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 |