Commission is the statutory insurer of third-party personal liability for road accidents in the State of Victoria. It was established under the Transport Accident Act 1986....
headquarters from Melbourne to Geelong in October 2006, which created 850 jobs and an annual economic benefit of over $59 million to the Geelong region. The construction of the $80 million Brougham Street headquarters was completed in late 2008. In November 2008
Ford AustraliaFord Australia is the Australian subsidiary of Ford Motor Company and was founded in Geelong, Victoria, in 1925 as an outpost of Ford Motor Company of Canada, Limited. At that time, Ford Canada was a separate company from Ford USA...
announced that its Australian designed I6 engine would be re-engineered to meet the latest emissions regulations and that consequently the engine manufacturing plant would be upgraded.
A change to the city skyline is occurring with a growing number of modern apartment towers on the Waterfront and central business district planned or under construction. On 10 July 2008 approval was given for a $100 million twin tower apartment complex of 16 and 12 floors to be built on Mercer St in the city's Western Wedge. The towers will become the tallest buildings in the city, taking the title from the Mercure Hotel. Further highrise developments is planned as part of the City of Greater Geelong's Geelong Western Edge strategic plan. A $17 million 11 level apartment tower has also recently been proposed to be built next to the Deakin Waterfront Campus.
Geography
Geelong is located on the shores of
Corio BayCorio Bay is one of numerous bays in the southwest corner of Australia's Port Phillip, and is the bay on which abuts the City of Geelong. The nearby suburb of Corio takes its name from Corio Bay.-Name:...
, a south-western inlet bay of
Port PhillipPort Phillip Port Phillip Port Phillip (also commonly referred to as Port Phillip Bay or (locally) just The Bay, is a large bay in southern Victoria, Australia; it is the location of Melbourne. Geographically, the bay covers and the shore stretches roughly . Although it is extremely shallow for...
. During clear weather, the Melbourne skyline is visible from areas of Geelong when viewed across Port Phillip. The
Barwon RiverThe Barwon River rises in the Otway Ranges of Victoria, Australia, runs through Winchelsea and the city of Geelong, where it is joined by the Moorabool River, and enters the sea at Barwon Heads after passing through Lake Connewarre on the Bellarine Peninsula...
flows through the city to the south before entering
Lake ConnewarreLake Connewarre is a shallow estuarine lake located on the Barwon River, on the Bellarine Peninsula near Geelong, Victoria. It is adjacent to, and downstream from, the freshwater Reedy Lake...
and the Barwon River estuary at
Barwon HeadsBarwon Heads is a coastal township on the Bellarine Peninsula, near Geelong, Victoria, Australia. It is situated on the west bank of the mouth of the Barwon River below Lake Connewarre, while it is bounded to the west by farmland, golf courses and the ephemeral saline wetland Murtnaghurt...
before going into
Bass StraitBass Strait is a sea strait separating Tasmania from the south of the Australian mainland, specifically the state of Victoria.-Extent:The International Hydrographic Organization defines the limits of the Bass Strait as follows:...
.
Geologically the oldest rocks in the area date to the
CambrianThe Cambrian is the first geological period of the Paleozoic Era, lasting from Mya ; it is succeeded by the Ordovician. Its subdivisions, and indeed its base, are somewhat in flux. The period was established by Adam Sedgwick, who named it after Cambria, the Latin name for Wales, where Britain's...
period 500 million years ago, with
volcanic2. Bedrock3. Conduit 4. Base5. Sill6. Dike7. Layers of ash emitted by the volcano8. Flank| 9. Layers of lava emitted by the volcano10. Throat11. Parasitic cone12. Lava flow13. Vent14. Crater15...
activity occurring in the
DevonianThe Devonian is a geologic period and system of the Paleozoic Era spanning from the end of the Silurian Period, about 416.0 ± 2.8 Mya , to the beginning of the Carboniferous Period, about 359.2 ± 2.5 Mya...
period 350 million years ago. In prehistoric times water covered much of the
lowlandIn physical geography, a lowland is any broad expanse of land with a general low level. The term is thus applied to the landward portion of the upward slope from oceanic depths to continental highlands, to a region of depression in the interior of a mountainous region, to a plain of denudation, or...
s that are now Geelong, with the Barwon River estuary located at
Belmont CommonBelmont is a southern suburb of Geelong, Victoria, Australia. The name means "beautiful hill". Belmont is geographically separated from the Geelong central business district by the Barwon River. The suburb is primarily residential, with some light industry along Barwon Heads Road...
, the course of the river being changed when
Mount MoriacMoriac is a rural town in Victoria, Australia, located approximately west of Geelong. It forms part of the Surf Coast Shire. At the 2006 census, Moriac had a population of 594....
erupted and
lavaLava refers both to molten rock expelled by a volcano during an eruption and the resulting rock after solidification and cooling. This molten rock is formed in the interior of some planets, including Earth, and some of their satellites. When first erupted from a volcanic vent, lava is a liquid at...
was sent eastwards towards Geelong.
To the east of the city are the Bellarine Hills and the undulating plains of the
Bellarine PeninsulaThe Bellarine Peninsula is a peninsula located south-west of Melbourne in Victoria, Australia, surrounded by Port Phillip, Corio Bay and Bass Strait. The peninsula, together with the Mornington Peninsula separates Port Phillip from Bass Strait...
. To the west are the sandstone derived
Barrabool HillsBarrabool Hills is an area in Geelong, Victoria, located roughly 6 or 7 km west of Highton. The hills are best seen from Ceres a small town 5 minutess out of Highton....
and basalt
Mount DuneedMount Duneed is a suburb of Geelong, Victoria, Australia. The Geelong Airport is located in Mount Duneed. Though the airport continues to operate, the site is for sale as of July 2005 , and it appears likely that it will be demolished to make way for housing....
, and the volcanic plains to the north of Geelong extend to the Brisbane Ranges and the
You YangsThe You Yangs are a series of granite ridges that rise to 364m above the Werribee Plain approximately 55km south west of Melbourne and 22km north east of Geelong, in Victoria, Australia. The main ridge runs roughly N-S for about 9 km, with a lower extension running for about 15 km to the west...
. Soils vary from sandy loam, basalt plains and river loam to rich volcanic soils, suitable for intensive
farmingAgriculture is the cultivation of animals, plants, fungi and other life forms for food, fiber, and other products used to sustain life. Agriculture was the key implement in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that nurtured the...
,
grazingGrazing generally describes a type of feeding, in which a herbivore feeds on plants , and also on other multicellular autotrophs...
,
forestryForestry is the interdisciplinary profession embracing the science, art, and craft of creating, managing, using, and conserving forests and associated resources in a sustainable manner to meet desired goals, needs, and values for human benefit. Forestry is practiced in plantations and natural stands...
and
vineyardA vineyard is a plantation of grape-bearing vines, grown mainly for winemaking, but also raisins, table grapes and non-alcoholic grape juice...
plantation.
Many materials used to construct buildings were
quarriedA quarry is a type of open-pit mine from which rock or minerals are extracted. Quarries are generally used for extracting building materials, such as dimension stone, construction aggregate, riprap, sand, and gravel. They are often collocated with concrete and asphalt plants due to the requirement...
from Geelong, such as
bluestoneBluestone is a cultural or commercial name for a number of dimension or building stone varieties, including:*a feldspathic sandstone in the U.S. and Canada;*limestone in the Shenandoah Valley in the U.S...
from the
You YangsThe You Yangs are a series of granite ridges that rise to 364m above the Werribee Plain approximately 55km south west of Melbourne and 22km north east of Geelong, in Victoria, Australia. The main ridge runs roughly N-S for about 9 km, with a lower extension running for about 15 km to the west...
and
sandstoneSandstone is a sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized minerals or rock grains.Most sandstone is composed of quartz and/or feldspar because these are the most common minerals in the Earth's crust. Like sand, sandstone may be any colour, but the most common colours are tan, brown, yellow,...
from the Brisbane Ranges. A small number of brown coal deposits exist in the Geelong region, most notably at
AngleseaAnglesea is a town in Victoria, Australia. It is located on the Great Ocean Road in the Surf Coast Shire local government area. At the 2006 census, Anglesea had a population of 2,290....
where it has been mined to fuel Alcoa's
Anglesea Power StationAnglesea Power Station is located at Anglesea, in Victoria, Australia within the floristically rich Anglesea Heath area. It is brown coal powered with one steam turbine with a capacity of 150MW of electricity, supplying almost 40% of the electricity used by the nearby Point Henry aluminium...
since 1969.
LimestoneLimestone is a sedimentary rock composed largely of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of calcium carbonate . Many limestones are composed from skeletal fragments of marine organisms such as coral or foraminifera....
has also been quarried for
cementIn the most general sense of the word, a cement is a binder, a substance that sets and hardens independently, and can bind other materials together. The word "cement" traces to the Romans, who used the term opus caementicium to describe masonry resembling modern concrete that was made from crushed...
production at
FyansfordFyansford is a township on the western edge of Geelong, Victoria, Australia, named after Captain Foster Fyans who came to Geelong as a Police magistrate in October, 1837. It is located at the junction of the Barwon and Moorabool rivers....
since 1888, and
Waurn PondsWaurn Ponds is a mainly residential southern suburb of Geelong, Victoria, Australia.The suburb is bounded by Rossack Drive, Princes Highway, the Geelong to Warnambool railway, Reservoir Road, Draytons Road, Pigdons Road, Deakin University and Honeys Road....
since 1964.
