Location
Chilwell is a small suburb contained within Newtown on the western border of Geelong city.

Description
To the south of Newtown, Chilwell enjoys access to Balyang Sanctuary and the Barwon River, as well as easy access to the city in the east.

Commerce occupies some of the riverbank but Chilwell is mostly residential. Several reserves and schools, including Chilwell Primary and the St Roberts Catholic School, enhance streets lined with charming old houses.

History
The streets of Chilwell attracted a high proportion of Roman Catholics from Ireland during what were the Anglican years of settlement.

The area between Pakington Street and Belfast Street was known as Irish Town for many years. The name Chilwell was substituted during the 1850s. Chilwell was the Nottingshire hometown of the wife of James Austin, who owned 50 hectares of land south of Irish Town and sold it by subdivision around 1850.

The area grew quickly and had 2200 residents in 1851 - close to its current population. During the 1850s, housing spread between Chilwell and Newtown to the north and west.