Geelong, a city of Victoria, Australia, near the head of Corio bay or Geelong harbor, the W. arm of Port Phillip bay, 45 m. S. W. of Melbourne, with which it is connected by railway; pop. in 1871, 14,897. It is built on ground sloping to the bay; the streets are wide and well paved and drained, and the houses are mostly of brick and stone. The principal buildings are the hospital and benevolent asylum, the chamber of commerce, the mechanics1 institute, the clock tower, the grammar school, the court house, the post office, several of the hotels, the churches, and the banks. There is an extensive botanical garden. The town is lighted with gas, and is supplied with water from the river Barwon. The surrounding country is beautiful, the soil fertile, and the climate healthy. There are four jetties in Corio bay, at which large ships can load and discharge, and the commerce in wool, tallow, gold dust, etc, is important-Three newspapers are published.-Geelong was first settled in 1837, and was incorporated in 1849. It first assumed importance after the discovery of gold at Ballarat, 48 m.

N. W., in 1851, and for a time promised to become the principal seaport of southern Australia; but the construction of the railway from Melbourne to this point and thence to Ballarat diverted the produce of the interior to Melbourne.