Geelong is a port city of 184,332 people (2001 census) on Corio Bay, 75 kilometres south-west of Melbourne in Victoria, Australia. Geelong is covered by the municipality of The City of Greater Geelong, and is Victoria's largest regional city. Along the coastline to the west is the Great Ocean Road. Avalon Airport is several kilometres to the north-east.
Economy and culture
The town's major industries include a Shell oil refinery in Corio, an Alcoa aluminium smelter at Point Henry, and a Ford Motor Company engine plant in Norlane. The nearby town of Torquay is the location of many surfing equipment and clothing manufacturers, notably Rip Curl, as well as some of Australia's finest surf beaches.
Despite its proximity to Melbourne and connection with a three-lane freeway, Geelong remains physically and psychologically separated by many kilometres of undeveloped farmland from its much larger neighbour. Residents have their own independent local newspapers and radio stations KRock and Bay FM, and their own AFL club, the Geelong Football Club.
Geelong is becoming well known within Australia for its emerging music scene; it has given birth to a number of major bands, such as Magic Dirt and Warped .
History
See also Timeline of Geelong history
Early 1800s
The first non-aboriginal person recorded as visiting the Geelong region was Lt. John Murray, who commanded the brig Lady Nelson (Refer external link below).
After anchoring outside Port Phillip Heads (The narrow entrance to Port Phillip, onto which both Geelong and Melbourne now front) on 1 Feb 1802 he sent a small boat with six men to explore.
Led by John Bowen they explored the immediate area, returning to the Lady Nelson on 4 Feb. On reporting favourable findings, the Lady Nelson entered Port 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 England. He named Port Phillip Bay, Port King, after Philip Gidley King, Governor of New South Wales. Governor King later renamed the bay Port Phillip Bay [with two ells] after the first governor of Australia.
Hot on Murray's heels was Matthew Flinders, who entered Port Phillip Bay 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 December 1802, Surveyor-General Grimes and Lt. Charles Robbins walked around Port Phillip Bay, but finding no fresh water in the Geelong area reported it as uninhabitable. Staying close to the bay, they had completely missed the Barwon River, which, flowing into the ocean and not the bay, passes through present day Geelong on the inland side of a ridge.
The next visit to the Geelong area, apart from a short-lived settlement at Sorrento, on the far side of the bay (1803/4) was by the explorers Hume and Hovell. They reached Corio Bay - the area of Port Phillip Bay that Geelong now fronts - on 16 Dec 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 the following day.
Note that during this time, the convict William Buckley, who had escaped from the abovementioned settlement on 27 December 1803, was living in the Geelong area. Aborigines had taken him in, believing him to be the spirit of a deceased chief. It was some thirty-three years before he eventually returned to white society.
1830 - 1850
In March 1836, three squatters, David Fisher, James Strachan and George Russell arrived on the Caledonia and settled the area. By 1838, when Geelong (By this time the Aboriginal names for the land and water had somehow been swapped) was first surveyed, the population was 545. There was already a church, hotel, store and wool store; and by 1841, the first wool had been sent to England. A regular steamer service was also running between Geelong and Melbourne, and a newspaper The Advertiser had been established.
1850 -
By 1850, buoyed by the gold rush, Geelong was the fifth largest town in Australia, but as the gold petered out, so did Geelong. In the period leading up to World War I, Geelong's former nickname The Pivot (symbolizing how Port Phillip's trade revolved around Geelong) was degraded by the Melbourne press to Sleepy Hollow; the population remaining below 100,000 until the 1960s.
1900 - 1950
The town of Geelong officially became a city on December 8, 1910. Electric trams began operation in 1912.
Between 1922 and 1925 Geelong's industrial growth began: three woollen mills, fertilizer plants and the Ford Motor Company's vehicle plant at Norlane. The Corio whiskey distillery (1928) and the Geelong Advertiser's radio station 3GL (1930) were opened.
In 1938 one of the last Port Phillip Bay steamers, Edina, (Edina?) made its final trip to Geelong, ending a romantic period of seaside excursions and contests for the fastest trip., On the eve of the second world war the International Harvester Works were opened beside Ford, and a grain elevator terminal was built at Corio Quay.
Landmarks and tourism
Notable people from Geelong
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Kate Allen, triathlete
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Felicity Andersen, actress
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Arthur Coles, (1892 - 1982), businessman and philanthropist
- Barry Crocker , singer and actor
- Nathan Deakes , Olympic walker
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Robert Doyle, politician
- Trish Fallon , Womens Basketballer
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Bev Francis, powerlifting world champion athlete
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Helen Garner, novelist and journalist
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James Harrison, (1816 - 1893), engineer
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Portia de Rossi, actress
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Russell Mockridge, (1928 - 1958), cyclist
- Craig Mottram , Olympic athlete
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Andrew Olexander, politician
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Francis Ormond, pastoralist and philanthropist
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Guy Pearce, actor
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Arthur Streeton, artist
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Lee Troop, Olympic marathon runner
Public transport
Geelong is serviced by local bus routes covering most of the city and surrounding suburbs, and also a regular V/Line train service to Melbourne and Warrnambool. Taxi services are also available. Geelong was served by an electric tramway service until 1956.
Airports
See also
Sister cities
Geelong has a number of sister cities. They are:
External links
Last updated: 05-24-2005 11:21:16
