Market Square was a

town square A town square (or square, plaza, public square, city square, urban square, or ''piazza'') is an open public space, commonly found in the heart of a traditional town but not necessarily a true square, geometric square, used for community gathe ...

located in the centre 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, ...

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 ...

. Consisting of eight acres (2.9 hectares) of land, the area was reserved by Governor Sir

George Gipps Sir George Gipps (23 December 1790 – 28 February 1847) was the Governor of New South Wales, Governor of the British colony of New South Wales for eight years, between 1838 and 1846. His governorship oversaw a tumultuous period where the rights ...

as a town square during the initial surveying of Geelong. The area later became a produce market, before being progressively built upon. Today the Market Square Shopping Centre occupies the site, having been opened in 1985 by the

City of Geelong The City of Geelong was a local government area about southwest of Melbourne, the state capital of Victoria, Australia. The city covered an area of , and existed from 1849 until 1993. History Geelong was the second municipality in Victoria, ...

History

A water tank to provide domestic water was provided in the square in 1850 by a Mr William Grey.

Clock tower

A clock tower was built in the centre of the square in 1856. It was the idea of the second

mayor of Geelong This is a list of the mayors of the City of Greater Geelong, a local government area, and the second largest city in Victoria, Australia. Before amalgamation in 1993 the central area of Geelong was covered by the City of Geelong, with the surro ...

James Austin, who offered to pay for a clock tower in Geelong to mark his term as mayor. The clock was featured in ''

The Illustrated London News ''The Illustrated London News'' appeared first on Saturday 14 May 1842, as the world's first illustrated weekly news magazine. Founded by Herbert Ingram, it appeared weekly until 1971, then less frequently thereafter, and ceased publication in ...

'' in March 1855. Components for the clock arrived in Geelong on 13 November 1855 from

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

, but the location for the clock had yet to be decided. Suggestions of high ground at top of Moorabool, Yarra or Gheringhap Streets were put forward at the time, the indecision lasting into early 1856. In July 1857 a decision was made, and the foundation stone was finally laid in the Market Square. The clock tower was of prefabricated construction, composed of cream and brown tiles held in place by ornamental cast-iron work. The tiles were made by

Mintons Mintons was a major company in Staffordshire pottery, "Europe's leading ceramic factory during the Victorian era", an independent business from 1793 to 1968. It was a leader in ceramic design, working in a number of different ceramic bodies, ...

, and were by in size. It was high, wide, and had an internal stairway running to the top, where there was a balustraded platform. The clock required winding once a week. A gilded

kangaroo Kangaroos are four marsupials from the family Macropodidae (macropods, meaning "large foot"). In common use the term is used to describe the largest species from this family, the red kangaroo, as well as the antilopine kangaroo, eastern gre ...

acted as a weather vane at the apex of the tower. It was described by Sir Thomas Maltby in an article printed in ''

The Geelong Advertiser ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the ...

'' as "a lifelike model of a Kangaroo about four feet high, exclusive of the four cardinal points on which it pivots freely. The tail in a horizontal position, gives direction to the erect body, looking always into the wind." Sir Thomas Maltby purchased this irreplaceable relic thereby saving it from being turned into scrap metal and is still in perfect working order. George Thomas Lloyd was elected to the District Council of

Grant Grant or Grants may refer to: Places *Grant County (disambiguation) Australia * Grant, Queensland, a locality in the Barcaldine Region, Queensland, Australia United Kingdom *Castle Grant United States * Grant, Alabama *Grant, Inyo County, C ...

at the first election conducted on 10 May 1844. On 1 May 1845, Cr. Lloyd moved the motion that a block of vacant land be set aside in Geelong for a town square, which was duly passed. In W.R. Brownhill's monumental ''History of Geelong and Corio Bay'', he wrote: "When Lloyd was in England in 1853, he was given the responsibility of getting Geelong's first public clock. By September 1854 the council received from Lloyd a design of the clock and tower", which included his drawing of a Kangaroo for the weather vane. The clock tower remained until October 1923 when it was demolished to make way for the CML Building. There was a public outcry, and no one was willing to demolish it. However, it was deemed too impractical to move intact, and was brought down by steel cables attached to

traction engine A traction engine is a steam engine, steam-powered tractor used to move heavy loads on roads, plough ground or to provide power at a chosen location. The name derives from the Latin ''tractus'', meaning 'drawn', since the prime function of any t ...

