Geelong - Melbourne

“Geelong is the eastern gateway city to the Great Ocean Road. Located just 15 kms from Avalon Airport and home to the Geelong and Great Ocean Road Visitor Centre. Geelong offers a wide mix of attractions from natural bush to spectacular surf beaches, historic townships to cosmopolitan shopping precincts. It would appeal to families, mature couples and retirees.”
 

Geelong is the second largest city in the state of Victoria, Australia and is the largest regional centre in the state. It is a port city with an urban population of 160,991 people, and one of the largest provincial cities in Australia. The city is located on Corio Bay and the Barwon River, 75 kilometers (47 mi) south-west of the state's capital, Melbourne, and is covered by the City of Greater Geelong municipality. The urban area runs from the plains of Lara in the north to the rolling hills of Waurn Ponds to the south, with the bay to the east and hills to the west. The climate is temperate, with four distinct seasons. The city is the home to car manufacturer Ford Australia and the Geelong Football Club, nicknamed The Cats.
Geelong was named in 1837 by Governor Richard Burke, It is the aboriginal name Jillong, thought to mean 'land' or 'cliffs'
The gold rush in Ballarat saw the population of Geelong increase to 22,000 by the mid 1850s. The city then diversified into manufacturing, rivalling Sydney, Hobart and Melbourne as wool mills, rope works, and paper mills were established. 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, and saw the population grow to over 100,000. Population increases over the last decade were due to growth in service industries, as the manufacturing sector has declined. Geelong now has a population growth rate higher than the national average, and is the 12th largest city in Australia.
 

History of the Suburbs
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 of Newtown and Geelong West. Major development south of the river in Belmont 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 tramway 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 industry continued to establish itself in the flatter northern suburbs,where today industries such as the Shell oil refinery and Ford Motor Company engine plant reside. Residential development also spread to Corio in the north, with new Housing Commission of Victoria estates built to cater for employees of the new industries. From the 1960s residential growth spread to the Highton hills in the south, followed by Grovedale in the 1970s. A number of light industrial areas were also established in Breakwater, Moolap and South Geelong.

Changing cargo handing methods at the Port of Geelong left wool stores in inner Geelong unused, redevelopment beginning in the 1980s with the expansion of Westfield Geelong towards Corio Bay, and culminating in the Waterfront Geelong development. Gentrification of former working class inner suburbs such as Geelong West, North Geelong and South Geelong has also occurred. Today the major residential growth corridors are north towards Lara, east towards Leopold, and south towards Mount Duneed.

Which Suburb?
There are a number of nice suburbs in Geelong and like all areas there are also some undesirable areas.  We would highly recommend looking at the suburbs of:

• Highton

• Wandana Height

• Waurn Ponds

• Newtown

EDUCATION
There are a wide variety of schools to choose from in Geelong, below is a list of schools available:

Primary Schools

1. Ashby Primary School - Geelong West

2. Chilwell Primary School - Newtown

3. Clifton Springs Primary School - Clifton Springs

4. Corio Primary School  - Corio

5. Corio West Primary School - Corio

6. Corio South Primary School - Corio

7. Bellaire Primary School - Highton

8. Bell Park Primary School - Bell Park

9. Bell Park North Primary School  - Bell Park

10. Rollins Primary School - Bell Post Hill

11. Belmont Primary School  - Belmont

12. Fyans Park Primary School

13. Geelong East Primary School - Geelong

14. Geelong South Primary School - Geelong

15. Grovedale Primary School - Grovedale

16. Grovedale West Primary School - Grovedale

17. Hamlyn Banks Primary School  - Hamlyn Heights

18. Herne Hill Primary School - Geelong

19. Highton Primary School  - Geelong

20. Mandama Primary School  - Grovedale

21. Manifold Heights Primary School  - Manifold Heights

22. Moolap Primary School  - Moolap

23. Montpellier Primary School - Highton

24. Newcomb Park Primary School - Newcomb

25. Newtown Primary School - Newtown

26. Norlane West Primary School - Norlane

27. North Shore Primary School - Norlane

28. Oberon Primary School - Belmont

29. Oberon South Primary School - Belmont

30. Roslyn Primary School - Belmont

31. Tate Street Primary School - East Geelong

32. Whittington Primary School  - Whittington

Secondary Schools

1. Belmont High School - Belmont

2. Corio Bay Senior College - Corio

3. Geelong High School - Geelong

4. Flinders Peak Secondary College - Corio

5. Grovedale College - Grovedale

6. Matthew Flinders Girls Secondary College - Geelong

7. Newcomb Secondary College - Newcomb

8. Norlane High School - Norlane

9. North Geelong Secondary College - North Geelong

10. Oberon High School - Belmont

11. Western Heights Secondary College - Herne Hill

Above is a list of all the government schools only, as well as the schools above you have another 10 private schools.

