GEELONG, one of the leading towns in Victoria, coeval with Melbourne in the history of Australian settlement, is pleasantly situated on Corio Bay, an extensive western arm of Port Phillip, 45 miles S.W. of Melbourne, in 39° 8' S. lat. and 144’ 2Γ E. long. The town slopes to the bay on the north side and to the Barwon river on the south, and its position in this respect, as well as the shelter it obtains from the Bellarine range of hills, renders it the healthiest town in the colony. Its streets are wide and laid out at right angles, and there are many handsome public and private buildings. It has a botanical garden, and two parks maintained by the municipality. The public buildings comprise a mechanics’ institute (with a library containing nearly 12,000 volumes), a public library, a town hall, a fire-brigade establishment, a handsome and commodious hospital, a supreme court, and orphan and benevolent asylums. The town is supplied with water from large state-constructed reservoirs in the Brisbane ranges, some 25 miles distant. As a manufacturing centre Geelong is of considerable importance. It contains extensive woollen mills and tanneries on the Barwon river, and paper of good quality is largely made in the neighbourhood. Geelong harbour has area and depth enough to hold all the navies of the world. The bar at the entrance has been cut (at an expense of .£6000) to admit vessels of heavy draught, and some of the largest wool ships are able to load at the wharves, which are connected by railway with all parts of the colony. The population of the city proper is a little over 12,000, but with the adjacent boroughs of Geelong West, Chilwell, and Newtown the total is increased to 24,000.

GEESTEMÜNDE, a seaport in the Prussian province of Hanover, in the district or Landdrostei of Stade, situated, as the name indicates, at the mouth of the Geeste, a right-hand affluent of the estuary of the Weser. It lies about 32 miles N. of Bremen, and is the terminus of a railway from that city. The interest of the place is purely naval and commercial, its origin dating no further back than 1857, when the construction of the harbour was commenced. The great basin opened in 1863 has a length of 1785 English feet, a breadth of 410, and a depth of nearly 23, and can accommodate 24 or 25 of the largest ships of the line; and the petroleum basin opened in 1874 has a length of 820 feet and a breadth of 147. To the left of the great basin lies a canal, which has a length of 13,380 feet and a breadth of 155; and from this canal there strikes off another of similar proportions. The whole port is protected by powerful fortifications, and it lies outside of the limit of the German customs. Since 1864 the trade has been almost trebled, the number of vessels being 617 sea-going ships entering in 1875 and upwards of 2000 river craft. Among the industrial establishments of the town are shipbuilding yards, foundries, engineering works, and steam mills. The population, exclusive of the garrison, was 3218 in 1871, and 3436 in 1875; and if the neighbouring commune of Geestendorf be included, the total for 1871 was 9148, and for 1875 10,425.