City and suburbs
Development in Geelong started on the shores of
Corio BayCorio Bay is one of numerous bays in the southwest corner of Australia's Port Phillip, and is the bay on which abuts the City of Geelong. The nearby suburb of Corio takes its name from Corio Bay.-Name:...
in what is now the
inner cityThe Geelong city centre is a locality surrounded by suburban Geelong. It is the oldest part of Geelong and includes many of the city's important landmarks such as the Geelong Town Hall, St...
. Development later spread to the south towards the
Barwon RiverThe Barwon River rises in the Otway Ranges of Victoria, Australia, runs through Winchelsea and the city of Geelong, where it is joined by the Moorabool River, and enters the sea at Barwon Heads after passing through Lake Connewarre on the Bellarine Peninsula...
, and the hill of
NewtownNewtown is an inner western suburb of Geelong, Victoria, Australia. It is a primarily residential area occupying one of the highest points of urban Geelong, has always been a desirable place of residence and it is the location of many of Geelong's oldest and most valuable properties.The locality of...
and
Geelong WestGeelong West is a commercial and residential suburb of Geelong, Victoria, Australia. When Geelong was founded, the area was known as Kildare but its name was changed to Geelong West in 1875. The main street is Pakington Street.-History:...
. Major development south of the river in
BelmontBelmont is a southern suburb of Geelong, Victoria, Australia. The name means "beautiful hill". Belmont is geographically separated from the Geelong central business district by the Barwon River. The suburb is primarily residential, with some light industry along Barwon Heads Road...
did not start until the 1920s, stimulated by the construction of a new bridge over the river in 1926, and the extension of the Geelong
tramA tram is a passenger rail vehicle which runs on tracks along public urban streets and also sometimes on separate rights of way. It may also run between cities and/or towns , and/or partially grade separated even in the cities...
way system in 1927. Industrial areas were traditionally located on the Corio Bay for port access, or the Barwon River for waste disposal.
In the interwar and post World War II years
heavy industryHeavy industry does not have a single fixed meaning as compared to light industry. It can mean production of products which are either heavy in weight or in the processes leading to their production. In general, it is a popular term used within the name of many Japanese and Korean firms, meaning...
continued to establish itself in the flatter northern suburbs, where today industries such as the
ShellIn Australia, Royal Dutch Shell conducts a large range of activities. These include exploration for, and the production and commercialization of, oil and natural gas, the operation of two refineries, 19 terminals and 33 depots for the manufacture and distribution of oil products; and the marketing...
oil refinery and
Ford Motor CompanyFord Australia is the Australian subsidiary of Ford Motor Company and was founded in Geelong, Victoria, in 1925 as an outpost of Ford Motor Company of Canada, Limited. At that time, Ford Canada was a separate company from Ford USA...
engine plant reside. Residential development also spread to
CorioCorio is a residential, industrial and one of the largest suburbs of Geelong, Victoria, Australia, located approximately 9 km north of the Geelong central business district...
in the north, with new
Housing Commission of VictoriaThe Housing Commission of Victoria was a State Government body responsible for public housing in Victoria, Australia...
estates built to cater for employees of the new industries. From the 1960s residential growth spread to the
HightonHighton is a residential suburb of Geelong, Victoria, Australia. It is bordered by the Barrabool Hills and Wandana Heights to the west, the Barwon River to the north and east, the former Kardinia Creek to the south-east, and the Princes Highway and Pigdons Road to the south.-History:Grazier John...
hills in the south, followed by
GrovedaleGrovedale is a mainly residential southern suburb of Geelong, Victoria, Australia.The suburb is bounded by the Waurn Ponds Creek, Rossack Drive, Boundary Road and Barwarre Road.-Toponomy:...
in the 1970s. A number of light industrial areas were also established in
BreakwaterBreakwater is a residential and industrial suburb of Geelong, Victoria, Australia, located on the Barwon River, 4 km south-south-east of the Geelong central business district...
,
MoolapMoolap is a residential and industrial suburb of Geelong, Victoria, Australia. The name Moolap is derived from an Aboriginal word for nearby Point Henry, moo-laa, thought to mean 'men gathering to go fishing'. Moolap in Aboriginal tongue means "Shady Place" ....
and
South GeelongSouth Geelong, also referred to as Geelong South, is a residential and industrial southern suburb of Geelong, Victoria, Australia. The suburb is adjacent to the Geelong central business district, with the Barwon River forming the suburb's southern border...
.
Changing cargo handling methods at the
Port of GeelongThe Port of Geelong is located on the shores of Corio Bay in Geelong, Victoria, Australia. The port is the sixth-largest in Australia by tonnage....
left woolstores in inner Geelong unused,
redevelopmentUrban renewal is a program of land redevelopment in areas of moderate to high density urban land use. Renewal has had both successes and failures. Its modern incarnation began in the late 19th century in developed nations and experienced an intense phase in the late 1940s – under the rubric of...
beginning in the 1980s with the expansion of Westfield Geelong towards Corio Bay, and culminating in the
Waterfront GeelongWaterfront Geelong is a tourist and recreation area on the north facing shores of Corio Bay in Geelong, Australia. The area was once part of the Port of Geelong, falling into disuse before being redeveloped during the 1990s.-Attractions:...
development.
GentrificationGentrification and urban gentrification refer to the changes that result when wealthier people acquire or rent property in low income and working class communities. Urban gentrification is associated with movement. Consequent to gentrification, the average income increases and average family size...
of former working class inner suburbs such as
Geelong WestGeelong West is a commercial and residential suburb of Geelong, Victoria, Australia. When Geelong was founded, the area was known as Kildare but its name was changed to Geelong West in 1875. The main street is Pakington Street.-History:...
,
North GeelongNorth Geelong is a suburb of Geelong in the Australian state of Victoria. The suburb will be bypassed by traffic from Melbourne coming from the Princes Freeway by the creation of the Geelong Ring Road, due for completion in 2009....
and
South GeelongSouth Geelong, also referred to as Geelong South, is a residential and industrial southern suburb of Geelong, Victoria, Australia. The suburb is adjacent to the Geelong central business district, with the Barwon River forming the suburb's southern border...
has also occurred. Today the major residential growth corridors are north towards
LaraLara is a residential rural suburb, 15 km north-east of Geelong, inland from the Princes Freeway to Melbourne.- History :The explorers Hume and Hovell arrived at Lara on December 16, 1824, believing that they had reached Westernport Bay...
, east towards
LeopoldLeopold is a residential eastern suburb of Geelong and is a gateway to the Bellarine Peninsula.-History:The area was formerly known as Kensington. The Post Office opened as Kensington on 19 May 1858, and was renamed Kensington Hill in 1882, Leopold Hill in 1884 and Leopold in 1885. -The town...
, and south towards
Mount DuneedMount Duneed is a suburb of Geelong, Victoria, Australia. The Geelong Airport is located in Mount Duneed. Though the airport continues to operate, the site is for sale as of July 2005 , and it appears likely that it will be demolished to make way for housing....
as the
Armstrong Creek Growth AreaThe Armstrong Creek Growth Area is the southern extension to the urban growth boundary of the metropolitan area of Geelong, Victoria, Australia. It comprises parts of the localities of Grovedale and Marshall south of the Warrnambool railway line, and parts of the localities of Mount Duneed and...
.
Climate
Geelong has stable weather while still offering four distinct seasons. It has a
temperateIn geography, temperate or tepid latitudes of the globe lie between the tropics and the polar circles. The changes in these regions between summer and winter are generally relatively moderate, rather than extreme hot or cold...
climateClimate encompasses the statistics of temperature, humidity, atmospheric pressure, wind, rainfall, atmospheric particle count and other meteorological elemental measurements in a given region over long periods...
with dominant westerly winds, variable cloud, moderate
precipitationIn meteorology, precipitation In meteorology, precipitation In meteorology, precipitation (also known as one of the classes of hydrometeors, which are atmospheric water phenomena is any product of the condensation of atmospheric water vapor that falls under gravity. The main forms of precipitation...
, warm summers and cool winters. January is the hottest month, and July is the coldest. The highest temperature recorded was 47.9 °C (118.2 °F) on 7 February 2009, with the lowest of -4.4 °C recorded on 5 August 1997. The average annual rainfall is 536.4 millimetres (21.1 in).
Economy
More than 10,000 businesses employ over 80,000 people in the Geelong region, with manufacturing and processing industries providing around 15,000 jobs, followed by 13,000 in retail, and 8,000 in health and community services.
Geelong's major employers include the
Ford Motor CompanyFord Australia is the Australian subsidiary of Ford Motor Company and was founded in Geelong, Victoria, in 1925 as an outpost of Ford Motor Company of Canada, Limited. At that time, Ford Canada was a separate company from Ford USA...
engine plant in
NorlaneNorlane is a northern suburb of Geelong, Victoria, Australia. Norlane is located approximately 7 km from the Geelong central business district and approximately 70 km from the state capital, Melbourne...
, aircraft maintenance at Avalon Airport, the head office of retail chain
TargetTarget Australia Pty Ltd is an Australian department store chain owned by Wesfarmers . It operates 172 Target stores and 119 Target Country stores making 291 combined stores with its head office located in North Geelong, Victoria. It sells clothing, cosmetics, toys, homewares, electrical and...
