Geelong Port is the second largest city in the state of Victoria, Australia. Located on Corio Bay of Port Philip Bay, it lies on the southern coast over 700 kilometers southwest of Sydney. It is on the opposite side of the Bay from Melbourne, the state’s capital. In 2001, over 130 thousand people lived there.

Geelong Port received its name in 1837 from Governor Richard Burke, who adopted the indigenous Wathaurong peoples’ name, Jillong (meaning land or cliffs). The first wool store was built in the late 1830s, and the wool industry soon made Geelong an important port in the western district. By the middle of the 1850s, Geelong Port had grown to a population of 22 thousand as a result of the gold rush in Ballarat. For the next few years, more industries came to town. Wool and paper mills and ropeworks were established. After the 1850s, however, population growth slowed until the turn of the century.

In 1853, the first shipping channel was created in Corio Bay, and the Geelong to Melbourne railway was guilt in 1857. The popular department store, Bright and Hitchcocks, opened in 1861. Convict labor raised the HM Prison Geelong in 1864. In the late 1870s, the railway was extended, and construction began on the Hopetoun shipping channel soon after. Geelong Port was home to a prosperous wine industry until it was struck by a grapevine eating insect in 1885 that ultimately killed the industry.

Becoming an official city in 1910, Geelong Port began to acquire modern conveniences. Electric light had arrived in 1902. The Geelong Harbor Trust was founded in 1905, and the waterworks and sewer system were formed in 1908. In 1912, electric trams began to take residents between the suburbs and city center. The first Gala Day festival took place in 1916.

In the 1920s, Geelong Port attracted more industries. Wool mills, fertilizer plants, a whiskey distillery, and Ford Motor Company established bases there. The Eastern Beach swimming area was opened in 1939. Just before World War II, International Harvester opened a factory and Shell Australia built an oil refinery at Geelong Port.

Through the 1950s and 1960s, Geelong Port continued to grow. New homes appeared, and automobiles became the popular mode of transportation. Parking meters and gas stations soon followed. The city welcomed an Alcoa aluminum smelter in 1962 and a second cement works in 1964.

Federal tariff policies in the early 1970s forced the closure of industries. The wool mills closed, and the city center was left with much empty warehouse space. However, Geelong Port’s cultural base thrived with the opening of Deakin University in 1974 and the Geelong Performing Arts Center in 1981. The 1980s also saw the arrival of a new Australian Animal Health Laboratory and the National Wool Museum.

A period of economic stagnation visited Geelong Port in the 1990s, forcing city leaders to take action. In 1993, several smaller towns were combined with to form the City of Greater Geelong, and a waterfront redevelopment project started in 1994.

2004 brought upgrades to Avalon Airport and suburban growth. By 2007, several major construction projects were underway to add commercial and retail centers and upgrade existing properties. In 2006, the government of Victoria announced the relocation of its Transport Accident Commission headquarters to Geelong Port, bringing over 800 new jobs to the city. In 2007, Ford Australia announced the closing of its Geelong Port plant, bringing an offsetting loss of about 600 jobs. In 2008, a new $100 million AUD apartment tower complex was approved to encourage development.

Today, Geelong Port is an important center for education in Victoria. It houses a large library, the Naval and Maritime Museum, an art gallery, the National Wool Museum, the Gordon Institute of Technology for textiles, and several private schools. Geelong Port is also a large resort area, with 40% of its area being parkland. Geelong Port’s major commercial interests include manufacturing and processing industries, retail, and health and community services.

Geelong Port is governed by Victorian Regional Channels Authority, and the Victorian Ports manages Geelong Port and Western Port (near Melbourne).

Geelong Port manages 14 berths in the port and about 90 hectares of land. GrainCorp provides storage, logistics, and marketing of grain and free-flowing commodities like wood chips, minerals, fertilizers, stock feed pellets, and clinker cement. Export of grains dropped dramatically from 1.1 million tons in 2006 to only 250 thousand tons in 2007 due to a severe regional drought.

The bulk grain pier has two berths of 201 meters with alongside depth of 10.5 and 12.3 meters and mooring dolphins at each berth. Cargo-handling equipment at this pier can handle 1000 tons of wood chips and 2500 tons of wheat an hour.

Geelong Port’s Corio Quay South Berth 1 is 183 meters long with alongside depth of 11 meters and one mooring dolphin. Berth No. 1 has two railway lines cast into the wharf deck, and it has a cargo shed and loading terminal ramp. Corio Quay South No. 1 has 3800 square meters of main shed and 1050 square meters of canopy storage for general cargo.

Corio Quay North Berths 1 and 2 are a combined 375 meters long with 11 meters alongside. Berth 1 has about 6500 square meters of storage space, and Berth 2 has a 2700 square meter cargo shed. Berths 1 and 2 have a dry bulk loader with a capacity to handle 1000 wood chips per hour. Geelong Port’s Corio Quay North Bert 3 is 161 meters long with alongside depth of 11 meters and a mooring dolphin. Berth 3 has a 2600 square meter cargo shed. Berth 3 has a 2670 square meter (including office and amenities) storage shed for general cargo, and Berth 2 has a 2788 square meter (including office and amenities) storage shed for general cargo. Corio Quay West has 1490 square meters of storage, exclusively for AMOSC, for general cargo.

The pier at Geelong Port’s Point Wilson is 168 meters long with alongside depth of 12.3 meters and two mooring dolphins. The facility at Point Wilson handles only dangerous and explosive cargoes.

Refinery Pier Berth 1 is about 213 meters long with alongside depth of 12.3 meters and four inshore mooring dolphins. Refinery Pier Berth 2 is about 213 meters long with alongside depth of 12.3 meters and three inshore mooring dolphins. Refinery Pier Berth 3 is about 275 meters long with alongside depth of 12.3 meters and two inshore mooring dolphins. Refinery Pier Bert 4 is 275 meters long with alongside depth of 12.3 meters and two mooring dolphins.

The wharf for Geelong Port’s Lascelles Berth 1 is 185 meters long and 17 meters wide. It has alongside depth of 12.3 meters and two mooring dolphins. Its equipment includes an acid receival system. Lascelles Berths 2 and 3 are 436 meters and 30 meters wide with alongside depth of 12.3 meters. The self-discharge facility has cargo receival capacity for 3000 tons per hour, and it is equipped with a truck loading facility. The Lascelles Berth 1 has a storage shed covering 8500 square meters, including three cargo storage bays with overhead feed conveyor system. Berth 2 has a 6900 square meter storage shed with three cargo storage bays with overhead feed conveyor system. Storage sheds on both Berth 1 and 2 are for the exclusive use of Incitec Pivot Fertilizers.

Geelong Port markets and handles much of Australia’s wool clip. Vessels calling at port carry crude and refined petroleum, meat, steel, grains, and motor vehicles and parts.

Geelong Port is a charming cosmopolitan town with a variety of activities for the family to enjoy. During your visit to the City of Greater Geelong, adults will enjoy visiting the many wineries, and the kids will love the antique carousel at the waterfront. Visitors will learn about the wool industry by touring the National Wool Museum. You Yangs Regional Park offers four main walks for outdoor lovers and a 3.2 kilometer walk to Flinders Peak for some outstanding views of the city and the bay. Sports enthusiasts will want to visit Skilled Stadium, home of the Geelong Cats, for a rousing Australian football game.