Geelong (/dʒɪˈlɒŋ/jih-LONG;[5][6]Wathawurrung:Djilang/Djalang)[7] is aport city inVictoria, Australia, located at the eastern end ofCorio Bay (the smaller western portion ofPort Phillip Bay) and the left bank ofBarwon River, about 75 km (47 mi) southwest ofMelbourne. With an estimated population of 282,809 in 2023, Geelong is the second-largest city in the state of Victoria.[8] It is the administrative centre for theCity of Greater Geelong municipality, which is Port Phillip's only regional metropolitan area, and covers all the urban, rural and coastal reserves around the city including the entireBellarine Peninsula[note 1] and running from the plains ofLara in the north to the rolling hills ofWaurn Ponds to the south, with Corio Bay to the east and theBarrabool Hills to the west.
Thetraditional owners of the land on which Geelong sits are theWadawurrung (also known asWathaurong)Aboriginal people of theKulin nation.[9][10] The modern name of Geelong, first recorded in 1827, was derived from the local Wadawurrung name for the region,Djilang, thought to mean "land", "cliffs" or "tongue of land or peninsula".[11][12] The area was first surveyed by the European settlers in 1838, three weeks after Melbourne.[13] During the 1850sVictorian gold rush, Geelong experienced a brief boom as the main port to thegoldfields of central Victoria.[14] The town then diversified into manufacturing, and during the 1860s became one of the largest manufacturing centres in Australia with its wool mills, ropeworks, and paper mills.[15] During the city's early years, inhabitants of Geelong were often called Geelongites[16] or Pivotonians, derived from the city's nickname of "The Pivot", referring to the city's role as a shipping and rail hub forBallarat and theWestern District.[17]
Geelong 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,[18] and the population grew to over 100,000 by the mid-1960s.[19] Population increases during the 21st century were largely due to growth in service industries,[20] as the manufacturing sector has declined. Redevelopment of the inner city has occurred since the 1990s, as well as gentrification of inner suburbs, and currently has a population growth rate higher than the national average.[21]
Today, Geelong stands as an emerging healthcare, education and advanced manufacturing centre. The city's economy is shifting quickly, and, despite experiencing the drawbacks of losing much of its heavy manufacturing, it is seeing much growth in other tertiary sectors, positioning itself as one of the leading non-capital Australian cities. It is now Australia's second fastest-growing city.[22] Geelong is regarded as the "Gateway City"[23] due to its critical location to surroundingwestern Victorian regional centres, providing a transport corridor for surrounding regions to the state capital Melbourne. It is also home to theGeelong Football Club, thesecond-oldest club in theAustralian Football League.
Aerial panorama of Geelong facing the bay. Taken August 2018.
The area of Geelong and theBellarine Peninsula are the traditional lands of theWadawurrung (Wathaurong)Indigenous Australian tribe.[25] The first non-Indigenous person recorded as visiting the region was LieutenantJohn Murray, who commanded thebrigHMS Lady Nelson.[14] After anchoring outside Port Phillip Heads (the narrow entrance toPort Phillip, onto which both Geelong andMelbourne now front), on 1 February 1802, he sent a small boat with six men to explore.[26] Led byJohn Bowen, they explored the immediate area, returning toLady Nelson on 4 February. On reporting favourable findings,Lady Nelson enteredPort Phillip 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, afterPhilip Gidley King,[26] thenGovernor of New South Wales. Governor King later renamed the bay Port Phillip after the first governor of New South Wales,Arthur Phillip.[27] Arriving not long after Murray wasMatthew Flinders, who entered Port Phillip on 27 April 1802.[14] 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 reachSydney before winter set in, he left Port Phillip on 3 May.