, the Bartter (Steggles) chicken processing plant,
Alcoa'sAlcoa World Alumina and Chemicals is a joint venture between Alumina Limited and Alcoa and is abbreviated to AWAC. AWAC's business is the mining of bauxite, the extraction of alumina and the smelting of aluminium. It has about 25% of the global alumina market...
Point HenryThe Point Henry aluminium smelter is located near Geelong, Victoria in the suburb of Moolap. The smelter has a production capacity of 185,000 tonnes of aluminium a year. It is operated by Alcoa World Alumina and Chemicals Australia, a joint venture between Alcoa and Alumina Limited...
aluminium smelter, and the
ShellIn Australia, Royal Dutch Shell conducts a large range of activities. These include exploration for, and the production and commercialization of, oil and natural gas, the operation of two refineries, 19 terminals and 33 depots for the manufacture and distribution of oil products; and the marketing...
oil refinery at
CorioCorio is a residential, industrial and one of the largest suburbs of Geelong, Victoria, Australia, located approximately 9 km north of the Geelong central business district...
.
The Geelong region attracted over 6,000,000 tourists during 2001. Major tourist attractions include the
Waterfront GeelongWaterfront Geelong is a tourist and recreation area on the north facing shores of Corio Bay in Geelong, Australia. The area was once part of the Port of Geelong, falling into disuse before being redeveloped during the 1990s.-Attractions:...
precinct and
Eastern BeachEastern Beach is a popular swimming and recreation area in Geelong, Victoria on the shores of Corio Bay. Built during the 1930s in the Art Deco style, a shark proof sea bath is provided, as well as a children's swimming pool, kiosk, and dressing room pavilion...
on the shores of
Corio BayCorio Bay is one of numerous bays in the southwest corner of Australia's Port Phillip, and is the bay on which abuts the City of Geelong. The nearby suburb of Corio takes its name from Corio Bay.-Name:...
, the
Ford Discovery CentreThe Ford Discovery Centre is an interactive automobile museum located in Geelong, Victoria, Australia. It is operated by Ford Heritage Ltd, a Not for Profit Trust set up to showcase and preserve the heritage of the Ford Motor Company in Australia....
and National Wool Museum in the city, and more than 30 historical buildings listed on the
Victorian Heritage RegisterThe Victorian Heritage Register lists places of cultural heritage significance to the State of Victoria, Australia. It has statutory weight under the Heritage Act 1995 which establishes Heritage Victoria as the permit authority...
. The Geelong area hosts regular international events which are also tourist drawcards including the
Australian International AirshowThe Australian International Airshow, also called the Avalon Airshow, is a large air show held biennially at Avalon Airport, between Melbourne and Geelong, Victoria. It regularly features planes from the Royal Australian Air Force, United States Navy and the United States Air Force...
.
Geelong has a number of shopping precincts in the CBD and surrounding suburbs. The two main shopping centres are located in the
CBDThe Geelong city centre is a locality surrounded by suburban Geelong. It is the oldest part of Geelong and includes many of the city's important landmarks such as the Geelong Town Hall, St...
- Westfield Geelong and
Market SquareMarket Square Shopping Centre is located in Geelong, Victoria, Australia. The shopping centre was named after the original town square of Geelong on which the shopping centre is constructed. The centre is surrounded by Little Malop, Moorabool, Malop, and Yarra Streets...
, with smaller centres in the suburbs including Belmont Plaza and Waurn Ponds Shopping Centre in the south, Bellarine Village in
NewcombNewcomb is a residential suburb of Geelong, Victoria, Australia.The Post Office opened on 2 July 1962 as the suburb developed.The suburb has an Australian Rules football team competing in the Bellarine Football League....
in the east, and
Corio Village Shopping CentreCorio Shopping Centre is a large shopping centre in the northern Geelong suburb of Corio. K-Mart, Coles, Safeway and Best and Less are the largest stores at Corio Shopping Centre. The Centre opened in 1973, under the management of Raymond Kerger of Geelong. Currently, it has a gross leasable area...
in the north. The opening of the major shopping centres have seen a decline in strip shopping on Moorabool Street, with many empty shops and few customers. Geelong is also home to
Mitre 10Mitre 10 is the trading name of retail and trade hardware store chains, over 700 locations throughout of Australia. Operations are based on a co-operative system where the store owners are members of the national group and each has voting rights...
's largest franchisees Fagg's operating five stores across the town and employing over 160 people.
Located in Geelong are major research laboratories, the CSIRO Australian Animal Health Laboratory in
East GeelongEast Geelong is a residential suburb of Geelong, Victoria, Australia.The post office opened on 6 June 1921. An earlier Post Office dating from 1871 was later renamed Moolap West.The Geelong Botanical Gardens are located in East Geelong....
, CSIRO Division of Textiles and Fibres Technology in
BelmontBelmont is a southern suburb of Geelong, Victoria, Australia. The name means "beautiful hill". Belmont is geographically separated from the Geelong central business district by the Barwon River. The suburb is primarily residential, with some light industry along Barwon Heads Road...
and the Marine and Freshwater Resources Institute at
QueenscliffQueenscliff is a small town on the Bellarine Peninsula in southern Victoria, Australia, south of Swan Bay at the entrance to Port Phillip. It is the administrative centre for the Borough of Queenscliffe...
.
Demographics
| Population over time |
| 1841 |
454 |
| 1846 |
2,065 |
| 1851 |
8,291 |
| 1854 |
20,115 |
| 1861 |
22,929 |
| 1891 |
17,445 |
| 1901 |
25,017 |
| 1907 |
28,021 |
| 1921 |
31,689 |
| 1933 |
39,223 |
| 1946 |
51,000 |
| 1954 |
72,995 |
| 1961 |
91,666 |
| 1966 |
105,059 |
| 1976 |
122,080 |
| 1981 |
141,279 |
| 1988 |
146,349 |
| 2006 |
160,991 |
| 2009 |
179,971 |
| 2010 |
184,583 |
As of the 2006
CensusA census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...
, there were 160,000 people residing in 68,000 households. The median age of persons in Geelong was 37 years. 19.4% of the population of Geelong were children aged between 0–14 years, and 26.6% were persons aged 55 years and over. Each dwelling is on average occupied by 2.59 persons, slightly lower than the state and national averages. The median household income was $901 per week, $121 less than the state average, partly due to higher reliance on manufacturing for employment. The population of Geelong is growing by 2500 people each year, and the City of Greater Geelong had the highest rate of building activity in Victoria outside metropolitan Melbourne.
78.4% of people from Geelong are Australian born, with the most common overseas birthplaces being:
EnglandEngland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
(3.6%),
ItalyItaly , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
(1.1%),
CroatiaCroatia , officially the Republic of Croatia , is a unitary democratic parliamentary republic in Europe at the crossroads of the Mitteleuropa, the Balkans, and the Mediterranean. Its capital and largest city is Zagreb. The country is divided into 20 counties and the city of Zagreb. Croatia covers ...
(1.0%),
NetherlandsThe Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
(0.9%),
ScotlandScotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
(0.8%). 14.2% of households speak a language other than English in the home. Notable ethnic groups in the city are the
CroatianCroats are a South Slavic ethnic group mostly living in Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and nearby countries. There are around 4 million Croats living inside Croatia and up to 4.5 million throughout the rest of the world. Responding to political, social and economic pressure, many Croats have...
community, who first came to the city in the 1850s and with migration since World War II are now the largest Croatian community in Australia, and the German settlers who founded Germantown (now
GrovedaleGrovedale is a mainly residential southern suburb of Geelong, Victoria, Australia.The suburb is bounded by the Waurn Ponds Creek, Rossack Drive, Boundary Road and Barwarre Road.-Toponomy:...
) in 1849 to escape repression in
PrussiaPrussia was a German kingdom and historic state originating out of the Duchy of Prussia and the Margraviate of Brandenburg. For centuries, the House of Hohenzollern ruled Prussia, successfully expanding its size by way of an unusually well-organized and effective army. Prussia shaped the history...
for their
LutheranLutheranism is a major branch of Western Christianity that identifies with the theology of Martin Luther, a German reformer. Luther's efforts to reform the theology and practice of the church launched the Protestant Reformation...
faith.
The 2006 Census found the most common religious affiliations in Geelong were Catholicism at 29.4%. St Mary of the Angels Basilica is the largest congregation in the city. Other affiliations of resident of Geelong include
No ReligionIrreligion is defined as an absence of religion or an indifference towards religion. Sometimes it may also be defined more narrowly as hostility towards religion. When characterized as hostility to religion, it includes antitheism, anticlericalism and antireligion. When characterized as...
20.5%, Anglican 14.6%, Uniting Church 7.9% and
Presbyterian and Reformed at 4.3%. The city has a large number of traditional Christian churches, as well as
Orthodox ChristianThe Orthodox Church, officially called the Orthodox Catholic Church and commonly referred to as the Eastern Orthodox Church, is the second largest Christian denomination in the world, with an estimated 300 million adherents mainly in the countries of Belarus, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Georgia, Greece,...
churches in the northern suburbs.
Governance
In
local governmentLocal government in Australia is the third tier of government, administered by the states and territories which in turn are beneath the Commonwealth or federal tier. Unlike New Zealand, the US or the UK, there is only one level of local government in all states, with no distinction such as...