. The site of the clock tower is marked by a plaque in the Market Square Shopping Centre.

Exhibition building

An exhibition building opened in Market Square on 27 December 1881. It was located to the west of the Clock Tower, and had a frontage to what became Jacobs Street. The site today is north-east of Rock O'Cashell Lane. The building had two 12-metre high corner towers, a large balcony, and a semi-circular

fanlight A fanlight is a form of lunette window, often semicircular or semi-elliptical in shape, with glazing bars or tracery sets radiating out like an open fan. It is placed over another window or a doorway, and is sometimes hinged to a transom. Th ...

to light the main hall. The building held a juvenile and industrial

exhibition An exhibition, in the most general sense, is an organized presentation and display of a selection of items. In practice, exhibitions usually occur within a cultural or educational setting such as a museum, art gallery, park, library, exhibition ...

for four months, that had over 30000 exhibits. After the closure of the exhibition, the building was converted to house

live theatre Live Theatre, formerly Live Theatre Company, is a new writing theatre and company based in Newcastle upon Tyne, England. As well as producing and presenting new plays many of which go on to tour nationally and internationally, it seeks out an ...

performances. The building had a 1500-seat capacity, and was known as the Exhibition Theatre. By the late 1890s it was known as Her Majesty's, and after the death of Queen Victoria it was renamed His Majesty's.

Dame Nellie Melba Dame Nellie Melba (born Helen Porter Mitchell; 19 May 186123 February 1931) was an Australian operatic dramatic coloratura soprano (three octaves). She became one of the most famous singers of the late Victorian era and the early 20th century ...

appeared at the theatre in February 1915. By 1936, when the theatre closed, His Majesty's had been surrounded by other buildings constructed on the square. The building was occupied by Cowley's Motor Garage.

Town square

After the construction of the exhibition building, the land to the west was landscaped as a

. Trees were planted, and a fountain constructed. After the death of Queen Victoria in 1901, there was a move by the townspeople of Geelong to erect a memorial statue. A design competition was held, with Mr Clement Nash of Gheringhap Street winning. Melbourne sculptor John Swan Davie modelled the statue in clay, before a plaster cast was made, which was then sent to bronze founder Mr Parlanti of London. The statue weighed two tonnes, and was unveiled on 24 May 1904. In 1912 it was moved to the entrance of

Eastern Park Eastern Park was a baseball park in the Brownsville neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York in the 1890s. It was bounded by Eastern Parkway—later renamed Pitkin Avenue when Eastern Parkway was diverted—to the north (home plate); the Long Isla ...

due to the construction of the Solomons Building on the same site.

Solomons Building

1912 saw the clearing of the western side of the Market Square for the Solomons Building. The building housed a department store owned by Mr Julius Solomon, and was officially opened on 16 April 1913. It was the third largest floor space without walls of stores in Victoria at the time. Mr Solomon had wanted to build a store in the Market Square for five years. The contract allowed the construction on the

crown land Crown land (sometimes spelled crownland), also known as royal domain, is a territorial area belonging to the monarch, who personifies the Crown. It is the equivalent of an entailed estate and passes with the monarchy, being inseparable from it. ...

, as long as the buildings reverted to council in 50 years. Solomons closed in 1966 and was replaced by a Woolworths supermarket, before the building was incorporated into the Market Square Shopping Centre development in the 1980s.

