Geelong

Geelong is the largest regional city in Victoria and is well serviced with hotels, motels and resorts. There are a considerable number of self catering and holiday type accommodation such as bed and breakfasts (also known as bnb and b&b), apartments, holiday houses, cottages, cabins, guesthouses as well as tourist or caravan parks, and backpackers or hostels.

Self catering accommodation – Apartments, holiday houses, cottages, cabins, b&b’s and guesthouses in Geelong are: 

• Aaron Lee Waterfront Apartments
• Abbotswood Motor Inn
• Aberdeen Motor Inn
• Admiralty Motor Inn
• Best Western Geelong Motor Inn
• Carlton Hotel
• Chifley on the Esplanade
• Chipchase Bed & Breakfast
• Comfort Inn Bay City Geelong
• Comfort Inn Eastern Sands
• Corio Villa Estate
• Eight Bourke
• Four Points By Sheraton
• Geelong Apartments
• Hacienda Motel
• Haymarket Boutique Hotel
• Hyatt Apartments
• Kardinia Park Motel
• Mariners Rest
• Mckillop House
• Mercure Hotel Geelong
• Moorabool Apartments
• Nireeda Apartments on Clare
• Prospect Hill B & B
• Quest Geelong
• Seamist Holiday Apartments Geelong
• Shannon Motor Inn
• SUNDOWNER GEELONG HOTEL
• Verner Place

Tourist, Caravan or Holiday Parks in Geelong are:

• Big4 Geelong Riverview Tourist Park
• Barwon Caravan & Tourist Park
• Eldorado Tourist Park
• Riverglen Holiday Park
• Geelong Surf Coast Hwy Holiday Park
• Sherwood Village

The Motels in Geelong are:

• Admirality Motor Inn (Best Western)
• Geelong Motor Inn (Best Western)
• Eastern Sands (Comfort Inn)
• Rose Garden Motel
• Abbotsford Motor Inn
• Aberdeen Motor Inn
• Aristocrat Waurnvale Motel
• Bay City Geelong (Comfort Inn)
• Parkside (Comfort Inn)
• Golden Palms Motel
• Hacienda Geelong Motel
• Kardinia Park Motel
• Parkwood Motel
• Shannon Motor Inn
• Colonial Lodge Motor Inn
• Gateway Hotel Geelong
• Kiloran Motel
• Ripponlea Park Motor Inn

The Hotels in Geelong are:

• Four Points by Sheraton
• The Haymarket Boutique Hotel
• Mercure Hotel
• National Hotel
• Wool Exchange Hotel
• Gateway Hotel

The Backpackers or Hostels in Geelong are:

• Malop Street International
• Geelong Hostel
• Irish Murphy's
• National Hotel
• Willowra House

Geelong Information:

Geelong was named in 1837 by Governor Richard Burke. The name is derived from the Wathaurong Aboriginal name for the region: Jillong means ‘a place of the sea bird over the white cliff’'.
The city is located on beautiful Corio Bay and besides the Barwon River; 75 kilometres (47 mi) south-west of Melbourne. Geelong is eway to The Great Ocean Road and the Bellarine Peninsula. The population of Greater Geelong is 210,000, it is Victoria’s second city and ranks 14th in the nation. 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.
This waterfront city has a diverse range of attractions including parks and gardens, museums and galleries, fine restaurants and excellent recreational facilities. Geelong's colonial history has resulted in a legacy of historic buildings, some of which are open to the public, courtesy of the National Trust.

Things to do:

Tourist Information - The Geelong Otway Tourist Information Centre is located in the foyer of the National Wool Museum, ph: (03) 5222 2900, or free-call (1800) 620 888. There are two other information centres in Geelong. One is located in the Market Square Shopping Centre in Moorabool St, ph: (03) 5222 6126 and the other is on the corner of the Princes Highway and St Georges Rd at Corio, ph: (03) 5275 5797. They have brochures outlining bicycle and walking routes around the Barwon River, the Geelong Foreshore and the Bellarine Peninsula, a listing of local gardens and nurseries, art galleries and local events. A fine booklet entitled 'Industrial Heritage Track' details the bridges, water races, aqueducts, breakwaters, weirs and historic industrial features (mills, scouring works and tanneries) along the Barwon River in the Geelong area.

National Wool Museum and Tourist Information Centre - The impressive three-storey Dennys Lascelles Woolstore, with its fine windows, was built of bluestone in 1872. Drays once unloaded their wool here from whence it was taken inside to the wool show floor where buyers perused the wares. The building now houses a museum dedicated to the history of the Australian wool industry which has played such a vital part in Geelong's development. The museum is located at the corner of Moorabool St and Brougham St . It is open daily from 9.30 a.m. to 5.00 p.m., ph: (03) 5227 0701.

Woolstores and Customs House - On the other side of Moorabool St is Bay City Plaza which is housed behind the original facade of Strachan's Woolstore, built in the English industrial style between from 1889 and 1925. Brougham St and Corio St (which runs parallel to Brougham just to the south) were the commercial hub of the old port.

