Location
North Geelong is a residential and industrial suburb adjoining Corio Bay, 3km north-west of Geelong city. It is bounded by Thompson Road in the west, Cowies Creek in the north and Church Street in the south.

Description
North Geelong is rich with industry and history. It is now a sought-after residential suburb because of its proximity to the city, Corio Bay, Princes Highway and North Geelong railway station. A new upmarket housing development on the former North Geelong Primary School site was quickly sold out, indicating the high level of interest in this older suburb. Osborne House is now home of the Naval and Maritime Museum, after a long stint as a municipal office. A small strip shopping centre serves the needs of local residents, but more extensive shopping is available in nearby Geelong West, the city and Corio Village St Helens Park, by Corio Bay, is a popular family destination. It has extensive swimming, boating, barbecue and playground facilities.

History
Early settlers targeted the area, taking up large tracts of grazing land. The Melbourne to Geelong road ran through North Geelong and by 1854 a hotel and general store had been opened. The North Geelong railway station opened soon after the line began operating in 1857. Pioneering squatter Robert Muirhead left his mark on North Geelong by erecting a huge bluestone mansion and stables in 1858 on a site high above Corio Bay.

Osborne House is regarded as one of Geelong's finest mansions, reflecting the lifestyle of the town's wealthy pastoralists. Three subdivisions were opened west of the railway line by 1864. North Geelong's industrialisation began when the Geelong Gas Works was built in 1860, near the railway station. After 1900, the Oriental Timber Company mill (1908) and the Federal Woollen Mill (1909) were built. Osborne House was the site of the Royal Australian Navy's first college from 1913 to 1915. Australia's submarine fleet was based in the bay at that time. Meat-freezing works, a fertiliser plant, a glass works and storage and bulk-loading facilities for wheat were later built in the suburb. Residential areas began to grow in the early 1900s on the eastern side of the Melbourne Road. More growth followed later in the suburb's western sections.