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The town's major industries include a Shell oil refinery, an Alcoa aluminium smelter and a Ford Motor Company engine plant. The Avalon Airport is several kilometres to the north-east.
Geelong is becoming well known within Australia for its emerging music scene; it has given birth to a number of major bands, such as Magic Dirt and Warped .
The nearby town of Torquay is the location of many surfingSee World Wide Web for "surfing" the web; see also Wind surfing Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii. Surfing is a popular recreational activity and sport in which individuals are propelled across the water by the force of waves, whilst standing on, predominantly, GRP ("f equipment and clothing manufacturers, notably Rip CurlRip Curl is a major Australian manufacturer and retailer of surfwear and surfgear (see surfing). It started from the humble beginings of a two surfers in Torquay producing boardshorts from their garden shed., as well as some of Australia's finest surf beaches.
Along the coastline to the west is the Great Ocean RoadThe Great Ocean Road stretches along the South Eastern coast of Australia between the Victorian cities of Geelong and Warrnambool. It was built during the Great Depression, between World War I and World War II by returned servicemen as part of a governmen.
The first non-aboriginal person recorded as visiting the Geelong region was Lt. John Murray, who commanded the brig Lady Nelson (Refer external link below). After anchoring outside Port Phillip Heads (The narrow entrance to Port PhillipThere is also Local Government Area called the City of Port Phillip. Mt Eliza on the eastern shore of the bay. The towers of the city of Melbourne can be seen on the horizon. Port Phillip (commonly but incorrectly referred to as Port Phillip Bay is a larg, onto which both Geelong and MelbourneAlternate meanings: Melbourne (disambiguation Melbourne is the capital and largest city of the state of Victoria, and the second largest city in Australia, with a population of 3,366,542 (census 2001). The city's name is pronounced "MEL-buhn" ( SAMPA: ["m now front) on 1 Feb 1802 he sent a small boat with six men to explore. Led by John Bowen they explored the immediate area, returning to the Lady Nelson on 4 Feb. On reporting favourable findings, the Lady Nelson entered Port PhillipThere is also Local Government Area called the City of Port Phillip. Mt Eliza on the eastern shore of the bay. The towers of the city of Melbourne can be seen on the horizon. Port Phillip (commonly but incorrectly referred to as Port Phillip Bay is a larg on 14 February, and did not leave until 12 March. During this time, Murray explored the Geelong area and, whilst on the far side of the bay, claimed the entire area for England. He named Port Phillip Bay, Port King, after Philip Gidley King, Governor of New South WalesNew South Wales NSW is Australia's most populous and oldest state, located in the southeast, north of Victoria. It was founded in 1788 and originally comprised much of the Australian mainland. During the 19th century large areas were successively separate. Governor King later renamed the bay Port Phillip Bay [with two ells] after the first governor of Australia.
Hot on Murray's heels was Matthew FlindersMatthew Flinders ( 16 March 1774 19 July 1814) was one of the most accomplished navigators and chartmakers of his age. In a career that spanned just over twenty years, he sailed with Captain William Bligh, circumnavigated and named Australia, survived shi, who entered Port Phillip Bay on 27 April 1802. He charted the entire bay, including the Geelong area, believing he was the first to sight the huge expanse of water, but in a rush to reach Sydney before winter set in he left Port Phillip on 3 May.
In December 1802, Surveyor-General Grimes and Lt. Charles Robbins walked around Port Phillip Bay, but finding no fresh water in the Geelong area reported it as uninhabitable. Staying close to the bay, they had completely missed the Barwon RiverThe Barwon River rises in the Otway Ranges of Victoria, Australia, runs through Geelong, where it is joined by the Moorabool River, and enters the sea at Barwon Heads, west of Port Phillip. The Barwon serves as a major source of drinking water and a popul, which, flowing into the ocean and not the bay, passes through present day Geelong on the inland side of a ridge.
The next visit to the Geelong area, apart from a short-lived settlement at Sorrento, on the far side of the bay (1803/4) was by the explorers Hume and Hovell. They reached Corio Bay - the area of Port Phillip Bay that Geelong now fronts - on 16 Dec 1824, and it was at this time they reported that the Aborigines called the area Corayo, the bay being called Jillong. Hume and Hovell had been contracted to travel overland from Sydney to Port Phillip, and having achieved this they stayed the night and begun their return journey the following day.
Note that during this time, the convict William Buckley, who had escaped from the abovementioned settlement on 27 December 1803, was living in the Geelong area. Aborigines had taken him in, believing him to be the spirit of a deceased chief. It was some thirty-three year before he eventually returned to white society.
In March 1836, three squatters, David Fisher, James Strachan and George Russell arrived on the Caledonia and settled the area. By 1838, when Geelong (By this time the Aboriginal names for the land and water had somehow been swapped) was first surveyed, the population was 545. There was already a church, hotel, store and wool store; and by 1841, the first wool had been sent to England. A regular steamer service was also running between Geelong and Melbourne, and a newspaper The Advertiser had been established.
By 1850, buoyed by the gold rush , Geelong was the fifth largest town in Australia, but as the gold petered out, so did Geelong. In the period leading up to World War I, Geelong's former nickname The Pivot (symbolizing how Port Phillip's trade revolved around Geelong) was degraded by the Melbourne press to Sleepy Hollow; the population remaining below 100,000 until the 1960s.