Foreshore Walk - A feature of Geelong's waterfront is 100 sculpture bollards dotted along the foreshore. These whimsical icons chronicle characters from the city's past and present. Check out the dapper young ladies in neck-to-knee bathing costumes, spunky lifesavers, traditional Aussie families, a Geelong footballer, jaunty sailors, fishermen and a jolly town band. These delightful - 2m high - wooden pole bollards were created by artist Jan Mitchell and are a hit with young and old.

Eastern Beach - After a period of deterioration, the complex was restored in the early 1990s. The terraced lawns, palms and pools are very popular with bathers in summer. Climb the steps to the road, cross over to Garden St and enter the Botanic Gardens.

Geelong Botanical Gardens - The Gardens are scenically situated overlooking Corio Bay and are open daily from 9.00 a.m. to 5.00 p.m. There are free guided tours every Wednesday at 10.30 a.m. and Sundays at 2.30 p.m. during daylight savings, ph: (03) 5227 0387.

Corio Villa - Walk west along Eastern Beach Rd to no.56 where you will see 'Corio Villa', a house with an extraordinary history. A prefabricated iron building it is now considered to be the finest example in the country. It dates from 1856. Outstanding features are the delicate and intricate filigree work on the verandah and porch posts, eaves and bargeboards. The rose-and-thistle theme is crowned by the lion's head motif which forms a keystone to the verandah and porch arches.
 

Geelong Walk - Continue west along Eastern Beach Rd. Note the You Yangs in the distance, behind Corio Bay. At the Swanston St corner are two 1880 townhouses ('Jesmond' and 'Arlston').

Turn left into Swanston St then take the first right into Corio St. The mid-19th century cottages originally belonged to local fishermen (the side streets here feature a number of other modest early dwellings). Continue along Corio St. Its hotels and brothels were once infamously popular with raucous sailors.
Cross Bellarine St and turn left into Hays Place. Walk through to Malop St. At no.163 is the former Freemason's Hotel (1854) - a two-storey brick building with a stuccoed facade and attic dormers from the town's goldrush boom.

Return along Hays Place and turn left, back into Corio St. On the right is the bluestone facade of a malthouse (1851) associated with a brewery established in 1845. Adjacent is the Scottish Chiefs Tavern which displays old brewing equipment and next door to that is the former Scottish Chiefs Hotel (1848), now the Tavern's restaurant, tel: (03) 5223 1736. It is among the ten oldest licensed premises in the state.

Corio St ends at Yarra St. A power station once stood opposite. On the corner is the facade of the Electric Lighting and Traction Company's office (1900).
Turn right into Yarra St and left into Brougham St. On the left is the Geelong Club (1889) built in the Queen Anne style with a decorative facade.
At Moorabool St you return to the National Wool Museum. Turn left into Moorabool. 100 metres along, at no.51, is Savvas Restaurant, housed in a small but elegant bluestone building built in 1856.

Ford Discovery Centre - The Ford Discovery Centre is located at the corner of Gheringap and Brougham Sts. It is a large complex with static displays and interactive elements, focusing on the history of Ford motor cars in Australia and the facets of modern production. There is a mock design studio where you can find out how Ford approach the design process and design your own car. There are crash test dummy demonstrations, production robots, a museum display of old and new Ford cars, and other technological and educational exhibits. The centre is open every day except Tuesday from 10.00 a.m. to 5.00 p.m., ph: (03) 5227 8700.

The Old Geelong Gaol - At the corner of Myers and Swanston St is the former Geelong Gaol - now a tourist attraction. It was designed after Pentonville prison in England and built of local basalt, in stages, from 1849 to 1864 to replace a log-walled prison in South Geelong where prisoners lived in appalling conditions. The construction was carried out by convicts who were slept in hulks on Corio Bay. It remained a high-security prison of ill repute until 1991. A tour takes in all elements of the complex including security points, prisoners' murals, muster and exercise areas, watchtowers, and a gallows setting depicting the 1863 hanging of James Murphy for beating a constable to death with a hammer in the Geelong courthouse. It is open from 1.00 p.m. to 4.00 p.m. on weekends, public and school holidays, ph: (03) 5221 8292.

The Geelong Art Gallery - The Geelong Art Gallery is considered one of the state's finest provincial galleries. Although the building dates back to 1913 the gallery was established in 1896. The collection of late 19th and early 20th century paintings by British artists and members of the Royal Academy reflects the prevailing taste of the time. There are works by Louis Buvelot, Tom Roberts, Arthur Streeton, Rupert Bunny, E. Phillips Fox and Frederick McCubbin's 'Bush Burial'. Contemporary artists in the collection include Fred Williams. In addition to paintings there are works on paper, contemporary Australian sculpture, Asian decorative arts, ceramics, a collection of colonial silver, and a continuous program of temporary exhibitions. The gallery is located adjacent Johnstone Park in Little Malop St, between Fenwick St and Gheringhap St. It is open weekdays from 10.00 a.m. to 5.00 p.m. and from 1.00 p.m. to 5.00 p.m. on weekends and public holidays. Guided tours are available by appointment. There is a small entry fee, ph: (03) 5229 3645.