Timeline of Geelong history

This is a timeline of major events in the history of the city of Geelong, Australia.^[1]

19th century[edit]

1802 – Lady Nelson enters Corio Bay
1803 – Escaped convict William Buckley living in area.
1835 – John Batman establishes base camp at Indented Head
1838 – Geelong township surveyed, Geelong population is 545.
1839 – First sale of Geelong town allotments
1839 – First postal mail between Geelong and Melbourne
1840 – First issue of the Geelong Advertiser newspaper is published
1842 – First St Mary's Catholic Church opens
1845 – Geelong Keys discovered at Corio Bay
1849 – The Geelong town council is incorporated.
1850 – Geelong is the fifth largest town in Victoria.
1851 – Gold is found in the Mount Bunninyong district
1851 – Geelong population is 8,000
1853 – Geelong population is 22,000
1855 – Geelong Grammar School founded
1855 – St Augustine's Boys Orphanage established
1857 – Victoria's first country railway from Geelong to Melbourne is built
1859 – Thomas Austin releases 24 rabbits into the wild on his property 'Barwon Park' at Winchelsea just outside Geelong on Christmas Day, introducing the rabbit to Australia.
1862 – Geelong to Ballarat railway opens
1888 – First telephone exchange in Geelong opens
1890 – Geelong Cementworks Opens

1910 – Geelong officially becomes a city
1912 – Electric trams begin operation in Geelong
1912 – First automatic telephone exchange in the Southern Hemisphere opens in Geelong
1920 – Royal Australian Navy's submarine fleet based at Osborne House
1925 – Geelong Football Club wins premiership
1925 – Ford Australia plant opens at Norlane
1925 – Retail chain Target opens first store in Geelong
1926 – Geelong suburb Highton gets struck by tornado
1930 – 3GL radio station opens
1931 – Geelong Football Club wins premiership
1937 – Geelong Football Club wins premiership
1940 – Manning Clark begins teaching at Geelong Grammar School
1951 – Geelong Football Club wins premiership
1952 – Geelong Football Club wins premiership
1954 – Shell refinery opens at Corio
1956 – Electric trams cease operation in Geelong
1963 – Geelong Football Club wins premiership
1963 – Alcoa aluminum smelter opens at Point Henry
1965 – Holy Cross Hospital (later St John of God Geelong Hospital) opens
1977 – First students enrolled at Deakin University at Waurn Ponds
1980 – Christian College opens
1983 – Ash Wednesday fires cause major damage at nearby coastal areas
1987 – National Wool Museum opens
1990 – First commercial FM Radio station K-Rock begins FM broadcasting
1990 – Pyramid Building Society collapse
1991 – HM Prison Geelong officially closes

2001 – Geelong population is 184,332
2002 – 23 May, Skilled Stadium hosts a visit from the Dalai Lama
2003 – Former mayor Frank De Stefano is sentenced to 10 years imprisonment on fraud charges involving A$8.3 million
2006 – Geelong population is 210,000 becoming the 12th largest city in Australia
2007 – Geelong Football Club wins premiership by record margin of 119 points
2009 – Geelong Football Club wins premiership
2010 – Geelong Ring Road construction Complete
2011 – Geelong Football Club wins premiership
2015 – Worksafe Victoria Headquarters Construction started
2016 – Geelong population is 253,269
2016- A giant cell storm comes through Geelong, flooding the Barwon and Moorabool rivers, along with Belmont, South Geelong, and Newtown.^[2]
2016 – End of Ford's car manufacturing
2018 – Worksafe Victoria Headquarters Construction complete
2019 – The Mercer and Miramar Geelong construction started
2020 - COVID-19 reaches Geelong. Total of 2,370 cases confirmed since arrival date
2020 - Devastating Storm hits Geelong causing Tornado in Suburb of Waurn Ponds

Timeline of tallest buildings in Geelong:

1. The Miramar – 71 m (2019)

2. The Mercer – 64 m (2019)

3. Worksafe Headquarters Geelong – 60 m (2018)

4. Mercure Hotel – 40 m (2008)

6. Shell Refinery – 40 m (1946)

7. Fyansford Cementworks – 30 m (1954)

^ Houghton, Norman. "The Story of Geelong" (PDF). geelongaustralia.com.au. Archived from the original on 9 April 2008. Retrieved 21 May 2008.
^ "SES rescues 18 as Geelong suffers 'one-in-50-year' flooding". ABC News. 27 January 2016.