Historical Walking Tour of Geelong
Looking for things to do in Geelong? Start with its history. Geelong was declared a town in 1838, and the first land sales followed in 1839. Banks arrived early: the Bank of Australasia opened a branch in 1846, and the town built a telegraph link to Melbourne in 1854-55. Wool shaped the port. Charles Dennys, who arrived in 1842, started a wool-broking business in 1852, and the town's wool stores, wool exchange and customs house date from these decades. Banks were built at the west end of Malop Street because the town was expected to develop around the railway station. This self-guided walk links 12 historic places, from the Former Geelong Post Office and Geelong Town Hall to the Dennys Lascelles wool store, now the National Wool Museum, each with a short audio story in the Sitesy app.
Opens in your browser. No download and no account needed.
What is Geelong known for?
Geelong is known for wool and for the early civic and commercial buildings that wool helped pay for. Charles Dennys set up a wool-broking business here in 1852, and his 1872 bluestone wool store, the second largest in the colony, now houses the National Wool Museum. Geelong Town Hall, begun in 1855, is recorded as Victoria's earliest surviving municipal building. Other landmarks include the Former Geelong Post Office, which held the southern hemisphere's first automatic telephone exchange in 1912, the Belcher Drinking Fountain of 1874 and the 1970s State Government Offices, nicknamed the Upside-down Building.
The route: 12 historic places in Geelong
Start at Former Geelong Post Office. Tap a stop to see it on the map.
Pins are numbered in walking order; lines join them directly, not along streets. Walking directions in Google Maps
- 1
Former Geelong Post Office
Designed by J. H. Marsden and J. H. Brabin of the Public Works Department and built in 1889-90, this two-storey rendered building with a clock tower is one of the largest regional post offices in Victoria. Its upper loggia, dormers and pediments show a French Second Empire influence. The tower clock and chimes were added by public subscription to honour King Edward VII, and in 1912 the building housed the first automatic telephone exchange in the southern hemisphere. Victorian Heritage Register H1046.
Source: Victorian Heritage Database
- 2
Former Telegraph Station
Built in 1857-58 after the Melbourne-Geelong telegraph line opened in 1854-55, this building was the communications centre for Geelong and district for many years. It replaced a portable first office and a brick one in McKillop Street. A time ball added to the tower in 1862 dropped at 1pm each day, using a signal telegraphed from Melbourne, so shipmasters and townspeople could set their clocks. Telegraph business was merged with the post office in 1870. Victorian Heritage Register H1527.
Source: Victorian Heritage Database
- 3
State Government Offices, Geelong
Also known as Upside-down Building, Geelong
Locals call this six-storey concrete block the Upside-down Building. Completed in 1978 to a Public Works Department design, its floors cantilever out wider as they rise, giving the shape of an upturned pyramid. It was built to house several government departments as part of 1970s plans to push growth into regional centres, Geelong among them. The foyer holds a large mural by state artist Harold Freedman. Victorian Heritage Register H2451.
Source: Victorian Heritage Database
- 4
Johnstone Park
Set aside in 1848 and opened as a park in March 1872, Johnstone Park is named for the then mayor, Robert de Bruce Johnstone. Its features span several eras: the Stitt Jenkins drinking fountain of 1860, the De Medici urns of 1873 and the Hitchcock Memorial bandstand and gates of 1919 and 1925. Architect Percy Everett and the firm Laird and Buchan won a 1916 competition to redevelop the park. Victorian Heritage Register H1114.
Source: Victorian Heritage Database
- 5
Geelong Town Hall
Geelong was declared a town in 1838, and in 1854 a competition for a town hall was won by Joseph Reed. The foundation stone was laid on 9 April 1855. The building was finished in 1915-17 largely to Reed's design, with a hexastyle Ionic portico facing Gheringhap Street. The Victorian Heritage Register describes it as the state's earliest surviving municipal building; the council has used the site since 1855. Register H0184.
Source: Victorian Heritage Database
- 6
Trustees Chambers
Built in 1857 for the Colonial Bank of Australasia, this two-storey bluestone building has a rendered front, a deep portico with Tuscan columns and a balustraded parapet. Geelong architects Shaw and Dowden designed it. Banks clustered at the west end of Malop Street because the town was expected to grow around the railway station, and this is among the earliest surviving bank buildings in Victoria. It forms a precinct with its neighbours. Victorian Heritage Register H0190.
Source: Victorian Heritage Database
- 7
Belcher Drinking Fountain
Retiring mayor Councillor G. F. Belcher presented this cast-iron fountain to the town in 1874. It was imported from Andrew Handyside and Co of Derby, England, and takes its form from the Monument of Lysicrates in Athens: a cylinder ringed by Corinthian columns, topped with a cupid and a lantern. The register notes it still operates and links it to temperance movement activities. Victorian Heritage Register H1116.
Source: Victorian Heritage Database
- 8
Former ES&A Bank
The London Chartered Bank of Australia opened a Geelong branch in 1853 in Little Malop Street. After one design was never built, Melbourne architect Leonard Terry won the commission, and the new Malop Street premises opened in 1860. Terry designed bank buildings for many companies. The bank was absorbed by the English, Scottish and Australian Bank in 1921 and later merged with the ANZ in 1970. It is one of several banks built at the west end of Malop Street, where the town was expected to grow around the railway station. Register H0189.