In January 1803, Surveyor-GeneralCharles Grimes arrived at Port Phillip in thesloopCumberland and mapped the area, including the future site of Geelong,[26] but reported the area was unfavourable for settlement and returned to Sydney on 27 February.[28] In October of the same year,HMS Calcutta led by Lieutenant ColonelDavid Collins arrived in the bay to establish theSullivan Baypenal colony.[26] Collins was dissatisfied with the area chosen, and sent a small party led by First LieutenantJ.H. Tuckey to investigate alternative sites.[29] The party spent 22 to 27 October on the north shore of Corio Bay, where the firstAboriginal death at the hands of a European in Victoria occurred.[26]
The next European visit to the area was by the explorersHamilton Hume andWilliam Hovell. They reached the northern edge ofCorio Bay – the area of Port Phillip that Geelong now fronts – on 16 December 1824,[30] and it was at this time they reported that the Aboriginals called the areaCorayo, the bay being calledDjillong.[14] Hume and Hovell had been contracted to travel overland from Sydney to Port Phillip, and having achieved this, they stayed the night and began their return journey two days later on 18 December.[30]
Depiction of early Geelong as a small collection of houses and paddocks by the bay
In March 1836, threesquatters, David Fisher,James Strachan, and George Russell, arrived onCaledonia and settled the area.[26] Geelong was first surveyed by Assistant Surveyor W. H. Smythe three weeks after Melbourne, and was gazetted as a town on 10 October 1838.[14] There was already a church, hotel, store, wool store, and 82 houses, and the town population was 545.[14] By 1841, the first wool had been sent to England and a regularsteamer service was running between Geelong and Melbourne.[32] CaptainFoster Fyans was commissioned as the local PoliceMagistrate in 1837 and established himself on theBarwon River at the site of the area of present-dayFyansford.[34] Fyans arranged the first muster of the Indigenous population and 275 Aboriginal people were found to be living in the area. Fyans distributed blankets, sugar and flour to these people but soon ordered his soldiers to "click their triggers" at them when a lack of blankets caused anger.[35] Fyans constructed abreakwater to improve the water supply to the city by preventing the salty lower reaches from mixing with fresh water and pooling water. In 1839,Charles Sievwright, the newly appointed Assistant Protector of Aborigines (for the western district) sets up camp on the Barwon River near Fyans ford.
TheGeelong Keys were discovered around 1845 by GovernorCharles La Trobe 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 byPortuguese explorers.[36] In 1849, Fyans was nominated as the inaugural Mayor of the Geelong Town Council[34] and renowned fly fishing authorAlfred Ronalds engraved the town seal.[37] An early settler of Geelong,Alexander Thomson, for which the area of Thomson inGeelong East is named, settled on the Barwon River, and wasMayor of Geelong on five occasions from 1850 to 1858.[38]
Gold was discovered in nearbyBallarat in 1851, causing the Geelong population to grow to 23,000 people by the mid-1850s.[14] 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.[14] The first issue of theGeelong Advertiser newspaper was published in 1840 byJames Harrison, who also built the world's first ether vapour compression cycle ice-making andrefrigeration machine in 1844, later being commissioned by a brewery in 1856 to build a machine that cooled beer.[40]
A paddlesteamer approaches busy Geelong Harbour in 1857.
In 1866,Graham Berry started a newspaper, theGeelong Register, as a rival to the establishedGeelong Advertiser. When this proved unsuccessful, he bought theAdvertiser and made himself editor of the now-merged papers.[44] Using the paper as a platform, he was elected forGeelong West in 1869. In 1877, he switched to Geelong, which he represented until 1886, and served asVictorian Premier in 1875, 1877–1880, and 1880–1881.[45] On theMarket Square in the middle of the city, a clock tower was erected in 1856, and an Exhibition Building was opened in 1879.
The gold rush had seenBallarat andBendigo grow larger than Geelong in terms of population. Melbourne critics dubbed Geelong 'Sleepy Hollow',[14] a tag that recurred many times in the following years. A number of industries became established in Geelong, including Victoria's firstwoollen mill atSouth Geelong in 1868. In 1869, theclipperLightning caught fire at the Yarra Street pier and was cast adrift in Corio Bay to burn, before being sunk by artillery fire.[32] Improvements to transport saw Geelong emerge as the centre of theWestern District of Victoria, with railway lines extended towardsColac in 1876, and toQueenscliff in 1879.[41] Construction of theHopetoun shipping channel began in 1881 and completed in 1893.[19]
TheGeelong Cup was first held in 1872, and Victoria's first long-distancetelephone call was made from Geelong toQueenscliff on 8 January 1878, only one year after the invention of the device itself.[19] Geelong was also the home of a prosperous wine industry until the emergence of the sap-sucking insectPhylloxera vastatrix atFyansford in 1875, which led to the Victorian Government ordering the destruction of all vines in the Geelong area to prevent the spread of the pest, killing the industry until the 1960s.[46][19] Between 1886 and 1889, thecentral business district's major banks and insurance companies erected new premises in a solid and ornate character.[14] The existingGeelong Post Office was built during this time and theGordon Technical College was established. Further industrial growth occurred, with the Fyansford cement works being established in 1890.[47]
The town became referred to as "The Pivot" in the 1860s, owing to its being a rail and shipping hub forwestern Victoria.[48]
Geelong's industrial growth accelerated in the 1920s: woollen mills,fertiliser plants,Ford's vehicle plant atNorlane, and theCoriowhiskydistillery were all established in this period.[41] TheGeelong Advertiser radio station 3GL (nowK-Rock) commenced transmission in 1930,[32] theGreat Ocean Road was opened in 1932, and in 1934, theT & G Building opened on the most prominent intersection in the city, the corner of Ryrie and Moorabool Streets.
