GEELONG

The Geelong metropolitan area is the second most populated area in the Australian state of Victoria and the largest non-capital city. Located 75 kilometres south-west of the state capital, Melbourne, the port city is situated around Corio Bay and the Barwon River. The metropolitan area runs from the plains of Lara in the north to the rolling hills of Waurn Ponds to the south, with the bay to the east and hills to the west, an area with an estimated population of 160,891 people.

It is the administrative centre for the City of Greater Geelong municipality which covers the urban and surrounding areas and is home to over 181,000 people. An inhabitant of Geelong has been known as a Geelongite, or a Pivotonian, in the past. Geelong was named in 1827, with the name derived from the local Wathaurong Aboriginal name for the region, Jillong, thought to mean "land" or "cliffs".

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GEELONG JAUNT

Geelong is a port city located on Corio Bay and the Barwon River, in the state of Victoria, Australia, 75 kilometres south-west of the state capital, Melbourne. It is the second largest Victorian city, with an estimated urban population of 187,417 as at June 2015, having grown 1.8 percent since June 2014.

Geelong runs from the plains of Lara in the north to the rolling hills of Waurn Ponds to the south, with Corio Bay to the east and hills to the west. Geelong is the administrative centre for the City of Greater Geelong municipality, which covers urban, rural and coastal areas surrounding the city, including the Bellarine Peninsula.

Geelong City is also known as the 'Gateway City' due to its central location to surrounding Victorian regional centres like Ballarat in the north west, Torquay, Great Ocean Road and Warrnambool in the southwest, Hamilton, Colac and Winchelsea to the west, and the state capital of Melbourne in the north east.

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GEELONG'S DOME

Geelong is a port city located on Corio Bay and the Barwon River, in the state of Victoria, Australia, 75 kilometres south-west of the state capital, Melbourne. It is the second largest Victorian city, with an estimated urban population of 187,417 as at June 2015, having grown 1.8 percent since June 2014.

Geelong runs from the plains of Lara in the north to the rolling hills of Waurn Ponds to the south, with Corio Bay to the east and hills to the west. Geelong is the administrative centre for the City of Greater Geelong municipality, which covers urban, rural and coastal areas surrounding the city, including the Bellarine Peninsula.

Geelong City is also known as the 'Gateway City' due to its central location to surrounding Victorian regional centres like Ballarat in the north west, Torquay, Great Ocean Road and Warrnambool in the southwest, Hamilton, Colac and Winchelsea to the west, and the state capital of Melbourne in the north east.

The new Geelong Library and Heritage Centre ('The Dome'), was erected on the site of the former Geelong Volunteer Fire Brigade Station (which was demolished in 1918) and the former library adjacent to the Geelong War Memorial and Geelong Art Gallery. The centre's new building, which has been designed by the Melbourne architectural firm, ARM Architecture, features a unique geodesic dome constructed of glass and reinforced concrete, has been described as "... an iconic addition to Geelong’s architectural and cultural landscape".

The centre covers over 6,000 square metres, and includes a children’s exploration and discovery zone, a youth area, as well as a heritage centre repository, which will hold 120,000 print and multimedia collection items. The cost of the redevelopment has been put at A$45 million. The fractured dome design uses over 400 prefabricated glass-reinforced concrete tiles, which make up the sphere roof, which was described by ARM Architecture technical director Wayne Sanderson as having been "...modelled on the domes of great historical buildings." 

The design of the building references the domes of the great libraries of the world, Library of Congress and the State Library domed reading room. Clad in 332 panels of glass reinforced concrete, which reinforce the appearance of a geodesic domes and allow the building to harmonise with its surrounding masonry neighbours. These included the classical Geelong Art Gallery and old Geelong Town Hall, the Art Deco courthouse and the brutalist State Government Offices. The new building was opened by Geelong Mayor Darryn Lyons on November 21, 2015.

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GEELONG LIBRARY FAÇADE

The new Geelong Public Library is an amazing building. I'll be shortly publishing many more photos of it, but here is a little teaser, looking up at the wonderful glass façade.

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GEELONG BOTANIC GARDENS

The Geelong Botanic Gardens is a botanical garden in the city of Geelong, Victoria, Australia. The gardens are located within Eastern Park on the eastern outskirts of the central business district. They were established in 1851 and are the fourth oldest botanic garden in Australia.

The gardens were first set aside as a public space in 1850, taking up the whole of today's Eastern Park. The botanic gardens were later isolated to a fenced-off area in the centre of the park. By the late 1800s facilities included a large wooden fernery, three miles (4.8 km) of carriage drives, an aviary, monkey house, and a fish hatchery. The first curator of the gardens was Daniel Bunce, who was appointed in 1857. In 1859 a conservatory and greenhouse were erected in the gardens. John Raddenberry took over the curatorship of the gardens in 1872 after the death of Bunce the same year. 

A fernery was opened in October 1885. It was 37 metres long, 18.5 metres wide and was located where the George M. Hitchcock Fountain now stands. The fernery was extended in 1886 by an octagon 18.5 metres high, with a pond located underneath. A third section was added in 1887, taking the total length to 92 metres. By 1920 the ferns were becoming overgrown, and the fernery was demolished some time after World War II because the wooden structure was falling into disrepair.

The gardens were renovated in 2002, with a new section for arid-climate and local native plants opened. It features a dramatic entrance with Queensland Bottle Trees (Brachychiton rupestris), combining architectural plants with modern garden sculptures.

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GEELONG, EASTERN BEACH

The Geelong metropolitan area is the second most populated area in the Australian state of Victoria and the largest non-capital city. Located 75 kilometres south-west of the state capital, Melbourne, the port city is situated around Corio Bay and the Barwon River. The metropolitan area runs from the plains of Lara in the north to the rolling hills of Waurn Ponds to the south, with the bay to the east and hills to the west, an area with an estimated population of 160,891 people.

It is the administrative centre for the City of Greater Geelong municipality which covers the urban and surrounding areas and is home to over 181,000 people. An inhabitant of Geelong has been known as a Geelongite, or a Pivotonian, in the past. Geelong was named in 1827, with the name derived from the local Wathaurong Aboriginal name for the region, Jillong, thought to mean "land" or "cliffs".

The area was first surveyed in 1838, three weeks after Melbourne. The Post Office was open by June 1840 (the second to open in the Port Phillip District). The first woolstore was erected in this period and it became the port for the wool industry of the Western District. During the gold rush Geelong experienced a brief boom as the main port to the rich goldfields of the Ballarat district. The city then diversified into manufacturing and during the 1860s it became one of the largest manufacturing centres in Australia with its wool mills, ropeworks, and paper mills.

It was proclaimed a city in 1910, with industrial growth from this time until the 1960s establishing the city as a manufacturing centre for the state, and saw the population grow to over 100,000 by the mid-1960s. Population increases over the last decade were due to growth in service industries, as the manufacturing sector has declined. Redevelopment of the inner city has occurred since the 1990s, as well as gentrification of inner suburbs and currently has a population growth rate higher than the national average. It is known for being home to car manufacturer Ford Australia and also the Geelong Football Club, known as The Cats.

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