Source: Victorian Heritage Database
- 9
Former Ducker's Auction Rooms
Built in 1877 for the auctioneer W. F. Ducker to a design by Alexander Davidson, this is described as a substantially intact and elaborate purpose-built Victorian auction room. The layout of the main saleroom, offices and entry lobby still shows how it worked, and the exterior has decorative details drawn from the theorist Viollet-le-Duc. The building has been an auction room and commercial premises for more than a century. Victorian Heritage Register H0877.
Source: Victorian Heritage Database
- 10
Former Geelong Wool Exchange
Built in 1927-28 for the Geelong Wool Exchange company to a design by Laird and Buchan, this two-storey brick building is one of Geelong's major interwar public buildings. Its facade is conservative Renaissance Revival, in keeping with the wool trade, while the main sales room has a barrel-vaulted roof and Neo-Greco detail inside. The record calls it an important link in the wool network that ran from Western District properties to the port and overseas buyers. Register H0622.
Source: Victorian Heritage Database
- 11
Dennys Lascelles Wool Stores
Also known as National Wool Museum, Geelong
Built in 1872, this bluestone wool store was the second largest in the colony after one in Melbourne and was admired for its size and layout. Its sawtooth roof has south-facing windows that gave even light over the wool during auctions. Charles Dennys, who arrived in 1842 and set up a broking business in 1852, commissioned it. The store now houses the National Wool Museum. Victorian Heritage Register H0587.
Source: Victorian Heritage Database
- 12
Former Customs House
Built in 1855-56 by contractor W. C. Cornish, this three-storey Colonial Georgian building of Barrabool freestone and bluestone replaced a prefabricated customs building of about 1838 and a stone one of 1845. A bond store was in the basement, offices below and a central long room above. It served as the customs house for 140 years. Its design is credited to three men, and how much each contributed is unresolved. Victorian Heritage Register H1892.
Source: Victorian Heritage Database
Geelong's wool trade
Wool was the engine of Geelong's economy and its buildings still show it. Charles Dennys arrived in 1842 and in 1852 set up a wool-broking business with his cousin, which grew into one of the largest broking houses in Victoria. His 1872 store was admired for its size and its sawtooth roof, which let even light fall on wool during auctions. The Geelong Wool Exchange of 1927-28 is recorded as a link in a network that reached from Western District properties to export buyers overseas, and the Strachan Murray and Shannon warehouses and the Geelong Club recall the same wool families and firms.
Source: Victorian Heritage Database
The banks of Malop Street
A cluster of bank buildings stands at the west end of Malop Street because planners in the 1850s assumed Geelong would grow around its railway station. The former Trustees Chambers of 1857 was built for the Colonial Bank of Australasia, the Bank of Australasia building followed in 1859-60 and the London Chartered Bank of Australia, later the English, Scottish and Australian Bank, opened in 1860. Melbourne architect Leonard Terry designed that one, as he did for many banks. The heritage record treats the surviving buildings together as a precinct that shows what this part of town was meant to become.
Source: Victorian Heritage Database
How the walk works
Open it from this page
Tap Start this walk free. The walk opens in the Sitesy app in your browser, with the route and every stop ready.
Walk and listen
Each stop's story plays as you arrive, with directions to the next one. Pause for a coffee whenever you like.
Save it before you go
Save the walk's audio to your phone at home, so the stories play even where the signal drops.
Free to start
- This walk: every stop is free to hear. Walk stops never use up your free stories.
- 5 free stories a day about wherever you are, at home or away.
- 1 free custom walk a week, built around your time and interests.
7 days of unlimited stories and walks. One payment, no subscription.
Unlimited, wherever you are. Cancel any time.
Both plans also let you save whole areas to listen offline. You only sign in (with Google) if you buy a plan. Prices in Australian dollars.
Before you go
More walks nearby
Questions
What are the best things to do in Geelong's city centre?
Walk Malop, Ryrie and Moorabool Streets. This tour links 12 historic places, including the Former Geelong Post Office, Geelong Town Hall, Johnstone Park, the Belcher Drinking Fountain and the Dennys Lascelles wool store, now the National Wool Museum.
What is the history of Geelong in brief?
Geelong was declared a town in 1838 and its first land sales were held in 1839. Banks, a telegraph station, a customs house and large wool stores followed, and wool broking became a major local trade from the 1850s.
What is the Upside-down Building in Geelong?
It is the nickname for the State Government Offices, a six-storey concrete building completed in 1978 whose upper floors cantilever out wider than the lower ones, like an upturned pyramid.
What is Geelong known for?
Geelong is known for its wool-trade heritage, its early banks and civic buildings, and landmarks such as the National Wool Museum and Geelong Town Hall, Victoria's earliest surviving municipal building.
How long does the Geelong walking tour take?
About 68 minutes over roughly 1.3 km, including time to stop and listen at each place.
Do I need mobile data?
No. Load the tour in the Sitesy app before you go and it's saved for offline use.
Is the Geelong walking tour free?
Yes. Open it in the Sitesy app and every stop on this walk is free to hear, with no account needed. Free listeners also get 5 stories a day about wherever they are and 1 custom walk a week. The Trip pass (A$7.99 for 7 days) and Sitesy Plus (A$8.99 a month) unlock unlimited stories and walks.
Page last updated 19 October 2026.