, the Geelong region is covered by the City of Greater Geelong. The council was created in 1993 as an amalgamation of a number of other
municipalitiesA municipality is essentially an urban administrative division having corporate status and usually powers of self-government. It can also be used to mean the governing body of a municipality. A municipality is a general-purpose administrative subdivision, as opposed to a special-purpose district...
in the region, with the council chambers located at the
Geelong Town HallGeelong Town Hall is a civic building located on Gheringhap Street in central Geelong, Victoria. It was originally built for the City of Geelong, which became the City of Greater Geelong in 1993.-Construction:...
in central Geelong. The City is made up of 12 wards, each represented by a
councillorA councillor or councilor is a member of a local government council, such as a city council.Often in the United States, the title is councilman or councilwoman.-United Kingdom:...
elected once every four years by
postal votingPostal voting describes the method of voting in an election whereby ballot papers are distributed or returned by post to electors, in contrast to electors voting in person at a polling station or electronically via an electronic voting system....
. The Mayor of Geelong is elected from these councillors by their colleagues for a one year term.
In
state politicsVictorian politics takes place in context of bicameral parliamentary system.The two main parties are the governing Liberal Party of Australia and the Australian Labor Party opposition...
, Geelong is located in the
Legislative AssemblyThe Victorian Legislative Assembly is the lower house of the Parliament of Victoria in Australia. Together with the Victorian Legislative Council, the upper house, it sits in Parliament House in the state capital, Melbourne.-History:...
districts of
GeelongThe Electoral district of Geelong is an electoral district of the Victorian Legislative Assembly. It is based around inner metropolitan Geelong and includes the suburbs of Bell Park, Drumcondra, East Geelong, Geelong, Geelong West, Newtown and South Geelong and parts of Highton, and North Geelong...
,
South BarwonSouth Barwon is an electoral district of the Legislative Assembly in the Australian state of Victoria. Located in a mixed urban and rural area south of the Barwon River, it covers an area of 621km², including the Geelong suburbs of Belmont and Grovedale, Waurn Ponds and part of Highton, the coastal...
,
LaraLara is a seat in the Victorian Legislative Assembly. It covers much of the area between the western suburbs of Melbourne and the regional city of Geelong. As a result, many of the voters come from Melbourne suburbs such as Wyndham Vale and the very northern suburbs of Geelong, including Lara, Bell...
, and
BellarineThe Electoral district of Bellarine is an electoral district of the Victorian Legislative Assembly. The electorate contains some of the eastern suburbs of Geelong and much of the Bellarine Peninsula after which the electorate is named....
, with all seats with the exception of South Barwon currently held by the
Australian Labor PartyThe Australian Labor Party is an Australian political party. It has been the governing party of the Commonwealth of Australia since the 2007 federal election. Julia Gillard is the party's federal parliamentary leader and Prime Minister of Australia...
.
In
federal politicsThe Politics of Australia take place within the framework of a parliamentary democracy, with electoral procedures appropriate to a two-party system. Australia is governed as a federation and as a constitutional monarchy, with an adversarial legislature based upon the Westminster system...
, Geelong is located in two
House of RepresentativesThe House of Representatives is one of the two houses of the Parliament of Australia; it is the lower house; the upper house is the Senate. Members of Parliament serve for terms of approximately three years....
divisions - the
Division of CorioThe Division of Corio is an Australian Electoral Division in Victoria. The division one of the original 75 divisions contested at the first federal election. It is named for Corio Bay. It has always been based on the city of Geelong, although in the past it has also included parts of the western...
to the north of the
Barwon RiverThe Barwon River rises in the Otway Ranges of Victoria, Australia, runs through Winchelsea and the city of Geelong, where it is joined by the Moorabool River, and enters the sea at Barwon Heads after passing through Lake Connewarre on the Bellarine Peninsula...
, and the
Division of CorangamiteThe Division of Corangamite is an Australian Electoral Division in Victoria. The division was one of the original 75 divisions contested at the first federal election...
to the south. The Division of Corio has been a safe
Australian Labor PartyThe Australian Labor Party is an Australian political party. It has been the governing party of the Commonwealth of Australia since the 2007 federal election. Julia Gillard is the party's federal parliamentary leader and Prime Minister of Australia...
since the 1970s, and was the seat of
Richard CaseyRichard Gardiner Casey, Baron Casey KG GCMG CH DSO MC KStJ PC was an Australian politician, diplomat and the 16th Governor-General of Australia.-Early life:...
, a leading Cabinet member in the 1930s and later
Governor-GeneralThe Governor-General of the Commonwealth of Australia is the representative in Australia at federal/national level of the Australian monarch . He or she exercises the supreme executive power of the Commonwealth...
, and
Gordon ScholesGordon Glen Denton Scholes AO is a former Australian politician and Speaker of the Australian House of Representatives.Scholes was born in Melbourne, the son of Thomas Glen Denton Scholes and his wife Mary Louisa O'Brien. He was the Victorian Amateur Heavyweight Boxing Champion in 1949...
, who was
SpeakerThe Speaker of the House of Representatives is the presiding officer of the House of Representatives, the lower house of the Parliament of Australia. The presiding officer in the upper house is the President of the Senate....
during the
WhitlamEdward Gough Whitlam, AC, QC , known as Gough Whitlam , served as the 21st Prime Minister of Australia. Whitlam led the Australian Labor Party to power at the 1972 election and retained government at the 1974 election, before being dismissed by Governor-General Sir John Kerr at the climax of the...
government. The Division of Corangamite had been a safe seat for the
Liberal PartyThe Liberal Party of Australia is an Australian political party.Founded a year after the 1943 federal election to replace the United Australia Party, the centre-right Liberal Party typically competes with the centre-left Australian Labor Party for political office...
since the 1940s, and was the seat of the ninth
Prime Minister of AustraliaThe Prime Minister of the Commonwealth of Australia is the highest minister of the Crown, leader of the Cabinet and Head of Her Majesty's Australian Government, holding office on commission from the Governor-General of Australia. The office of Prime Minister is, in practice, the most powerful...
James ScullinJames Henry Scullin , Australian Labor politician and the ninth Prime Minister of Australia. Two days after he was sworn in as Prime Minister, the Wall Street Crash of 1929 occurred, marking the beginning of the Great Depression and subsequent Great Depression in Australia.-Early life:Scullin was...
. It was reclaimed by the Australian Labor Party for the first time since 1931 at the 2007 federal election.
Events and Festivals
The Royal Geelong Show is held each year at the
Geelong ShowgroundsThe Geelong Showgrounds in Geelong, Victoria, Australia, are the home of the Royal Geelong Show, an agricultural show held every year since 1855. The current showgrounds are located in the suburb of Breakwater....
.
Other smaller events include Pako Festival, Gala Day Parade and Family Fun Day and the Geelong Heritage Festival run by the local branch of the National Trust.
Geelong also hosts an international photographic salon every two years. Vigex was first held in 1980.
Arts and entertainment
Geelong is home to a number of pubs, nightclubs and live music venues and has also given birth to a number of notable Australian bands and musicians such as
Barry CrockerBarry Hugh Crocker OAM is a popular Australian singer, with a crooning vocal style.-Biography:...
,
Gyan EvansGyan Evans is an ARIA Award-winning singer-songwriter from Australia who performs professionally as Gyan . Originally from Geelong, Gyan began her musical career in the Sydney band Haiku before winning the Grand Final in the Australian version of the TV show Star Search...
,
Magic DirtMagic Dirt are an Australian rock band, which formed in 1991 in Geelong, Victoria, with Daniel Herring on guitar, Adam Robertson on drums, Adalita Srsen on vocals and guitar, and Dean Turner on bass guitar. Initially known as Deer Bubbles and then The Jim Jims, they were renamed as Magic Dirt in...
,
Jeff LangJeff Lang is an Australian songwriter, singer and slide guitarist. A leading performer in the Australian roots music scene and purveyer of his self-described "disturbed folk" style, which incorporates primarily folk, blues and rock...
, and
Denis WalterDenis Walter is an Australian media personality and singer.Throughout his music career Walter has recorded 14 albums. For many years until his resignation in November 2008 to join Melbourne radio 3AW full-time, Walter was the host of the evening news in the regional areas of Victoria for WIN TV...
. Geelong also hosts festivals such as the
Queenscliff Music FestivalQueenscliff Music Festival is a live music festival held in the town of Queenscliff, located on the Bellarine Peninsula, Victoria, Australia. The festival began in 1997 and is held annually on the last weekend of November.- External links :* * *...
,
Meredith Music FestivalThe Meredith Music Festival is a three-day outdoor music festival held every December at the Supernatural Amphitheatre, a natural amphitheatre located on private farmland near the town of Meredith in Victoria, Australia...
, the
Offshore FestivalThe Offshore Festival was a camp-out rock and alternative music festival held during Easter at a farm near Torquay, Victoria, Australia in the late 1990s, 2000 and 2001. It was run by the same organisers as the Falls Festival, held at nearby Lorne on New Year's Eve. It interlinked with the major...
, Poppykettle Festival and
Pako FestaPako Festa is an annual festival held in Pakington Street, Geelong West each year around late February. The festival is held to promote cultural diversity and show appreciation for the artwork and fashion designed by citizens of the Geelong area....
, and has a number of cultural venues, including the
Geelong Performing Arts CentreThe Geelong Performing Arts Centre is a performing arts, functions, and events venue located in Geelong, Victoria, Australia. The centre has two major theatres, a number of smaller performance spaces, and a bar, restaurant and cafe...
