Geelong is a port city in Victoria, Australia, located at the eastern end of Corio Bay and the left bank of Barwon River, about 75 km (47 mi) southwest of Melbourne. With an estimated population of 282,809 in 2023, Geelong is the second largest city in the state of Victoria. It is the administrative centre for the City of Greater Geelong municipality, which is Port Phillip's only regional metropolitan area, and covers all the urban, rural and coastal reserves around the city including the entire Bellarine Peninsula and running 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 the Barrabool Hills to the west.
The City of Greater Geelong is a local government area in the Barwon South West region of Victoria, Australia, located in the western part of the state. It covers an area of 1,248 square kilometres (482 sq mi) and, had a population of 271,057 as of the 2021 Australian census. It is primarily urban with the vast majority of its population living in the Greater Geelong urban area, while other significant settlements within the LGA include Anakie, Balliang, Barwon Heads, Batesford, Ceres, Clifton Springs, Drysdale, Lara, Ocean Grove, Portarlington and St Leonards. It was formed in 1993 from the amalgamation of the Rural City of Bellarine, Shire of Corio, City of Geelong, City of Geelong West, City of Newtown, City of South Barwon, and parts of Shire of Barrabool and Shire of Bannockburn.
Queenscliff is a small town at the south-eastern end of the Bellarine Peninsula in southern Victoria, Australia. It lies south of Swan Bay at the entrance to Port Phillip. It is the administrative centre for the Borough of Queenscliffe. At the 2016 census, Queenscliff had a population of 1,315.
Ocean Grove is a seaside town in Victoria, Australia, located on the Bellarine Peninsula. At the 2016 census, Ocean Grove had a population of 14,165.
Drysdale is a rural township near Geelong, Victoria, Australia, located on the Bellarine Peninsula. The town has an approximate population of over 3,700. Drysdale forms part of an urban area, along with nearby Clifton Springs, that had an estimated population of 13,494 at June 2016.
Portarlington is a historic coastal township located on the Bellarine Peninsula, 28 km from the city of Geelong, in the state of Victoria, Australia. It has a diverse population which includes a wide range of ethnic backgrounds, a high proportion of retirees, and a large seasonal holiday influx. The gently rising hills behind the town feature vineyards and olive groves, and offer spectacular panoramic views across Port Phillip Bay. Portarlington is a popular family holiday destination and a centre of fishing and aquaculture (mussels). At one time the town claimed the largest Caravan Park in the Southern Hemisphere, although the size has reduced considerably in recent decades. With direct ferry links to the city of Melbourne Portarlington also serves as a gateway to the historic towns and surf beaches of the Bellarine Peninsula.
St Leonards is a coastal township on the Bellarine Peninsula near Geelong, Victoria, Australia. Situated 33 kilometres (21 mi) east of Geelong, at the eastern end of the Bellarine Peninsula and the northern end of Swan Bay, St Leonards was a filming location for the Australian television series SeaChange.
The Bellarine Peninsula is a peninsula located south-west of Melbourne in Victoria, Australia, surrounded by Port Phillip, Corio Bay and Bass Strait. The peninsula, together with the Mornington Peninsula, separates Port Phillip Bay from Bass Strait. The peninsula itself was originally occupied by Indigenous Australian clans of the Wadawurrung nation, prior to European settlement in the early 19th century. Early European settlements were initially centred on wheat and grain agriculture, before the area became a popular tourist destination with most visitors arriving by paddle steamer on Port Phillip in the late 19th century.
The Bellarine Football Netball League (BFNL) is an Australian rules football and netball competition based in the Bellarine Peninsula region of Victoria, Australia. Established in 1971 as the Bellarine & District Football League, the competition was formed out of the ashes of the Polwarth Football League, which had six of its former teams join.
Christian College is a K–12 private school located over six campuses in Geelong, Victoria, Australia.