By 1936, Geelong had displaced Ballarat as Victoria's second-largest city.[53]
The steamboatEdina leaving Geelong on its final journey on 21 June 1938
In 1938, one of the last Port Philip Baysteamers,Edina, made its final trip to Geelong, ending a period of seaside excursions and contests for the fastest trip. TheEastern Beach foreshore beautification and pool was completed in 1939 after almost 10 years of work.[19]
Geelong continued to expand with Corio,Highton, and Belmont growing at such a rate that in February 1967, Geelong accounted for 21% of private home development in Greater Melbourne.[14] Private vehicles became the city's major mode of transport. The firstparking meters in the city were introduced in 1961, new petrol stations were constructed and the city's first supermarket, operated byWoolworths, opened in 1965.[14] Later, support came forCycling in Geelong with Australia's first bike plan in 1977.[3][4]
Market Square, the first enclosed shopping centre in the city, was opened in 1985, with neighbouring Bay City Plaza opened in 1988.[58] ThePyramid Building Society, founded in Geelong in 1959,[59] collapsed in 1990, leaving debts of AU$1.3 billion to over 200,000 depositors,[60] and causing the Geelong economy to stagnate.[61] 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.[62] TheWaterfront Geelong redevelopment, started in 1994, was designed to enhance use and appreciation ofCorio Bay[63] and in 1995 the Barwon River overflowed in the worst flood since 1952.[64]
In 2000, theCarousel Pavilion was opened as a landmark and symbol of the refurbishment of the Geelong waterfront.[65][66][67] In 2004,Avalon Airport was upgraded to accommodate interstate passenger travel, providing a base for low-cost airlineJetstar to serve the Melbourne and Geelong urban areas.[68] Geelong is planned to expand towards the south coast, with 2,500 hectares of land to become a major suburban development for 55,000 to 65,000 people, known as Armstrong Creek.[69] In 2006, construction began on theGeelong Ring Road, designed to replace thePrinces Highway through Geelong from Corio to Waurn Ponds. It opened in 2009.
More thanAU$500-million-worth of major construction was under way in 2007.[70] Major projects include the $150-millionWestfield Geelong expansion works, involving a flyover of Yarra Street, the city's firstBig W store, and an additional 70 new speciality stores; the $37-millionDeakin Waterfront campus redevelopment, and the $23-million Deakin Medical School; the $50-million Edgewater apartment development on the waterfront; a number of multimillion-dollar office developments in the CBD; and a new $30-millionaquatic centre in Waurn Ponds.[70]
The City of Greater Geelong and four other local municipalities form part of the alliance which identifies the Geelong region's priorities, and advocates all levels of government for funding and implement the projects. G21 developed'The Geelong Region Plan - a sustainable growth strategy'Archived 4 October 2011 at theWayback Machine which was launched byPremier Brumby in 2007. It was the approved strategic plan for the Geelong region. In addition, major projects such as the Geelong Ring Road Connections and duplication of the Princes Highway West obtained funding due to the combined efforts of the region's municipalities. As at May 2017, a further13 Priority Projects are planned for the Geelong region.
TheVictoria Government announced the relocation of theTransport Accident Commission headquarters from Melbourne to Geelong in October 2006, which created 850 jobs and an annual economic benefit over $59 million to the Geelong region.[71] The construction of the $80-million Brougham Street headquarters was completed in late 2008.[72] In November 2008, Ford Australia 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 (however, all manufacturing of motor vehicles in Geelong and elsewhere throughout Australia ceased by 2017).
