The City of South Barwon was a

local government area A local government area (LGA) is an administrative division of a country that a local government is responsible for. The size of an LGA varies by country but it is generally a subdivision of a State (administrative division), state, province, divi ...

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

, which contained a number of

Geelong Geelong ( ) (Wathawurrung: ''Djilang''/''Djalang'') is a port city in the southeastern Australian state of Victoria, located at the eastern end of Corio Bay (the smaller western portion of Port Phillip Bay) and the left bank of Barwon River, ...

suburbs south of the Barwon River, and extending to

Torquay Torquay ( ) is a seaside town in Devon, England, part of the unitary authority area of Torbay. It lies south of the county town of Exeter and east-north-east of Plymouth, on the north of Tor Bay, adjoining the neighbouring town of Paignton ...

in the south and

Barwon Heads Barwon Heads (previously known as Point Flinders) is a coastal township on the Bellarine Peninsula, near Geelong, Victoria, Australia. It is situated on the west bank of the mouth of the Barwon River below Lake Connewarre, while it is bounded to ...

to the east. The city covered an area of , and existed from 1863 until 1994.

History

South Barwon was formed as a road district, when it was severed from the Corporation of Geelong on 2 June 1857. It then covered and 600 households.''Notes on Belmont''. Roy H Holden Accessed at the Geelong Heritage Centre It was incorporated as a borough on 21 October 1863, and became a town on 24 December 1874, when it was amalgamated with the Connewarre Road District, and now covered and 1714 people. It was proclaimed as a city on 6 December 1974. Accessed at

State Library of Victoria State Library Victoria (SLV) is the state library of Victoria, Australia. Located in Melbourne, it was established in 1854 as the Melbourne Public Library, making it Australia's oldest public library and one of the first free libraries in the ...

, La Trobe Reading Room. The first council offices were on Mount Pleasant Road in Belmont, which opened in 1884 at a cost of 1400 pounds. New chambers were built in 1970, and in 1974, plans were made for a new Civic Centre on the corner of the

Princes Highway Princes Highway is a major road in Australia, extending from Sydney via Melbourne to Adelaide through the states of New South Wales, Victoria (Australia), Victoria and South Australia. It has a length of (along Highway 1) or via the former ...

and Reynolds Road, Belmont. Plans were approved in 1976, a tender was accepted and the first sod turned in August 1977, and on 24 May 1978, it was officially opened. The Mount Pleasant Road offices became a community centre. After amalgamation, the Civic Centre was used by the

City of Greater Geelong The City of Greater Geelong is a local government area in the Barwon South West region of Victoria, Australia, located in the western part of the state. It covers an area of and, had a population of 271,057 as of the 2021 Australian census. ...

as offices, before being sold to Barwon Health. On 18 May 1993, significant proportions of its land area were annexed to the newly created

, despite concerns expressed by the coastal town of Torquay that it was a separate community of interest from Geelong. The

Shire of Barrabool The Shire of Barrabool was a local government area about southwest of Melbourne, the state capital of Victoria, Australia. The shire covered an area of , and existed from 1853 until 1994. History Barrabool was incorporated as the second ro ...

, which had been significantly reduced by the creation of Greater Geelong and had lost much of its rates base, joined Torquay residents in suggesting the Kennett

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

government create a coastal shire, which united Torquay and Anglesea. On 9 March 1994, the City of South Barwon was abolished, and along with the remainder of the Shire of Barrabool and parts of the

Shire of Winchelsea The Shire of Winchelsea was a local government area about southwest of Melbourne, the state capital of Victoria, Australia. The shire covered an area of , and existed from 1860 until 1994. History Winchelsea was first incorporated as a road ...

, was merged into the newly-created

Surf Coast Shire The Surf Coast Shire is a local government area in the Barwon South West region of Victoria, Australia, located in the south-western part of the state. It covers an area of and in June 2018 had a population of 32,251. It includes the towns of A ...

, which established its administrative centre at Torquay.

Wards

The City of South Barwon was divided into four wards on 19 May 1978, each of which elected three councillors: * Belmont Ward * Connewarre Ward * Grovedale Ward * Highton Ward

Towns and localities

* Belmont* *

Breamlea Breamlea, Victoria, Australia, is a secluded seaside hamlet located on the south coast of the Bellarine Peninsula, 18 kilometres south of Geelong, and halfway between Barwon Heads and Torquay. It is divided between the City of Greater Geelong ...

Connewarre Connewarre, is a locality in Victoria, Australia, is located in the City of Greater Geelong and Surf Coast Shire, and is named after Lake Connewarre which is situated immediately to its north-east. Connewarre is a version of "kunuwarra", the name ...

Grovedale Grovedale is a southern suburb of Geelong, Victoria, Australia. At the , Grovedale had a population of 14,869. History Toponymy The locality was originally named ''Germantown'' because several families of German Lutheran origin had settled th ...

Highton Highton is a residential suburb of Geelong, Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia. With views across Geelong, Corio Bay and the surrounding region, Highton is located along the banks of the Barwon River (Victoria), Barwon River and across t ...

Marshall Marshall may refer to: Places Australia * Marshall, Victoria, a suburb of Geelong, Victoria Canada * Marshall, Saskatchewan * The Marshall, a mountain in British Columbia Liberia * Marshall, Liberia Marshall Islands * Marshall Islands, an i ...

Mount Duneed Mount Duneed is a suburb of Geelong, Victoria, Australia. It is divided between the City of Greater Geelong and Surf Coast Shire local government areas. Mount Duneed itself is an extinct volcano and the remains of the crater can be seen in the ...

(shared with the Shire of Barrabool) *

(shared with the Shire of Barrabool) * Council seat.

Population

* Estimate in the 1958 Victorian Year Book.

References

External links

Victorian Places - South Barwon City
{{Coord, 38, 10, S, 144, 20, E, type:adm2nd_region:AU-VIC, display=title South Barwon City