Further development

In 1915 a

referendum A referendum (plural: referendums or less commonly referenda) is a direct vote by the electorate on a proposal, law, or political issue. This is in contrast to an issue being voted on by a representative. This may result in the adoption of a ...

was held in Geelong, asking if more stores should be built in the Market Square. The result was yes, and the Block Building in Little Malop Street was built soon after.

CML Building

The

Colonial Mutual The Colonial Mutual Life Assurance Society Limited, later Colonial Limited, and commonly known as Colonial Mutual, Colonial Mutual Life, and/or CML, was a diverse international financial services company headquartered in Melbourne, Australia. ...

Life Assurance (CML) Building was announced on 28 May 1923. The building for the insurance company was to occupy the site of the clock tower, which was demolished in October 1923. The new three-storey stone office building was designed with a new clock tower to house the old clock, topped with a copper dome. Once again, due to being built on crown land, the building was to revert to council in 50 years.

Car park

Growing motor traffic in Geelong by the 1960s resulted in a need for more car parking in the central area. To provide this, Cowley's Motor Garage (located on the former Exhibition Building site) was demolished, and a three-level concrete carpark built. Officially opened on 20 October 1961 by Member for Corio Mr

Hubert Opperman Sir Hubert Ferdinand Opperman, OBE (29 May 1904 – 18 April 1996), referred to as Oppy by Australian and French crowds, was an Australian cyclist and politician, whose endurance cycling feats in the 1920s and 1930s earned him international acc ...

. The car park cost £70,000 ($140,000), had a 200-car capacity, and also offered fuel, lubrication, and washing to motorists.

Towards redevelopment

:''See Market Square Shopping Centre for the history of the shopping centre itself.'' The 1980s saw the first of many

urban renewal Urban renewal (also called urban regeneration in the United Kingdom and urban redevelopment in the United States) is a program of land redevelopment often used to address urban decay in cities. Urban renewal involves the clearing out of blighte ...

proposals floated for the central Geelong area. The

Geelong Regional Commission Geelong ( ) ( Wathawurrung: ''Djilang''/''Djalang'') is a port city in the south eastern 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 ...

on 6 November 1981 released a plan that would see a massive shopping centre extend from Little Malop Street through to the waterfront. This proposal did not proceed, with the

instead deciding to develop their own

shopping centre A shopping center (American English) or shopping centre (Commonwealth English), also called a shopping complex, shopping arcade, shopping plaza or galleria, is a group of shops built together, sometimes under one roof. The first known collec ...

on the Market Square site.

Demolition Demolition (also known as razing, cartage, and wrecking) is the science and engineering in safely and efficiently tearing down of buildings and other artificial structures. Demolition contrasts with deconstruction, which involves taking a ...

to clear the site of the new shopping centre site commenced in 1984. The CML Building on Malop Street was retained and reused as offices, while the facade of the Corio Stores on Little Malop Street and the Solomons Building on Moorabool Street were reused in the new building. The development also saw the closure of Jacobs Street.

Gallery

Image:Market Square Geelong 1918.jpg, Market Square, Geelong (

1918 This year is noted for the end of the First World War, on the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month, as well as for the Spanish flu pandemic that killed 50–100 million people worldwide. Events Below, the events ...

) Image:Market Square Shopping Centre Geelong.jpg, Retained Solomons building on Moorabool Street Image:Market Square clock tower history plaque.jpg, Plaque marking the site of the former

clock tower Clock towers are a specific type of structure which house a turret clock and have one or more clock faces on the upper exterior walls. Many clock towers are freestanding structures but they can also adjoin or be located on top of another buildi ...

Image:Market Square history plaque.jpg, Plaque detail history of Geelong's Market Square

References

*Peter Begg (1990). ''Geelong - The First 150 Years''. Globe Press. {{coord, 38.148, S, 144.3615, E, display=title, region:AU-VIC_type:landmark Buildings and structures in Geelong Clock towers in Australia Squares in Australia