A change to the city skyline is occurring with a number of modern apartment buildings 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 edge. The towers will become the tallest buildings in the city, taking the title from the Mercure Hotel.[73] Further highrise developments are planned as part of the City of Greater Geelong's Geelong Western Edge strategic plan.[74] A$17-million 11-story apartment tower has also recently been proposed to be built next to the Deakin Waterfront Campus.[75]
In 2012, a design competition for a "city icon" was run for the City of Geelong by Deakin University and Senia Lawyers. The recipient of the prize and winning design entry was JOH Architects and their design titled "The Sea Dragon".[76]
Geelong's new Library and Heritage Centre opened to the public in November 2015. The new addition to Geelong offers new research facilities, display areas and hosts Geelong's extensive heritage, modern and Indigenous. The new library was awarded the Sir Zelman Cowen Award for Public Architecture[77] in 2016.
Geelong is subject to a major revival effort: the Green Spine Project.[78] The Green Spine project aims to connect Johnstone Park to the Botanic Gardens by a continuous line of trees via Malop Street. The redevelopment of Malop Street will see the installation of bike lanes separated from both pedestrians and local traffic by greenery, the design is an Australian first. This project includes the installation of art sculptures and street art throughout the city centre. Major redevelopments are also occurring at Johnstone Park, with a new raingarden installation, and Lt Malop Street is seeing more upgrades.[79]
In the suburbs, Geelong West's Pakington Street is seeing major upgrades, with new plantings and improvements to many of the shops. Shannon Avenue in Manifold Heights will see redevelopment to make it more pedestrian friendly. To Geelong's north,Rippleside is undergoing major changes, with the development of Balmoral Quay which will see Rippleside Park and nearby St Helens Park connected via a waterfront footpath, as well as beach restoration and a boat dock expansion.[80]
Recently new high rise buildings are being built giving Geelong more jobs and housing.[81] Worksafe Victoria opened up a new 14-storey building on Malop St. It opened in mid-2018 and was the tallest building until it was announced that two residential high rises would be built and completed in late 2019. They are called The Mercer and Miramar Apartments.[82]
Many materials used to construct buildings werequarried from Geelong, such asbluestone from the You Yangs andsandstone from the Brisbane Ranges.[84] A small number ofbrown coal deposits exist in the Geelong region, most notably atAnglesea, where it has been mined to fuel Alcoa'sAnglesea Power Station since 1969.[86]Limestone has also been quarried forcement production at Fyansford since 1888,[47] and Waurn Ponds since 1964.[87]
Development in Geelong started on the shores of Corio Bay in what is now the inner city. Development later spread to the south towards the Barwon River, and the hill ofNewtown andGeelong West. Major development south of the river inBelmont did not start until the 1920s, stimulated by the construction of a new bridge over the river in 1926, and the extension of theGeelong tramway system in 1927.[19] Industrial areas were traditionally located on the Corio Bay for port access,[88] or the Barwon River for waste disposal.
In the interwar and post-World War II years,heavy industry continued to establish itself in the flatter northern suburbs,[88] where today industries such as theGeelong Oil Refinery andFord engine plant reside.[89] Residential development also spread to Corio and Norlane in the north, with newHousing Commission of Victoria estates built to cater for employees of the new industries. From the 1960s, residential growth spread to theHighton hills in the south and North Geelong following prosperous industries like the gasworks, followed byGrovedale in the 1970s. A number oflight industrial areas were also established inBreakwater,Moolap andSouth Geelong.[88]
Geelong has atemperateoceanic climate (Cfb in theKöppen climate classification) with dominant westerly winds, variable clouds, moderate rainfall that tends to fall lightly, mild to warm summers, and cool winters.[92][93] February is the hottest month and July is the coldest.[94] The highest temperature recorded was 47.4 °C (117.3 °F) on7 February 2009 during a two-week-long heat wave, with the lowest of −4.3 °C (24.3 °F) recorded on 24 July 1997.[95] The city gets around 37.6 clear days annually.[96]
The average annual rainfall is around 525.2 mm (20.7 in), which makes Geelong one of the driest cities in Australia, owing to the pronouncedrain shadow of theOtway Ranges to the south-west.[94] Within the city, rainfall shows a strong gradient from south to north, so that the southernmost suburbs can receive around 700 mm (28 in) whilst more northerly Lara receives as little as 425 mm (17 in), which is the lowest rainfall in southern Victoria.[97]
Climate data for Geelong Airport (normals 1983–2011, extremes 1964–2011)
Unemployment rate in the Geelong labour market region since 1998[100]
More than 10,000 businesses employ over 80,000 people in the Geelong region,[20] with manufacturing and processing industries providing around 15,000 jobs, followed by 13,000 in retail, and 8,000 in health and community services.[20]
Geelong's major employers were theFord engine plant inNorlane (closed in 2016), aircraft maintenance atAvalon Airport, the head office of retail chainTarget Australia (until 2018), the Bartter (Steggles) chicken processing plant and theShell oil refinery at Corio.[101]GMHBA, a health insurance company, is headquartered in Geelong.[102]
The Geelong region attracted over 6 million tourists during 2001.[103] Major tourist attractions include theWaterfront Geelong precinct andEastern Beach on the shores of Corio Bay, and the National Wool Museum in the city, and more than 30 historical buildings listed on theVictorian Heritage Register.[104] The Geelong area hosts regular international events which are also tourist drawcards, including theAustralian International Airshow.