(commonly known as GPAC), the 1500 seat Costa Hall auditorium, and the
Geelong Art GalleryThe Geelong Art Gallery is a major regional gallery in the city of Geelong in Victoria, Australia. The gallery has approximately 4,000 works of art in its collection...
.
Media
The
Geelong AdvertiserThe Geelong Advertiser is a daily newspaper servicing Geelong, Victoria, Australia, the Bellarine Peninsula and surrounding areas. The Geelong Advertiser is the oldest newspaper title in Victoria and the second oldest in Australia, and was first published on 21 November 1840. The newspaper is...
, the oldest newspaper title in Victoria and the second oldest in Australia, was established in 1840. Also circulated are the free
Geelong IndependentThe Geelong Independent is a local free weekly newspaper delivered to houses in the Geelong region in Victoria. The newspaper has three editions: Geelong, Bellarine and Surf Coast Independent. It is published and delivered over both Thursdays and Fridays with a distribution of 92,277 copies...
, and
Geelong NewsThe Geelong News is a free weekly paper delivered to houses in the Geelong region. It is published on Wednesdays with a circulation of over 70,000 copies. The focus of moststories are local community issues and sport...
newspapers.
Geelong receives free to air television broadcasts from Melbourne, including community channel Channel 31. the channel carries the
ABCThe Australian Broadcasting Corporation, commonly referred to as "the ABC" , is Australia's national public broadcaster...
,
SBSThe Special Broadcasting Service is a hybrid-funded Australian public broadcasting radio and television network. The stated purpose of SBS is "to provide multilingual and multicultural radio and television services that inform, educate and entertain all Australians and, in doing so, reflect...
,
Seven NetworkThe Seven Network is an Australian television network owned by Seven West Media Limited. It dates back to 4 November 1956, when the first stations on the VHF7 frequency were established in Melbourne and Sydney.It is currently the second largest network in the country in terms of population reach...
,
Nine NetworkThe Nine Network , is an Australian television network with headquarters based in Willoughby, a suburb located on the North Shore of Sydney. For 50 years since television's inception in Australia, between 1956 and 2006, it was the most watched television network in Australia...
&
Network TenNetwork Ten , is one of Australia's three major commercial television networks. Owned-and-operated stations can be found in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth, while affiliates extend the network to cover most of the country...
. The Geelong region also receives
cableCable television is a system of providing television programs to consumers via radio frequency signals transmitted to televisions through coaxial cables or digital light pulses through fixed optical fibers located on the subscriber's property, much like the over-the-air method used in traditional...
and
satellite televisionSatellite television is television programming delivered by the means of communications satellite and received by an outdoor antenna, usually a parabolic mirror generally referred to as a satellite dish, and as far as household usage is concerned, a satellite receiver either in the form of an...
service through Pay-TV operators
FoxtelFoxtel is an Australian pay television company, operating cable, direct broadcast satellite television and IPTV services. It was formed in 1995 through a joint venture established between Telstra and News Corporation....
&
Neighbourhood CableNeighbourhood Cable is a telecommunications provider based in regional Victoria, Australia . Neighbourhood Cable owns and operates Hybrid Fibre Coaxial cable networks in three Victorian regional cities:* Mildura* Ballarat* Geelong...
.
The local radio stations are K-Rock (rock & pop music station),
Rhema FMRhema FM is the name of a number of Christian radio stations formerly affiliated with United Christian Broadcasters in Australia. Each is run and programmed locally, with predominantly local announcing...
(Christian community station),
Hot Country RadioHot Country Radio is a radio network broadcasting in various towns across Australia. Its target demographic is all people who love country music. Hot Country Radio is part of Grant Broadcasters. It is transmitted primarily via narrowcast stations of varying power...
(country music station), The Pulse (community radio service),
3GPH3GPH is a radio station based in Geelong, Victoria. It is part of the Vision Australia Radio network, a reading and information service for those persons unable to read or easily access information in print. The station is run and operated by volunteers....
(radio reading service), and
Bay FM93.9 Bay FM is a commercial FM radio station based in Geelong, Victoria, Australia. It commenced broadcasting from an old industrial estate in Corio, Geelong in 1989....
(adult contemporary). Transmitters for K-Rock, The Pulse, Rhema FM & Bay FM are located at a shared transmitter site on Mt Bellarine near
DrysdaleDrysdale is a rural township near Geelong, Victoria, Australia, located on the Bellarine Peninsula. The town has an approximate population of over 3700....
. Most radio stations from Melbourne can also be received clearly in Geelong and the surrounding region.
In popular culture
Geelong has inspired many visual artists, with several celebrated works depicting the city including
Eugene von GuerardJohann Joseph Eugene von GuérardHis first name is variously spelled "Eugen", "Eugene", "Eugène", one source mentions "Jean" ; his surname is spelled "Guerard" or "Guérard". The most frequent combination is that used by the National Gallery of Australia: "Eugene von Guérard"...
who depicted early Geelong in sketches and oil paintings including
View of GeelongView Of Geelong is an 1856 oil painting on canvas by Eugene von Guerard. The painting is currently owned by the City of Greater Geelong after being purchased from English composer Andrew Lloyd Webber for $3.8M...
.
Geelong is a popular filming location. The Geelong region was used as the setting of the
SeaChangeSeaChange was a popular Australian television show that ran for 39 episodes from 1998 to 2001 on the ABC. It was created by Andrew Knight and Deborah Cox and starred Sigrid Thornton, David Wenham, William McInnes, John Howard, Tom Long and Kerry Armstrong...
television series, filmed on location at Barwon Heads between 1998 and 2002. The city has also been the filming location of a number of feature films; including the final scenes
On the BeachOn the Beach is a post-apocalyptic drama film based on Nevil Shute's 1957 novel of the same name. The film features Gregory Peck , Ava Gardner , Fred Astaire and Anthony Perkins...
(1959) at Barwon Heads,
Mad MaxMad Max is a 1979 Australian dystopian action film directed by George Miller and revised by Miller and Byron Kennedy over the original script by James McCausland. The film stars Mel Gibson, who was unknown at the time. Its narrative based around the traditional western genre, Mad Max tells a story...
(1979) around
Lovely BanksLovely Banks is a northern suburb of Geelong, Victoria, Australia. Once an agricultural and rural area, the suburb is quickly developing into a residential area adjoining the Geelong suburbs of Bell Park, Corio and Norlane....
and
LaraLara is a residential rural suburb, 15 km north-east of Geelong, inland from the Princes Freeway to Melbourne.- History :The explorers Hume and Hovell arrived at Lara on December 16, 1824, believing that they had reached Westernport Bay...
,
Everynight ... EverynightEverynight ... Everynight is an Australian drama film directed by Alkinos Tsilimidos and released in 1994. Based on a play of the same name, written by Ray Mooney, the film details the early life of contract killer Christopher Dale Flannery and is set inside Melbourne's HM Prison Pentridge's...
(1994) at
HM Prison GeelongHM Prison Geelong was a maximum security Australia prison located on the corner of Myers Street and Swanston Street in Geelong, Victoria, Australia. The prison was built in stages from 1849 to 1864. Its panopticon design is based on Pentonville Prison in England...
,
Ned KellyNed Kelly is an Australian drama film directed by Gregor Jordan. The film portrays the life of Ned Kelly — a legendary bushranger in northeast Victoria. Ned Kelly, his brother Dan, and two other men — Steve Hart and Joe Byrne — formed a gang of Irish Australians in response to Irish and...
(2003) and
Ghost RiderGhost Rider is a 2007 superhero film written and directed by Mark Steven Johnson. Based on the character of the same name which appeared in Marvel Comics, the film stars Nicolas Cage as Johnny Blaze, a stunt motorcyclist who sells his soul to the Devil and transforms into thevigilante Ghost...
(2007) at the
Little River Earth SanctuaryLittle River Earth Sanctuary is a 1185 ha protected area in Victoria Australia, near the You Yangs and the town of Little River. It is owned by Earth Sanctuaries, a publicly listed company that has conservation as its core role...
,
December BoysDecember Boys is a 2007 Australian film directed by Rod Hardy and written by Marc Rosenberg and adapted from the 1963 novel of the same name by Michael Noonan. It was released on 14 September 2007 in the UK and US and 20 September 2007 in Australia...
(2007) in
South GeelongSouth Geelong, also referred to as Geelong South, is a residential and industrial southern suburb of Geelong, Victoria, Australia. The suburb is adjacent to the Geelong central business district, with the Barwon River forming the suburb's southern border...
at
Kardinia PoolKardinia Park is an Australian rules football stadium located in South Geelong, Victoria. The stadium is the home ground of the Geelong Football Club. It is nicknamed "The Cattery" by the club's supporters...
, and
KnowingKnowing is a 2009 American-British science fiction film directed by Alex Proyas and starring Nicolas Cage. The project was originally attached to a number of directors under Columbia Pictures, but it was placed in turnaround and eventually picked up by Escape Artists. Production was financially...
(2008) on the Geelong Ring Road.
Two ships of the
Royal Australian NavyThe Royal Australian Navy is the naval branch of the Australian Defence Force. Following the Federation of Australia in 1901, the ships and resources of the separate colonial navies were integrated into a national force: the Commonwealth Naval Forces...
