Leopold is a residential eastern suburb 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, ...

and is a gateway to the

Bellarine Peninsula The Bellarine Peninsula ( Wathawurrung: ''Balla-wein'' or ''Biteyong'') is a peninsula located south-west of Melbourne in Victoria, Australia, surrounded by Port Phillip, Corio Bay and Bass Strait. The peninsula, together with the Mornington ...

. At the 2016 census, Leopold had a population of 12,814.

History

The area was formerly known as Kensington, but was renamed in 1892 after Prince Leopold, Duke of Albany, the youngest son of

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 216 days was longer than that of any previo ...

. The post office opened as Kensington on 19 May 1858, and was renamed Kensington Hill in 1882, Leopold Hill in 1884 and Leopold in 1885.

Heritage listed sites

Leopold contains a number of heritage listed sites, including: * 221-229 Matthews Road, Melaleuka * 715-729 Bellarine Highway, St Marks On The Hill

Today

The

Bellarine Rail Trail The Bellarine Rail Trail is a 32 km walking and cycling track on the Bellarine Peninsula, in Victoria, Australia, that follows the route of the former South Geelong to Queenscliff branch line. It runs from South Geelong to Queenscliff, pa ...

passes through Leopold. The Gateway Plaza is situated on the corner of the

and Melaluka road. Leopold is constructing four new residential developments called the Kensington Estate, the Estuary Estate, the Debonair Heights Estate and the Gateway Estate. Much of the available land has been sold. Houses are either in construction or others near finished. The town has an Australian rules football team competing in the

Geelong Football League The Geelong Football Netball League is an Australian rules football and netball league in Victoria, Australia. It is widely regarded as the highest standard Australian rules football league in regional Victoria, with several former AFL players n ...

known as the ''Lions''. The Leopold Sportsmans Club provides bowls green, squash, function rooms and other facilities. Leopold is also home to

Lake Connewarre Lake Connewarre ( Aboriginal Wathawurrung language: ''Kunawarr keelingk'' literally meaning ''black swan lake''), a shallow estuarine lake on the Barwon River, is located on the Bellarine Peninsula southeast of Geelong in the Australian stat ...

—a

Ramsar Ramsar may refer to: * Places so named: ** Ramsar, Mazandaran, city in Iran ** Ramsar, Rajasthan, village in India * Eponyms of the Iranian city: ** Ramsar Convention concerning wetlands, signed in Ramsar, Iran ** Ramsar site, wetland listed in ...

listed estuary. The town has a tennis club featuring 8 hard courts that competes in Geelong regional competitions.

Education

As of 2012, Leopold consists of three sources of education. *

Leopold Primary School Leopold may refer to: People * Leopold (given name) * Leopold (surname) Arts, entertainment, and media Fictional characters * Leopold (''The Simpsons''), Superintendent Chalmers' assistant on ''The Simpsons'' * Leopold Bloom, the protagonist o ...

* Leopold Kindergarten * Allanvale Preschool Centre

References

"Census Populations 2011"
Suburbs of Geelong Towns in Victoria (Australia) Bellarine Peninsula {{BarwonSouthWest-geo-stub