The Port of Geelong is Victoria's second biggest port, handling more than 10 million tonnes of product annually and dealing with around 600 vessel visits each year. Its main commodities include crude oil, wood-chip, fertiliser and break-bulk cargo.
Geelong is the gateway to the Bellarine Peninsula, Victoria's Surf Coast and the Great Ocean Road.
Geelong is surrounded by many kilometres of developed farmland and is noted for its many wineries and nearby surf beaches along the Great Ocean Road. During clear weather, the Melbourne skyline is visible from areas of Geelong when viewed across Port Phillip.
Where is it?: Victoria: Western Districts. Geelong is 75 kilometres south-west of Melbourne on the shores of Corio Bay, a south-western inlet bay of Port Phillip.
Geelong & Great Ocean Road Visitor Information Centre
Princes Highway, Little River, Victoria 3211
Ph: (03) 5283 1735/ 1800 620 888
Geelong Visitor Information Centre
National Wool Museum
Corner Moorabool and Brougham Streets, Geelong, Victoria 3220
Ph: (03) 5222 2900 / 1800 620 888
Because of its close proximity to Melbourne, Geelong is an ideal destination for a day trip from the state's capital, either by car or by train. There is plenty of things to do in and around the inner city, parking is plentious, the traffic is manageable, and if you take the one hour journey by rail, the major attractions for visitors are all just a short walk from the railway station.
Bells Beach
Victoria's Surf Coast has some of Australia's best surf beaches, bustling resort towns, spectacular scenery, lush rainforests and huge cascading waterfalls. Victoria's most popular surf towns such as Lorne, Torquay, and Anglesea and of course the infamous Bells Beach are all on the Surf Coast.
Bellarine Peninsula
dThe Bellarine Peninsula, to the east of Geelong, is a growing tourist region with a variety of beaches and seaside resorts and wineries . Activities on The Bellarine include all the water-based sports and pleasures you can think of – snorkelling, jet-skiing, swimming with dolphins, surfing, kayaking, fishing, marine sanctuaries, sailing and more.
About Geelong
The Port of Geelong has played a crucial role in the development of Geelong and defines our industrial identity. The Port is the literal reason why Geelong is where it is. At the beginning of the 1850's, the schooner Clarence, outward bound
from Melbourne to Hobart with a cargo of sheep went aground off Indented
Head. The sheep and four men from Geelong were landed safely by the crew,
but the vessel was a total wreck and was sold for £50.
By 1851, the population of Geelong had grown to
8,291, but the discovery of gold in Ballarat created
an exodus inland, and the population of the township
fell to 2,850. In 1852, £32,000 worth of gold was stolen
from a ship in Hobson’s Bay while travelling
between Geelong and Melbourne by a group
of 20 armed bush rangers in what became
known as the ‘Nelson Gold Robbery’.
Such was the hysteria surrounding the gold rush in
Ballarat that dozens of ships were deserted by their
crews, lured away by stories of fortunes made on the
goldfields. A year after gold was discovered, no fewer
than 496 sailors had left ships in Corio Bay. Since the creation of the first shipping channel in
Corio Bay in 1853, spurred on by its proximity to
the Ballarat goldfields, disembarking at the Port of
Geelong became a rite of passage for those looking
to make their fortune and export new-found wealth
to the world.
When Australian prosperity rode on the back of the
sheep, the Port of Geelong was the principal gateway
through which Australian wool was exported to the
world and Geelong earned its reputation for quality.
The Port is the backbone of our city; Geelong’s north
is driven by the activity of the Port; with land, an
airport, national rail and Highway One all within a few
kilometers.
More than 25 percent of Victoria’s overseas exports are
currently being handled at the Port and that share is set
to grow as the Australian economy further integrates
with an increasingly globalised world.
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