Location
Grovedale is an outer residential suburb of Geelong, 6km south-south-west of the city centre. It is bordered on the north by the Waurn Ponds Creek linear park and on the south by the railway line to Colac.

Description
Grovedale's first churches, reserves and halls were built along the road to Torquay and, in general, the suburb has expanded along and to the west of the Surfcoast Highway. Today it has a mixture of modern brick homes reflecting its development. As one of Geelong's larger residential suburbs, schools, shopping centres and other community facilities have developed to meet the needs of its residents. Grovedale neighbours the Geelong Airport and is a mere 15 minutes from the Surfcoast.

History
Originally the region was named Germantown because it was settled by several families of Lutheran German origin who arrived at Corio Bay in 1849. By the mid-1860s there were about 70 families of German origin. There were also two hotels, two flour mills, two tanneries and four wool-washing businesses. A German cottage built in 1854 still stands on the Surfcoast Highway. The hilly country and volcanic soil were ideal for orchards and vineyards. The area earned a significant reputation for its wine and was Victoria's largest wine-producing region, thanks to the efforts of Swiss migrants.

 

In September 1915, after the outbreak of the first world war, the South Barwon Council changed the named to Grovedale - the name of a nearby property bought by Alexander Pennell in 1847. Grovedale remained a primarily agricultural district until the mid-1960s, when residential expansion from Belmont reached the area.