(RAN) have been named after Geelong,
HMAS Geelong (J201)HMAS Geelong , named for the city of Geelong, Victoria, was one of 60 Bathurst class corvettes constructed during World War II, and one of 36 initially manned and commissioned solely by the Royal Australian Navy ....
and
HMAS Geelong (FCPB 215)HMAS Geelong , named for the city of Geelong, Victoria, was a Fremantle class patrol boat of the Royal Australian Navy .-Design and construction:...
.
Education
Geelong is served by a number of
publicState schools, also known in the United States and Canada as public schools,In much of the Commonwealth, including Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, and the United Kingdom, the terms 'public education', 'public school' and 'independent school' are used for private schools, that is, schools...
and private schools that cater to local and overseas students. Over 40,000 primary and secondary students are enrolled in schools in Geelong, with another 27,000 students enrolled in tertiary and further education courses. The first schools in Geelong were established when the town was settled from the 1850s, among them were the elite private schools
The Geelong CollegeThe Geelong College is an independent, co-educational, day and boarding school, located in Newtown, an inner-western suburb of Geelong, Victoria, Australia....
and
Geelong Grammar SchoolGeelong Grammar School is an independent, Anglican, co-educational, boarding and day school. The school's main campus is located at Corio, on the northern outskirts of Geelong, Victoria, Australia, overlooking Corio Bay and Limeburners Bay....
.
The Gordon Memorial Technical College opened in 1888, and is known today as the
Gordon Institute of TAFEThe Gordon Institute of TAFE is the TAFE institute servicing Geelong since 1888. It has 26,000 students studying on-campus, off-campus and in business or industry ....
. In 1976 the Gordon Institute was divided into two parts, with academic courses becoming part of the newly formed Deakin University based at the Waurn Ponds campus.
Deakin UniversityDeakin University is an Australian public university with nearly 40,000 higher education students in 2010. It receives more than A$600 million in operating revenue annually, and controls more than A$1.3 billion in assets. It received more than A$35 million in research income in 2009 and had 835...
enrolled its first students at its
Waurn PondsWaurn Ponds is a mainly residential southern suburb of Geelong, Victoria, Australia.The suburb is bounded by Rossack Drive, Princes Highway, the Geelong to Warnambool railway, Reservoir Road, Draytons Road, Pigdons Road, Deakin University and Honeys Road....
campus in 1977. Today the university is located on a 365 hectare site and has over 1,000 staff and over 4,000 on-campus students. The university also has a campus located on the waterfront of Corio Bay in the
Geelong CBDThe Geelong city centre is a locality surrounded by suburban Geelong. It is the oldest part of Geelong and includes many of the city's important landmarks such as the Geelong Town Hall, St...
, and from 2008 the campus at Waurn Ponds will be home to Victoria's first regional medical school.
Health
The major public hospital is
Geelong HospitalThe Geelong Hospital is an Australian public hospital located in Ryrie Street, Geelong, Victoria. The hospital is part of Barwon Health, Victoria's largest regional health care provider, which has 21 sites. It is the largest hospital in regional Victoria and the only tertiary hospital outside of...
on Ryrie Street which services the entire region and the largest
private hospitalA private hospital is a hospital owned by a profit company or a non-profit organisation and privately funded through payment for medical services by patients themselves, by insurers, or by foreign embassies. This practice is very common in the United States and Australia...
is the nearby
St John of God Health CareSt John of God Health Care is Australia's third largest private hospital operator, with 13 hospitals and facilities in the states of Western Australia, New South Wales and Victoria, as well as in New Zealand....
centre on Myers Street. Prominent healthcare services include Geelong Health (Geelong West) and Barwon Health.
Utilities
Water storage and supply in Geelong is managed by
Barwon WaterBarwon Water is a government owned statutory authority that controls much of the water system in Geelong, Victoria, Australia including the reservoirs, and the sewerage and drainage system that services the city and surrounding districts...
, a Victorian Government owned urban water corporation. Geelong is supplied with water from three river systems: the
Barwon RiverThe Barwon River rises in the Otway Ranges of Victoria, Australia, runs through Winchelsea and the city of Geelong, where it is joined by the Moorabool River, and enters the sea at Barwon Heads after passing through Lake Connewarre on the Bellarine Peninsula...
, the East
Moorabool RiverThe Moorabool River is a river in Victoria, Australia that runs past several small towns and areas such as Meredith, Anakie, and Staughton Vale...
and the West Moorabool River. The catchment areas are the Brisbane Ranges to Geelong's north-west, and the Otway Ranges to the south-west. The first water supplies to Geelong were from the Stony Creek reservoirs near
SteiglitzSteiglitz is a small town in Victoria, west of the state capital, Melbourne, Australia, in the Brisbane Ranges. In the early 1850s gold was found near the town, and as a consequence it grew. Following the decline of the Australian gold rushes in the late 1870s the town declined. The last gold mine...
, but today the West Barwon Reservoir system supplies approximately 70 per cent of the water for Geelong. Sewage from Geelong and district is
treatedSewage treatment, or domestic wastewater treatment, is the process of removing contaminants from wastewater and household sewage, both runoff and domestic. It includes physical, chemical, and biological processes to remove physical, chemical and biological contaminants...
at the Black Rock Treatment Plant at
BreamleaBreamlea, Victoria, Australia, is a secluded seaside hamlet located 28 km south of Geelong on the south coast of Australia halfway between Barwon Heads and Torquay on the Bellarine Peninsula. At the 2006 census, Breamlea and the surrounding area had a population of 244.-Geography:Breamlea is...
and then discharged into
Bass StraitBass Strait is a sea strait separating Tasmania from the south of the Australian mainland, specifically the state of Victoria.-Extent:The International Hydrographic Organization defines the limits of the Bass Strait as follows:...
.
Geelong was first supplied with electricity in 1902 when the
Geelong power stationThe city of Geelong, Victoria, Australia was once home to two coal fueled power stations - Geelong A and Geelong B.The first moves to providing an electricity supply to Geelong were made in 1898, with three separate companies vying for the right to operate in the city...
opened on the corner of Yarra and Brougham Streets. Later known as 'Geelong A', the power station was rebuilt in 1920 to increase the capacity, with the station continued operating until 1961. In 1936 Geelong was connected to the state electrical grid. The 'Geelong B' power station at
North GeelongNorth Geelong is a suburb of Geelong in the Australian state of Victoria. The suburb will be bypassed by traffic from Melbourne coming from the Princes Freeway by the creation of the Geelong Ring Road, due for completion in 2009....
opened in 1954, and was closed in 1970 due to the much higher efficiency of the power stations in the
Latrobe ValleyThe Latrobe Valley is an inland geographical region and urban area of Gippsland in the state of Victoria, Australia. It is east of the City Of Melbourne and nestled between the Strzelecki Ranges to the south and the Great Dividing Range to the north – with the highest peak to the north of the...
. The supply of piped
coal gasCoal gas is a flammable gaseous fuel made by the destructive distillation of coal containing a variety of calorific gases including hydrogen, carbon monoxide, methane and volatile hydrocarbons together with small quantities of non-calorific gases such as carbon dioxide and nitrogen...
in Geelong started in 1860 by the
Geelong Gas CompanyThe Geelong Gas Company was a private company set up to produce and distribute town gas in the city of Geelong. From a gasworks in North Geelong it converted coal into town gas for use in homes and industry...
. The
gasworksA gasworks or gas house is a factory for the manufacture of gas. The use of natural gas has made many redundant in the developed world, however they are often still used for storage.- Early gasworks :...
were located in North Geelong next to the North Geelong railway station. Geelong was converted to
natural gasNatural gas is a naturally occurring gas mixture consisting primarily of methane, typically with 0–20% higher hydrocarbons . It is found associated with other hydrocarbon fuel, in coal beds, as methane clathrates, and is an important fuel source and a major feedstock for fertilizers.Most natural...
in 1971, with the Geelong Gas Company being taken over by the
Gas and Fuel Corporation of VictoriaThe Gas and Fuel Corporation of Victoria was a government-owned monopoly supplier of household gas in Victoria, Australia.In 1951, the Victorian government took over two of the three main gas utilities in Melbourne - the Metropolitan Gas Company and the Brighton Gas Company...
on 30 June 1971.
Transportation
The main form of transportation in Geelong is the
automobileAn automobile, autocar, motor car or car is a wheeled motor vehicle used for transporting passengers, which also carries its own engine or motor...
. Geelong is well-connected by roads to all of south-west Victoria, to Melbourne by the
Princes FreewayThe Princes Freeway is a , 2 section freeway, which links Melbourne to Geelong on the west and Morwell on the east . It continues beyond these extremities as the Princes Highway towards Adelaide to the west and Sydney to the east...
(M1), to Warrnambool by the Princes Highway (A1), the Bellarine Peninsula by the
Bellarine HighwayThe Bellarine Highway runs east from Geelong in Victoria along the Bellarine Peninsula to Queenscliff. Previously assigned State Route 91, it was later designated as B110...
(B110), Ballarat by the Midland Highway (A300), and to Hamilton by the
Hamilton HighwayThe Hamilton Highway in western Victoria, Australia runs from the Princes Highway in Geelong west to the town of Hamilton through the towns of Inverleigh, Cressy, Lismore, Derrinallum, Darlington, Mortlake, and Penshurst....
