City of Greater Geelong

The City of Greater Geelong is a local government area in Victoria, Australia.

It is located in the western part of the state, south-west of Melbourne. It has an area of 1,240 square kilometres. In 2011 it had a population of 210,000. The council chambers are located at the Civic Conference and Reception Centre, a part of the Geelong Town Hall in central Geelong.

It is an amalgamation of parts or wholes of the former municipalities of the Shire of Barrabool, Shire of Bannockburn, Shire of Bellarine, Shire of Corio, City of Geelong, City of Geelong West, City of Newtown, and City of South Barwon that was created in 1993.

History of former municipalities



 * 1838 – Geelong (Aboriginal word for 'Ocean') region declared a town.
 * 1849 – Geelong incorporated as a town.
 * 1843 – Barrabool declared Road District.
 * 1854 – Bellarine declared Road District.
 * 1857 – South Barwon a separate District.
 * 1858 – Newtown and Chilwell a Borough.
 * 1862 – Bannockburn a Road District.
 * 1863 – South Barwon a Borough.
 * 1864 – Corio and Bannockburn made Shires.
 * 1865 – Bellarine a Shire.
 * 1872 – South Barwon a Shire.
 * 1875 – West Geelong a Borough.
 * 1910 – Geelong a City.
 * 1915 – Meredith added to Bannockburn Shire.
 * 1922 – West Geelong a Town.
 * 1924 – Newtown and Chilwell a Town.
 * 1929 – West Geelong a City.
 * 1959 – Newtown and Chilwell a City.
 * 1963 – Queenscliff and Pt Lonsdale separates from Bellarine to form the Borough of Queenscliffe.
 * 1967 – Newtown discarded Chilwell from its title as a city.
 * 1974 – South Barwon a City.
 * 1993 – City of Greater Geelong formed

Sourced from Appendix V, A Journey to Destiny 1890–1990 – 100 Years of Cement Manufacturing at Fyansford by Australian Cement Limited .

Current composition and election method
Greater Geelong City Council is composed of a directly elected Mayor, and twelve Councillors elected from single-member wards. All Councillors are elected for a fixed four-year term of office. The most recent election was held on 27 October 2012. The current Council, elected in 2012, is:

Mayors

 * Gerry Smith (1995–1998)
 * Ken Jarvis (1998–2000)
 * Michael Crutchfield (2000–2001)
 * Stretch Kontelj (2001–2002)
 * Barbara Abley (2002–2004)
 * Ed Coppe (2004)
 * Shane Dowling (2004–2005)
 * Peter McMullin (2005–2006)
 * Bruce Harwood (2006–2008)
 * John Mitchell (2008–2012)
 * Keith Fagg (2012–present)

Deputy Mayors

 * John Mitchell (2007–2008)
 * Rod Macdonald (2008–2010)
 * Cameron Granger (2010–2012)

Economy
Jetstar Airways has its headquarters on the grounds of Avalon Airport in Avalon, City of Greater Geelong.

Sister cities
Geelong has sister city relations with the following cities:
 * Lianyungang, China
 * 🇯🇵 Izumiotsu, Japan