The schools that most parents living in Geelong would highly recommend are:

Clonard College - Catholic - Geelong West

Sacred Heart College - Catholic - Newtown, Geelong

Matthew Flinders - Government - Geelong

Oberon High School - Government - Belmont, Geelong

Belmont High School - Government - Belmont, Geelong

Kardinia - Private - Bell Post Hill

Geelong College - Private - Newtown, Geelong

Geelong Grammar School - Private - Newtown, Geelong

Post Secondary Education

Gordon Institute of TAFE
The Gordon Institute of TAFE in Geelong offers more than 220 nationally accredited courses at the Certificate, Diploma, Advanced Diploma, Apprenticeship and Traineeship level. Courses are offered across eight key teaching schools.
Applied Sciences, such as Nursing;
Art, Design and ICT;
Building and Construction;
Business and Management;
Community Services and Further Education;
Corrections Education;
Manufacturing;
Tourism, Hospitality and Cookery.
The Gordon Institute of TAFE is also a popular educational choice for local, national and international students, and offers a wide range of specialist courses and innovative customised training for regional business.
 

Deakin University
Deakin University is one of Australia’s major universities with campuses in a number of locations in Victoria, including two in Geelong (Waurn Ponds and along the Geelong Waterfront). Deakin offers a range of professional and general Degree and Post Graduate courses in the areas of:
Arts and Education
Business and Law
Health, Medicine, Nursing and Behavioural Sciences
Science and Technology
The University also has a reputation as one of the leading research universities in Victoria, with a dedicated facility in the Geelong Technology precinct to lead its activities.
 

FACILITIES

Shopping
There are new shopping centres popping up all over at the moment, but one of the largest ones has to be the Westfield Geelong - Westfield Geelong is located in the heart of Geelong Central Business District and is easy to access from any direction. The Centre is bounded by four major streets; Brougham, Moorabool, Malop and Yarra Streets. There are hundreds of stores inside including a Big W and Myers.
The other main shopping centre is located in Market Square.  Their are smaller centres in the suburbs including Belmont Plaza and Waurn Ponds Shopping Centre in the south, Bellarine Village in Newcomb in the east, and Corio Village Shopping Centre 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 10's largest franchisees operating five stores across the town and employing over 160 people.


Waterfront
The waterfront is Geelong’s new playground. Once a run down derelict area left over from the days of a wool shipping port, this region has been transformed into one of Australia’s finest waterfront precincts.
Tens of millions of dollars from both government and corporate investments have the area into the jewel of Geelong. Restaurants, hotels, apartments and leisure areas combine to make Geelong’s waterfront a favourite for locals and visitors alike.  The redevelopment started in the mid 1990s with the redevelopment of the historic Eastern Beach swimming enclosure. Parklands, and public works infrastructure soon began, with beautiful streetscapes with palm and other exotic plantings. The bay walk and artwork followed including the more than 100 bollards painted by local artist Jan Mitchell.

Eastern Beach

Standing to the east of our city on Corio bay is the much loved and magnificent Art Deco masterpiece, Eastern Beach .
The swimming enclosure is one of Geelong’s most known icons, this huge double platform wooden structure complete with shark gate sweeps in a half circle around 8 1/2 acres of sea water. The enclosure has diving board, floating islands and slides and can hold thousands of swimmers, with a nice sandy beach backing onto the children’s pool.

The children’s pool is a shallow cement pool which includes a magnificent fountain in the centre. The pool has been an important learn to swim centre for the city for decades and is very busy on warm days.

Eastern Beach has a beautiful red brick art deco kiosk building which is home to one of the city’s finest dining experiences, and a large al fresco dining area out the front. The kiosk also sells plenty of ice cold drinks and ice creams for visitors to the beach. The paved area is also home to a lovely lifesavers and change pavilion with red terracotta tiles. A huge playground for the young is on the east side in the parkland and is a favourite all year round.

SPORTS

Geelong is home to the Geelong Football Club Australian Football League team, the second oldest AFL club and one of the oldest in the world. 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 out of the Kardinia Park stadium and Telstra Dome in Melbourne, and also fields a reserves side in the Victorian Football League. 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.There are also three independent football leagues running in the area, the Geelong Football League, the Geelong & District Football League, and the Bellarine Football League.