(B140). The $380 million Geelong Ring Road bypasses the greater Geelong urban area exiting the
Princes HighwayThe Princes Highway extends from Sydney to Port Augusta via the coast through the states of New South Wales, Victoria and South Australia, a distance of 1941 km or 1898 km via the former alignments of the highway ....
near
CorioCorio is a residential, industrial and one of the largest suburbs of Geelong, Victoria, Australia, located approximately 9 km north of the Geelong central business district...
to rejoin the highway at Waurn Ponds. The "
Lewis Bandt BridgeThe Lewis Bandt Bridge is an Australian feature bridge over the Moorabool River, close to the southern end of Stage 2 of the Geelong Ring Road....
", named in honour of the
Ford AustraliaFord Australia is the Australian subsidiary of Ford Motor Company and was founded in Geelong, Victoria, in 1925 as an outpost of Ford Motor Company of Canada, Limited. At that time, Ford Canada was a separate company from Ford USA...
engineer who is credited as the inventor of the
uteThe coupé utility automobile body style, also known colloquially as the ute in Australia and New Zealand, combines a two-door "coupé" cabin with an integral cargo bed behind the cabin—using a light-duty passenger vehicle-derived platform....
(1934), in Geelong is a feature of the new road.
Rail
Geelong is a major hub for
Rail transport in VictoriaRail transport in Victoria, Australia, is provided by a number of railway operators who operate over the government-owned railway lines. Victorian lines use broad gauge, with the exception of a number of standard gauge freight and interstate lines, a few experimental narrow gauge lines, and...
being at the junction of the Geelong line, Warrnambool V/Line rail service,
Western standard gauge lineThe Western standard gauge is a railway line in western Victoria, Australia. Opened in 1995, it forms part of the Melbourne-Adelaide railway and serves as the principal interstate rail link between Victorian and the western states...
and the Geelong-Ballarat railway line. There are seven passenger railway stations in the urban area, all along the Geelong line and all operated by
V/LineV/Line is a not for profit regional passenger train and coach service in Victoria, Australia. It was created after the split-up of VicRail in 1983. V/Line is owned by the V/Line Corporation which is a Victorian State Government statutory authority...
None of these lines are electrified and trains servicing Geelong are currently
Diesel engineA diesel engine is an internal combustion engine that uses the heat of compression to initiate ignition to burn the fuel, which is injected into the combustion chamber...
powered. The Geelong line offers hourly VLocity fast passenger services to Melbourne which are popular with commuters. According to V/Line the Geelong line carries more passengers than any other regional rail line in Australia. Passenger services run to Warrnambool three times connecting Geelong with
ColacColac is a small city located in the Western District of Victoria, Australia, situated approximately 150 kilometres south-west of Melbourne on the southern shore of Lake Colac and the surrounding volcanic plains, approximately 40 km inland from Bass Strait. Colac is the largest city in and...
,
TerangTerang is a small Australian town situated in Corangamite Shire in the Western District of Victoria, Australia, on the Princes Highway 212 km south-west of the state's capital, Melbourne. At the 2006 census, Terang had a population of 2256...
and
CamperdownCamperdown is an historically significant rural town in southwestern Victoria, Australia, south west of the state capital, Melbourne. At the 2006 census, Camperdown had a population of 3,165.-History:...
.
Great Southern Railway'sGreat Southern Railway , owned by Serco Asia Pacific, is a tourism business and rail transport operator in Australia.GSR operates interstate passenger trains aimed at the tourist market:* The Indian Pacific...
The Overland service between Melbourne and
AdelaideAdelaide is the capital city of South Australia and the fifth-largest city in Australia. Adelaide has an estimated population of more than 1.2 million...
also stops at North Shore three times per week. Freight trains also operate from Melbourne to Geelong serving local industries, as well as to Warrnambool and other western Victorian towns. The main
Melbourne-Adelaide standard gauge line sees heavy use carrying interstate freight.
Port and airport
The
Port of GeelongThe Port of Geelong is located on the shores of Corio Bay in Geelong, Victoria, Australia. The port is the sixth-largest in Australia by tonnage....
is located on the shores of
Corio BayCorio Bay is one of numerous bays in the southwest corner of Australia's Port Phillip, and is the bay on which abuts the City of Geelong. The nearby suburb of Corio takes its name from Corio Bay.-Name:...
, and is the sixth largest
seaportA port is a location on a coast or shore containing one or more harbors where ships can dock and transfer people or cargo to or from land....
in Australia by tonnage. Major commodities include crude oil and petroleum products, export
grainGRAIN is a small international non-profit organisation that works to support small farmers and social movements in their struggles for community-controlled and biodiversity-based food systems. Our support takes the form of independent research and analysis, networking at local, regional and...
and
woodchipWoodchipping is the act and industry of chipping wood for pulp, processed wood products, and mulch.-Papermaking:Timber is converted to woodchips and sold, primarily, for pulp production used in paper manufacture...
s, alumina imports, and fertiliser. The
Bellarine PeninsulaThe Bellarine Peninsula is a peninsula located south-west of Melbourne in Victoria, Australia, surrounded by Port Phillip, Corio Bay and Bass Strait. The peninsula, together with the Mornington Peninsula separates Port Phillip from Bass Strait...
has been linked to the
Mornington PeninsulaThe Mornington Peninsula is a peninsula located south-east of Melbourne in Victoria, Australia. It is surrounded by Port Phillip to the west, Western Port to the east and Bass Strait to the south, and is connected to the mainland in the north. Geographically, the peninsula begins its protrusion...
since 1987 by the
Searoad ferrySearoad Ferries is an Australian company that operates a roll-on/roll-off vehicle and passenger ferry service between the heads of Port Phillip, near Melbourne, Victoria, Australia....
, which runs every hour using two roll-on/roll-off ferries.
Avalon AirportAvalon Airport is the second busiest of the four airports serving Melbourne and is located in Avalon, Victoria, Australia, which is north-east of the city of Geelong and to the south-west of the state's capital city of Melbourne....
is located approximately 15 km (9.3 mi) to the north-east of the city of Geelong. It was established in 1953 to cater for the production of military aircraft. It was also used for the repair of commercial aircraft, and for pilot training. Avalon Airport has also been home to low cost airline
Jetstar AirwaysJetstar Airways is an Australian low-cost airline headquartered in Melbourne, Australia. It is a subsidiary of Qantas, created in response to the threat posed by low-cost airline Virgin Blue...
since 2004. Flights to Brisbane and Sydney use the airport. Avalon Airport is the venue for 'Thunder Down Under'
Australian International AirshowThe Australian International Airshow, also called the Avalon Airshow, is a large air show held biennially at Avalon Airport, between Melbourne and Geelong, Victoria. It regularly features planes from the Royal Australian Air Force, United States Navy and the United States Air Force...
every other year.
Bus and taxi
A bus network covering the city centre and most surrounding suburbs providing public transport. They are operated under the umbrella of the
Geelong Transit SystemThe Geelong Transit System was the umbrella operating brand of public transport in Geelong, Victoria, Australia. Since 2009 timetables and signage have been branded as Geelong Transit with a standard Viclink orange theme...
, and are contracted to
Benders BuswaysBenders Busways is a privately owned transport company in Geelong, Victoria. It operates a number of public transport routes in Geelong under the Geelong Transit System umbrella, as well as bus charter work, and is part of the ComfortDelGro Cabcharge group....
and
McHarry's BuslinesMcHarry's Buslines is a family-owned company dating back to 1932. McHarry's is a transport company in Geelong, Victoria. It operates a number of bus routes in Geelong, the Bellarine and the Surf-Coast. McHarry's also operates the Geelong Transit System...
. Another government transport initiative, Bellarine Transit, is contracted to McHarry's Buslines and provides interurban services between Geelong and the towns of
TorquayTorquay is a township in Victoria, Australia, which faces Bass Strait, 21 km. south of Geelong and is the gateway to the Great Ocean Road. It is bordered on the west by Spring Creek and its coastal features include Point Danger and Zeally Bay...
, Barwon Heads,
Ocean GroveOcean Grove is a seaside town in Victoria, Australia, located on the Bellarine Peninsula. At the 2006 census, Ocean Grove had a population of 11,274.-History:...
and the Bellarine Peninsula.
V/LineV/Line is a not for profit regional passenger train and coach service in Victoria, Australia. It was created after the split-up of VicRail in 1983. V/Line is owned by the V/Line Corporation which is a Victorian State Government statutory authority...
services link Geelong with
BallaratBallarat is a city in the state of Victoria, Australia, approximately west-north-west of the state capital Melbourne situated on the lower plains of the Great Dividing Range and the Yarrowee River catchment. It is the largest inland centre and third most populous city in the state and the fifth...
,
DaylesfordDaylesford is a town located in the Shire of Hepburn, Victoria, Australia. It is a former goldmining town about 115 kilometres north-west of Melbourne, in the foothills of the Great Dividing Range. At the 2006 census, Daylesford had a population of 3,073...
,
BendigoBendigo is a major regional city in the state of Victoria, Australia, located very close to the geographical centre of the state and approximately north west of the state capital Melbourne. It is the second largest inland city and fourth most populous city in the state. The estimated urban...
,
Apollo BayApollo Bay is a coastal town in southwestern Victoria, Australia. It is situated on the eastern side of Cape Otway, along the edge of the Barham River and on the Great Ocean Road, in the Colac Otway Shire. The town has a population of 1380....
, the Great Ocean Road, the Twelve Apostles and
Warrnambool-Cityscape:The original City of Warrnambool was a 4x8 grid, with boundaries of Lava Street , Japan Street , Merri Street and Henna Street . In the nineteenth century, it was intended that Fairy Street – with its proximity to the Warrnambool Railway Station – would be the main street of...
