City of Geelong

The City of Geelong was a local government area about 75 kilometres (47 mi) southwest of Melbourne, the state capital of Victoria, Australia. The city covered an area of 13.4 square kilometres (5.2 sq mi), and existed from 1849 until 1993.

History

Geelong was the second municipality in Victoria, behind the City of Melbourne. It was established under the Geelong Incorporation Act (NSW) in October 1849, and proclaimed as a town on 4 June 1858. On 8 December 1910, it was proclaimed a city.

On 18 May 1993, the City of Geelong was abolished, and, along with the Cities of Geelong West and Newtown, the Rural City of Bellarine, the Shire of Corio and parts of the City of South Barwon and the Shires of Barrabool and Bannockburn, was merged into the newly created City of Greater Geelong.

Wards

The City of Geelong was divided into five wards, each of which elected three councillors:

Geography

The city consisted of two parts. The main section, which included Geelong City, Breakwater, East Geelong and South Geelong, was bounded by Corio Bay to the northeast, Barwon River to the southeast, Boundary Road to the east and La Trobe Terrace to the west.

Geelong

Geelong (/dʒᵻˈlɒŋ/) is a port city located on Corio Bay and the Barwon River, in the state of Victoria, Australia, 75 kilometres (47 mi) south-west of the state capital, Melbourne. It is the second largest Victorian city, with an estimated urban population of 184,182 as at June 2014, having grown 1.4 percent since June 2013.

Geelong runs from the plains of Lara in the north to the rolling hills of Waurn Ponds to the south, with Corio Bay to the east and hills to the west. Geelong is the administrative centre for the City of Greater Geelong municipality, which covers urban, rural and coastal areas surrounding the city, including the Bellarine Peninsula.

Geelong City is also known as the 'Gateway City' due to its central location to surrounding Victorian regional centres like Ballarat in the north west, Torquay, Great Ocean Road and Warrnambool in the southwest, Hamilton, Colac and Winchelsea to the west, and the state capital of Melbourne in the north east.

Geelong was named in 1827, with the name derived from the local Wathaurong Aboriginal name for the region, Jillong, thought to mean "land" or "cliffs". The area was first surveyed in 1838, three weeks after Melbourne. 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 wool industry of the Western District. During the gold rush, 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, ropeworks, and paper mills.