Geelong has a horse racing club, the Geelong Racing Club, which schedules around 22 race meetings a year including the Geelong Cup meeting in October.

Geelong Harness Racing Club conducts regular meetings at its racetrack at Corio, and the Geelong Greyhound Racing Club holds regular meetings.

The Arena stadium in North Geelong is the home of the Geelong Supercats basketball team, and was also used during the 2006 Commonwealth Games for basketball matches. The Eastern Beach foreshore and nearby Eastern Gardens regularly host internationally televised triathlons, and annual sports car and racing car events such as the Geelong Speed Trials. 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 for water skiing, rowing, fishing, hiking, and greyhound and harness racing. The Geelong Athletics centre holds athletic competitions during the summer months, with high profile events such as the Ron Clarke Classic held annually. In winter, the main athletic competitions are run through the Geelong Cross Country Club, who hold weekly meets at various locations in the Geelong Region.

Swimming

Adventure Park - Adventure Park , home of Victoria's 1st Water Theme Park.
Check out the latest rides, "River Torrent Lazy River" and "Tiny Tots Splash Zone". Thrill seekers can experience the ultimate adrenaline rush when racing head first down the "Six Lane Aqua Racer" at speeds of up to 40km per hour. For a Caribbean pirate adventure, check out "Bonito's Bay Water Play" with state of the art aquatic playground featuring waterfalls, water jets and waterslides. You can relax lakeside under shaded picnic areas, marquees and pavilions, set amongst 21 hectares of landscaped parkland.

Geelong Aquatic Centre is a privately owned, salt chlorinated learn to swim school situated in Newtown, Geelong.

Geelong Swimming Club - Geelong Swimming Club, clubrooms are located at the Kardinia Pool, outdoor pool. During the winter months the club trains at The Geelong College heated indoor 25meter pool. Once the outdoor pool is open the club moves its training program there until the end of the season.

TRANSPORT
Geelong is well-connected by roads to all of south-west Victoria, to Melbourne by the Princes Freeway (M1), to Warrnambool by the Princes Highway (A1), the Bellarine Peninsula by the Bellarine Highway (B110), Ballarat by the Midland Highway (A300), and to Hamilton by the Hamilton Highway (B140).

The $380 million Geelong Ring Road is under construction to bypass the greater Geelong metropolitan area, leaving the Princes Highway near Corio and rejoin the highway at Waurn Ponds. Construction began in 2006, with section one from Corio to the Midland Highway at Bell Post Hill, and section two from the Midland Highway to the Hamilton Highway at Fyansford officially opening on Sunday, December 14th, 2008. Section three, from the Hamilton Highway to the Princes Highway at Waurn Ponds is expected to open in December 2009.

The city is also located at the junction of railway lines to Melbourne, Warrnambool, Ballarat, and Adelaide. V/Line operates from seven railway stations on the Geelong line, running hourly services to Melbourne, as well as services on the Warrnambool line further west three times daily. Great Southern Railway's The Overland service between Melbourne and Adelaide also calls 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.

Public transport is provided by local bus routes covering the city centre and most surrounding suburbs. They are operated under the umbrella of the Geelong Transit System, and are contracted to Benders Busways and McHarry's Buslines. Another government transport initiative, Bellarine Transit, is contracted to McHarry's Buslines and provides interurban services between Geelong and the towns of Torquay, Barwon Heads, Ocean Grove and the Bellarine Peninsula. V/Line services link Geelong with Ballarat, Daylesford, Bendigo, Apollo Bay, the Great Ocean Road, the Twelve Apostles and Warrnambool.

The Port of Geelong is located on the shores of Corio Bay, and is the sixth largest seaport in Australia by tonnage. Major commodities include crude oil and petroleum products, export grain and woodchips, alumina imports, and fertiliser. The Bellarine Peninsula has been linked to the Mornington Peninsula since 1987 by the Searoad ferry, which runs every hour using two roll-on/roll-off ferries.

Avalon Airport is located approximately 15 kilometres 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 Airways since 2004. Flights to Adelaide, Brisbane, Sydney and Perth use the airport.

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 Peninsula, and Torquay areas, although part of Geelong Taxi Network, are both covered by separate "country" classification taxis.

Geelong also has many kilometres of bicycle trails covering the shores of Corio Bay and the Barwon River parklands, in addition to the Bellarine Rail Trail.






PROPERTY

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