The Rural City of Bellarine was a local government area southeast of the regional city of Geelong, Victoria, Australia, covering most of the Bellarine Peninsula. The Rural City covered an area of 331.78 square kilometres (128.1 sq mi), and from its origin as the Portarlington Road District, existed in a number of forms and under different names from 1853 until 1993.
Rowville Secondary College is a co-educational, public high school, located in Rowville, Victoria, Australia. It is divided into two campuses, the East and the West. The Eastern Campus has students from years 7 to 12 in the Rowville Sports Academy and Rowville Institute of the Arts. The Western Campus has students from years 7 to 12 in both the Maths and Science Academy and the General Excellence Program. The college started off as one campus but in November 1996 the eastern campus was opened. In 2007, RSC added the Rowville Sports Academy (RSA) to its list of specialist programs. In 2008 Rowville Institute of the Arts (RIA) commenced and 2012 saw the introduction of the third specialist program – the Maths and Science Academy (MSA).
The electoral district of Bellarine is one of the electoral districts of Victoria, Australia, for the Victorian Legislative Assembly. It covers an area of 367 square kilometres (142 sq mi) stretching from the Bellarine Peninsula to the outer eastern suburbs of Geelong. It includes the towns of Barwon Heads, Clifton Springs, Drysdale, Indented Head, Ocean Grove, Point Lonsdale, Portarlington and Queenscliff and the Geelong suburb of Leopold. It lies within the Western Victoria Region of the upper house, the Legislative Council.
Saint Ignatius College is an independent Catholic secondary day school for boys and girls, located in the rural hinterland of the Bellarine Peninsula near Geelong, Victoria, Australia. The school provides education from Year 7 to Year 12, conducted in the Jesuit tradition, and operates with oversight from the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Melbourne. The college is part of the international network of Jesuit schools begun in Messina, Sicily in 1548.
The Drysdale Football Club, nicknamed the Hawks, is an Australian rules football club that plays in the Bellarine Football League and situated in the township of Drysdale, in the centre of the Bellarine Peninsula, Victoria, Australia. The clubs plays its home games at Drysdale Recreation Reserve, Drysdale.
Geelong Regional Football Committee ("GRFC") (previouslyGeelong Region Football Association (GRFA) and previouslyWestern Victoria Soccer Association) is the governing body of soccer in Geelong, Victoria, Australia. It is a sub-committee of governing body Football Victoria (previously Football Federation Victoria).
The Ocean Grove Nature Reserve is a rectangular, 1.43 km2 nature reserve next to the town of Ocean Grove and 25 km south-east of the city of Geelong, on the Bellarine Peninsula, Victoria, Australia. It contains the only significant remnant of native woodland on the Bellarine Peninsula as it was prior to European settlement and the extensive land clearing that ensued. It is surrounded by agricultural land and a housing estate and is managed by Parks Victoria. Records of its birdlife illustrate the changes occurring in an isolated woodland remnant.
McHarry's Buslines is a family-owned bus company in Geelong, Victoria, dating back to 1932. It operates public transport bus routes in Geelong, and on the Bellarine Peninsula and the Surf Coast, as well as school bus and charter services. The company's main depot is in Breakwater, and there are smaller depots in Apollo Bay, Torquay, Ocean Grove, Queenscliff and Drysdale. There used to be a depot in Portarlington, but it has been replaced by the one at Drysdale.
The Bellarine Railway, formerly the Bellarine Peninsula Railway, is a volunteer-operated steam-driven tourist railway located in Victoria, Australia. It operates on a 16 km section of a formerly disused branch line on the Bellarine Peninsula between the coastal town of Queenscliff and Drysdale, near Geelong.
Bellarine is a rural locality in the City of Greater Geelong, Victoria, Australia. In the 2011 census, the population of Bellarine was too low to separately report; however in June 2014 the Victorian Electoral Commission recorded 134 enrolled voters in Bellarine, living in 81 properties.
