Geelong

Geelong, second largest city of Victoria, Australia, and a major port on Corio Bay (an extension of Port Phillip Bay). Founded in 1837, its name is a derivation of the Aboriginal word jillong, which means “the place of the native companion,” referring to a long-legged water bird. Formally declared a town in 1838, it was proclaimed a municipality in 1849. Depopulated by news of gold strikes (1851), Geelong began to recover when its rail link to Melbourne was completed (1857). It became a city in 1910 and grew rapidly after World War II.

The city is a transportation hub. Besides its port, which ranks high nationally in total trade, there are rail lines to Melbourne, Ballarat, and the Western District (an area of sheep farms, intensive agriculture, and pine plantations), the Prince’s Highway to South Australia, and the Great Ocean Road along the southwest coast.

Geelong markets a significant portion of Australia’s total wool clip. It ships crude and refined petroleum, grains (including a large portion of the Australian wheat export), meat, steel, and motor vehicles and parts. Other industries include the manufacture of woolens, automobiles, rope and cordage, superphosphate fertilizers, agricultural machinery, glass, and petrochemicals. Aluminum is refined at nearby Point Henry.

Geelong is an educational center with a large library, an art gallery, the Naval and Maritime Museum, and the National Wool Museum. It hosts the Gordon Institute of Technology (textiles) and several private schools, notably the Anglican Geelong Grammar School (1857) and Geelong College (1861). Deakin University was founded in 1974. Laboratories of the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization have done much to improve the area’s sheep industry. The city, 40 percent of whose area is parkland, is the center of a resort district that includes several neighboring coastal towns. Pop. (2021) urban center, 180,239; (2023 est.) Greater Geelong local government area, 282,809.