.
Taxi services in Geelong are provided by Geelong Taxi Network, a newly formed depot following the effective merger of Bay City Cabs and Geelong Radio Cabs in July 2007. The majority of the network covers the city and suburban areas of the city, with "urban" classification for the vehicles in use. The
Bellarine PeninsulaThe Bellarine Peninsula is a peninsula located south-west of Melbourne in Victoria, Australia, surrounded by Port Phillip, Corio Bay and Bass Strait. The peninsula, together with the Mornington Peninsula separates Port Phillip from Bass Strait...
, and
TorquayTorquay is a town in the unitary authority area of Torbay and ceremonial county of Devon, England. It lies south of Exeter along the A380 on the north of Torbay, north-east of Plymouth and adjoins the neighbouring town of Paignton on the west of the bay. Torquay’s population of 63,998 during the...
areas, although part of Geelong Taxi Network, are both covered by separate "country" classification taxis. There are often disputes in regards to different taxis from one licence area, picking up work from either of the other two licence areas, which is illegal in most circumstances under current taxi regulations in Victoria. Call centre and radio dispatch services for the new combined network are provided by Silver Top Taxis in Melbourne.
Geelong also has many kilometres of
bicycleA bicycle, also known as a bike, pushbike or cycle, is a human-powered, pedal-driven, single-track vehicle, having two wheels attached to a frame, one behind the other. A person who rides a bicycle is called a cyclist, or bicyclist....
trails covering the shores of Corio Bay and the Barwon River parklands, in addition to the
Bellarine Rail TrailThe Bellarine Rail Trail is a 32 km walking and cycling track on the Bellarine Peninsula, in Victoria, Australia, that follows the route of the former South Geelong to Queenscliff branch line...
.
Sports
Geelong is home to the
Geelong Football ClubThe Geelong Football Club, nicknamed The Cats, is a professional Australian rules football club, named after and based in the city of Geelong, playing in the Australian Football League . The club has been the VFL/AFL premiers nine times, with a record equalling 3 in the AFL era. Geelong has also...
Australian Football LeagueThe Australian Football League is both the governing body and the major professional competition in the sport of Australian rules football...
team, the second
oldest AFL club and one of the
oldest in the worldThe history of the formation of the oldest football clubs is of interest to sport historians in tracing the origins of the modern codes of football from casual pastime to early organised competition and mainstream sport. Many early clubs did not use the word "football" in their name...
. For many years it was the only VFL/AFL club to exist outside of the greater Melbourne metropolitan area. It continues to participate in the national competition, based at Kardinia Park stadium and Etihad Stadium in
MelbourneMelbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
, and also fields a reserves side in the
Victorian Football LeagueThe Victorian Football League which evolved from the former Victorian Football Association , taking its new name as from the 1996 season, is the premier Australian rules football league in Victoria The Victorian Football League (VFL) which evolved from the former Victorian Football Association...
. The club won the 2007 grand final against Port Adelaide by 119 points, the biggest grand final winning margin in history and the first Geelong premiership victory for 44 years. The club also won the 2009 and 2011 AFL grand finals held at the
Melbourne Cricket GroundThe Melbourne Cricket Ground is an Australian sports stadium located in Yarra Park, Melbourne and is home to the Melbourne Cricket Club. It is the tenth largest stadium in the world, the largest in Australia, the largest stadium for playing cricket, and holds the world record for the highest light...
. There are also three independent football leagues running in the area, the
Geelong Football LeagueThe Geelong Football League is an Australian rules football league in Victoria, Australia. It is the highest quality league in the Geelong area, with numerous former AFL players playing for various clubs.-History:...
, the
Geelong & District Football LeagueThe Geelong & District Football League is the oldest surviving football competition in Victoria . It is one of three Australian rules football leagues in the Geelong area, the others being the Geelong Football League and the Bellarine Football League....
, and the
Bellarine Football LeagueThe Bellarine Football League is an Australian rules football competition based in the Bellarine Peninsula region of Victoria, Australia, formed in 1971.Six of the eight founding clubs played in the Polwarth Football league the year before....
.
Geelong has a horse racing club, the Geelong Racing Club, which schedules around 22 race meetings a year including the
Geelong CupThe Geelong Cup is an annual Australian Group 3 Thoroughbred horse race. The race is open to horses of all ages and sexes. The race is held over a distance of 2400 metres at the Geelong Racecourse on the fourth Wednesday of October, and was first run in 1872...
meeting in October. The Geelong Cup was first run in 1872, and is considered one of the most reliable guides to the result of the
Melbourne CupThe Melbourne Cup is Australia's major Thoroughbred horse race. Marketed as "the race that stops a nation", it is a 3,200 metre race for three-year-olds and over. It is the richest "two-mile" handicap in the world, and one of the richest turf races...
. It also has a
picnic horse racing clubPicnic horse racing, or more usually picnic races or more colloquially "the picnics" refer to amateur Thoroughbred horse racing meetings, predominantly in Australia. The meetings are organized by amateur clubs, the jockeys are amateur riders, or sometimes former professional jockeys...
, Geelong St Patricks Racing Club, which holds its one race meeting a year in February.
Geelong
Harness RacingHarness racing is a form of horse racing in which the horses race at a specific gait . They usually pull a two-wheeled cart called a sulky, although racing under saddle is also conducted in Europe.-Breeds:...
Club conducts regular meetings at its racetrack at
CorioCorio is a residential, industrial and one of the largest suburbs of Geelong, Victoria, Australia, located approximately 9 km north of the Geelong central business district...
, and the Geelong
Greyhound RacingGreyhound racing is the sport of racing greyhounds. The dogs chase a lure on a track until they arrive at the finish line. The one that arrives first is the winner....
Club holds regular meetings.
The Geelong Baseball Centre in Waurn Ponds is home of the Geelong Baycats. The Baycats are the only provincial team in Baseball Victoria's Division One competition and were the 2005/2006 State Champions. The Geelong Baseball Centre has hosted a number of National Championship, the 2002 Women's World Championships and was home to the Chiba Lotte Marines for spring training in 2005 and 2006.
The Arena stadium in North Geelong is the home of the
Geelong SupercatsThe Geelong Supercats are an Australian basketball team, based in the Victorian City of Geelong, that currently plays in the Australian Basketball Association and previously played in the National Basketball League.-NBL History:...
basketball team, and was also used during the
2006 Commonwealth GamesThe 2006 Commonwealth Games were held in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia between 15 March and 26 March 2006. It was the largest sporting event to be staged in Melbourne, eclipsing the 1956 Summer Olympics in terms of the number of teams competing, athletes competing, and events being held.The site...
for basketball matches.
The
Eastern BeachEastern Beach is a popular swimming and recreation area in Geelong, Victoria on the shores of Corio Bay. Built during the 1930s in the Art Deco style, a shark proof sea bath is provided, as well as a children's swimming pool, kiosk, and dressing room pavilion...
foreshore and nearby Eastern Gardens regularly host internationally televised
triathlonA triathlon is a multi-sport event involving the completion of three continuous and sequential endurance events. While many variations of the sport exist, triathlon, in its most popular form, involves swimming, cycling, and running in immediate succession over various distances...
s, and annual
sports carA sports car is a small, usually two seat, two door automobile designed for high speed driving and maneuverability....
and racing car events such as the Geelong Speed Trials.
Corio BayCorio Bay is one of numerous bays in the southwest corner of Australia's Port Phillip, and is the bay on which abuts the City of Geelong. The nearby suburb of Corio takes its name from Corio Bay.-Name:...
is also host to many sailing and yachting events. Geelong also has many golf courses, sporting and recreation ovals and playing fields, as well as facilities for
water skiingthumb|right|A slalom skier making a turn on a slalom waterski.Waterskiing is a sport where an individual is pulled behind a boat or a cable ski installation on a body of water, skimming the surface.-History:...
,
rowingRowing is a sport in which athletes race against each other on rivers, on lakes or on the ocean, depending upon the type of race and the discipline. The boats are propelled by the reaction forces on the oar blades as they are pushed against the water...
,
fishingFishing is the activity of trying to catch wild fish. Fish are normally caught in the wild. Techniques for catching fish include hand gathering, spearing, netting, angling and trapping....
,
hikingHiking is an outdoor activity which consists of walking in natural environments, often in mountainous or other scenic terrain. People often hike on hiking trails. It is such a popular activity that there are numerous hiking organizations worldwide. The health benefits of different types of hiking...
, and
greyhoundGreyhound racing is the sport of racing greyhounds. The dogs chase a lure on a track until they arrive at the finish line. The one that arrives first is the winner....
and
harness racingHarness racing is a form of horse racing in which the horses race at a specific gait . They usually pull a two-wheeled cart called a sulky, although racing under saddle is also conducted in Europe.-Breeds:...
.
Geelong Athletics holds athletic competitions during both the summer and winter months including high profile events such as Victorian and sometimes national and international track and field meets.
See also
:Category:People from Geelong
- Electoral district of Geelong
The Electoral district of Geelong is an electoral district of the Victorian Legislative Assembly. It is based around inner metropolitan Geelong and includes the suburbs of Bell Park, Drumcondra, East Geelong, Geelong, Geelong West, Newtown and South Geelong and parts of Highton, and North Geelong...
External links