Market Square Shopping Centre, 2007
Geelong has a number of shopping precincts in the CBD and surrounding suburbs. The two main shopping centres are located in the CBD -Westfield Geelong andMarket Square, with smaller centres in the suburbs including Belmont Village andWaurn Ponds Shopping Centre in the south, Bellarine Village inNewcomb in the east, and Corio Shopping Centre in the north.[20] The opening of the major shopping centres has caused a decline in strip shopping on Moorabool Street, with many empty shops and few customers.[105] Geelong is also home toMitre 10's largest franchisee – Fagg's – operating five stores across the town and employing over 160 people.
These major research laboratories are located in the Geelong area: theCSIRO Australian Animal Health Laboratory in East Geelong,[106] CSIRO Division of Textiles and Fibres Technology in Belmont,[107] and the Marine and Freshwater Resources Institute at Queenscliff.[108]
The scheduled closure ofFord's Australian manufacturing base in 2016 was confirmed in late May 2013. Headquartered in the Victorian suburb ofBroadmeadows, the company had registered losses of AU$600 million over the five years prior to the announcement. It was noted that the corporate fleet and government sales that accounted for two-thirds of large, local car sales in Australia were insufficient to keep Ford's products profitable and viable in Australia.[109]
Following the decision byShell to close its Geelong refinery in April 2013, a third consecutive annual loss was recorded for Shell's Australian refining and fuel marketing assets. Revealed in June 2013, the writedown is worth AU$203 million, and was preceded by a $638-million writedown in 2012 and a $407-million writedown in 2011 after the closure of theClyde Refinery inSydney.[110]
In April 2016 Target announced that it would be moving its headquarters out ofNorth Geelong toWilliams Landing in Melbourne's west.[111]
As of the 2006census, 160,000 people resided in 68,000 households. Themedian age of persons in Geelong was 37 years. About 19.4% of the population of Geelong were children aged between 0–14 years, and 26.6% were persons aged 55 years and over.[112] Each dwelling is on average occupied by 2.59 persons, slightly lower than the state and national averages.[113] The median household income was $901 per week, $121 less than the state average, partly due to higher reliance on manufacturing for employment.[113] The population of Geelong is growing by 2500 people each year,[114] and the City of Greater Geelong had the highest rate of building activity in Victoria outside metropolitan Melbourne.[115]
About 78.4% of people from Geelong are Australian-born, with the most common overseas birthplaces being:England (3.6%),Italy (1.1%),Croatia (1.0%), theNetherlands (0.9%), andScotland (0.8%). Around 14.2% of households speak a language other thanEnglish in the home.[112] Notable ethnic groups in the city are theCroatian community, who first came to the city in the 1850s[116] and with migration since World War II are now the largest Croatian community in Australia,[117] and the German settlers who founded Germantown (now Grovedale) in 1849 to escape repression inPrussia for theirLutheran faith.[118]The 2006 census found the most common religious affiliation in Geelong wasCatholicism at 29.4%.St. Mary of the Angels Basilica is the largest congregation in the city. Other affiliations of resident of Geelong includeno religion 20.5%,Anglican 14.6%,Uniting Church 7.9%, andPresbyterian and Reformed at 4.3%.[119] The city has a large number of traditional Christian churches, as well asOrthodox Christian churches in the northern suburbs.
