Timeline History of
the district ** |
| 1802 |
Lieutenant John Murray R.N. discovered and
explored Corio Bay |
| 1802 |
Matthew Flinders explored Corio Bay and
climbed the You Yangs |
| 1835 |
John Batman landed at Indented Head
representing members of the Port Phillip Association from Van Diemens Land |
| 1837 |
Captain Foster Fyans arrived in Geelong as
Police Magistrate and protector of Aborigines |
| 1838 |
First survey plan of Geelong issued |
| 1839 |
First sale of Geelong town allotments |
| 1839 |
First mail between Geelong and Melbourne |
| 1840 |
First ship load of wool for London left from
Point Henry |
| 1840 |
First Post Office established in Barwon
Terrace |
| 1840 |
First issue of the Geelong Advertiser
published - it is Victoria's oldest morning newspaper |
| 1840 |
First stone building in Geelong erected -
Strachan's Wool Store |
| 1841 |
First race meeting in Geelong |
| 1844 |
First theatre in Geelong opened |
| 1848 |
First Barwon Bridge was built |
| 1849 |
Town of Geelong incorporated |
| 1850 |
First meeting of Geelong Town Council held in
the Royal Hotel, Malop Street |
| 1851 |
Bush fires destroyed most of the countryside
between Shelford, Barrabool Hills and the Otways - BLACK THURSDAY February 6th |
| 1851 |
Gold found in the Mt. Bunninyong district |
| 1852 |
Large floods on the Barwon River washed away
the Barwon Bridge |
| 1855 |
Moorabool Pier constructed - demolished in
1949 |
| 1857 |
Australia's first country railway : Geelong to
Melbourne |
| 1857 |
First wool sales in Geelong |
| 1860 |
Gas introduced to Geelong |
| 1862 |
Geelong - Ballarat railway opened |
| 1866 |
First meeting of the Borough of Steiglitz |
| 1867 |
Winchelsea Bridge over the Barwon River opened |
| 1869 |
Clipper "Lightning" burnt on Corio
Bay |
| 1870 |
Severe floods in the Barwon & Moorabool
valleys following the great droughts of 1869 |
| 1871 |
Meredith Shire proclaimed |
| 1873 |
Geelong Footballers changed their colours to
the familiar Blue and White stripes |
| 1874 |
Shire of South Barwon came into being with
amalgamation of the Connewarre road district and the Borough of South Barwon |
| 1875 |
Geelong West proclaimed a Borough |
| 1876 |
Railway line from Geelong to Winchelsea opened |
| 1877 |
Railway line from Winchelsea to Colac was
officially opened |
| 1879 |
Railway line between Geelong and Queenscliff
opened |
| 1885 |
King Billy, the last of the Barrabool Tribe
died |
| 1888 |
Electric light seen in Geelong for the first
time |
| 1888 |
First Telephone Exchange in Geelong was opened |
| 1891 |
Ship "Joseph H. Scammell" wrecked at
Torquay |
| 1893 |
Hopetoun Channel through Corio Bay was opened |
| 1898 |
Anglesea Hotel destroyed by fire |
| 1902 |
Electric light lit the streets of Geelong for
the first time |
| 1910 |
Geelong was proclaimed a city |
| 1912 |
Trams first appeared in the streets of
Geelong, Geelong West and Newtown |
| 1912 |
First automatic telephone exchange in the
Southern Hemisphere opened in Geelong |
| 1925 |
Ford Motor Company commenced operations in
Geelong |
| 1926 |
Tornado struck Highton |
| 1927 |
Barwon Heads - Ocean Grove Bridge opened |
| 1930 |
Radio Station 3GL "The voice of
Geelong" was on the air for the first time |
| 1938 |
Geelong & District Centenary Celebrations |
| 1940 |
Bushfires destroyed practically everything in
their path in the Torquay area |
| 1954 |
Shell Refinery opened at Corio |
** many of these entries were extracted from
"Geelong events in history 1802 - 1972" by David J. Davies |