Inlocal government, the Geelong region is covered by theCity of Greater Geelong. The council was created in 1993 as an amalgamation of a number of othermunicipalities in the region,[62] with the council chambers located at theGeelong City Hall in central Geelong. The city is made up of fourwards - Brownbill (central Geelong and inner suburbs), Bellarine, Kardinia (southern Geelong, south of the Barwon River) and Windermere (northern suburbs). Brownbill, Kardinia and Bellarine are each represented by three councillors, whereas Windermere is represented by two.[120]
On 16 April 2016,[122] theVictorian Government dismissed the Mayor and Councillors of theGreater Geelong City Council,[123] following a Commission of Inquiry which found that the council is riven with conflict, unable to manage Geelong's economic challenges, has dysfunctional leadership and has a culture of bullying.[124] The government appointed administrators to run the council until council elections were held in 2017.[125] In 2023, the Victorian Government announced that it would appoint monitors to oversee the appointment of a new CEO.[126]
On 12 February 2020, Minister for PlanningRichard Wynn established Geelong Authority to advise on strategies to attract investment to central Geelong and on major planning applications to help create jobs and drive growth in Geelong.[128] The committee is chaired by Diana Taylor (lawyer) and consists of Mark Edmonds (former Chairman of Geelong Chamber of Commerce), Aamir Qutub (CEO of Enterprise Monkey), Jill Smith (former General Manager ofGeelong Arts Centre) and Rory Costelloe (Executive Director of Villawood Properties)[129] and Dr Sarah Leach.
Corangamite, which includes roughly the southern half of Geelong and the Bellarine Peninsula, was traditionally safe for the Liberal Party, but become more marginal in recent years due to demographic changes, and redistributions which led to it including more of suburban Geelong.[130] Corangamite had been a safe seat for theLiberal Party and its predecessors from the 1930s through the 2000s. FuturePrime Minister of AustraliaJames Scullin served one term in this seat in the 1910s.[131] It was won by the Australian Labor Party at the2019 federal election and again in 2022 byLibby Coker where the margin was increased.
TheRoyal Geelong Show is held each year at theGeelong Showgrounds. Other events includePako Festa (held annually in February),[132]Gala Day Parade (annual event that celebrated its 96th year in 2012)[133] and Family Fun Day (held annually as part of the Gala Day celebrations),[134] and the Geelong Heritage Festival that is run by the local branch of the National Trust.[135][136] The Gala Day Parade was axed in 2023.
Geelong hosts Victoria's only international photographic salon 'VIGEX' every two years. VIGEX is an acronym for "VIctoria Geelong EXhibition" and the inaugural event was held in 1980. The Australian Photographic Society, the world governing body of exhibition photography theInternational Federation of Photographic Art and the Victorian Association of Photographic Societies are patrons of the biennial photographic salon.[137]
Geelong's History is preserved through both the Geelong Historical Society, and the associatedGeelong Heritage Centre, housed in the regional library[138] building opened in 2015.[139]
Now defunct, Geelong hosted a digital conference Pivot Summit which was headlined byApple Co-founderSteve Wozniak in 2017.[140]
Based in Geelong,Back to Back Theatre is a globally renown, contemporary Australian theatre companies engaging with disability on stage. With work produced by the company, Back to Back Theatre explores questions about politics, ethics and philosophy in humanity and tours nationally and globally. In 2022, Back to Back Theatre was awarded the $300,000International Ibsen Award.[145]
Local community-led, not for profit Creative Geelong Inc[146] was established in 2015 to support local creatives and highlight the opportunities for creative industries practitioners in the region. In 2017, Creative Geelong partnered withDeakin University to crowdfund and produce three documentaries about Geelong's transformation from a heavy manufacturing hub to a creative destination.[147][148] Hubcaps to Creative Hubs series showcase three locations in Geelong including theFederal Woollen Mills,RS&S Woollen Mills and theFyansford Paper Mills and tells the story of their industrial past and new purpose as creative hot spots.
Geelong is part of the Melbourne television licence area, and receives all of thefree-to-air stations from Melbourne, includingABC,SBS,Seven,Nine,Ten, and the community channelC31. In some elevated areas of Geelong it is also possible to pick up UHFBallarat channels but a high-gain antenna must be used. The Geelong region also receivescable andsatellite television services through pay television operatorsFoxtel andNeighbourhood Cable.
The local radio stations areK-Rock (rock and pop music), 3GL (classic hits),Rhema FM (now96three FM) (Christian community station),Hot Country Radio (country music station),The Pulse (community station),3GPH (radio reading service), andBay FM (adult contemporary music). The transmitters for K-Rock, The Pulse, Rhema FM, and Bay FM are located at a shared transmitter site on Mount Bellarine, nearDrysdale. Most Melbourne-based AM and FM radio stations can also be received clearly in the Geelong region. DAB+ radio services direct from Melbourne can also be received in most areas of Geelong.
Geelong has ahorse-racing club, the Geelong Racing Club, which schedules about 22 race meetings a year, including theGeelong Cup meeting in October.[156] The Geelong Cup was first run in 1872,[157] and is considered one of the most reliable guides to the result of theMelbourne Cup.[158] It also has apicnic horse-racing club, Geelong St Patricks Racing Club, which holds its one race meeting a year in February.[159]
Founded in 1882, the Geelong Lawn Tennis Club has 27 tennis courts and plays host to a number of tennis tournaments including the Davis Cup tie between Australia and China in 2012.
Corio Bay 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 forwater skiing,rowing,fishing,hiking, andgreyhound andharness racing.[163]Geelong Athletics holds competitions during both the summer and winter, including high-profile events such as Victorian and sometimes national and international track and field meets.
Geelong is home to Australia's largest indoorskate park,[164] and has "more skate parks per capita than any other municipality in Australia."[165]
The Geelong Sharks compete in the state's Rugby League competition run byNRL Victoria.
4km 2.5miles
Newcomb
Geelong Amateur
St Mary's
St Joseph's
St Albans
South Barwon
North Shore
Newtown & Chilwell
Leopold
Lara
Geelong West
Grovedale
Colac
Bell Park
Thomson
North Geelong
East Geelong
Corio
Belmont Lions
Bell Post Hill
Football clubs based in the Geelong area. Orange represents clubs in the Geelong & District Football Netball League, red teams in the Geelong Football Netball League, and yellow teams in the Bellarine Football Netball League.
Geelong is served by a number ofpublic andprivate 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 programs.[20] The first schools in Geelong were established when the town was settled from the 1850s, among them were the historic private schoolsThe Geelong College andGeelong Grammar School.[101]
Geelong is also home to the oldest state secondary school in Victoria,Geelong High School (est. 1910[171]), which has been serving the community for over 100 years.
The Gordon Memorial Technical College opened in 1888, and is known today as theGordon Institute of TAFE.[19] In 1976, the Gordon Institute was divided into two parts, with academic courses becoming part of the newly formed Deakin University based at theWaurn Ponds campus.[172]Deakin University enrolled its first students at its Waurn Ponds campus in 1977. Today, the university is located on a 365 ha (900-acre) site at Waurn Ponds and has over 1,000 staff members and over 4,000 on-campus students.[173] The university also has a campus located on the waterfront of Corio Bay in the Geelong CBD,[174] a campus in Burwood, Melbourne,[175] and a campus in Warrnambool, in Western Victoria.[174] From 2008 the campus at Waurn Ponds also has been home to Victoria's first regional medical school.[176]
Main entrance of Geelong Hospital (now University Hopital Geelong), 2007
The major public health service isBarwon Health, which operates 21 separate health sites includingUniversity Hospital Geelong on Ryrie Street, and the McKellar Centre on Ballarat Road. Barwon Health services the entire region. The largestprivate hospital is the nearbySt John of God Health Care centre on Myers Street. Prominent healthcare services include the Epworth Hospital located at 1 Epworth Place, Waurn Ponds VIC 3216.,[177] and Geelong Health (Geelong West).
Water storage and supply in Geelong is managed byBarwon Water, a Victoria government-owned urban water corporation. Geelong is supplied with water from three river systems: the Barwon, the East Moorabool, and the West Moorabool Rivers. The catchment areas are the Brisbane Ranges to Geelong's north-west, and theOtway Ranges to the south-west. The first water supplies to Geelong were from the Stony Creek reservoirs nearSteiglitz, but, as of 2010, Geelong, together with Ballarat, consumes about 70% of the Moorabool River's water flow.[178] Sewage from Geelong and district istreated at the Black Rock Treatment Plant atBreamlea and then discharged intoBass Strait.
Geelong was first supplied with electricity in 1902 when theGeelong Power Station opened on the corner of Yarra and Brougham Streets. Later known as Geelong A, the power station was rebuilt in 1920 to increase its capacity, with the station operating until 1961. In 1936, Geelong was connected to the stateelectrical grid. The Geelong B power station atNorth Geelong opened in 1954,[54] and was closed in 1970 due to the increasing efficiency of the power stations in theLatrobe Valley.
The main form of transportation in Geelong is theautomobile. Geelong is well-connected by roads to all of south-west Victoria, to Melbourne by a major-arterial thePrinces Freeway (M1) with three or four lanes in each direction, to Warrnambool by the Princes Highway (A1), the Bellarine Peninsula by theBellarine Highway (B110), Ballarat by theMidland Highway (A300), and to Hamilton by theHamilton Highway (B140). The $380 millionGeelong Ring Road (an extension of thePrinces Freeway) bypasses the greater Geelong urban area exiting thePrinces Highway near Corio to rejoin the highway at Waurn Ponds.[181] TheLewis Bandt Bridge, named in honour of the Ford Australia engineer who is credited as the inventor of theute (1934), in Geelong is a feature of the new road.[182]
Avalon Airport is located about 15 km (9.3 mi) to the north-east of the city of Geelong in the suburb of Avalon. It was established in 1953 for the production of military aircraft.[183] It was also used for the repair of commercial aircraft, and for pilot training. Avalon Airport has also been home to low-cost airlineJetstar since 2004.[68] Flights to Sydney use the airport and in June 2015, Jetstar announced it would fly to the Gold Coast daily from Avalon Airport commencing October 2015. Avalon Airport is the venue for 'Thunder Down Under'Australian International Airshow every other year.
Ther have been a few attempts to institute international flights from the airport.AirAsia X provided flights to and from Kuala Lumpur andCitilink toDenpasar, but they were cancelled during theCOVID-19 pandemic.
Geelong is a major hub forrail transport in Victoria, having frequent services to and from Melbourne, and being at the junction of thePort Fairy,Western standard gauge and theGeelong-Ballarat lines.[41] Eight passenger railway stations are in the urban area, all along theWarrnambool line and served byV/Line trains.[184] The Geelong line provides passenger services to Melbourne in the off-peak with trains departing Geelong every 20 minutes on weekdays, with more frequent services at peak times. According to V/Line, the Geelong line carries more passengers than any other regional rail line in Australia.[185] None of the lines are electrified and all trains servicing Geelong arediesel powered.
In the past, a rail line connected Geelong city to the Bellarine Peninsula through toQueenscliff. Regular rail passenger services ceased in 1931, although summer Sunday excursion trains ran until the 1970s. The line was closed in 1976.[186] TheBellarine Railway now operates on a section of the line betweenDrysdale andQueenscliff as a tourist attraction.
Victoria's electronic ticketing system,Myki, was implemented on rail services between Marshall and Melbourne on 29 July 2013.[188]
The Victorian government is currently in process of land acquisition and inspection for a potentialTorquay rail line which would service both Torquay and theArmstrong Creek growth corridor.
Port Phillip Ferries began operating twice daily services betweenPortarlington and MelbourneDocklands in November 2016. Three years later overcrowding on trains led to a similar service being introduced from Geelong to Docklands. The services are popular with both tourists and commuters, providing an alternative access for Geelong and the Bellarine Peninsula to Melbourne. The 36-metre-long (118 ft) catamaran ferries seat over 400 passengers, provide a comfortable vantage point to enjoy the sights of Port Phillip. The introduction of the Portarlington service led to a major revamp of the local pier, with pier extensions and a protective rock wall installed.[citation needed]
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.[195]The majority of the network covers the city and suburban areas of the city, with "urban" classification for the vehicles in use. TheBellarine Peninsula, and Torquay areas, although part of Geelong Taxi Network, are both covered by separate "country" classification taxis. Often, disputes occur 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.[196] Call centre and radio dispatch services for the new combined network are provided by Silver Top Taxis in Melbourne.
^Clark, Ian D. (2002).Dictionary of Aboriginal placenames of Victoria. Heydon, Toby, 1972-, Victorian Aboriginal Corporation for Languages. Melbourne, Victoria: Victorian Aboriginal Corp. for Languages.ISBN0-9579360-2-8.OCLC54913331.
^"Letter from R.C. Gunn".Discovery of keys in the shore formation of Corio Bay, Royal Society of Victoria, [1875]. Archived fromthe original on 1 September 2007. Retrieved2007-12-16.
^Ronalds, B.F. (2022).Alfred Ronalds: Angler, Artisan and Australian Pioneer. Medlar Press.
^Wells, William Henry (1848).A Geographical Dictionary or Gazetteer of the Australian Colonies (Facsimile ed.). Sydney: William Henry Wells. p. 170.ISBN724099832.{{cite book}}:ISBN / Date incompatibility (help)
^Geelong, Revitalising Central (28 September 2022)."Green Spine".Revitalising Central Geelong. Archived fromthe original on 16 October 2022. Retrieved16 October 2022.
^Geelong, Revitalising Central (29 April 2020)."Geelong Authority".Revitalising Central Geelong. Archived fromthe original on 25 October 2020. Retrieved20 September 2020.
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